Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

Chapter 15 Sawyer

15

C H A P T E R

Sawyer

T he roar of the second avalanche made Sawyer sit straight up in bed, instantly alert in spite of being sound asleep just a few seconds ago. Everyone looked at each other with wide eyes. The four men and Brent stared out the window and watched in horror as another huge wave of snow rolled toward the lodge.

They heard someone scream, likely because they, too, were woken from a deep sleep. Darren helped Zaid into the wheelchair, and they all made their way into the parlor. Tessie, Oliver, Millie, and Daniel were already there, as were the women. Josie and Elsie came in a minute later. Jerome and Audrey burst out of their room.

Everyone stood, looking around them in shock as the loud booming continued and the floor vibrated beneath their feet.

“It’s happening again,” Elsie said, her eyes wide with terror.

“It would seem so,” Sawyer said, trying to keep his voice calm even though he felt anything but.

His heart raced and a shiver of fear moved through him. He could see the massive white tsunami racing toward them.

They had barely recovered from the first avalanche and now there is a second. He glanced at Gwen, their eyes meeting across the room for a moment. She looked terrified.

He glanced around and saw the wide-eyed panic of everyone in the room. Sawyer stepped into the center. He held up his hands, and said softly, “Okay, everyone, let’s stay calm,” he said, louder this time, cutting through the growing panic. “This place was built to handle conditions like this.”

Gwen nodded, stepping forward. “He’s right. We’ve already gotten through one avalanche. We’ll get through this one, too. We just need to stay inside and wait it out.”

Lucas added, “Stay away from the windows. You’ll be fine.”

Sawyer could still hear the snow crashing down outside, each wave sending vibrations through the thick wooden walls. But the structure held firm. He and Gwen moved among the group, doing their best to offer reassuring words and gestures.

When a particularly loud crash shook the lodge, everyone jumped, including Sawyer, and Elsie let out a loud squeal. Joseph wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight.

After what felt like an eternity, the roaring stopped. Everyone stood in the parlor looking around them. Complete silence hung over them like a heavy curtain.

Samantha was the first to speak. “Is it over?”

“I think so,” Sawyer said.

He carefully walked over to the window and studied the scene. “It’s stopped.

The entire group seemed to exhale in relief at once and everyone looked at the others in a mixture of relief and anxiety, as though they expected another avalanche to follow.

“I need to go outside and check for damage,” Daniel said.

Lucas, Darren, Joseph, Sawyer, and Gwen headed for the coat rack.

“We’ll come with you. We need to bring in more wood anyway,” Lucas said.

The air was eerily quiet, the fresh blanket of snow undisturbed except for the remnants of the avalanche. The majority of the snow had fallen short of the Cooper’s cabin, which was a relief. The main lodge, however, had taken a bit of a hit. There were a few drifts piled up against the walls, and one window had a small crack, but nothing seemed irreparable.

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. “It looks like we got lucky. I’ll have to cover that cracked window, though.”

“Is there any other damage?” Sawyer asked.

“None that we can tell right now. With the snow piled so high against the lodge, there might be something hidden that we can’t see.”

Gwen helped Daniel nail a board over the window, while the rest of them uncovered the wood from the snow that had fallen on it the night before. Luckily, the pile had been out of reach of the secondary avalanche.

They headed back inside and Sawyer looked at his watch. “We still have a couple of hours to sleep. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going back to bed.”

Everyone agreed and headed back to their rooms. Sawyer made sure that Brent was okay before getting into his cot. For a long minute, he lay awake staring at the ceiling. Montagne Maudite is certainly living up to its name.

He looked over at Brent, who was still awake.

“Sawyer, are we going to be okay?”

“Yeah, Buddy. We’ll be fine. The lodge has been here for decades and has survived many storms and avalanches.”

“Okay,” he said. A few minutes later, he was snoring softly.

Sawyer felt bad for Brent. He might have found a little reprieve staying with the men at the lodge, but eventually, he would have to go home. Hopefully, though, Jerome would calm down and stop being such a jerk once he was no longer around him.

The next morning, after breakfast, Sawyer, Darren, and Lucas put on their snowshoes and go for a walk. The wind had calmed down a lot, although there was enough to make the snow whirl around them.

They had walked for about half an hour and were about to turn back when a faint sound caught Sawyer’s attention. At first, he thought that it was just the wind or an animal, but then he heard a shout.

“Did you hear that?” Sawyer asked.

Darren and Lucas nodded.

Darren cocked his head. “It sounds like someone’s calling for help.”

The three men walked as quickly as they could toward the sound. Sawyer’s heart raced as he tried to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.

Another call came and it was louder and clearer than before. Sawyer was glad that he had snowshoes because he could see how deep the snow was against the trees. There was no way they could have made it.

They crested a small hill and saw four people huddled together. Their faces were pale and the exhaustion was evident. The group looked like they had taken a trip through hell with the hounds hot on their tails.

“What in the world are you guys doing out here?” Daniel asked.

“We were camping. We barely escaped the first avalanche. The second one came straight toward us. It didn’t quite get to us, but we decided to call it quits and got lost,” a tall man said.

He was supporting a woman who looked so weak that Sawyer wasn’t sure she could walk back to the lodge.

Sawyer looked at the woman, whose lips were blue. She was shivering uncontrollably.

Sawyer supported her while they slowly made their way back to the lodge. Once inside, the foursome dropped their packs in the foyer. Gwen, Maddie, Emilia, and Samantha rushed over to help them pull off their outerwear and then led them into the parlor.

Sawyer and Oliver immediately got to work. All four of them were suffering from hypothermia, although the smaller of the two women was the worst off. One of the men had a mild case of frostbite on his fingers and nose. The other had a deep gash on his arm. Sawyer treated it and bandaged it.

Oliver said, “We don’t have any more bedrooms, but we can make room in the conference room. We’re also out of cots, so you’ll have to sleep on the floor.

One of the women, who introduced herself as Elaine, said, “That’s fine. We were sleeping on the ground in our tents. We have our sleeping bags, which are designed to keep people warm even in below zero-degree weather.”

“What in the world possessed you guys to be out camping on the side of a mountain in the middle of winter anyway?” Daniel asked.

“Jeff is putting together a book of the different seasons of Montagne Maudite. He takes pictures of the wildlife and the scenery. George, Jen, and I decided that we would keep him company. He was almost done when the first avalanche hit, so we decided to stay put. Never, in a million years did we think that there would be a second one,” Elaine said.

“Did you get what you came for?” Oliver asked.

“Yes. We actually would have headed back today, anyway,” Jeff said. “I guess the mountain really is cursed.”

Jen rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Or we just happened to be on the mountain when the first avalanche in decades hit. Maybe you’re the one who’s cursed.”

“Not too cursed. You guys found us and saved us,” Elaine said. “I hate to be a bother, but can you show me where we’re sleeping. I’m so tired.”

“That makes two of us,” Jen said.

Once they were settled, Oliver sighed heavily and rubbed his face.

“Once wrong?” Sawyer asked.

“The Good Lord knows that I don’t mind helping those folks, but that puts a bit of a strain on the supplies. We were already starting to run low,” he said.

“I’ve seen elk and moose. Lucas and I know how to dress the animal,” Sawyer said. “That would provide enough meat for a while.”

“Hopefully, it won’t come to that,” Oliver said. “There’s a hunter’s lodge a couple miles away. There would be some resources there. I don’t know how much, but every little bit helps. However, if it comes to that, we have a couple of rifles you guys can use.”

“Sounds good. Lucas and I have both been shooting since we could walk. Just let me know.”

Oliver nodded and headed outside.

Sawyer looked around. Everyone sat in the parlor and dining room talking quietly. Sawyer knew that people were scared. They would know that resources were limited and that the second avalanche and all the snow they’d been getting would make the situation worse.

Something had to give soon. Horror movies were made about people who were cooped up in a small space for a long period of time. He didn’t think anyone would suddenly turn into a slasher, but the situation could become very tense