A Coyote Ridge Christmas (The Walkers of Coyote Ridge, 7) Read online

  Contents

  ACRC title

  Nicole Edwards Book list

  Dedication

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Sample of Mack

  Acknowledgments

  About Nicole Edwards

  Nicole Edwards on Amazon

  A Coyote Ridge Christmas

  WALKERS OF COYOTE RIDGE, 7

  NICOLE EDWARDS

  BY NICOLE EDWARDS

  ALLURING INDULGENCE

  Kaleb

  Zane

  Travis

  Holidays with the Walker Brothers

  Ethan

  Braydon

  Sawyer

  Brendon

  THE WALKERS OF COYOTE RIDGE

  Curtis

  Jared

  Hard to Hold

  Hard to Handle

  Beau

  Rex

  A Coyote Ridge Christmas

  Mack

  AUSTIN ARROWS

  Rush

  Kaufman

  CLUB DESTINY

  Conviction

  Temptation

  Addicted

  Seduction

  Infatuation

  Captivated

  Devotion

  Perception

  Entrusted

  Adored

  Distraction

  DEAD HEAT RANCH

  Boots Optional

  Betting on Grace

  Overnight Love

  DEVIL’S BEND

  Chasing Dreams

  Vanishing Dreams

  MISPLACED HALOS

  Protected in Darkness

  Salvation in Darkness

  OFFICE INTRIGUE

  Office Intrigue

  Intrigued Out of the Office

  Their Rebellious Submissive

  Their Famous Dominant

  Their Ruthless Sadist

  Their Naughty Student

  Their Fairy Princess

  PIER 70

  Reckless

  Fearless

  Speechless

  Harmless

  Clueless

  SNIPER 1 SECURITY

  Wait for Morning

  Never Say Never

  Tomorrow’s Too Late

  SOUTHERN BOY MAFIA/DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND

  Beautifully Brutal

  Without Regret

  Beautifully Loyal

  Without Restraint

  STANDALONE NOVELS

  Unhinged Trilogy

  A Million Tiny Pieces

  Inked on Paper

  Bad Reputation

  Bad Business

  NAUGHTY HOLIDAY EDITIONS

  2015

  2016

  To you, the reader.

  Thank you for loving the Walker family as much as I do.

  Published by Nicole Edwards Limited

  PO Box 806, Hutto, Texas 78634

  Copyright © 2019 by Nicole Edwards Limited

  All rights reserved.

  This is a self-published title.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  Author: Nicole Edwards

  Title: A Coyote Ridge Christmas

  Series: Walkers of Coyote Ridge, 7

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locals is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Details:

  Image: © shsphotography (tree - 36622663) | 123rf.com

  Image: © konstanttin (frame - 34032616) | 123rf.com

  Design: © Nicole Edwards Limited

  Interior Details:

  Formatting: Nicole Edwards Limited

  Editing: Blue Otter Editing | BlueOtterEditing.com

  Identifiers: ISBN: 978-1-64418-010-5 (ebook) ISBN: 978-1-64418-011-2 (paperback)

  Subjects: BISAC: FICTION / Romance / General

  Chapter One

  Tuesday, December 10, 2019

  T MINUS FIFTEEN DAYS.

  That was how much time Travis Walker had before Christmas was upon them, and as God was his witness, he had no idea what to get his ever-expanding family.

  Not a fucking clue.

  Which was the very reason he’d slipped out of work today, sneaking in a little private time to do some shopping. Here he was, three hours in, surrounded by hundreds of shoppers doing pretty much the same thing, and fuck-all, he was as empty-handed as he’d been when he started.

  It should’ve been simple, really. Slip into a toy store, toss a few things in the cart for the kiddos, move on to the next store. Maybe a necklace for Kylie, a new wallet for Gage. Only, as he’d strolled through those stores, looked at those things, he hadn’t been inspired. For whatever reason, he didn’t think his wife, husband, and five precious kids would be impressed with all the material crap they could get for themselves.

  Not that Travis had a clue what to do about that.

  He paused to stare at the mall directory, hoping something would jump out at him.

  “Well, I’ll be damned.”

  He pivoted at the familiar voice, smiled when Sawyer came strolling toward him decked out in his regular attire of Wranglers, boots and the black felt Stetson he favored in winter. “What’re you doin’ here?”

  Sawyer grinned. “Same thing you are, I suppose.”

  Travis held out his empty hands, showing his brother the proof of his failure. “Hope you’ve fared better than I have.”

  Sawyer mimicked his movement, hands empty. “Nope. And I’ve been at it since nine o’clock this mornin’.”

  Unable to help himself, Travis laughed. “You got me there. I’ve only been at it since lunch. We’re a pair, aren’t we?”

  “That we are,” Sawyer agreed. “Though a pair of what, I’m not sure.”

  Turning to survey the shoppers moving through the mall, he motioned Sawyer toward the Starbucks. “While we wait for inspiration to hit, let me buy you some coffee.”

  “I’d need somethin’ far stronger for inspiration. But coffee’ll do for now.” Sawyer fell into step with him. “Does Gage know you’re here?”

  “No one knows,” he admitted as they pulled up the rear of the Starbucks line, a good ten people deep. “And it looks as though I’ve wasted a perfectly good day.”

  “I know the feelin’. Spent yesterday and today shoppin’, and the only thing I’ve accomplished is a headache from hell. But don’t let Zane know that. Fucker’s been done with his shoppin’ since October.”

  Oh, yes. Travis had heard. Numerous times.

  They inched along in the line as one person after another rattled off their extra shot, no foam, extra foam, add some vanilla cappu-latte whatevers.

  “Find anything for the secret Santa?” Sawyer inquired.

  Travis nodded. “Found that a month ago.”

  “Yeah, me, too.” His brother’s mischievous grin told Travis far more than he wanted to know. Sawyer was a legend when it came to his secret Santa gifts, and it was a damn
near guarantee he’d make the recipient blush to the roots of their hair. That was saying something considering Travis owned a fetish resort and most of his brothers were into the lifestyle.

  They took a minute to place their orders with the barista before joining the horde waiting for their cup of fancy joe.

  “You know who I’m havin’ the hardest time with?” Sawyer prompted. “Mom and Pop.”

  “Yeah, me, too.” They were among the list of people he had to buy for, and Travis couldn’t think of a single thing his parents wanted. Or needed, for that matter.

  “We should’ve just taken a vacation. Hold up. I’ll get it,” Sawyer said before squeezing through the other patrons to grab Travis’s black coffee when they called his name.

  A vacation?

  Why the hell hadn’t he thought of that?

  Sawyer returned to his side, eyebrows lowered as he passed over the cup. “What’s on your mind?”

  “A vacation,” Travis said, meeting Sawyer’s steel-blue eyes. “It’s a fucking brilliant idea.”

  Sawyer’s grin was slow and wide. “Yeah? And how to do you propose we pull that shit off? We’ve got what? Two weeks till Christmas. Ain’t a room to be had at any resort worth a shit.”

  Travis pulled the lid off his coffee, blew on the steaming liquid as the idea took root in his head.

  “Not to mention,” Sawyer continued, “we’ve got an army we’d have to cart off. Airfare or, hell, even gas’ll cost a fortune.”

  He turned to face Sawyer. “I know a resort with plenty of rooms.”

  Sawyer shook his head. “The B and B won’t have the space to house us all.”

  “Not Rex’s place.” Definitely not enough space.

  Sawyer’s dark eyebrow quirked. “You’re talkin’ outta state? Like I said, ain’t gonna—”

  Travis smiled, perhaps for the first time in hours. “We won’t have to leave Coyote Ridge.”

  Sawyer’s eyebrows lowered, as though he was working to figure out the riddle. A second later, he barked a laugh, a sound much like a gunshot, causing several heads to turn. “AI? You wanna take Mom and Pop to the country’s most profitable fetish resort?” Sawyer laughed again. “Man, I think that last clingy marble finally dropped right outta your head.”

  Travis took a sip of coffee, let the idea form in his head. Finally, he met Sawyer’s amused gaze. “I’m serious. We’ll shut it down for a week, make a few modifications, block off the fetish rooms. It could work.”

  His brother’s expression sobered. “Actually … that’s not a bad idea.”

  “I know.” Travis glanced at the counter, suddenly ready to get back to AI so he could put things in motion. “What the fuck kind of frou-frou drink did you order?”

  “If I’m gonna pay eight bucks for a cup of coffee, I’m gonna get my money’s worth.”

  “I paid for coffee,” Travis told him.

  Sawyer grinned. “Then I’ll get your money’s worth.”

  Thank the good Lord, they finally called Sawyer’s name. When he sauntered over to get his dessert in the form of java, Travis moved to an empty table, set his cup down, and snatched his phone out of his pocket. He pulled up the group text he maintained with his brothers and Gage, then shot off an SOS, letting them know he required their presence at Moonshiners. Tonight. Seven o’clock.

  Sawyer returned, staring at his phone. “You’re bringin’ them in on it, huh?”

  Hell yeah he was.

  And this would be the best damn Christmas they’d ever had.

  Later that evening, Travis sat at a table in their favorite watering hole, his brothers scattered around the two four-tops they’d brought together, Gage at his side. He’d just laid out his plan and, as he’d expected, was met with a variety of expressions.

  Kaleb, the easygoing one, looked as though he was on board for anything. Ethan, the normally dark, brooding one, gave an encouraging why the hell not shrug. Brendon appeared to be calculating the details in his head, likely trying to figure out whether his country music superstar wife would be in town that week. Braydon was glancing at Brendon, probably waiting for his twin to come to a conclusion. Sawyer, who was clearly on board, was watching the lot of them, waiting for someone to speak up. And Zane … well, the youngest of them all was unhinging his jaw, gearing up for…

  “You wanna do what?” Zane’s blue-gray eyes bounced from face to face, clearly shocked no one else had spoken up.

  “We’ll shut it down for a week. Well, five days to be exact,” Travis explained.

  “And the clubs?” Zane inquired, referring to Covet and Crave, the two hot spots within the resort whose doors were open to the public.

  “Won’t be gettin’ much action anyway,” he told him. “And we’ll have ’em back open in plenty of time for New Year’s.”

  Zane’s gaze shot to Ethan. “What about Walker Demo?”

  Ethan shrugged at the same time Travis said, “Reese can clear the schedule.”

  “I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Kaleb said. “Keeps us all in one place and Travis is right. There’s plenty of room.”

  “Who exactly are you invitin’ to this thing?” Braydon asked.

  “Family. Whoever’s in Coyote Ridge, whoever wants to join us,” Travis answered, then turned to Gage. “We’ll wanna extend invitations to Jared and the Lambert crew.”

  Gage nodded. “Agreed.”

  “Also, the Caines,” Travis added.

  “Yep. We’re gonna need a lot of help to get this underway,” Gage said, his voice calm and cool, as though he expected Travis to come up with these off-the-wall ideas. Then again, he probably did. Travis had been known to throw a few curveballs over the years.

  Travis met each stare, waited for official responses.

  “I’m in,” Kaleb said.

  Zane peered around Braydon to look at Kaleb. “Of course you are.”

  Ethan was next with, “Count us in.”

  “Seriously?” Zane said, locking eyes with Ethan. “When’s the last time you stepped foot in AI?”

  “The grand opening,” Travis supplied.

  “Exactly,” Zane stated. “Almost five years ago.”

  “So?” Ethan countered. “If you’re takin’ Mom and Pop, I figure I don’t have to worry about seein’ shit I have no business seein’.”

  Braydon and Brendon nodded at the same time, then in unison said, “Let’s do this.”

  “I’m definitely game,” Sawyer added.

  Zane seemed to consider it. “Keep in mind, my lady just gave birth.”

  Yep. V had popped out her and Zane’s fourth and final baby—another boy—just three days ago. Mom and baby were doing great.

  “True,” Kaleb said, looking at Gage. “We’ll have to ensure she’s set up in a suite.”

  “We can do that,” Gage noted, his phone in his hand.

  “Are you takin’ notes?” Zane teased, bringing his beer bottle to his lips.

  Gage smirked, then cut his eyes to Travis, a silent response of: what do you think?

  Yep, Travis had to admit, he had the best husband in the history of husbands. The man knew him better than he knew himself. In fact, he wouldn’t be surprised if Gage hadn’t already planned for this. Maybe not a Christmas gathering, but he’d probably figured Travis would hijack the resort at some point.

  “All right then,” Travis told the group, setting down his beer and leaning forward. “We’ve got a shit ton to plan and not much time to do it.”

  *

  GAGE MATTHEWS-WALKER HAD SUSPECTED HIS HUSBAND was up to something. The man had been off these past few days. Antsy. More so than normal, in any case. So he wasn’t all that surprised when Travis threw out the idea of gathering the Walker crew at Alluring Indulgence Resort for a Christmas getaway.

  Truth be told, it was a rather decent idea. The Walkers were known for their family gatherings. Hell, they still descended on Curtis and Lorrie’s every Sunday for dinner, a tradition Lorrie had implemented many moons ago.

 
However, Gage also knew Travis wasn’t going to settle for having a Christmas tree brought in and set up in the main floor recreation area. Oh, no. His overachieving husband was going to go all out, spare no expense in an effort to ensure his family had a grand ol’ time.

  “And a snow machine,” Travis added, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel as he drove toward home.

  “A snow machine?” Gage asked even as he added it in his notes app.

  “Why not? The kids’ll go apeshit for it.”

  True. Considering they didn’t see much snow in their patch of Texas, a snow machine would be quite the treat.

  “We’ll set it up in the courtyard. Clear everything else out.”

  Gage tapped out the details, knowing he’d be the one delegating to those who’d signed up to help out.

  “Make sure Kaden and Keegan know,” Travis said, turning the wheel, directing the truck into the long driveway that led to their house. “Plus Rex and Rafe. Not sure they’ll make it, but we can extend the invitation in any case.”

  The four names were added to the growing list.

  “You gonna let Kylie in on this?” Gage asked, wanting to ensure they were on the same page before he did something stupid like let the cat out of the bag. Travis had already told his brothers to keep the details on the DL. No one was to know, but when it came to their wife, sometimes those rules didn’t apply.

  “Nope. Let it be a surprise.”

  Great. Gage knew how much Kylie loved surprises. About as much as a rabid case of chicken pox.

  But this was Travis’s plan, so Gage would follow it to the letter. Plus, he liked the idea of surprising Kylie. She worked so damn hard, maintaining her business restoring old houses while managing their household and raising five babies. She deserved to sit this one out and reap the benefits.

  Travis stopped his truck behind Gage’s, threw it in Park before launching himself out.

  Gage smiled. The man was on a mission and everyone knew to stay out of Travis’s way when he was in planning mode. For the next few days, there’d be no rest for the wicked. He’d long ago learned his husband’s throttle was opened wide whenever he wanted something, and this would be no exception.