Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

Chapter 25 Sawyer

25

C H A P T E R

Sawyer

S awyer opened his mouth to ask Gwen an important question when Oliver popped his head in. “Can you guys join us in the parlor?”

“Sure,” Sawyer said, wishing that he had waited a few more minutes.

He laced his fingers through Gwen’s and they strolled into the parlor.

“I’ve got great news. We were finally able to make radio contact with the officials in town. They are working to clear the roads, as we speak, even at night.” He looked at Zaid grimly. “I told them that we had a dire medical emergency and explained the situation. They will get the paramedics up here first thing.”

“When do you think that will be?” Emilia asked.

“The way they were talking, it will be late tomorrow afternoon. Millie will make pancakes for breakfast and we have just enough canned chili and beef stew for lunch,” Oliver reported. “That will give everyone time to clean their stuff out of their cabins and pack.”

“What about our cars?” Jerome asked.

“What about them?” Oliver asked.

“They’re buried under tons of snow,” he pointed out, exasperatingly.

Oliver smiled. “That’s what God invented shovels for. I’m sure you know how to use one.”

“This was supposed to be a vacation,” Jerome protested. “I shouldn’t have to work.”

Oliver glared at him. “Sir, you have been nothing but a major pain in the butt since you got here. You caused a disturbance in the dining room the first night you were here. You are the only person who has not contributed during this crisis. It’s been quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. You have gone out of your way to make everyone else’s life even harder than it had to be. I don’t know what has made you such a miserable human being, but frankly, in my opinion, you don’t deserve to breathe the same air as everyone else. Therefore, in order to get you off my mountain and out of my sight, I will personally go outside tomorrow and shovel your car out of the snow. I’m sure if I didn’t, you would force your grandson, wife, or daughter to do it for you.”

Everyone sat in stunned silence for a few minutes and then Darren clapped. Soon, the majority of the people in the room applauded Oliver for saying what everyone else had been thinking all along. Jerome glared and snarled at everyone.

Oliver held up his hand. “Now, I do realize that this was supposed to be a vacation and everyone’s fun was ruined by the avalanche. As stated in the waivers you all signed, the resort is not responsible for natural disasters, skiing accidents, etc. However, because most of you have been a good sport and helped out around here, all but one of you are welcome to come back for a week’s stay, free of charge, although meals are not included in that offer. Just give us a month’s notice so that we can make sure we have a cabin or room available for you.”

Jerome started to speak, but Oliver fixed him with a hard stare. “You, Sir, are not allowed near my resort ever again. Your wife, daughter, and grandson are welcome, but you are not.”

Wow. Just wow, Sawyer thought. I guess he decided to put him in his place.

Jerome growled, stood up, and walked out of the room. Audrey looked at Jerome leave, obviously trying to decide whether to follow her husband or to stay with the others. Gwen caught her eye and shook her head. Audrey bit her lip and sat on the couch.

It was late, so everyone went to the different rooms where they were sleeping. Darren, Sawyer, and Lucas talked for a while.

“I asked Samantha to marry me,” Lucas said.

“Wow. What happened to take it slow?” Sawyer asked.

“Well, the avalanche and everything that happened reminded us that tomorrow is not promised. My soul knows that I’m in love with her and hers knows that I’m her man,” Lucas said. “We did decide that we’re going to have at least a six-month engagement to give us time to figure everything out. Of course, I have an established business in Estes Park and I won’t be leaving that. She will find a job up that way. There are places hiring.”

“Congrats,” Darren said. “Maddie and I aren’t there yet, although we definitely will be seeing each other when we get off this mountain.”

“That is awesome,” Sawyer said. “I think that love has blossomed between Zaid and Emilia, too.”

“Yep. They are going to get married. She’s the one who asked him. He didn’t want to, because he was worried that if he loses a leg, he wouldn’t be a whole man,” Darren said.

“What did she say to that?” Sawyer asked.

“She told him that the infection must have got to his brain in order for him to say something completely stupid like that.”

Lucas and Sawyer laughed.

“So, what about you?” Lucas asked Sawyer. “You and Gwen seem to have gotten close, in spite of Jerome’s best efforts.”

“I told her that I loved her tonight and she said it back. I plan on asking her to marry me tomorrow before we leave,” Sawyer said.

“I detect some hesitation,” Lucas said.

“I’m not sure what she’ll say. She might have stood up to her father here, but I’m pretty sure that he’ll disown her if she decides to marry me. Regardless of how much of a jerk her father is and how much she realizes that he is wrong, it would be very hard for her to walk away from him. She would also have to walk away from her mother and nephew. I know she loves Brent dearly.”

“That would be a hard decision to make,” Darren said. “I don’t envy her.”

“What are you going to do if she says ‘No,’” Lucas asked.

Sawyer shrugged. “What can I do? I’m not going to pressure her, shame her, or guilt trip her. That would only create resentment. If she doesn’t come to me on her own, then I’ll just accept it and live with it.”

“You’re a good man,” Darren said.

As promised, Millie made pancakes for breakfast the next morning.

“This was the last of my mix and the last of the bacon. We got lucky guys. You were about to have elk or moose for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

“What about snacks?” Brent asked, giggling.

“Yeah, those, too,” Millie said, grinning.

The resort was a bee hive of activity after breakfast. Oliver said that he and Daniel would put a snowblade on their tractor and clear a path from the driveway to the road. Everyone headed out to the parking lot with shovels trying to carefully dig out their cars. A couple of cars were hard to see because of the deep snow.

Sawyer was amused to see that Jerome was out with everyone else. Apparently, he had a little bit of self-respect and decided it would be humiliating for Oliver to dig out his car.

People went into the bedrooms they had been sharing at the lodge, and packed up the belongings they had brought to the building with them, and then headed to the cabins. Those were a little trickier because they were still packed with snow. The tunnels that led into the cabins had been snowed in a little. Darren, Lucas, Sawyer, and Joseph helped everyone safely get into their cabins, pack up, and carry their belongings to the car.

“I think that we should be tipped for this service,” Darren joked. “All I need is a jaunty uniform, including the cap or a fez, and I’d pass for a bellboy.”

“I’m sure they would be glad to tip you,” Lucas said. “Take off your stocking cap and go around to each person asking for loose change.”

They laughed at that. The mood had lightened a lot since Oliver’s announcement and even silly jokes were funny.

Everyone cheered when a snow plow pushed its way into the parking lot followed by the ambulance. Sawyer met the paramedics inside.

“He’s got a major infection. I think that he’s in significant danger of sepsis or a blood infection. His toes started to turn purple, although, thank goodness, it hasn’t spread. He started with a tib/fib fracture. I set the bones and put a splint on them. He’s been getting five-hundred-milligram tablets of amoxicillin twice a day. We ran out a day and a half ago,” Sawyer reported. “He’s had a steady temperature of a hundred and two degrees. Zaid has been able to hold down broth and oatmeal the last couple of days and we’ve kept him hydrated.”

“Roger that,” one of the paramedics said. “We’ll radio for a helicopter to meet us and take him to Denver or Colorado Springs.”

They quickly, but gently, lifted Zaid onto the stretcher and took him out to the ambulance. They hit the lights and siren and headed down the mountain as fast as they safely could. The roads might have been cleared of the snow, but the pass would be extremely slick.

Gwen stood next to Sawyer and watched them go.

“You saved his life. You did a lot to save all of us,” Gwen said. “I still think that you need to add a leotard and cape to your wardrobe.”

Sawyer grinned. “I’m going to pass on that. Can we talk in the library?”

She looked at him quizzically. “Sure.”

He shut the door and then took a deep breath. “I know it’s only been a short amount of time since we’ve been reacquainted, but during this time, I fell in love with you. Gwen Cooper, would you do me the honor of being my wife?”