Page 42 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

“The igloos would start to melt in the spring when the temperatures started to rise. That’s when it was time for the Inuit people to pack up and start following the game. They erected tents to live in as they moved around,” Lucas explained.

“That sounds hard but fun,” Brent said. “Do they still live in igloos?”

“No. Now, they live in wooden houses, just like everyone else,” Sawyer said.

“That’s too bad,” Brent said, clearly disappointed. “I was going to go to Alaska and see the igloos when I grow up.”

“Maybe you should build your own,” Lucas suggested.

Gwen groaned. “Please don’t give him any ideas.”

Everyone laughed.

After dinner, they decided to playUno.

Jerome walked by and watched them play for a minute. He looked around the room at the other people playing board games, cards, or dominoes. Again, Gwen was hopeful that maybe he had changed his attitude.

Instead, he said, ““We’re going to die here, and you guys are having fun just like those fools did on the Titanic.”

17

C H A P T E R

Sawyer

He just can’t stop,” Gwen said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, guys.”

Samantha put her hand on Gwen’s. “No worries. You’re not responsible for your father. Some people don’t handle stress well and they take it out on other people.”

Gwen’s shoulders were tight and her body rigid for a few minutes, but eventually, the tension ebbed out of her. Sawyer hated seeing her like that.

Brent celebrated his win with a piece of candy Millie gave him from a stash in the kitchen. “Let’s play again,” he said excitedly.

“You guys go ahead,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer walked into the parlor, staring into the fire, with a sour look on his face.

“Jerome, we need to talk,” Sawyer said.

The older man looked up at him and sneered. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Sawyer narrowed his eyes at Jerome. “Well, I’ve got something to say to you. The whole situation here is hard enough. Everyone is stressed and afraid. Your nasty attitude and remarks are making it that much harder for everyone.”

“You think that I’m the problem here?”

“Yes, you are. Whatever beef you have with me needs to stay between us. You have no right to take your attitude out on everyone else here. The people are trying to make the best of a bad situation, and you are making that very difficult.”

Jerome clenched his jaw and glared at Sawyer. “All I asked is for you to stay away from me and my family, yet you’re constantly all over Gwen. Are you having sex with her? Are you taking advantage of my daughter?”

“You’re disgusting. As for Gwen hanging out with me, that’s her choice. She is a grown woman and is quite capable of making her own decisions about who she wants to spend time with. As for you, you need to knock off your attitude.”

Jerome stood up and faced Sawyer. His eyes narrowed, his nostrils flared, and his fists were clenched tightly by his side.

“Who do you think you are, talking to me like that?”

Anger flashed through Sawyer but he did his best to keep his voice low and calm. “I think that I’m the only mature one between the two of us. You’ve been acting like a bad-tempered toddler. If you don’t want to be around the rest of us, then you should go back to the cabin and hang out there until help comes. You can come back to the lodge and get your food, or better yet, someone can bring food to you. Then, you can make all the rude comments you want and be in as bad a mood as you want, andthe rest of us don’t have to suffer because of you. I’m done letting you make everyone miserable.”

Jerome’s face turned bright red and the vein in the side of his neck throbbed. Sawyer was half afraid that the man was about to throw a punch. “You have no authority here.”

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