Page 5 of Her Mountain Man Giant

What is happening to me?

My body has never reacted to somebody like this before. The temptations stirring inside me are primal, totally out of my control, and I instinctively take a step back from Tanner, overwhelmed.

“Well, I better get ready for bed,” I say in a breathless rush. “Thanks again for stopping by.”

Tanner nods, clearing his throat. “Have a good night, Violet.”

“You too.”

He turns around and strides away through the trees, melting into the shadows. I watch him go, my heart in my throat, silently wishing he could stay. It doesn’t make any sense. He’s a stranger. A big, grumpy, intimidating giant of a stranger. But it feels like he just awoke something inside me—something I never knew existed.

And I don’t think it’s going back to sleep anytime soon.

4

TANNER

I lieon top of the covers, staring up at my ceiling fan as it whirs above me. I’ve been in bed for hours, but no matter how much I toss and turn, I can’t sleep. Every time I shut my eyes, all I see is Violet’s pretty face, her big brown eyes blinking up at me. If I concentrate, I can almost hear her saying my name in that sweet voice, and the memory makes my pulse quicken.

Goddammit.

I’m forty-two years old and acting like a kid with a crush.

Finding her notebook was one hell of a lucky break. I spotted it on my way home through the woods, the flash of pink catching my eye. It was nestled in the underbrush, and I picked it out, recognizing it immediately. I shouldn’t have read it. I know that. But fuck, I couldn’t resist. I was too desperate to know more about the beautiful stranger in the woods.

Every page was full of notes about romance stories—plots, characters, ideas. Violet is obviously a writer. That should have been enough to sate my curiosity, but I kept flicking through until I reached the most recent page. That’s the part that got me. It was a few scribbled details about her latest romance hero, and my heart stuttered the moment I read it. She was describing me. Everything from my height to the clothes I was wearing, alljotted down beneath the title “Hero”. It was too damn specific to be a coincidence, and it only made me more desperate to see her again.

It was a lucky guess, heading to Emma and Brody’s rental cabin. I know the two of them, even helped them fix up the cabin to make it ready for tenants, so I figured Violet might be the newcomer renting it out. Still didn’t prepare me for the moment she opened the door, looking even more beautiful than before. I expected her to be intimidated, like she was when I met her in the woods. It’s a reaction I’m used to at my height—even back in my basketball days, I was the biggest guy on the team—seven feet tall. But Violet didn’t seem to mind. The way she looked at me…it was almost like she liked it.

Or maybe you’re just a delusional old man.

That’s probably more likely. Violet is a beautiful twenty something, sweet and soft, and I’m a grumpy middle-aged man with gray hairs and a fucked-up knee. Not exactly Prince Charming. But that doesn’t stop me craving her, wishing I could run my hands through her caramel-colored locks, down her curvy body…

Fuck, I need to see her again.

It’s my last conscious thought before I finally drift off into a restless sleep.

I’m onlyhalf awake when I wander into the kitchen the next morning to fix myself a strong coffee. The forest looks hazy outside my window, the sunlight filtering through a thin veil of cloud. I need to head out and finish chopping up the juniper tree I felled yesterday, and I pull on some clean clothes, downing mycoffee before brewing a second. A knock on my door stops me mid-sip, and I set my mug down, heading for the front door.

It’s Wyatt. He’s my nearest neighbor out here, a serious-faced mountain man of few words. We’re not exactly best buddies—neither of us are big on talking—but he’s a good guy, always letting me borrow his tools and helping me out when I need it.

“Morning,” he says.

“Hey, Wyatt. Everything okay?”

He nods, reaching down to pick up a cardboard box from the ground. “This was delivered to my cabin this morning by mistake. Wondered if you recognized the address.”

I squint at the bad handwriting on the box, and immediately, I’m wide awake. It’s addressed to Violet.

“Yeah, I know the address,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m actually heading out that way right now. I’ll make sure the right person gets it.”

“Appreciate it. Thanks.” Wyatt hands me the parcel. It’s hefty, and I’m surprised to see a deep tear in the side of the cardboard.

“Did it arrive like this?” I ask, frowning at the damage.

“That was my bad,” Wyatt says. “I assumed it was the new tools I ordered and started opening the box before I realized it was addressed to somebody else.”

I nod and we exchange quick goodbyes before I haul the package to the living room and set it down on the table. Through the gash in the box, I can see that it’s full of books—at least ten of them. As I peer closer at the books’ spines, I realize they’re all the same.

---