Reid tried to keep his expression flat as he took in the scene. He didn’t know what he had expected to find when he’d barged into Brynn’s place, but finding her with a bloodied and bruised woman had not been it.

      Brynn turned her back to him but not quick enough for him to miss the horrified expression on her face. She grabbed a cloth off the table and patted beneath the woman’s nose. “I’m sorry, I forgot you were waiting. We’re fine. You can go now.”

      Reid moved out of the way as the younger blonde, Brynn’s little sister he presumed, hurried past him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and took a breath. “What I can do to help?”

      Her shoulders dipped as if she were carrying sandbags on them, but she didn’t turn to look at him. “Just leave. Please.”

      Yeah, like that was going to happen. For the last few weeks, he had let Brynn get away with her casual rebuffs and subtle distancing. He had deserved it after the way he’d lost control on their first date. But he’d be damned if he was going to let her push him away from something like this. “I’m not going anywhere.”

      She swung her head around, her eyes filling with tears and her face red with shame. “Can’t you take a hint? You’re making this worse. I don’t want you to be here to see this.”

      He closed the distance between them and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be embarrassed. I just want to help you.”

      She winced. “I don’t need your help. I’ve been handling my mother for years, I’m a pro. So why don’t you leave, pretend you never saw this, and I’ll see you at work. Okay?”

      Ignoring her request, Reid turned and walked to the refrigerator, then pulled open the freezer door. Except for the three cheap bottles of vodka, the contents were slim, but he found what he was looking for. He brought a bag of frozen corn back to Brynn. “Put this on her eye, it will help with the swelling. Does it seem like anything’s broken?”

      Brynn took the bag and stared at him for a long moment before standing up and placing it on her mother’s black eye. “I don’t think so.”

      “Do you think she needs to go to a doctor or the police?”

      “She’ll refuse to see either.”

      He nodded. “Okay, then why don’t we get her somewhere she can rest and sleep it off?”

      Brynn sighed and stood. She gave her mother’s shoulder a soft squeeze. “Ma, I’m going to help you get up and walk to your bedroom, okay?”

      Her mother reached up and patted Brynn’s hand. “Thanks, baby.”

      Reid went around the opposite side from Brynn and gently grabbed her mother’s upper arm to help her to her feet. She stumbled a bit, but managed to stand with their assistance. With slow, steady steps they led her out of the kitchen and down the narrow hallway. Brynn bumped open one of the doors with her elbow.

      The room was barely bigger than the closet in Reid’s own bedroom and looked way too neat to belong to a woman who was clearly out of control. He wondered if Brynn had led him to her own bedroom to protect herself from more embarrassment.

      Brynn pulled back the sheets, and the two of them helped her mother to sit on the edge of the bed. She bent down and slipped off her mom’s heels, then placed them on a rack in the closet. Reid frowned. This wasn’t Brynn’s room, but apparently she played maid to her mother along with everything else.

      “Who the hell are you?” said a slurred voice.

      Reid turned to see her mother squinting at him with her uninjured eye.

      He crossed his arms over his chest. “Your daughter’s boyfriend.”

      She snorted. “Right.”

      Brynn hurried to her mother’s side and shot him a withering look. “Come on, Ma, let’s get you into your nightgown.”

      “He’ll only break your heart,” she said. “Cheating bastards—all of ’em. Believe you me. They all do it eventually. I’d be broke otherwise.”

      “You are broke,” Brynn muttered, and glanced at Reid. “I’m going to get her changed. I’ll be out in a minute.”

      He nodded and stepped into the hallway, shutting the door behind him. As he made his way back to the living room, his heart broke for the girl who had quickly become the sole focus of his days. No wonder she didn’t have time for a burger. She was taking care of everyone around her. He sank into the well-worn couch and ran a hand over his face.

      After his last date with Brynn, he’d thought she might be the girl he could share his secret with, but now he knew he had to keep his lips sewn shut. The last thing she needed was to hear about his sordid fantasies. Her opinion of men had already been warped enough.

      No, what Brynn needed was a hero—a guy who would treat her with the respect no one showed her mother. The only question was, did he have enough self-control to be that guy?