Page 12 of Her Mountain Man Giant

“I got in a car accident,” he says eventually. “A bad one. Broke a few ribs, dislocated my jaw. But it was the shattered knee that ended my career. Couldn’t move the same after that.”

“Oh, Tanner.” Sympathy wells up inside me as I think back to earlier—the way he rubbed his knee like it pained him. “That must have been so hard.”

“The hard part was losing my brother.” He swallows hard, eyes fixed on the photograph. “He was in the passenger seat. Didn’t survive the crash.”

My stomach drops, a cold weight settling on my chest. I don’t know what to say. Instead, I rest my hand on top of his, squeezing tight.

“I’m so sorry.”

Tanner nods, clearing his throat like he’s trying to dislodge his emotions. “Eighteen years, and it still feels like yesterday. And that was just the beginning.” A growl of thunder rips through the air before he continues. “Jason was born to play basketball. He was so damn talented—way better than me. Everyone said he was gonna be a star, so his death was big news. There were a lot of rumors.”

I have a horrible feeling I know what’s coming, but I don’t interrupt him. I keep my hand on his and listen.

“People had a lot of theories about the crash. That I was drunk or on drugs. That I crashed on purpose because I was jealous of Jason and wanted him dead. The theories kept on getting crazier. Jason faked his death because he couldn’t handle the pressure. Jason was going to expose a doping scandal and so the NBA staged the accident to silence him. Hell, some people said he was a fucking ritual sacrifice—some Illuminati bullshit.”

Jesus Christ.

My heart aches at the anger, the misery in his voice. I can’t even imagine what he had to go through. Losing his brothermust have been hard enough without suffering through all these crazy accusations.

“Journalists hounded me for months,” he says bitterly. “They weren’t satisfied with my story—a boring old car crash wasn’t interesting enough for their shitty papers. I was receiving hundreds of letters every day, hate mail, accusing me of killing my brother. That’s why I moved out here. I wanted to disappear. Eventually, the world moved on and most people forgot about Jason and me. But there are still a few conspiracy theorists out there, people who talk about his death on forums or blog posts. I used to read them all the time. Pissed me off, but I couldn’t help it. Felt like I needed to know what they were saying about him. Stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid,” I tell him. “Not at all. I would feel the same.”

Tanner nods, sighing deeply. “Sad truth is, it was just a normal crash. It was January and the roads were bad. I hit a patch of ice. The car spun out of control and a truck coming the other way plowed straight into the passenger side. I wasn’t drunk. Wasn’t on drugs. It was just bad fucking luck, and I’d do anything to change it. Hell, I’d have taken Jason’s place in a heartbeat.”

The guilt in his eyes breaks my heart, and I rest a hand on his back, rubbing it gently as we both look down at the picture. Everything makes sense now—why Tanner thought I was a journalist, the pain in his knee, the way he shut down when I asked what brought him to Cherry Mountain. I finally understand. I just wish the answers weren’t so tragic. He didn’t deserve any of this.

“It wasn’t your fault, Tanner,” I say gently. “None of it was your fault. It was an accident, and there’s nothing you could have done.”

He looks at me, his eyes softening. My hand is still resting on top of his, and he envelops it in his giant palm, squeezing it tight.

“Thank you, Violet.”

He says it like he’s never meant anything more.

8

TANNER

This isthe first time I’ve talked to anybody about losing Jason. It wasn’t easy to relive it—every word cost me something. But now that it’s out there, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my heart. I didn’t plan to tell Violet. Hell, I didn’t want to burden her with my demons. But when I saw her looking at the photo, it felt like it was time to open up and trust her with my past. I’m glad I did. She has a heart of gold, and I’m so damn grateful to her for listening to my story.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” she says. “I’m just so sorry you had to go through it.”

I nod, my eyes lingering on our joined hands. She hasn’t let go, and her skin is warm against mine, soft as rose petals. I tighten my grip a little.

“Anyway, that’s enough about my past.” I lean back against the couch cushions, eyeing Violet. “Would rather talk about you.”

“Me?” She meets my gaze. Those big brown eyes never fail to make my breath catch. “There’s not much to tell.”

“What about your family? You close to them?”

Violet chews on her lip, flinching as a violent groan of thunder sounds overhead. “Things are kind of tense between usright now. Everyone thinks I’m nuts for leaving Denver. Heck, even I think I’m nuts sometimes.”

I frown at her. “Why? Do you regret moving here?”

“No.” Her answer is emphatic. “It’s not that. I guess I just worry that I’m making a huge mistake…that my dream just isn’t going to work out.” She squirms a little in her seat. “It makes me so anxious sometimes. My thoughts start spiraling, and it feels like I’m doing everything wrong.”

“Well, I think what you’re doing is awesome.” I look at her pointedly. “I meant what I said this morning—you’re brave as hell for chasing your dream. You know how many people end up with regrets because they were too scared to go after what they wanted? You should be proud of yourself for jumping in with both feet.”

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