And he reconsidered.

Was this knee-jerk?

He’d lost his mind when Boone told him her father had called her that name. Shy, sweet, adorable Hattie was not a whore. And no father should be flinging words at his child like that, but with Hattie in his life, he couldn’t let stand hers did.

But it was more.

He saw her weeks ago in that dance studio, slamming her fists into her thighs repeatedly, harming herself.

Because she’d been harmed.

Knowing what he knew about her history with her father, when he heard the abuse was still occurring to that extreme, his first instinct was to come between it and her.

But now, with her nerves, he was concerned he was the one doing her harm.

He focused on her pretty, flowery, ruffly, girlie-as-fuck top and her tight faded jeans, as well as her high wedges, and more importantly, how she could be cute and sexy at the same time, and tried not to focus on her anxiety.

He failed.

He took her hand when she made it to him.

“Hey,” he called.

Her eyes came to him.

And yep.

Now it was him that was causing her harm.

“I got caught up in my anger when I heard what your dad said to you,” he told her something she knew. “And because I did, I didn’t ask how you felt about me having a chat with him. But we’re here and we need to have that discussion. Now, I’m prepared to go in there and have that chat with him. Or this can be a meet-the-boyfriend thing and nothing else. But it’s up to you how I play it.”

Surprise flashed in her eyes before she leaned his way a little and said, “I kinda made it clear at the time I wasn’t a fan of what he said.”

He nodded. “Then I’ll make the meet-the-boyfriend play.”

“No one has ever stood up for me, except Mom. Aunt Pam and Uncle Dave, even my grandparents, I knew it concerned them, and when I got older, they spoke to me about it. But when I was younger, they never did anything. Not because they were weak, or they don’t love me. I think they felt their hands were tied. I think that because I could feel their frustration. Also, their relief when Mom left him, and I went with her when they divorced. My family showed me a lot of love and that was their way to make up for what he was doing. But they never stood up for me.”

He wasn’t sure what to do with that.

So he asked, “What are you saying?”