by Liz Isaacson
She got behind the wheel of her car and started the engine so the air conditioning would start to blow. Then she dialed Wes, clenching her teeth while she squeezed her eyes shut, a constant prayer streaming through her mind.
Three rings. Then four. Five.
His voicemail kicked on, and it was so impersonal and a recording, so she couldn’t really identify if he was the same man who’d literally said six words to her. Frustrated, and not wanting to leave a message, she hung up.
He’d see she called. Then he’d either call her back or ignore her. “Please let him call me back,” she said as she pulled out of the parking lot and went the same direction as the black truck had. She thought of no one and nothing else for the long drive back to her cabin up the canyon from town.
Time for her second job to begin.
Wes did not call back. The patriotic parade on the Fourth of July found Bree waving a miniature American flag with one child in her lap and two more on the blanket beside her. Rose and Liam always needed help, and Bree loved their triplets.
She worked around the lodge on Friday, prepping everything for the next couple of weeks so she wouldn’t have to work so late into the evening. Saturday, she did the same, putting on a children’s craft class, taking a group horseback riding, and coordinating a fishing expedition for the guests at the lodge that holiday weekend.
She found some solace and comfort at church on Sunday, but her question of who was that cowboy? had yet to be answered by anyone, man or divine being.
Monday, she woke early and made sure Patsy had everything she needed for that morning’s mountain yoga class, and she checked in with Lionel, the oldest teenager who worked in the stables with her to make sure they had what they needed for their rides that day.
“And don’t let Simon give you any trouble,” she told Lionel. “If he does, tell him I’ll dismiss him when I see him next.”
Lionel nodded and looked at the clipboard. “Yes, ma’am.”
Then she drove down the canyon to the office. She scanned the parking lot, her heartbeat ricocheting around inside her chest.
The black truck wasn’t there. The gorgeous cowboy didn’t come in. Bree wasn’t sure why she felt so defeated and disappointed. She should’ve known someone like her wouldn’t be able to attract the gaze of a man like that. Still, she’d been dreaming of Wes, and she’d almost texted Colton to ask him to send her that picture he’d shown her once, months and months ago.
But she didn’t want him to know she’d never truly let go of his brother. She’d told him at least a dozen times that she’d made the right decision when she’d called Wes and ended their phone calls. Even after she’d broken up with Alex—and Colton had been the first to know—Bree had denied him concerning Wes.
“All right,” he’d said. “But he’s not dating anyone right now….”
Bree just needed a break. She drove back to her cabin and hurried to eat lunch before heading over to the lodge to make sure the afternoon check-ins went well. She liked to have brochures and schedules of their upcoming weekly activities on the counter, and she always worked check-in to help with the traffic and to answer any questions about events.
Bree loved working at Whiskey Mountain Lodge, and she truly felt like part of the Whittaker family. She loved Elise, Patsy, and Sophia, and she wasn’t surprised to enter the office and find she was the last to arrive.
“Afternoon,” she said to the others, reaching up to secure her ponytail a little tighter. She’d grown her hair out of the last six months, and she liked how feminine the longer locks made her look.
“There you are,” Patsy said. “We have the Kings coming today, and I need to be here for them. But Graham hired a new—butler, I guess?—and he started this morning. Could you help him this afternoon?”
“He hired someone already?” Bree asked, stowing her phone in the back pocket of her shorts.
“Yes,” Patsy said. “He’s pretty great too. Smart, articulate, strong.” She smiled and picked up a piece of paper. “He did great this morning with check-out, and I think he earned fifty bucks in tips.”
Bree’s eyebrows went up. On top of the seventy-five-thousand-dollar salary, the guy probably didn’t need the fifty bucks in cash. Or maybe he did. Bree had learned a long time ago that she didn’t know the intimate details of anyone’s life. Not really. She could never know what really went on behind closed doors, and she’d learned that at a very early age.
Patsy handed her the paper. “It’s Colton’s brother.”
Bree’s heart positively stopped, and her eyes dropped to the paper while her mind raced. Colton had four brothers; it could be any of them.
But Wesley Hammond sat at the top of the paper, and Bree’s fingers lost their capability to hold a single sheet of paper. It fluttered to the ground.
Then Patsy said, “Ah, here he is. Wes, come in. I have some VIP clients this afternoon, so Bree is going to be your trainer for check-in.” Patsy was smiling for all she was worth, and Bree knew why.
She knew a little bit about Wes Hammond, and he could charm the socks off of anyone. Patsy touched Bree’s arm, and that thawed her enough to turn around.
She came face-to-face with the man she’d given the job card to last week. The devilishly handsome cowboy sitting on the tailgate.
He still wore that delicious hat, his in a shade of charcoal instead of the white one Colton wore all the time. Those dark eyes drank her right up, and Bree could scarcely breathe. He wore a T-shirt with an outline of Wyoming on it, with a pair of jeans and cowboy boots. He was tall and tan and lean and luscious in every way.
“Bree,” he said, and oh, how wonderful it was to hear her name in that deep, rich-as-gold voice. “I’m Wes. Nice to meet you.” He put out his hand, and Bree simply stared at him, her heartbeat crashing like cymbals in her ears.
HER COWBOY BILLIONAIRE BUTLER is coming soon! Preorder it now to find out if Bree and Wes can make a relationship work the second time around.
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About Liz
Liz Isaacson is a USA Today bestselling author and a Top 30 Kindle All-Star Author. She is the author of the #1 bestselling Three Rivers Ranch Romance series, the #1 bestselling Horseshoe Home Ranch Romance series, the Brush Creek Brides series, the USA Today bestselling Steeple Ridge Romance series (Buttars Brothers novels), the Grape Seed Falls Romance series, the Christmas in Coral Canyon Romance series (Whittaker Brothers and Everett Sisters novels), the Quinn Valley Ranch Romance series, the Last Chance Ranch Romance s
eries, and the Seven Sons Ranch in Three Rivers Romance series (Walker Brothers novels).
She writes inspirational romance, usually set in Texas and Montana, or anywhere else horses and cowboys exist. She lives in Utah, where she teaches elementary school, taxis her daughter to dance several times a week, and eats a lot of Ferrero Rocher while writing.
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HER COWBOY BILLIONAIRE BIRTHDAY WISH
Book Nine in the Christmas in Coral Canyon Romance series
by Liz Isaacson
Copyright © 2020 by Elana Johnson, writing as Liz Isaacson
Published by AEJ Creative Works
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. No part of this book can be reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without the express written permission of the author. The only exception is by a reviewer who may quote short excerpts in a review. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Cover by Captiva Publishing
Interior Design by AEJ Creative Works
