Page 1 of Tanner
CHAPTER ONE
Thirteen years ago….
Junie waited at the edge of the chokecherry thicket, heart hammering so hard she was sure the whole county could hear it. This wasn’t the way she’d imagined spending her thirteenth birthday, but for Tanner, she would have done anything.
The mid-autumn sun was dipping low, painting the world in soft gold and pink. Not that she cared about the sunset, at least not today. Today, all she could think about was the text Tanner had sent her an hour ago.
Meet me at the chokecherry thicket. Need to see you.
The chokecherry thicket was special. He’d found her there when she was six years old, hiding from another of her father’s drunken rages.
Seven years later, this little grove of wild trees still felt like the safest place in the world. Because it was theirs, at least that’s how she felt about it.
Junie shifted from foot to foot, tugging at the hem of her favorite sundress. She’d changed three times before coming out here, which was stupid. It wasn’t like Tanner ever noticed what she wore. To him, she was still little Junie Morgan, the tag-along kid who’d been following him around since that night he came and found her.
To him, she was like a little sister; she knew that in her heart. The text he’d sent could mean anything. All she knew was that it sounded very ominous. Racking her brain, she tried to think of something she might have done that would make him angry or upset with her.
In her dreams, he had called her here to confess his undying love and tell her there was a way they could overcome their huge age difference. She looked up at the stars and smiled, indulging her fantasy for a minute or two. It felt so good to pretend.
It sucked not being older. If only she were twenty or even eighteen. Add that to the long list of frustrations and disappointments she’d been going through lately.
She didn’t remember when her feelings toward him had started changing. When she reflected over the last couple of years, it seemed to coincide with a lot of other shifts in her mood and, of course, the yucky girl things happening in her body that came with getting older.
The sound of hoofbeats startled her and made her stomach flip. She turned just as Tanner rode into view on Halo. He always kept the big buckskin gelding looking as wild and beautiful as its rider. Tanner sat in the saddle like he was born there—loose and confident, black Stetson tipped back, that crooked grin already spreading across his face. She waved and smiled back at him.
A rush of relief washed through her. Surely he wouldn’t be grinning like that if something was wrong. Besides, he always looked even more handsome when he smiled. God, it almost hurt to look at him.
“Happy birthday, little sis,” he said, voice warm and low.
She tried to calm her heart and smile normally. “You remembered.”
“Course I did.” He chuckled, as if the idea of forgetting her birthday was the silliest thing he’d ever heard. He swung downoff Halo with easy grace and reached into his saddlebag. Pulling out a soft, brown paper-wrapped package, he walked straight toward her, those long legs eating up the distance. At twenty-one, he was all broad shoulders and easy swagger, the kind of man who made girls stupid just by walking into a room. That’s how he affected her anyway.
“Couldn’t let my Junebug’s thirteenth birthday go by without a present, could I?”
Her tummy did a silly little flip at the word “Junebug.” It was his special nickname for her. Nobody else in the world called her that, and she liked it that way.
He handed her the package, and, in her excitement, she jumped up and down. She froze as soon as she realized what she was doing.
Gah! Stop jumping around like a two-year-old. He'll think you're still a kid.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” she said, totally lying, of course. If he hadn’t remembered her birthday or gotten her a little something, she would have been devastated. It wouldn’t have mattered what it was. He could have picked a handful of wildflowers on his way to meet her, and she would have loved them. Like her Nanabelle said, it was the thought that counted.
She untied the string with shaky fingers and pulled out the most adorable honey badger stuffie she’d ever seen. It had tiny, fierce eyes, and there was a little smirk stitched on its face.
She laughed softly, hugging it to her chest. “A honey badger; I just studied these in class. It’s so adorable!”
Tanner rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly looking almost shy. “Yeah, it reminds me of you.”
“Really? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” she teased.
Tanner smiled, but instead of brightening his face, the smile was sad and serious. “It’s a good thing. You’re just as tenacious and protective as one. Not to mention downright ornery when you get riled. Don’t let anybody tell you different, Junebug. You’ve got fire in you. Always have. Just like honey badgers.”
She felt her cheeks burn. Some girls would think getting a stuffie for their thirteenth birthday was silly, even childish. But not Junie. If anyone had given her a stuffie, she would’ve enjoyed getting it, but she especially loved this one because it was from Tanner.
He had picked this stuffie out just for her. Standing, she threw her arms around him for a tight hug. “Thank you, Tanner. I love him. I’m gonna name him Nibbles.”
He grinned. “Nibbles? That’s a terrible name for a badass honey badger.”
