Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

Chapter 6 Gwen

6

C H A P T E R

Gwen

G wen sat on the couch frustrated with herself. She knew that she should have let Sawyer help her.

But no, I had to be stubborn. I can’t let a Johnson help me. I have to have Mom drive me all the way back to town. Then we sat in the waiting room for an hour, just to be told that I twisted my ankle and it just needed a little ice. She growled at herself. Sawyer is a doctor with a great reputation. Of course, he is a pediatrician, but I’m sure he’s qualified to diagnose a twisted ankle. On top of that, the doctor reminded me that the owner of the resort is a medic.

She had been in a very bad mood since her fall. Her temper was one thing that she got from her father. It also took her a long time to get over her anger. Granted, it did take more to frustrate her, but once it happened, look out world.

Brent sat next to her and looked at her without saying anything.

Reminding herself that this was supposed to be his Christmas present, she plastered a smile on her face. “What’s up kiddo?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?”

“I ruined everyone’s Christmas. Grandpa is upset and doesn’t want to come out of the cabin and you hurt yourself.”

Gwen’s heart melted and she put her arm around her nephew. “Honey, none of this is your fault. Your grandpa gets irked sometimes and you didn’t push me.”

“But I wanted to come here and the mountain is cursed.”

“Every place worth its salt in this country has some kind of legend, story, or haunting associated with it. This place is no exception. Do you want to play a game? I brought some Uno cards.”

His face brightened.

Audrey smiled at them. “Can I get in on this game?”

“Sure. Do you think we ought to ask Dad?”

Audrey looked at the closed door. “It can’t hurt to ask.”

To everyone’s surprise, he came out of the room and took a seat at the table. They played a game and then Audrey and Brent went to get dinner. After they ate, they played a couple more games and everyone seemed to have a good time – even her father.

It had been a very long day and Gwen was grateful when she could slip between the cool sheets.

Her ankle throbbed and even though the evening had been pleasant, she was over the vacation. Except for hanging out with Brent, it had not been fun. Even on the slopes, she had been acutely aware that Sawyer was somewhere nearby, even if she didn’t have eyes on him.

She stared at the ceiling, her eyes wide open despite the fact that she had been so tired.

Okay, fine. I used to have a crush on Sawyer, she admitted to herself.

He probably knew although he never treated her like anything other than a little sister. When he was younger, Sawyer was more of a skinny, gangly nerd with a mild case of acne. He had grown and was hot while he was in college. Sawyer seemed to be like a fine wine and got better with age. He was sexy enough to turn almost any woman’s head.

Stop that. You aren’t doing yourself any good. Go to sleep.

She took a couple of acetaminophen PM and finally fell asleep.

Gwen was in a deep sleep when a loud explosion ripped through the night, jolting her awake. She jumped out of bed, ignoring her ankle, and stared out the bedroom window trying to figure out what happened. Her heart nearly stopped when she saw a solid huge snow tsunami rushing toward their cabin, moving quickly and consuming everything in its path.

Her breath caught in her throat and icy fear squeezed her heart. “Shutter the windows. Everyone shutter the windows,” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Gwen closed the shutters on her bedroom window and then dashed into the living room to close the wooden planks over the glass. She ran toward Brent’s room, her stomach knotted, when she realized he hadn’t joined them.

“Brent,” she yelled, bursting through the door as he fumbled with the shutters.

His hands were shaking and he was trying hard to maneuver the latch. “Aunt Gwen, help me.”

She wasn’t quick enough. In a split second, the window shattered with a deafening crash, sending shards of glass and a massive load of snow into the room. The force of it knocked Brent back. Gwen lunged toward him, grabbed him, and pulled him close to her, trying to use her body to shield him from the rest of the flying glass and snow.

The snow rushed at the cabin and the force of it was so great that it packed tightly against the window, keeping more snow from coming in.

Gwen dragged Brent into the living room. She held him tightly as the cabin shook violently and groaned as the snow continued to bombard it. She was terrified that the entire place was going to collapse on them, burying them beneath the weight of the wood and the snow. Finally, after several minutes, the onslaught of snow stopped and an eerie silence filled the air. They were in complete darkness since they had lost electricity.

“Aunt Gwen, are we going to die?” Brent asked, his voice trembling with fear.

“No, Honey, we aren’t. We just have to assess the situation and figure things out.”

Jerome walked over to the front door and cautiously opened it. A little bit of snow fell inside the cabin and he closed the door again quickly.

“The snow is over the doorway. There’s no way out. I’m afraid that we’re going to have to hang out here and pray that someone rescues us sooner rather than later.”

Gwen’s stomach dropped. The fear that had been pushed back because of the adrenaline rush flooded through her. She looked at Brent who was standing in the middle of the room, shaking, his eyes wide with fear.

“Okay, first things first. We’ll need heat. Hopefully, at least the top of the chimney isn’t covered.”

She lit a small fire in the fireplace and was happy to see that the smoke went up the chimney instead of back inside the cabin. Gwen put a couple more logs in the fireplace and got a decent fire going. She surveyed the amount of wood they had and said a silent prayer that help would come soon.

Audrey had filled a pan with bottled water and put it near the hearth. “We’ve got some instant coffee and hot chocolate. We also have a few boxes of breakfast bars, several cans of soup and beef stew, crackers, and other food. We’ll be just fine.”

She handed a couple breakfast bars to Brent and Gwen. Jerome grunted at her when she offered him one.

Gwen sat down on the couch and pulled Brent down next to her. He snuggled up close to her. Audrey made everyone hot drinks and then sat in the recliner in front of the fireplace.

“Brent, we’re fine. The cabin held steady against the snow. It isn’t going to fall apart now.” Gwen certainly hoped she was speaking the truth. “Everyone knows we’re here. We’ve got food and several cases of water. We’ll be fine.”

He nodded.

Gwen poked him in the shoulder. “I just thought of something. I saw a utility closet. What do you want to bet that there will be some supplies in there. Do you want to help me look?”

Brent nodded again. She walked into her room, grabbed her cell phone, and turned on the flashlight option, grateful that she remembered to put it on the charger before she went to bed.

They found several useful items in the utility closet. At least ten candles were on one shelf, along with some lanterns and extra batteries. A few big cans of Sterno were stacked in one corner and several grill lighters. There was a shovel, first aid kit, emergency thermal blankets, hand and foot warmers, and a five-gallon bucket with a plastic liner and a toilet seat attached on top along with a package of toilet paper.

Gwen pulled the bucket out and grinned. “I’m glad to see this. It’s my favorite emergency item of all time.”

She took it into the bathroom while Brent handed Audrey five candles. She lit them and said, “We’ll save the lanterns for when the candles burn out.”

“Let’s say a little prayer,” Jerome said.

They bowed their heads and Jerome spoke. “Lord, we come to You in this time of need. Please watch over us, keep us safe, and give us strength to face whatever lies ahead. Guide those who are searching and help them find us soon. We trust in Your protection and plan. Amen.”

“Amen,” everyone else repeated.

“I have a couple decks of cards. How about some canasta?” Audrey asked.

Everyone looked at her as though she had lost her mind.

“What, would you rather stare at the door and will someone to come through it? Even if they started digging us out right away, it would take hours. My guess is that everyone else is snowed in, too, and we have to wait. We may as well play games and enjoy ourselves.”

“I’m in, but I’ll keep score,” Gwen said. “I think you cheat,” she pointed a finger at her mother teasingly.

“I would never,” Audrey protested, laughing.

“I’ll play if Gwen can be my partner,” Brent said.

“You only want to be her partner because she gets all the wildcards,” Jerome said, walking back to the coffee table.

Everyone sat on the floor, close to the fire and candles, and played canasta. Although everyone put on their happy faces, she knew they were all terrified that they wouldn’t be found in time.