Page 17 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

His stomach turned at the thought. Jerome was a ticking time bomb and if his outburst at dinner was any indication, anything might happen when they opened the door and saw him.

Great. I get to help save the man who hates me and my family. Happy, happy, joy, joy.

Sawyer and Lucas trudged over to the cabin. He would have sworn that the snow was getting deeper by the minute, makingit harder and harder to walk. His legs were aching and he was positive that his arms were going to fall off any minute. They had been digging for nine hours straight and there was still one more cabin to dig out.

“If it weren’t for Audrey and Brent, I might just leave them there, at least until tomorrow,” Sawyer muttered.

“No, you wouldn’t. You’re too good a man for that. You save people.”

They reached the cabin and Sawyer groaned. The snow was deeper here than anywhere else and it was packed tightly around the cabin.

Taking a deep breath, Sawyer put the edge of his shovel into the snow, put his foot on the back, and started digging. His mind was blank as he and Lucas carefully cleared snow out of the tunnel. Every muscle in Sawyer’s body screamed in protest as they shoveled deeper and deeper into the packed snow. After what felt like an eternity they had a tunnel that led all the way to the door.

Sawyer crawled through the tunnel, grabbed the door handle, and twisted it, pushing the door open. A high-pitched scream pierced the air. Sawyer pulled himself out of the tunnel and looked at the Coopers, wrapped in blankets, huddled in front of the small fire. It was cold in the cabin and Sawyer glanced at the wood box. It was empty.

Gwen’s eyes opened wide when she realized that Sawyer was standing there.

Before she could say anything, Sawyer said, “Pack a bag of clothes and essentials quickly before the tunnel collapses.”

His voice was very rough from exhaustion. They looked at him for a split second before hurrying off to do what they weretold. Sawyer put out the fire and candles. Brent was back out first.

“Okay, I’m going to open this door and I need you to crawl slowly along the tunnel. Lucas will be at the top to help you out.”

Brent nodded and obeyed.

Sawyer helped Gwen and Audrey get into the tunnel, making sure they waited until he got the signal from Lucas. He was half tempted to go up before letting Jerome go through.

It would serve him right if the tunnel collapsed on him.

Sawyer knew that he was tired and grumpy, and even though Jerome was not a friend, he was still a human.

Jerome went through the tunnel and when Lucas called down letting him know, Sawyer followed. He was very glad to see that everyone was standing safely on the snow.

“Let’s head to the lodge,” Lucas said, tiredly.

Gwen looked at Sawyer. “Thanks,” she muttered.

He just nodded. They had only walked a couple of feet when Sawyer realized they had a huge problem. The snow was too deep for Brent to get through. The little boy would take a step and then sink through.

Sawyer took Brent’s pack and handed it to Lucas.

Then, Sawyer said, “How about a piggyback ride?”

Brent nodded. Gwen helped lift her nephew onto Sawyer’s back, and then took his shovel. Sawyer felt like he was on a treadmill because no matter how long they walked the lodge seemed to get further away.

As they reached the lodge, Sawyer asked, “Do you think we should go back to the cabins for supplies?”

Lucas shook his head. “No. We don’t know if they’ll be needed, and if they are, we can go back later. Honestly, I don’t know that I can go much longer.”

As they approached the lodge, they could hear the voices. It sounded like complete chaos inside. Sawyer opened the door and stepped wearily inside. Everyone was sitting in the living room talking loudly. One of the college women was pacing back and forth while the other two were talking quietly. Elsie and Joseph were talking quietly to Darren and Zaid.

Sawyer barely had the energy to pull off his coat, gloves, hat, scarf, and boots and hang them on the coat racks. The room was warm in stark contrast to the biting cold. The last little bit of adrenaline drained and Sawyer felt his knees buckle. He made it over to a recliner in front of the fireplace and collapsed onto it. Lucas followed suit with a tired groan.

Tessie and Millie brought them hot cups of coffee.

“Can I get you guys a sandwich, some soup, or anything else to eat?”

Sawyer shook his head. “No thank you. Maybe in a minute.”

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