Page 42 of Billionaire Unbroken - Asher
“What?” Devon asked. “You’re antisocial? You don’t like people close to you? You don’t like to be touched? I’ve noticed. That doesn’t seem to be a problem when you’re with Sierra.”
“I’m fucking broken,” I said gruffly. “No woman deserves to deal with that.”
“Something tells me she wouldn’t mind, and you’re not broken, Asher. Look, I know that your father was an asshole.I’m willing to bet my life on the fact that he was abusive as hell. You’ve got issues you need to deal with, but he didn’t break you. If he did, you wouldn’t be here right now. You wouldn’t be looking at a woman like you worship the ground she walks on, and you wouldn’t be on your knees in a bar kitchen, helping an old man. Everyone has issues. It looks to me like you’re trying to deal with yours, and I’m damn happy about that. You and Cole should have been part of the family a long time ago. I’m here for you, Asher. Whatever you need, I’m here for you. I wish I could have been there when we were kids.”
My gut hurt as I took the replacement gasket out of its protective plastic.
My defenses were telling me to be my usual asshole self, but I couldn’t do it.
Devon and all of my cousins had proved that they were family when they’d showed up for the ceremony I’d had at the cemetery when I’d laid my mother to rest.
Every damn one of them had shown up with their wives, even though they hadn’t been invited.
They’d figured it was their place to be there for me, Cole, and the deceased aunt they’d barely known.
We were all Remingtons, and they’d reminded me of that on that somber day.
I’d never done the polite thing and thanked them for coming because I knew that they didn’t want my thanks.
I’d never told them, but their presence there at the cemetery had meant more than they’d probably ever know.
I’d felt the family loyalty from them, and that had been a turning point for me.
Fuck!I wanted to be part of the Remington family.
My father had been a bad seed, but I was proud of our ancestry and the fact that there had been Remingtons in Crystal Fork as long as the town had existed.
I’d come back to Crystal Fork because the land was in my blood, even though most of my childhood memories were bad.
I knew my cousins felt the same affinity for the town of Crystal Fork.
I wanted to know my cousins better. Not strictly because they were family but because I thought they were men worth knowing.
My Aunt Millie had basically just tried to plow her way into my life, but I hadn’t let her in the way I should have.
Therapy was making me think about a lot of things I’d ignored before.
I wasn’t sure if I liked diving that deeply into my screwed-up head, but some of the changes needed to happen.
I hadn’t been happy in a long time.
I wasn’t sure if it was possible to completely stop being an asshole, but I could probably be a nicer asshole.
“It wasn’t possible for you to be there when we were kids,” I told Devon. “It was a fucked-up situation. And I think my issues are a lot bigger than most people’s. But I’m working on them.”
“Good. Then you can come to dinner at Mom’s next week. Bring Sierra. It would make my mother so happy that she’ll talk about it forever.”
I put the gasket in place.
Hell, I wasn’t sure if I was ready forthat.
One-on-one with Devon was a lot different from a whole houseful of Remingtons at one time.
My aunt texted for every family dinner, and I hadn’t shown up at her place yet.
“Too overwhelming? Too soon?” Devon asked in a sympathetic voice.
“I’m not sure,” I said honestly.
