Characters are like children to authors. We probably aren’t supposed to pick favorites. And I usually don’t. Every character I am creating at the moment becomes my favorite at the time.
But if I absolutely had no choice but to pick a favorite, Chayton would be at the top of that list.
Chayton Clark Chambers stands for calm, cool, and collected. Not callous, critical, and careless. He respects women and has many women friends, including affable ex-relationships, so he doesn’t understand why this burning fervor for Naomi leaves him with such bitterness. She considers him a damn bartender. Never mind the fact he owns a frigging bar, the coffee shop down the street, and half the ski shops in town. His brother asks him to play nice to the haughty wardrobe stylist, but her sultry glances and pouty lips make her kisses impossible to resist.
Chayton is broody. He isn’t violent but does get jealous, especially when Naomi’s ex comes to town looking to rekindle their relationship. He doesn’t give his heart away easily, but when he does he does so 110%.
Chayton was left on his father’s doorstep when he was baby, and the only link to his mother was a portrait of her. He grew up with bitterness and abandonment issues, but the only mother he ever knew as his mother taught him about unconditional love. She gave him a jar and told him each time he felt unloved or abandoned, to drop a quarter into that jar. He now has many. He and his brother, Garret, grew up together and were very close.
Chayton is an extremist. He loves ice-climbing, Jeeping, 4-wheeling, hunting, heli-skiing, and extreme sports. He owns a bar called Air Dog, along with other businesses in town such as a ski shop. His parents are dead and, although he inherited money, he learned to invest a long time ago, so he is well off enough not to have to worry about finances.
He never thought to be ready to commit to a relationship until Naomi enters the picture. He met her in his brother’s story, Burn on the Western Slope. They became friends, but Naomi left without saying goodbye after he had gone on a day-trip with his brother to go ice-climbing and got injured. So when she returns to Tanyon to help his brother and her cousin plan a wedding, he is bitter about her. And some of his abandonment issues arise.
At the end of Chapter One, this is what he thinks of Naomi:
He was a rugged, outdoor man who owned a bar and liked to jump out of airplanes. She was a classy, sophisticated girl who dressed celebrities for a living and liked to ski down the black slopes of hell just as much as he did.
Maybe that’s why he was so attracted to her.
But hey, all of my books have happy endings, which means Chayton has a happy ending. Here is his relationship advice for having a happy ending with the person you love.
Chayton’s Relationship Advice:
Get over yourself. Seriously. It is the only way to have a good relationship. While charm is good and fun, sometimes that charm is overcompensated because of cockiness and fear. I know this from experience.
