Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

Chapter 2 Gwen

2

C H A P T E R

Gwen

G wen looked at her watch for the hundredth time in the last hour, willing the bell to finally ring. The kids were restless and were about to climb the walls. A couple of them snuck their phones out of their pocket to check the time. They shifted in their seat and muttered to each other. Winter break was just around the corner and everyone was ready for a vacation.

In the back row, Robert a frequent trouble-maker in her ninth-grade English class, leaned back in his chair, humming loudly as she tried to wrap up the lesson. His antics had been escalating all weak. She had managed to keep her cool but now, he was starting to get on her last nerve.

“Robert, can you please knock it off?”

He rolled his eyes and heaved a loud, exaggerated sigh and then hummed louder and everyone laughed.

Gwen sucked in a huge breath to calm her nerves. She looked at her teacher’s assistant who looked back at her understandably.

“Mrs. Anderson, would you mind getting everyone started on the assignment while Robert and I have a chat outside.”

The older woman walked to the smart board at the front of the class and opened the class app where the assignment was so she could explain.

Robert slammed his hand down on the desk, kicked his chair back, and swaggered out of the classroom.

Once in the hallway, Gwen looked at him and shook her head. “What’s going on?”

He kicked the wall. “I’m bored. School is stupid.”

“Okay. Now, do you care to be honest with me and yourself? What’s the real issue here?”

“Just stuff. Dad got arrested again for drugs. He was at the apartment. Mom’s going to get into trouble because he wasn’t supposed to be there.”

“Honey, I’m so sorry. I hate it when bad things happen, especially when we feel helpless to do anything about it.”

Robert shrugged his shoulders.

“The best thing you can do is to be there for your little brother and sister. You can’t change things with your dad or mom, but you can help them feel more secure and not be so scared.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he growled.

“Anytime you need to talk, you know that I’m here for you. Mr. Oswald’s door in the counseling center is always open, too.”

“Yeah.”

“We don’t have much longer. Do you think you can go inside and work on the assignment or would you prefer to hang out in the resource center until class is over?”

“I’ll finish the assignment.”

They walked in together. Robert took his seat and opened the Chrome Book to get started on his assignment. She hoped that she could get through the rest of the day without too many more issues. She loved her students, especially the troubled ones, but some days they drained every bit of energy she had out of her.

Finally, after an eternity, the bell rang. They waited for her to tell them to dismiss them. Her rule was that she dismissed class, not the bell.

She smiled at them and said, “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

Abigail Williams, the media coordinator and Gwent’s best friend, popped her head in the door. “How’d it go?”

“Hey, Abby. Sometimes I feel like a dentist and I have to pull teeth to get them to do anything. Other times, I feel like a circus clown, entertaining them to get their attention. The rest of the time, I am a psychiatrist.”

Abby nodded. “I think teachers fill a million other roles, as well. You’re good, though. The kids respect you. They act like feral cats in other teachers’ classrooms.”

Gwen laughed. “I want to talk to the folks giving them catnip.”

“Me too.” Abby sat down in front of Gwen’s desk and propped her face up in her hands. “Do you have big plans for the break?”

Sighing heavily, Gwen groaned loudly. “I have a feeling that I’m going to be forced to go to the ski resort on Montagne Maudite. Brent wants to go there for his Christmas present.”

“Sounds like fun.”

Gwen shook her head. “You’ve not been around my father very much. I can only deal with him in short bursts. But Mom has called me every day for the last week. Soon, she’s going to get Brent on the phone to pull a guilt trip.”

Abby laughed. “Your nephew has you wrapped around his little finger.”

“Since he was a baby.”

“You’ll end up going. I know you.”

The women talked for a few more minutes and then Abby said she had to close the media center and go home. She was tired and her cat would be hungry.

“Say hello to Sergio for me,” Gwen said.

“I will. He’s the best roommate in the world. He never leaves the toilet seat up, loves me unconditionally, and rarely makes a mess.”

“Cats are like that,” Gwen said, slipping her computer into her bag.

She barely made it home before her phone rang. Closing her eyes, she almost didn’t answer it. However, she knew that her mother would just keep calling until she did.

“Hi, Mom.”

“You sound tired.”

“I am.”

“Sounds like you need a vacation.”

“The thought of spending the entire week with Dad in a cabin on a mountain does not sound much like a vacation to me.”

Her mom’s voice softened. “I know that he can be a bit much sometimes, but this is for Brent.”

Before she could say anything, Brent said, “Aunt Gwen, please come with us. It won’t be any fun if you don’t. You always make everything more awesome. I won’t ask for anything else for a whole year – not even for my birthday.”

She sighed heavily. Brent sensed that she was about to give in.

“Please.”

Gwen hung her head. How could she say no to him? She loved spending time with him. Plus, it wasn’t his fault that her father could be so difficult.

“Okay. I’ll come.”

“Yes. You’re awesome. I love you, Aunt Gwen.”

“Love you too, Buddy.”

“We’ll pick you up at eight on Saturday,” her mother said.

“Can’t way.”

“It’ll be great. I’ll talk to you later.”

Saturday morning came too soon. Her father added her skis and poles to the roof of the SUV. She slid her bag into the back and hopped into the back seat next to Brent.

Brent hugged her and said, “Guess what?”

“What’s that?”

“I got accepted into the travel football program. I’m going to be the linebacker.” His eyes sparkled with excitement.

Gwen grinned at him. “A linebacker, huh? That’s very impressive. Congrats.”

He grinned. “I get to tackle people. I’m pretty good at it. I am bigger than a lot of the other kids and faster, too.”

“You’ll have to give a schedule of your games so I can come.”

“I will. When football season is over, I’m going to play basketball. I want to play point guard, but I like all of the positions.”

“Are you going to have time for school?”

“Of course. Grandma says that if I don’t have A’s and B’s, then I can’t play.”

Brent continued to rattle on during the entire four-hour drive. Gwen smiled. This might not have been her idea of the best vacation, but she did love Brent and enjoyed spending time with him.

Gwen was grateful when the resort came into view. She volunteered to go inside and get the family signed in. The cold mountain air almost took her breath away as she trudged through the snow to the main building. She filled out the paperwork and the woman behind the desk handed her the key to cabin seven.

“Enjoy your stay,” the woman said.

“Thanks,” Gwen smiled and headed back outside.

Her father had parked the car and had already pulled everyone’s skis and poles off the top of the vehicle. She grabbed her bag and unlocked the cabin door.

The living room was snug, with a hide-a-bed couch and two recliners in front of a fireplace. A television hung on one of the walls. A small kitchen was perfect if they didn’t feel like going to the main building for meals. There were three bedrooms and one bathroom.

She set her bag down in the smallest room and went back to the SUV to help bring in supplies.

As soon as the vehicle was unloaded, Brent grabbed her arm. “Let’s go.”

“Alright, alright,” she said.

Her father and mother decided they would go, too. They hopped on the ski lift and jumped off at the blue slopes. It had been a year since she had gone skiing and she wanted to make sure she remembered how to get down the slopes without hurting herself. Brent, Jerome, and Audrey humored her.

She glanced over to a couple of men getting ready to go down the run. Her heart sank. She hadn’t seen him in years, but she would recognize him anywhere. He was the same tall, handsome, well-built man she had seen when she was a kid.

Her hands clenched into fists as the memories rushed back. Her father had lost their farm and they had been forced to move when she was only twelve. Sawyer’s family bought it when it went up on the auction block. They offered to sell it back to her father at the same price they bought it for, but Jerome looked at it as a betrayal and refused. Their lives had spiraled out of control from there.

Jerome had blamed the Johnsons for everything, including Kyle’s drinking problem and death. Even though Gwen knew, deep inside of her that it wasn’t the Johnsons’ fault, the hatred had been figuratively beaten into her over the years.

She groaned as the tension knotted in her shoulders. This was not how she planned on spending her vacation. As soon as her father saw Sawyer at the resort, her father would make their lives miserable.

Why didn’t I drive my own car, blast it? Then, I could leave if things got too bad.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Brent grabbed her arm. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He looked at her strangely and said, “You and I are going first.”

She tried to push thoughts of Sawyer out of her mind and smiled at Brent. “Let’s go, Buddy.”

They went down the run several times. Brent beat her most of the time, mostly because she let him. They were all tired by the time they decided to head back to the cabin.

She decided she would warn her mother that Sawyer was at the resort, but wouldn’t say anything to her father.

After they got situated, Gwen said, “Mom, I need your help outside for a second, please.”

Audrey looked confused but walked outside with her.

“I just thought I would give you a heads-up. I saw Sawyer Johnson here.”

“Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Afraid not.”

“Drat. This isn’t going to go well. I really wish Sawyer had picked a different mountain. I don’t blame the Johnsons for anything that happened, but I really don’t want to have to deal with your father.”

Gwen grimaced. “Are you going to tell him?”

Audrey sighed. “I don’t know. What do you think the chances are that we won’t see him?”

“About zero.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.”