His mom had died less than an hour earlier. Tanner had been the only one of his brothers not to sit by her bedside as she passed. It had taken him years to admit he’d been too afraid to watch his mom die, and instead he’d run away and hidden in the summer house, his eyes scrunched closed as he prayed to a god he hoped was listening.
He’d only known she’d died when he heard Gray walk into the garden and let out a haunting scream. Gray had been almost twelve. The oldest of the five. Tanner had never heard him cry until then.
That’s when Tanner had run to her house. And without asking, she’d lifted her covers and they’d curled up together on her bed, their tiny frames nestled together in the scant comfort he’d sought.
His dad had knocked at the door some time before dawn and somehow Van’s mom had been sober enough to let him in. He’d grabbed Tanner’s hand and scolded him for running away, not hugging him, or ruffling his hair, or asking if he was okay.
At least Aunt Gina had changed all that when she moved in with them. She’d turned out to be like their mom but on acid, constantly chiding, chasing, and feeding them.
“If mom died, would you look after me?” Zoe asked. “Or would I go and live with Craig?”
They’d reached the bungalow. Van stopped and turned to Zoe, smiling softly at her as she reached to cup her sweet face. “Mom isn’t going to die,” she told her. “But I’ll always be here for you. No matter what happens. And I know Craig hasn’t been here much recently, but he loves you, too.”
Zoe’s bottom lip wobbled. She was such a deep thinker. “I don’t want to be alone.”
Van reached for her, hugging her tight. “You never have to. I promise. We’ll always take care of you.”
It was the one thing she knew,
more than anything else. She’d protect her sister forever, the way she’d never been protected. From nastiness, from speculation, from gossip. She’d never have people teasing her because their mom brought home a random guy, or because the rumor about her stealing from the Fairfaxes had finally reached the school gates.
Kissing her sister’s head, Van promised herself she’d always be Zoe’s protector. Nothing else mattered. Not the way their mom was almost certainly still curled up in bed, nor the way her heart skipped every time she saw Tanner Hartson.
She was here for Zoe. Nothing else.
“How about you call your brother once in a while?” Logan complained over the phone to Tanner later that night. “I just spoke to Becca. She told me you bought the drive-in. How the hell didn’t I know this?”
“It only happened last week. The ink on the contract isn’t even dry.” Tanner shook his head, though he couldn’t help but smile. Of his three other brothers, he’d grown closest to Logan over the years. Maybe because Gray had been so busy touring the world and Cam had been chasing his football dreams, leaving Tanner and Logan to spend more time together. It had been Logan who was there for him when Van had told Tanner she never wanted to see him again and followed through with her threat.
And as they both built their own businesses – Tanner in New York, Logan in Boston– they’d become confidants. Bitching at each other about how hard it was to please their employees. Talking through business options when they needed somebody they could trust.
It was natural Logan was a little taken aback that Tanner hadn’t discussed the drive-in with him. Tanner couldn’t help but feel bad about that.
“I bought it on a whim,” he confessed. “I don’t have a business plan or anything. Just signed the contract and now here I am.”
Logan laughed. “That doesn’t sound like you.”
No it didn’t. “Yeah, well I had money burning a hole in my pocket. And I was bored.”
“There’s always a job for you in Boston,” Logan reminded him. “I could use somebody I trust.”
Tanner lifted a brow. “I think I’ll stay in Hartson’s Creek for now, but thanks anyway.”
“So what are you planning to do with the drive-in?” Logan asked.
“I’m gonna rebuild it.”
“Seriously?” Logan sounded skeptical. “How the hell are you gonna do that? You don’t have any experience of the hospitality industry.”
“I know. But I know some people who do.” He grinned. “Like you.”
“Yeah. I’m a bit busy to be playing movies with you. Seriously, bro. I thought you weren’t supposed to be doing any work for a year? Wasn’t that part of the conditions of your sale?”
“Only in a competing company,” Tanner told him. “And I’m not planning on doing much work anyway. I’m going to get somebody to do it for me.”
“Who?”
“Van Butler.”