Book 5: Ames (Christmas at Whiskey Mountain Lodge in Coral Canyon™)

Ames Hammond pulled into the park-and-wait lot at the Denver airport, already ready to be out of the eight-passenger SUV he’d rented. He put the vehicle in park, thinking maybe he’d buy something like this for his next car. He’d always liked driving a pickup truck or his police cruiser, but maybe he should start to switch things up.

He’d been making a lot of changes in the past several months. Why not extend that to what he drove? 

The temperature in Colorado would not allow him to stay outside for long, but he’d been driving for two hours, and the trip back to the farm in Ivory Peaks would take just as long. He tucked his hands in his parka pockets, his mind on the people flying in from Wyoming.

Three of his brothers and their significant others, along with baby Michael. Thus, Ames needed the eight-passenger vehicle to get them all from the airport to the farm. Gray had flown to Coral Canyon a couple of days ago, and he, Elise, Hunter and their new baby had parked at the airport, so they’d drive themselves back to the farm. Gray had promised Ames he’d pay for the SUV and bring everyone back to the airport in several days.

Ames had accepted, though he didn’t need the money. He had plenty of money. “You’re going to have to tell them,” he muttered to himself, his breath steaming in front of him. He shivered, because it was cold and he didn’t want to make any announcements on this Christmas Day.

He drew in a deep breath, the cold air making his lungs turn brittle. Still, he inhaled and inhaled until he felt like he would pop. Then he held all that chilly air in his lungs for a moment and finally blew it all out.

He turned around, his muscles humming with the short walk, and hurried back to the SUV. He got the vehicle started again and pressed the button for the seat heaters. 

The flight should be arriving any moment, and Ames kept his eyes on the big screen with the flight numbers. He swiped on his phone and checked the text Cy had sent with the number on it. Glancing up, he found the number on the screen, and the big, bright words PICK UP NOW were flashing.

He didn’t even have time to flip the SUV into drive before Cy called. The phone rang on his device for half a ring and then transferred to the Bluetooth system and came through the speakers.

“Hello?” Ames asked. “Can you hear me?” He put his phone in the cup holder and flipped the car into Drive. 

“Yeah,” Cy said, and his voice sounded among a ton of other noise. “We just arrived at baggage claim, so we’ll probably be a few minutes.” He didn’t sound super happy, but Ames knew better than to ask his twin what was happening while Cy was in a crowd. He wouldn’t say anyway, and he’d just end up more frustrated.

“Okay,” Ames said, pressing on the brake. “How about you text me when you’re almost ready? It’s not very warm.” 

“It’s twenty degrees warmer here than Coral Canyon,” Cy said. “I’ll text you.”

“Great.” The call ended, and Ames stayed in his parking spot. He needed to get excited to see everyone. Once he pulled up to the curb and saw them, the joy would come. He just hated the anticipation of it. He didn’t want anyone looking at him and making a judgment, which they’d all do once he made his announcement.

He and Gray had worked really hard to get the whole family to come to Ivory Peaks for the holidays, as Coral Canyon seemed to exist inside a magical bubble of Christmas charm and holiday tinsel. 

Ames had experienced it last year, and he sure had enjoyed going up the canyon to Whiskey Mountain Lodge a few months ago. While Cy worked in the shop and had others around him, Ames would make the drive and spend afternoons with Sophia. And later, if Colton or Wes could come sit with Cy, Ames would return to the cabin in the corner of the back yard and sit with Sophia. 

He’d really liked her. He liked holding her hand. He liked talking to her. He liked kissing her. He simply didn’t like where she lived. She didn’t like where he lived. Neither of them were willing to relocate or sustain a long-distance relationship, and when Ames had finally left Coral Canyon to return to Colorado, he’d left Sophia in his rear-view mirror too.

Don’t be so salty, ran through his mind, in his mother’s voice. She’d told him that so many times growing up that Ames had the words imprinted on his soul.

Ames took another deep breath and decided to just go to the pick-up zone. There would be airport personnel there, making sure no one pulled up and parked, but Ames didn’t care. He was feeling salty, and he’d argue with the crossing guard if he had to. 

“He’s not a crossing guard,” Ames told himself. “Be nice.” He had to be nice for the duration of the next week, and he was determined to do it. 

He just wished he wasn’t the only brother without a woman to spend Christmas and New Year’s with. His thoughts went straight back to Sophia, but he refused to so much as look at her social media.

He’d made his decision. She’d made hers.

He eased around the corner and into the lane that led to the pick-up zone on the bottom of the Denver airport. There were five levels here, and at least it was covered so there wasn’t snow piled everywhere. They’d had quite a few storms in the past week, and without Gray and Hunter to help, it was all Ames and his father could do to keep the road to the farmhouse clear and the path out to the barns and stables walkable.

Ames stopped against the curb, tapped on his phone screen, and listened to Cy’s line ringing. He kept glancing in the rear-view mirror, expecting the man wearing the orange traffic vest to notice Ames had been there longer than five seconds. But he was helping someone with their luggage, and Cy answered in the next moment.

“We’re on the way out now,” his brother said.

“I’m outside door twelve,” Ames said.

“I see you,” Cy said. “Red SUV?”

“Yep.” Ames got out and let his brother hang up. He opened the back gate so the traffic guy would know Ames’s people were coming. He turned, and his face split into a grin when he saw a carbon copy of himself coming toward him.

Well, Cy wore his hair longer than Ames ever had, but everything else was the same.

“Ames.” Cy laughed as he abandoned his suitcase a couple of steps away and embraced Ames. They laughed together, each pounding the other on the back. Ames moved to Patsy and lifted her right up off her feet as they hugged. He’d been so angry with her this past fall, but she made Cy happier than anyone else ever had. She’d made things right between them, and she loved his brother with her whole heart.

Ames set her down and looked at her, half a dozen unspoken questions streaming between them. He’d told her she could text or call him anytime she didn’t know what to do with Cy. If she needed help dealing with him. 

Cy was an amazing man, but he struggled with some mental issues that Ames could feel, even from hundreds of miles away. But he’d waited for Patsy to text before he’d just barged into their relationship. And she’d only reached out to him a few times. 

She nodded at him now, and Ames moved on to Wes and then Colton. Everyone loaded their luggage in the back of the SUV, and then the jostling for seats started. 

“Let’s put Michael in the back,” Bree said. “And Patsy and I will ride back there.” She looked at Wes. “That leaves Annie, Colt, and Wes for the middle. Cy can ride up front with Ames.”

“It’s a plan,” Wes said, ducking into the SUV to get the car seat buckled in where it needed to go. Ames marveled at the change in his brothers. The past few years had brought a lot of changes to the Hammond family, and Ames sure did like seeing the little dark-haired boy on Bree’s hip who looked so much like Wes.

Elise and Gray’s daughter was only a couple of months old, and she was so much lighter than Michael. That came from Elise’s nearly-white features, and Jane had been born bald, but she had some wisps of blonde hair coming in. Her eyes showed some evidence of Gray, because they were a dark brown that almost didn’t fit among all of her pink skin. 

With everyone situated in the SUV, Ames got behind the wheel and adjusted the air that was blowing. “This thing has four temperature zones,” he said, feeling the extra weight in the vehicle as he eased away from the curb. “So settle in. We’ve got a two-hour drive.”

Knobs got adjusted and conversations started, and Ames focused on getting on the freeway and away from the airport. He talked easily with Cy about how the proposal had gone. Ames had been on speaker phone, but he hadn’t been there in person. Cy had said it wasn’t a big deal, and he wasn’t acting like it was either.

He talked about it for a while, and he seemed so happy.

“So what’s going on with you?” he finally asked.

“Nothing,” Ames said, and that was so true it wasn’t even funny. His voice still sounded false, though.

“Sure,” Cy said dryly. 

“I’m telling everyone at the same time,” Ames said, throwing his brother a glance.

“Are you kidding me?” Cy practically hissed. “I always get to know before everyone else.”

“Well, Gray already knows,” Ames said. “So that’s not true this time.” His fingers clenched around the wheel, because he hadn’t told Cy first the way he normally would have.

“What is going on?” Cy demanded.

“Nothing,” Ames said again, glaring openly at him now. 

“We’re all here then,” Cy said. “If Gray already knows.”

“Cy,” Ames said, but his twin was already turning around.

“Listen up, guys,” he called to everyone else in the car. “Quiet down. Shh. Ames has something to tell us.”

The chatter in the back of the car stopped, so Ames’s voice sounded really loud when he said, “No, I don’t.”

“You said you were going to tell us all at the same time,” Cy said. “So tell us.”

“Gray’s not here,” Wes said.

“Gray already knows,” Cy said, glaring holes into the side of Ames’s head. He folded his arms. “So tell us, Ames.”

Ames looked in the rear-view mirror and found everyone looking at him and waiting. His chest pinched, and he wanted to stride away. Put some distance between himself and this situation.

But he’d put this off for long enough. It wasn’t like he could keep this secret with everyone here, and he wanted them to know.

He did.

“I quit my job,” he said. “Months ago. Maybe four or five.”

The silence in the SUV was suddenly far too loud and unbelievably heavy. Ames shifted in his seat and glanced at Cy. “Happy now?”

“No,” Cy said, the word barely audible.

“You quit your job?” Wes said. “At the police station?”

“Yes,” Ames said.

“Four or five months ago?” Colton asked.

“Before I came to Coral Canyon in the fall,” Ames said. “So yes.”

“Why?” Cy asked. “You love being a cop.”

Ames looked out his side window, because he couldn’t answer that question. He hadn’t been able to when Gray had asked, nor when his parents had wanted to know. His boss had been stunned, as had his partner.

Heck, most of the time, Ames would wake up in the morning in a state of pure panic, thinking he was late for work. 

“I don’t know,” he said. “It just felt like the right thing to do.”

“You went to Texas, right?” Wes asked.

“It didn’t feel right,” Ames said, hating the words. But he knew no one would question his decisions if he said they just felt right or didn’t feel right.

“You should come to Coral Canyon,” Colton said.

“No,” Ames said, practically growling the word. “I’m not looking for job recommendations or life advice. Okay? I’m fine. I’m doing fine.”

He focused out the windshield as it started to snow again, and he flipped on the windshield wipers. 

He wasn’t doing all that fine, but Gray needed help around the farm, and Ames had plenty of time to do that now. They ran at the gym together after dropping Hunter off at school, and Ames managed to fill his afternoons and evenings with…something.

Quitting his job on the Littleton force had felt like the right thing to do. He couldn’t meet a woman as a cop, and he really just wanted to find someone he could fall in love with. They could start a family, and his life would be filled with good things again.

“What about private security?” Cy asked. “You’ve always wanted to do that.”

Thankfully, his phone rang, and Ames kept both hands on the wheel as he glanced at the screen where the call came up. 

Sophia’s name appeared there, and Ames sucked in a very audible breath. 

“I thought you two broke up,” Patsy said from the back seat, and Cy wore a look of intense interest on his face.

“We did,” Ames said, reaching to press the red icon that would end the call.

Cy’s hand shot out and blocked Ames’s, and Ames had half a second to growl before Cy tapped the green icon to connect the two lines.

“Hello?” he said, actually making his voice a touch deeper so he’d sound more like Ames.

“Cy,” Ames said. “I’m going to kill you.”

His brother just grinned at him, and then noise started coming through the line. 

“Hang up,” Ames said.

“Sophia?” Cy said instead, and Ames grabbed for his phone as her voice came over the speakers for everyone to hear. He jabbed at the button that would disconnect the phone from the Bluetooth, and he glared at his brother as he put the phone to his ear.

“Hey,” he said, but Sophia clearly wasn’t talking to him. She was talking though.

“…put the cups over there, Stockton. We’ll call everyone into the kitchen once Celia finishes with that cake.”

Scuffling came through the line, and Ames knew she’d dialed him on accident.

A pocket dial.

How embarrassing.

Darkness crowded into his mind and soul, and he became very aware of how quiet the SUV still was. 

He’d just admitted to something crazy and humiliating. He wasn’t going to tell his brothers Sophia had called him on accident.

“Yes,” he said, as if she’d asked him something. “Merry Christmas to you too.” 

“Thatta boy,” Cy said, and when Ames looked at him, he wore such a happy smile.

Guilt pulled every muscle tight in Ames’s body, but he’d committed to this charade and he’d have to see it through now.

“That’s right,” Ames said. “I just picked them up. We’re on our way to the farm now.”

Another scuffle, and then Sophia said, “Ames? Are you there?”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I have now read this whole series [Christmas at Whiskey Lodge] 1st ones I have read by this author. I TOTALLY fell in love with Liz Isaacson!!!! I LOVE the fact it's walking with to God in all of the books and believing in His love to bring you where you need to be to find who is right for you because God planned it.” ~Lynn J.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This Cowboy Billionaire series has been fun to read. The characters grab you and you just have to keep reading to find out what happens to them all. Please read this wonderful clean series you won't be sorry.” ~Marica L.