Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

Chapter 4 Gwen

4

C H A P T E R

Gwen

G wen was completely humiliated by the confrontation and really wanted to follow her father out the door. However, she knew she couldn’t leave Brent and her mother there to face the stares alone.

She felt compelled to apologize to Sawyer, although she wasn’t happy about it. Gwen certainly didn’t want to hear him make any excuses for himself or his family.

Gritting her teeth, she sat next to her mother at the table, picked up her fork, and made a weird structure out of her mashed potatoes. She felt sick to her stomach and wanted to get out of the room.

As soon as Brent finished eating, Audrey paid for the meal and they headed back to the cabin. Audrey’s and Jerome’s bedroom door was closed, much to Gwen’s relief.

“Can I play my video games?” Brent asked.

“Yes, as long as you take a shower first and you’re in bed by ten.”

“Grandma, it’s vacation, and this is my Christmas present.”

Audrey smiled. “Fine. A shower and you’re in bed by ten-thirty. You need to be well rested for the slopes tomorrow.”

“Okay, fine,” he said.

Gwen slumped down on the couch and stared blankly into the fireplace. Her heart was still pounding from the embarrassment of her father’s attack on Sawyer. She could still hear the anger and hatred in her father’s voice.

She had been torn about apologizing. Gwen knew that she should because of her father’s attack, but part of her hated groveling to a Johnson.

Her mother sat down beside her and patted her knee. “Are you okay?”

Gwen nodded but then contradicted herself. “I’m completely humiliated by Dad’s outburst. Everyone in the dining room was staring at us.”

Audrey sighed. “Your father’s anger and hatred have been a problem for a long time. I had hoped that he had left it behind, but I guess he didn’t.”

They sat in silence for a minute.

Then, Audrey said softly, “You know he’s wrong, don’t you? Hating Sawyer and the rest of the Johnsons isn’t going to bring Kyle back. It’s not their fault. Your father and brother made their own choices. They are responsible for what happened to them.”

Gwen frowned at her mother. “If you really believe that, why haven’t you said anything? Why haven’t you told Dad that he was wrong.”

Audrey sighed. “Your father would never believe it. He needed someone to blame besides himself, and he would just shut me down if I did try to argue with him. It was just easier to not say anything at all. I kept my mouth shut over the years, hoping that he would let go of his anger.”

She was quiet for a minute. “I thought maybe he had let go. His rants had lessened over the years and he finally stopped. I should have spoken up more for your sake and all of our sakes.”

Gwen swallowed hard and her throat tightened with emotion. Deep down inside, she had sometimes wondered if her father had been wrong about the Johnsons. They had been such great friends until the Coopers had to leave their farm. If truth be told, she had a crush on Sawyer when she was much younger. However, she had let her father’s anger influence her. Over the years, she hadn’t really thought about the Johnsons much. She missed her brother and saw Kyle’s face every time she looked at Brent.

“Everyone’s going to be looking at us now.”

Audrey nodded. “They will for a while and then it’ll blow over. We can’t let this ruin Brent’s Christmas present. He’s so excited to be here and to spend time with you.”

Gwen sighed. “I know. I don’t want to be the reason his Christmas is ruined, but I’m worried about Dad’s attitude.”

“I’ll talk to your father. You and I will focus on making sure that the vacation is good for Brent.”

Gwen nodded and hugged her mother. Sometimes she forgot that it was her mother who bore the brunt of all problems, bad moods, and everything negative from the kids and Jerome.

After her shower, she climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling. She can’t get her brain to be quiet because she is so conflicted. Sawyer had always been kind to her when she was younger. She was about six years younger than Sawyer, but he didn’t mind when she tagged along with him and Kyle. She adored her brother. Gwen had struggled when they left Angel’s Creek and Kyle’s death was a stab in the heart.

One part of her knew that it wasn’t the Johnsons’ fault that her world had fallen apart. Another part did blame them. As her father often said, the Johnsons were billionaires and it wouldn’t have hurt them to simply give their land back to them. That thought upset her though, because that wasn’t fair to the Johnsons and she didn’t particularly like handouts. The idea that they were working and living on land that wasn’t really theirs would chafe like a burr under a saddle blanket.

The logical side of her brain told her that the problem was really with the land. It was the fact that Kyle’s death had devastated them and it was easier to blame someone.

The next morning, Audrey and Jerome decided to hang out at the cabin, so Brent and Gwen went to the blue slopes alone.

Brent looked up at Gwen with curiosity. “Why did Grandpa yell at that man and call him a murderer? Who did he kill?”

Sighing heavily, Gwen tried to figure out a way to explain the situation that a ten-year-old would understand. “That man was Sawyer Johnson. A long time ago, our family used to be close to the Johnson family. We had a farm next to theirs. We lost the farm and had to move. They bought the farm and offered to sell it back, but Grandpa didn’t want to buy back his own land. Your daddy was going to medical school with Sawyer and dropped out after we lost the land. Your daddy started drinking a lot. You know how he died. Grandpa thinks that it’s the Johnsons’ fault.”

Brent was quiet for a few seconds while he processed the information. “I don’t think that it was the Johnsons’ fault. We learn about using alcohol and especially about drinking and driving because sometimes, even kids my age drink. Daddy was drinking and he drove the car even when he knew he shouldn’t. The Johnsons didn’t do that.”

“Please don’t say anything like that to your grandfather, or he will blow a gasket. Let’s not talk about it anymore. We came here to ski and have fun.”

They stopped for lunch and then Brent said, “We both practiced on the blue run. Now, it’s time for the black diamond.”

Gwen sucked in a breath. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Are you scared? Don’t worry, I’ll be there to help you out of the snow if you can’t handle it,” Brent said smugly.

Laughing, Gwen said, “Alright, turkey. You’re on.”

Gwen and Brent went down the slope a couple of times. Brent’s laughter was contagious and Gwen thoroughly enjoyed herself. She focused on having fun and keeping her feet underneath her and forgot about everything else in the world.

By the time they decided to take their final run of the day, Gwen’s legs were aching. She refused to let Brent see her being tired or to let it slow her down. She would end up hearing jokes about her being old and out of shape all night long.

She pushed herself harder to keep up with him as they navigated the difficult run. Near the bottom, she hit a patch of ice that she hadn’t seen and before she knew it, her ski slipped out from under her. Gwen tumbled awkwardly and landed on her side. She yelped as a sharp pain shot up her ankle.

“Aunt Gwen. Are you okay?” Brent hurried over and squatted next to her.

Gritting her teeth, she tried to figure out whether she had broken anything. She didn’t want Brent to be scared so she tried to play it off. “I’m fine.”

Wincing, she focused on her foot, willing it to move. She was relieved when her foot obeyed her silent command to go back and forth and in a circle. She was pretty sure that she hadn’t broken anything. However, she didn’t know whether she just twisted it or if she sprained it.

She held up her arm to Brent. “Help your old auntie up, would ya?” Gwen tried to keep her tone light.

As she struggled to get to her feet, she noticed Sawyer and Lucas approaching them.

Of course, he would see me fall down and hurt myself. Just my luck.

She stiffened as they walked closer.

“Do you need help?” Sawyer asked.

Gwen thought that she detected a hint of real concern in his voice.

“I’m fine,” Gwen snapped, her pride stinging more than her ankle.

The last thing she wanted was to accept help from Sawyer, even if she knew she was being stubborn. She refused to look at him. Instead, she focused on using Brent to help her stand.

Sawyer stood there for a minute watching her and then walked away. As Gwen and Brent started their slow journey back to the cabin, she heard Sawyer mutter, “Stubborn wench. She cut off her nose to spite her face.”

Gwen’s jaw tightened. She knew that she was being stubborn. However, there was something inside of her that still made her refuse his help.

Brent helped her get back to their cabin. She leaned on him more than she wanted to, but the pain was getting worse. When they finally made it back to the cabin, she sank gratefully onto the couch. Part of her brain told her that she was an idiot for refusing Sawyer’s help, but another part of her made it impossible to walk away from the past.