by Liz Isaacson
“This is the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had,” he said. And he’d eaten at dozens of high-end restaurants in his life.
“Celia’s doing,” Annie said, pointing with her fork. “She’s the one who gave you the cake. She’s been the chef up here for years.”
Colton found her talking to a cowboy in the kitchen and enjoying her own cake.
“Sophia is a chef here too,” Annie continued. “She works full time during the week. Celia’s just here on the weekends.”
“And you’re all up here right now,” he said.
“Yes.” Annie tucked her shoulder-length hair behind her ear, shooting a glance at him before looking away again. “The Whittakers own the lodge, right?” She nodded to the man who’d emerged from the back of the crowd. “Graham bought it several years ago. He hired me to clean, Celia to cook, and Bree to do décor and grounds. Each of the four brothers lived in the lodge at some point, but they’ve all got other houses now. They turned the lodge back into a mountain resort about eighteen months ago.”
Colton liked listening to her voice, though he didn’t much care about the family history lesson. He nodded though, wondering if he could simply serve himself another piece of cake once he’d finished this one.
“Anyway,” Annie said. “They hired a bunch more people, rent out all thirteen rooms—except from December twentieth to January fifth. Or so. That’s when they all gather here for their holiday family traditions and to spend time together.”
“It’s only the nineteenth,” Colton said.
“Yeah, we came up a day early, because of the storm.” She flashed him another smile, and Colton wondered what it would be like to be able to do that. He hadn’t had a reason to smile at will for several weeks now, and it felt like several years instead of just weeks.
“So,” a man said, pulling out the chair the blonde woman had vacated at some point. “What brings you to Coral Canyon?”
Colton looked at the guy, his defenses already in place. He hadn’t anticipated having to talk to anyone for longer than a few minutes. Just his luck that he’d walk in during a family party.
“Just getting out of town for the holidays,” he said coolly. He hadn’t fooled the other cowboy for a moment, though.
“Well, I’m Graham Whittaker, and you’re welcome to stay as long as you like.” He glanced up as someone said his name. “I’ll have Patsy find you a room.”
“Thanks,” Colton said, finishing his last piece bite of cake.
Graham got up and clapped Colton on the shoulder, which sent a physical vibration through his arm as well as a buzz of annoyance. He was forty-two-years-old, and he didn’t need to be talked down to like a thirty-year-old.
He’d started businesses and sold them. He’d gotten an MBA while working at the family company as the executive marketing director. He had a master’s degree in biology and biological research from Yale University, and he’d worked on highly developmental scientific projects.
He hated to admit it, but Colton had drunk in the whole lodge in a single look, and he knew exactly what he’d do to get more people staying here. Not to say that the lodge didn’t already have every night booked for the next year, but if he worked for them, they would.
“You might be here more than one night,” Annie said on his left, and Colton was starting to get whiplash from looking left and right, right and left.
“Yeah, the snow is supposed to be bad,” he said. If the weather had been clear, Colton would still be in the truck, aiming himself for the Canadian border. Frustration built in his chest, and he pushed against it. Pushed hard.
“Time to eat.” Celia got up on a chair and held up both arms. Everyone settled down, and Colton basked in the relative silence. This place had great energy though, and Colton did like that. At least compared to the farmhouse on the eastern edge of Ivory Peaks, where Colton had escaped after the failed attempt to get married, which had only offered sadness and the ability to completely overwhelm a man in a single moment.
His father had just turned seventy-eight, and he couldn’t keep up with the chores around the farm. His mother hadn’t done anything on a farm, ever, and most of her time was spent taking care of Dad’s mother, keeping them all fed and wearing clean clothes.
Colton had thought he might be able to lie low there for a month or two. Through the New Year. Then he could return to the high-rise building in downtown Denver where HMC operated their global office.
Then the article detailing his humiliation had been leaked to the media, complete with cellphone photos. Colton wasn’t new to dealing with the fallout of bad press. Heck, he’d done it for a living for HMC—Hammond Manufacturing Corporation—for a decade.
But the fact that Priscilla, the woman he’d invested five years of his life into, had left him to stand at the altar by himself had destroyed his confidence. He didn’t know how to put together a media package to dispute the photos. He couldn’t write a statement to read to the microphones thrust in his face.
Well, he did know how to dispute the photos, and how to write and deliver the official HMC statement.
He didn’t want to. Not anymore.
So he’d taken a security team to his condo on the north side of the city and snuck into his own house to quickly pack a couple of bags. He’d put them in the back seat of his truck, gassed up while the security guards watched, and tipped his cowboy hat to them.
He’d been driving all day by the time the National Weather Service alert had come on the radio station he’d put on but hadn’t really been listening to. And he’d immediately called Gray to help him find somewhere to stay.
“Whiskey Mountain Lodge,” his brother had said without a single beat of hesitation.
And now Colton sat at the table while a petite woman controlled a room full of adults and children.
“We have barbecue pork sandwiches,” she said, and Colton’s stomach growled. “Plenty of chips and dips. Vegetable tray. Tomato basil soup. Chicken noodle soup. Cheese biscuits. There’s plenty of everything, so come eat.”
Another man stood up before Celia could get off the chair. He said nothing, but he swiped his cowboy hat off his head and folded his arms. To Colton’s great surprise, everyone else in the room did the same, and Colton hurried to remove his hat before anyone saw his shock.
This man—clearly one of Graham’s brothers—said, “Dear Lord, we thank Thee for this bounty in front of us today. We’re grateful for our daddy, who worked and built a bright future for us. We’re thankful for all who work here at the lodge and provide such an amazing family experience for us. Bless them in their individual lives, and help us to remember who we are, where we came from, and who we represent. Oh, and we’re grateful for Colton and that he arrived safely. Amen.”
“Amen,” everyone chorused, and a wave of noise rolled through the room as everyone stood up, gathered their children to them, and started filling plates with food.
Colton got up and got out of the way, his heart touched by the prayer. We’re grateful for Colton.
He didn’t even know that man’s name. He now held a little boy in his arms that looked to be two or three. He asked the child if he wanted every item, finally putting him in a highchair in the corner and returning to the line.
“Come get something to eat,” a woman said, and Colton turned toward Patsy.
He gave her a smile, but he secretly wanted to escape. His stomach growled at him to stay put, so he did. “Thank you.”
“I’m going to put you in room three,” she said, extending a white card toward him. “Annie will go down with you. She’s right next door in room four.” Patsy gave him a professional smile and joined the fray of bodies in the kitchen.
He made it through the line with a smile on his face, talking to anyone who spoke to him. He’d seen a couple of people leave the kitchen, and he followed them, as there was no room at the table.
He found them in the living room, sitting on the couch with their food balanced on TV trays in front of
them. “Room for one more?”
A dark-haired woman looked at him and smiled. “Sure,” she said. “There are trays beside the fireplace.”
Colton grabbed one with his free hand as he passed the fireplace and set up his dinner in front of the loveseat, as three women had taken the spots on the couch.
“I’m Bree,” the dark-haired woman said. “I do all the room decorating, as well as events here at the lodge.”
He nodded at her, and she turned to the woman next to her. “This is Elise. She does all the grounds keeping.”
“So you’re part of the family?” he asked.
“No,” Elise said, her long, blonde hair swinging as she shook her head.
“Yes,” Bree said, correcting her. She shot her a look and then faced Colton. “Yes, we’re part of the family. I’ve worked here for eight years, and yes, when you work for the Whittakers, you become a Whittaker.”
Colton switched his gaze to Elise, who clearly hadn’t worked for the Whittakers long enough. He could tell she didn’t feel like a Whittaker.
He moved his gaze to the last woman on the couch, and she said, “I’m Rose. I’m out here, because I have three two-year-olds, and I need fifteen minutes to eat a full meal.” She smiled and started slowly buttering her roll.
“Wow,” Colton said, unsure of what else to say. “Three two-year-olds?”
“That’s right,” she said. “I’m sick of eating my meals one bite at a time over the course of an hour while I chase them.”
Colton wondered who was chasing them if Rose sat out here slathering a rich, orange jam on her roll now. But he didn’t ask.
Another woman came into the living room, and Annie paused as she assessed the situation.
“There’s room by Colton,” Bree said, and Annie looked like she might kill the woman later. But when Annie looked at him, she had that gorgeous smile on her face. She got her tray too, and she perched on the love seat as far from him as possible.
Colton knew he didn’t smell; he’d showered that morning. She hadn’t had a problem talking to him in the kitchen, and his mind went round and round about what he’d done to cause a change in her.
He finished eating while the four women chatted with each other about familiar things to them that made no sense to him. When he pushed his tray back so he could stand up, Annie asked, “Would you like me to take you down to your room right now?”
“I’m sure I can find it,” he said. How hard could it be?
“I want to check it anyway,” she said. “Since we came up early, I cleaned the rooms in the order they were getting used. It might not be ready for you.” She left the remains of her food on her tray and joined him. “This way.”
She led him back toward the kitchen, to the right down the hall past it to a pocket door that slid into the wall. She went first, saying, “Slide that closed behind you, would you?” as she started down a flight of steps.
Colton did as she asked, the noise level almost disappearing behind the closed door. By the time he reached the bottom of the steps and turned to go down a few more, he couldn’t hear the zoo in the kitchen.
“This is a big common area,” Annie said, indicating the two couches in the room. “There’s a theater room there. Someone will put up a schedule for the holidays, and there’s usually food down here too.”
He noticed the kitchen built into two walls of the room, directly across from the theater room. Annie went past the theater room down a wide hall. “These are rooms one, two, three, and four.” She held out her hand. “Do you have your key?”
He handed it to her, and she went to the room in the back left corner and flashed the card in front of the sensor to release the lock. With the green light on, she opened the door and pushed her way inside.
“Thanks.” She handed the key back to him, and he stood in the doorway instead of squeezing in behind her. The scent of her floral perfume tickled his nose, and his male side once again told him how attractive Annie was.
He shut down the feelings fast, because he was not interested in another relationship. Not now, and not ever.
The sigh Annie let out wasn’t lost on Colton, and he took a step into the room then, easily able to peer over her shoulder. “What’s wrong?” He saw the unmade bed, as well as the overflowing trash can next to the desk in front of the window.
Annie turned to face him, and they suddenly found themselves face-to-face, only a few inches separating them. “Do you mind…?” She stared at him, and Colton tried to back up, but the door had started to close, and he hit his elbow on the door.
“We could just switch rooms,” she said. “I know mine is clean.”
“No,” Colton said instantly. “I’m not going to make you do that.” It did seem like she’d have to clean a room no matter what, and he hadn’t meant for that to happen.
“It’s your party,” he added. “I can empty trash and make a bed if you’ll point me to the sheets and garbage bags.” Yes, he had a housecleaner for his condo in Denver, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to clean up after himself. Or, apparently, other people.
“If you’ll help me,” Annie said. “We can get it done in fifteen minutes and both go to bed.”
“Deal,” Colton said, finally smiling for the first time since the day he was supposed to get married but hadn’t. Fifteen more minutes until he could be alone. They couldn’t pass fast enough.
Chapter Three
Annie left Colton standing in room three and went to the storage closet under the stairs. She pulled out clean sheets, a couple of garbage bags, and her cleaning bucket. She turned, smashing right into the very solid body of Colton Hammond.
He grunted, and she sucked in a breath that sounded somewhat high-pitched.
“Sorry,” he said, backing up. She shoved the bucket at him, a reaction done without specific thought. He took it, his eyes locked on hers.
“I’ll grab the vacuum cleaner,” she said, tucking the garbage bags into the bucket only a couple of feet away. “You can start with the trash.”
“All right.” He turned and walked away, and Annie tried not to stare. Tried, and failed. He didn’t have the same western twang she’d heard Graham or Beau speak with. Eli had been all over the world and didn’t have much of a cowboy accent either. Andrew worked as the public relations director for Springside Energy, and every time he spoke, it was with polish and precision.
Finn and Zach definitely carried some cowboy in their voices, as did Todd. Liam worked at the clinic, and he only wore a cowboy hat on weekends, if Rose was to be believed. Annie knew many of the men around Coral Canyon, and their accents made her smile—the same way Colton’s did.
He possessed some refinement too, and Annie wondered where that had come from. College? Family business? A job? Did he only wear his cowboy hat on the weekends too?
Annie shook the questions out of her head, reached for the vacuum cleaner, and followed Colton. A full trash bag sat by the door, and Annie found Colton inside the room, stripping the blankets and sheets from the bed.
He tossed them against the wall, while Annie parked the vacuum in front of the closet doors. “I’ll take those.” She bent to pick up the used comforter and sheets, dumping them beside the trash bag in the hall.
She tried to find something to ask him as he handed her one end of the fitted sheet and went around the queen-sized bed. But for the life of her, all of her chatty genes had gone to sleep. They worked together in silence, making up the bed with fresh sheets and a new comforter. She put the pillowcases on the four pillows while Colton ran a disinfectant wipe over the desk, the nightstand, and the slim television cabinet.
“I’ll run the vacuum if you want to go get your bags,” she said.
He ducked his head and left the room, and Annie breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t even sure why. Colton existed on a new level of handsome she hadn’t seen in a while, and maybe that just made her nervous.
She’d heard him say he was only going to be in town for one
night, but Annie knew the snow would keep him here for at least two, probably three. Maybe more, her mind whispered, and her heart leapt.
“No,” she said out loud, as she often did when she vacuumed at the lodge. She liked to get things out of her mind, and the best way to do that was to say them out loud. The curtains and bedspreads didn’t care what she said, and she’d been able to work through several problems by chatting it up with the vacuum cleaner.
“No,” she said again, moving the machine back and forth over the carpet. “You’re not interested in having him stay for longer than it takes for the roads to clear. He’s closed off—obviously—and he doesn’t live here. You do.”
She did. And she didn’t want to leave.
“So be kind to him. Enjoy the holidays. Maybe you can join one of those dating websites once the New Year starts.” Her last several words echoed around in the room, as the vacuum cleaner had come unplugged, and the roar of it had silenced.
Annie turned to plug it back in, freezing at the sight of Colton standing there, a bag in each hand. Their eyes met, and Annie’s stomach fell to her toes. Colton definitely had some experience dealing with difficult or tense situations, because he simply put his bags down, bent, and plugged in the vacuum cleaner.
The roar returned, but Annie had lost her train of thought. Colton straightened, and his gaze now barely beamed out from underneath the brim of his cowboy hat. Annie tore her eyes from his dark, dreamy ones and looked at the floor. Vacuuming. Yes. She moved the machine along the line she’d already made, determined to get out of there before she embarrassed herself further.
Colton moved out of her way as she backed her way out of the room, and she finally switched off the cleaner and leaned down to pull the plug. “Good night,” she said, because she couldn’t just pull the door closed without saying anything.
“Ma’am,” he said, touching the brim of that white cowboy hat that only made the dark-and-silver beard that much more appealing. And his manners called to Annie’s sensibilities as well. She felt tethered to him, and she didn’t know how to sever the connection. They’d spoken for a few minutes, and she’d sat by him on the couch to eat. Her feelings were ridiculous, and Annie commanded herself to regain control of herself.