Page 13 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

“That wood won’t last us very long and I have a sneaking suspicion that help won’t come for a long time,” Sawyer said. “I saw a shovel in the utility closet. I think we have a long day ahead of us.”

“I’ll start if you get some coffee going. I know it’s not the same, but I think I saw some instant coffee in the cabinet. You can heat up some water over the fireplace.”

Sawyer laughed. “Great. I go on vacation with you and end up playingLittle House on the Prairie.

Lucas shook his head as he pulled on his gloves and grabbed the shovel. More likeLittle House in the Big Woods.

They took turns shoveling the snow at an upward slanted angle, packing it in tight against the snowy walls trying to form a solid tunnel that wouldn’t fall in on them. It was very slow progress because they were trying to be careful. The last thing they needed was for the rest of the snow to cave in on them, making it even more difficult to get out.

The tunnel was about three feet wide, which was just big enough for the men to crawl through. Sawyer’s shoulders ached and, despite wearing gloves, blisters were growing on top of the blisters on his hands.

Lucas heated up a pot of beef stew and quickly gobbled it before taking his turn. Sawyer gratefully handed over the shovel so he could eat. The air inside of the cabin was warm from the fire. It was almost too hot when they were working, even though their breaths came out in foggy puffs of air.

Finally, Sawyer gave one last heave on the shovel, and they broke through the six feet of snow. Sunlight streamed in, blinding them for a minute. Sawyer put out the fire and they quickly packed their clothes in a bag and carefully climbed up the carefully angled tunnel, closing the cabin door behind them.

They stood on top of the snow, bent over, their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath, squinting against the bright sunlight reflecting off the snow.

Their relief was short-lived as they looked around and realized that all of the cabins were completely covered in snow. Their cabin was the furthest away from the mountain top so they weren’t as covered as the others. The only thing visible from the other cabins was the chimney tops. It was as though the mountain had melted on top of the other cabins, leaving only a huge white blanket that stretched as far as the eye could see.

They looked at each other and just laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

“Well, doesn’t that just suck,” Lucas said, standing up and putting his hands on his hips.

Sawyer heard talking and turned around to see two men approaching.

“You boys okay?” the older man asked.

“We are,” Sawyer said pointing to the hole in the ground. “We just managed to dig ourselves out.”

“Glad to see it. I’m Oliver Murphy and I own this place. This is Daniel Holmes, our handyman.”

They all shook hands.

“We just managed to get ourselves dug out of the lodge. There’s coffee and food that way,” Oliver said. He surveyed thescene and Sawyer thought he saw the man deflate. “It looks like Daniel and I have a lot of shoveling to do.”

“We’ll drop our bags off at the lodge, grab some coffee, and a sandwich if there is one, and we’ll help. I assume you have another shovel?” Sawyer said.

“Millie, my wife, is the main cook. She and I live at the resort, too, along with Oliver and his wife, Tessie. Millie has some stew made, figuring that when people come trickling in, they’ll need to get something warm inside of them. We’ll walk back with you.”

The four of them went back to the lodge, quickly ate, and then went back out.

“We’re going to be shoveling for the next week,” Lucas groaned.

Sawyer nodded. “I guess we’d better get started, then.”

6

C H A P T E R

Gwen

Gwen 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.

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