Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

Chapter 8 Gwen

8

C H A P T E R

Gwen

H ow long are we going to be here?” Brent asked, looking around the room full of people.

Gwen sat next to him and rubbed his back. “I don’t know, Honey. It could be a while. You saw how deep the snow is. It’ll take a while for the people in town to be able to dig out the road and then dig out our cars. Did you notice that we couldn’t see any of the cars when we walked up?”

He sighed deeply. “Maybe I should have asked for a trip to the beach.”

She laughed. “Just think of this as an adventure. You will have a great story to tell everyone when you get back to school.”

“I guess. Do you think that the mountain is really cursed?”

Gwen shook her head. “No. I don’t believe in curses. It’s just a coincidence that we happened to be here the first time there was an avalanche in thirty-plus years.”

“Grandpa always says that there is no such thing as coincidences.”

“Well, he’s entitled to his opinion, I suppose.”

“That was nice of Sawyer to carry me on his back. I know he was tired and I’m heavy.”

She ruffled his hair. “Yes, it was.”

“He seems like a very nice man.”

“It would seem so,” she replied.

Brent curled up in a tiny ball on the couch and went to sleep. It was one in the morning and he had woken up at five when the avalanche started, so she wasn’t surprised that he was so tired.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head. “Lord God, thank you for keeping us safe. Thank you for Sawyer and Lucas who continued digging us out even after they had been working all morning. Please watch over everyone here and keep us safe. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.”

Although she had been mumbling under her breath, her mother said, “Amen.”

Everyone had settled down. Some people had fallen asleep sitting up. The two men were stretched out on the floor, sound asleep. Three young women had fallen asleep on the loveseat and were leaning on each other.

Gwen felt helpless and hated that feeling. She had always been someone who took the bull by the horns and jumped into solving any problems that came her way. However, she had no idea of how to tackle six feet of snow.

She walked over to Sawyer’s chair and looked at him and Lucas. “Thank you for saving my family and me.”

“You are welcome,” Sawyer said.

Lucas nodded.

“I’m very sorry for my father’s comment. That was rude and ungrateful of him.”

“Thank you, but you aren’t responsible for your father’s actions,” Sawyer said.

Gwen gave a wry smile. “You know what they say about sins of the father.”

Sawyer was about to say something when Tessie walked into the room and held up her hand.

“Excuse me, guys. Can I have your attention, please? I know it’s late – or I guess very early in the morning. You guys are exhausted. Most of you haven’t slept since the avalanche rolled in twenty-two hours ago.”

Everyone nodded. Gwen rubbed her eyes. They felt like someone had poured a bucket of sand into each one and then lit the sand on fire. Her head throbbed. She couldn’t imagine what the folks who had been shoveling snow all day felt like.

“There are enough rooms in the lodge if everyone shares. We rented out the cabins before the rooms, so we actually had empty rooms, although if the avalanche had waited one more day, we wouldn’t have.”

“I guess everyone was coming up for Christmas,” Audrey said.

“Yes. We always get full this time of year,” Tessie said. “Okay, so here are your room assignments. Audrey, Jerome, and Brent can have room one. Daniel put a cot and blankets in there for Brent’s cot. Maddie, Samantha, and Emilia will share room two. Gwen can either bunk with them or with her parents.”

Gwen looked over at the women. “Would you mind?”

“Not at all,” the tall blond woman said. “I’m Maddie and this is Samantha,” pointing to a red-haired woman, “and this is Emilia.” She grinned. “We’re seniors at Colorado State and decided to spend our break up here.”

“It’ll be an adventure to remember,” Gwen said.

Tessie nodded and smiled tiredly. “Darren, Zaid, Lucas, and Sawyer will share room three, While Joseph and Elsie will share room four. Of course, Oliver and I have our suite and Daniel and Millie have theirs.”

Darren and Zaid shook Lucas’ and Sawyer’s hands. They introduced themselves and said they owned a successful automotive shop that specializes in classic cars. Gwen was surprised when Lucas said he owned a helicopter tourist company in Estes Park.

Oliver cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “We have two generators, but we will need to conserve electricity. Everyone can have twenty minutes a day to charge their electronic devices. The well is attached to one of the generators, so we will need to conserve energy. Everyone is limited to one five-minute shower each day.”

“Great. I’m stuck here with a bunch of stinking people I don’t know,” Jerome muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Oliver glared at Jerome. “Unless you want to go back to your cabin, I suggest you shut your mouth. This isn’t ideal for anyone, but your complaining is only going to make things worse. I, for one, am not interested in dealing with your negativity, bad mood, or anything else. Don’t make me tell you another time.”

Jerome’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything else. Gwen knew that Audrey was just as embarrassed as she was. Her father wasn’t embarrassed – he was angry that someone had dared to stand up to him.

“We will turn the heat on in the bedrooms around ten at night and cut it off at six. The electricity is needed to run the kitchen and lights in the house. We’ll use the fireplaces to heat the front room. If you want to sit in the library, you are welcome to build a fire there. If you don’t know how Daniel or I will be glad to help you. Please ask because we don’t need you burning down the lodge.”

Tessie spoke up again. “Because of limited resources and the fact that Millie and I have a lot of extra work with all the guests here, you won’t be able to order off the menu. You’ll just have to eat what is served.”

Oliver looked at Jerome sharply, who slammed his mouth shut. Jerome apparently believed Oliver’s threat that he would be banished to the cabin if he kept complaining.

“Are there any questions?” Oliver asked.

No one said anything.

“Since it is about two in the morning, I’m guessing people will want to sleep in. Because of that, the heat will stay on in the bedrooms until ten. Every room has enough beds or cots, as well as blankets, pillows, and sleeping bags,” Oliver said.

“Millie won’t cook breakfast since people will likely wander into the dining room. We have cold cereal, oatmeal, muffins, and breakfast bars. Lunch will be served at noon and dinner will be served at six,” Tessie said. “I imagine you all are exhausted, so go ahead, grab your bags, and get some sleep.”

Lucas and Sawyer didn’t move. They both closed their eyes and passed out right where they were. Gwen grabbed a couple of blankets from the back of the couch and covered them.

She felt her father’s eyes burning a hole in her back as she covered Sawyer. I don’t care what he thinks. These two men worked hard to save everyone’s lives, including ours. Whatever happened in the past belongs in the past.

Gwen covered her brother with another blanket. She wasn’t going to wake him up and make him go into the bedroom with her parents. No one was going to be upset about the little boy sleeping on the couch.

She took her bag into the room she shared with the other women and put it in the corner. “I’ll take that cot,” she said, pointing to the cot in the corner.

“I’ll be glad to sleep on the cot by the bed,” Maddie said.

“Wait, you can’t make me sleep on the bed with Emilia. She kicks in her sleep,” Samantha protested.

“I already called dibs on the cot. Unless you want to wait for them to find another cot for you, I suggest you get into bed. It’s a king-sized bed so you should be fine,” Maddie said.

“She’s got long legs,” Samantha groused as she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

“I’ll be right back, guys,” Gwen said and went in search of Tessie. She found her and Millie turning off the lights in the kitchen and dining room.

“Is there anything I can do to help? I know you are going to be out of your mind busy with a lodge full of unexpected guests.”

Tessie nodded. “We can definitely use help. I’m sure Millie can use an assistant chef since her help won’t be able to get up the mountain. We’ll need help keeping the place clean, although we’re going to ask the guests to clean their own rooms.”

Gwen nodded and looked at Millie. “What time should I report for duty, Boss?”

“Ten-thirty.”

She smiled tiredly at Millie and then slowly lumbered back to the bedroom. The other three girls were already asleep. Someone was snoring softly.

Gwen brushed her teeth and lay down on the cot, which was surprisingly comfortable.

Either that or I’m just that tired.

As tired as she was, she couldn’t fall asleep right away. She stared at the ceiling and thought about the day’s events. When she closed her eyes, she pictured the snow rushing at them and felt the cabin shaking all over again.

She focused on a prayer she often recited when she was stressed. “The light of God surrounds me. The love of God enfolds me. The power of God protects me. The presence of God watches over me. Where I am, God is.”

With those words repeating in her head, she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.