Chapter 316

"It means a lot to me that you'll come to a session."

Mandy had been begging Dalton to come to a session with Doc Jones for a while, but he'd put it off for as long as possible. It wasn't that he didn't like the woman—he'd met her once or twice—he just didn't like what she stood for.

After he and Deacon had been taken away from their parents, they'd been forced to endure counseling. They'd been made to tell people what had happened to them in detail; details they'd both wanted to forget. It hadn't mattered if they wanted to or not. If they didn't talk, they were punished.

"If it makes us stronger," he held up their clasped hands, "I'll do whatever it takes."

They walked up the front porch of Doc Jones' office and home, and Mandy knocked on the door.

"C'mon in, you two." The older woman ushered them in. "I was hoping at some point I'd see you two in a session together. I'm glad today's the day."

Mandy was too, because she had some things she wanted to say. Things she needed