by Liz Isaacson
Gray held one of his hands and one of Elise’s.
“Welcome to Whiskey Mountain Lodge,” Beau said. “We love gathering here each year with our friends and family, and this year, we have two weddings to celebrate.” He smiled at Elise and Eden and turned to face the tree.
It stood as tall as it ever did, with ornaments, bows, ribbons, crocheted pieces, and tinsel decorating its boughs. “I love this tree,” he said, turning toward the crowd again. “It’s a reminder to me of how I’d like to grow straight and tall, reaching for heaven.” He paused for a moment, and the feeling in the room could only be described as pure.
Elise felt the pure love of the Lord. She felt pure joy. She felt purely fulfilled.
Beau cleared his throat and said, “As most of you know, we have someone light our tree every Christmas Eve. It’s a special job, and one I was proud to do when it was my turn. It’s an honor to be chosen, and we try to make sure everyone who comes to Whiskey Mountain feels like family.”
He paused again, and Elise thought it was for dramatic effect this time. She’d never had the chance to light the tree, and she didn’t expect to be called this year either. Patsy had done it a couple of years ago, though, and Bree last year.
“This year, I’d like to invite Opal Hammond to be our guest of honor.”
Gray pulled in a breath, and Elise started looking for his grandmother, her heart filling and filling with love for the Whittakers. They had plenty of people in their own family who would probably like to light the tree, and yet, they’d welcomed the Hammonds and their staff into their fold as if they too had Whittaker blood.
“She’ll be assisted by her grandson, Cy, who’s recently purchased some land here in Coral Canyon and will be opening his motorcycle shop by spring.”
“This is amazing,” Gray said, turning to watch Cy escort Grams over to the light switches.
“On three,” Cy said in a loud voice. “All right, Grams?” She nodded, and he said, “One…two…three!”
She flipped the switch, and the tree lit up in holy, white light. Elise gasped and started clapping with many others, and Beau said, “We’re going to do the stockings, and our first wedding will be in fifteen minutes.”
“Did you pass out our gifts?” Elise asked, suddenly panicked.
“We did,” Gray said. “Now, come on. I saw Celia with homemade caramels, and I want to see if I got some in my stocking.” He stood, but Elise didn’t.
“You want me to get yours?”
“Yes, please,” she said. She just wanted to sit there and bask in the awe and merriment of Christmas at Whiskey Mountain Lodge. She wanted to be here every year, and she couldn’t wait to start looking at mountain homes next week with Gray.
They’d decided to split their time between Ivory Peaks and Coral Canyon, and Elise couldn’t be happier about that decision.
Gray returned with her stocking, and she simply held it while he and Hunter rooted through theirs. “This is so cool, Dad,” Hunter said. “Can we come every year?”
“Yes, bud,” Gray said, pulling out a handful of caramels. “I think we’ll come every year.” He smiled as he removed the wax paper from the candy.
Elise opened her stocking and found an assortment of trinkets and treasures. She had plenty of treats too, and she loved going through the stocking in the silence and privacy of her own cabin later, thinking about each person as they’d dropped the gift into the sock.
“All right,” Beau said. “Let’s start to take our places again, please.”
Elise put her stocking on the floor beneath her chair. It was time for the weddings to begin—and one of them was hers.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Gray’s anticipation built and built through Eden and Mitchell’s wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, with Colton walking her down the steps and giving her to Mitchell. Gray had realized in that moment that his brother didn’t have children of his own, and he wondered how he felt about that.
The moment Eden and Mitchell kissed as man and wife, Gray stood up with Hunter and said, “Let’s go, son.” They left the massive living room that was doubling as a wedding hall today, while Elise went upstairs with her mother and Bree.
He quickly pulled on his vest and his bow tie, then changed out his cowboy hat for a deeper shade of the one he’d been wearing all day. He helped Hunter with his tie and straightened his hat. “You better get upstairs.”
“Yes, sir.” Hunter stepped out of the room, and Gray’s nerves doubled. Elise didn’t have a father to walk her down the aisle, and she’d asked Hunter to do it. She also wanted him right up front with them, as he was a core part of the family they were officially creating today.
It was everything Gray had always wanted, and he couldn’t believe he was about to get it. Ready, he dropped to his knees beside the bed and bowed his head. “Dear Father,” he started. “Thank you for all of Thy many blessings. Please help me to be the husband and father I need to be for Elise and Hunter. I love them with my whole soul.”
He paused, because he’d loved Sheila like this too, and it hadn’t been enough.
“Please bless me to be enough this time.” Even as he said it, Gray knew he already was enough. He’d make mistakes in the future. He’d have to ask for forgiveness again. He’d learn and grow. But he was already enough for Hunter, for Elise, and for the Lord.
He stood up and brushed his hands down the front of his vest. He put on his tuxedo jacket as Wes knocked on the door and then entered. “Getting married again,” his oldest brother said, and Gray grabbed onto him and held him in a tight embrace. Neither of them said anything for several seconds, and the bond Gray had with Wes was strengthened.
“Time to go?” he finally asked, stepping back.
“I got the signal from Bree,” Wes said. “Elise is ready. Colton brought up Hutch.”
“Time to go then.” Gray went first down the hall and toward the Christmas tree, taking Hutch’s leash from his brother. He’d been at the lodge last year, so he’d witnessed the tree lighting before. It was just as magical and just as stunning this year.
The wedding march started again, and he craned his neck back to try to see the second floor above him. Slowly, Hunter and Elise descended on the stairs, and Gray couldn’t look away from the woman.
Just like the very first time he’d laid eyes on her, she took his breath away. Her dress was gorgeous, with lace all over the top half, and sequins reflecting the white light from the Christmas tree. She wore a wide belt around her waist, and the bottom of the dress flared to the floor, with a small train behind that.
Hunter looked like a prince with a princess on his arm, and Gray reached for both of them as they arrived where he was. Hunter went around to his left, and Gray linked his right arm with Elise, leaning down to press a kiss to her temple.
Hutch barked, and Elise giggled and shushed him.
The officiator was actually Eli Whittaker, who apparently had the power and authority to perform weddings. Gray didn’t know him well, but Elise did, and he gave a pretty perfect speech about what it meant to love and cherish someone.
“Think of them first,” he said. “Employ patience. Be forgiving. In all things, put your spouse first, and I promise you’ll be happy for your whole lives.”
Gray couldn’t agree more, and Eli moved onto the vows. Eden and Mitchell had read theirs to each other, but Elise gestured for someone to come out of the crowd.
Colton stood, buttoning his suit coat. He stood next to her while Ames of all people came to stand next to Gray.
He looked from brother to brother and then at Elise. She simply grinned at him and nodded at Colton.
“Gray,” he said. “Elise has never been in love before, and she didn’t know what love at first sight looked like or felt like. Though the two of you started off with a bad first date, and dealt with a lot of distance between you for months at a time, she knows her life would not be complete without you in it. She loves you. She chooses you. She will stand besi
de you through snowstorms and marathons and raising a teenager.”
A few people twittered, but Gray worked very hard not to let his emotion show too much.
“Elise,” Ames said, and Gray wondered what in the world he was going to say. He hadn’t given his brother any vows to read for him. “Gray loves you with his whole heart. That heart hurt for a while, and he wasn’t sure how to love with it at first, but you healed it. You healed him. He wants you. He loves you. He chooses you. He will stand beside you through tough days on the farm and sewing mishaps and raising a teenager.”
They both looked back at Eli, and Gray couldn’t have said his vows any better.
“Do you, Gray Hunter Hammond, take Elise Ellen Murphy to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, to hold, and to cherish, from this day until death shall separate you in mortality?”
“Yes,” he said.
Eli turned to Elise. “Do you, Elise Ellen Murphy, give yourself to Gray Christopher Hammond, and accept him to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, to hold, and to cherish, from this day until death shall separate you in mortality?”
“Yes,” Elise said, her smile so big and her eyes so bright.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife,” Eli said. “You may kiss your bride.”
Gray grinned at Elise and took her into his arms. He kissed her as her dog barked, as the crowd clapped and cheered, the feel of her fingers along his face like heaven to him, as everything in his life aligned.
He turned toward the audience and raised his and Elise’s joined hands, his eyes seeking his mother’s. She came forward and hugged them both, and Beau announced that dinner would be served in ten minutes.
All the Hammonds came to offer their congratulations, as did Elise’s friends. Once all the hugs and kisses were done, Gray found himself in a semi-quiet corner of the room, nearly smashed between the wall and the Christmas tree with his new wife.
“Who wrote what Ames said?” he asked.
“It was a collaboration between me and Hunter.” She beamed up at him. “What did you think? Did we get it right?”
“Hmm,” he said, unable to look anywhere but at her. He lowered his head until his forehead touched hers. “I do want you.” He dropped a kiss close to her ear, breathing in the scent of her flowery perfume. “I do choose you.” He skated his lips across her neck. “And I do love you with my whole heart.” He looked into her eyes. “So I think you got it right.”
“I love you too, Gray,” she said, and she kissed him. Gray took her face in his hands and fully enjoyed kissing his wife.
Read on for a sneak peek of HER COWBOY BILLIONAIRE BEAST featuring motorcycle shop owner Cy Hammond and Patsy - the manager of the lodge. Read now in Kindle Unlimited.
I’m so happy Gray and Hunter managed to get and keep Elise in their lives! If you liked this book, please leave a review for it now.
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Sneak Peek! Her Cowboy Billionaire Beast Chapter One
Cy Hammond stayed close to his parents and grandmother while people seemed to be moving in every direction. The lodge was a massive building, with plenty of high-end finishes, and it fit in this mountain landscape perfectly.
The Whittakers knew how to put on a good holiday party, that was for sure, because simply keeping track of everyone that would be at the lodge for the Christmas Eve tree lighting and ensuring they’d have a stocking with gifts was a huge feat.
He knew exactly who’d taken care of it, because Cy was low-profile enough here to blend into the background, with the racing thoughts that kept him looking from person to person, watching them.
Observant, he liked to think about himself.
Patsy Foxhill was the one who directed everything here at the lodge. She talked to several other women, as well as Beau Whittaker, and the whole system ran without a hitch. If she didn’t do that, everything would fall apart.
Cy knew, because he had a guy at his motorcycle shop who did the same thing. Wade knew every little thing that happened at Rev for Vets, but he wasn’t the public face of the operation. In that situation, Cy was the high-profile one, and he always knew everyone was watching him.
Beau had just announced the Cy’s shop would be open by spring, and it would be. The building was coming along great, especially now that the walls and roof were done. For a couple of weeks there, he’d thought the weather would prevent him from getting the shop back up and running before next Christmas.
He’d called Wade last week, just to make sure he couldn’t relocate. He’d offered him the job the moment he’d spoken to Patsy and gotten confirmation on an asking price for the twenty acres of apple orchards he now owned.
Wade had said no, for the third time, which meant that Cy had no manager for his shop. He knew who he wanted, and the blonde came into the living room, those pretty blue eyes obviously searching for someone.
“Graham,” she said, spotting him. “We need you in the kitchen.”
The tall cowboy went with her, and Cy wondered if she felt any spark for him at all. His skin and muscles still vibrated with the electricity from her touch, and it had happened months ago. He had her number, but he’d only communicated with her about professional things, and once the contract was signed, there was nothing else for them to talk about.
Cy had rented an old house on the north side of town, and he was planning to build himself a house on some of the twenty acres he now owned. The shop took up four in the back corner of the lot, and Cy had actually considered adding a third floor to the building design and simply living above everything.
In the end, he didn’t want his whole life wrapped up in one place, and he’d hired an architect to start designing him a house that would be lavish and comfortable, but wouldn’t require the removal of too many apple trees.
Cy didn’t even really like apples—he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten one—but the orchard meant a great deal to Patsy. And for some reason he could not name, he wanted her to be happy with the decisions he made with her orchard.
Your orchard, he reminded himself as a dinging sound filled the air. He glanced toward the front door, but no one else seemed to be. “All right,” Patsy said. “We’re gathering in the dining room. Dinner will be served in two minutes.”
Cy’s heartbeat filled the back of his throat at the sound of Patsy’s voice. It carried a sense of authority he liked, as well as the kindness that spoke of her femininity. She didn’t hide behind her hair, and she accented it with big earrings and the perfect amount of makeup. Tonight, she’d been wearing a skin-tight pair of black jeans with a bright yellow sweater with a white star in the middle of it.
People started moving into the kitchen, and Cy reached for Grams. “Stay with me, Grams,” he said. “I’ll get you a good seat.” He turned toward the doorway, and his eyes finally met Patsy’s. They’d been dancing around one another all afternoon and evening, and now he stood face-to-face with her.
“Hello, Cy,” she said easily, giving nothing away.
“Hey, Patsy.” He gave her what he hoped was a bright smile. It felt good on his face, and her mouth curved upward too, so maybe it had worked. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” She looked at Grams. “I have a spot for you, Opal.” She reached for her, and Cy passed his ninety-eight-year-old grandmother to Patsy’s care.
He felt like he couldn’t breathe, and he stepped through the doorway and let his parents go in front of him too. He lost sight of Patsy behind the width of his father’s shoulders, and he ducked down a side hall that had a door at the end of it.
He didn’t go all the way outside, because without a coat, doing so would be a death wish. He cracked the door and took a slow, deep drag of the fresh air, the temperature difference between inside and outside probably a hundred degrees.
“What am I going to do about a supervisor?” he asked. “You led me here, Lord. I need help.” He’d managed to get McCall to agree to come to Coral Canyo
n in March, as well as two other mechanics. Winslow and Dom from his custom design team had agreed to come, and his secretary, Marissa.
He’d employed a lot more people, but in the past six months, they’d all gotten different jobs. McCall and Winslow had too, but they’d been willing to quit when Cy had called with his job offer, which included a moving package.
“A lot more help,” he added to his verbal dialog with the Lord. He reached over and flipped the rubber band on his wrist, the thwap comforting him. Outside, the wind blew, rattling the ajar door.
He quickly reached for the knob to make sure it didn’t get stolen off its hinges. Lightning flashed, and only two seconds later, thunder grumbled through the sky. Loud thunder.
Cy pulled the door closed and locked it, peering through the glass as hail started to pummel the ground. He flipped the rubber band again. Then again.
“Why do you do that?”
He flinched and turned toward the very woman who’d been in his head in some form since she’d almost run him over in that giant Hummer. Cy looked at Patsy, wishing he could be as verbal with her as he was with the Lord.
His thoughts moved in and out of his head so fast, he couldn’t grasp onto them. He’d just prayed for a solution to his supervisor problem, and Patsy had appeared.
Without giving it too much thought, he asked, “Would you come run my motorcycle shop?”
Patsy blinked at him, the surprise laid out in her eyes. He saw doubt as it moved quickly across her expression, and then her rejection. “I have a job,” she said.
“Yeah, but you’re bored in it.” He walked away from her, foolishness streaming through him. He didn’t know her. He shouldn’t have said that.
“Hey,” she said, her voice angry behind him.
He stopped near the corner and turned around to face her again. “Sorry,” he said, holding up one hand. “I’m sorry.”
