“Yeah, I stay home and hang out with my dogs. Colton and Sadie are doggie-sitting for me. Between their four dogs and my two, they have a whole pack at their place right now.”
The five-hour drive flew by and soon they were crawling up the steep mountain road that was wide enough for one and a half cars. One side hugged the mountain and the other was a sheer drop off.
Sawyer looked out the window. “Hmm. I see that they didn’t even bother trying to bring up those cars that went over.”
“Not worth it. They use rescue helicopters to get the people out and leave the vehicles.”
The resort came into sight. The main building looked like someone had transported an old southern plantation home from Georgia and moved it to the side of a mountain in Colorado. There were two rows of small cabins in a U-shape in front of the main building.
“I got us a cabin. I figured it would be more fun than staying in the main building.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
They check in and drop their gear off at their cabin.
“We still have time to do a couple of runs on the blue or medium slope before dinner,” Lucas said.
“It’s what we came for,” Sawyer said, grabbing his skis.
“I figured we would hit the medium slope until we get back in practice. I haven’t skied in years.”
They get off the ski lift. Sawyer looked over at a family standing by the blue ski entrance and groaned.
“What’s up?”
“Do you see those folks over there? That’s the Cooper family. Jerome and Audrey used to be friends with Mom and Dad before they moved to New York. They owned a farm that was right next to the ranch. A few years ago, we had that drought that lasted about three years. They lost their farm. The only reason the Johnson Ranch survived was because a river runs through it. Lane, Colton, and Willow bought the Cooper place when it came up for auction. They offered to sell it back to the Coopers, but they refused. Jerome said they shouldn’t have to pay for their own property. Their son, Kyle, was in med school with me but dropped out. He got married and they had a kid. The baby was with Jerome and Audrey when Kyle and his wife went out to party. Kyle was drunk, got behind the wheel, and killed them. He had developed a drinking problem after dropping out.”
“Oh. That sucks. It seems like they made their own bad luck, though.”
“Yeah. Jerome went to work for an agricultural coop and I think Audrey is a teacher. They blame us for Kyle’s death, though.”
“Don’t worry about them. We can still have a good time. Besides, you weren’t directly involved in the ranch deal.”
“It doesn’t matter. They hate all Johnsons, now. But you’re right. I’m not going to let them wreck our party.”
2
C H A P T E R
Gwen
Gwen looked at her watch for the hundredth time in the last hour, willing the bell to finally ring. The kids were restless and were about to climb the walls. A couple of them snuck their phones out of their pocket to check the time. They shifted in their seat and muttered to each other. Winter break was just around the corner and everyone was ready for a vacation.
In the back row, Robert a frequent trouble-maker in her ninth-grade English class, leaned back in his chair, humming loudly as she tried to wrap up the lesson. His antics had been escalating all weak. She had managed to keep her cool but now, he was starting to get on her last nerve.
“Robert, can you please knock it off?”
He rolled his eyes and heaved a loud, exaggerated sigh and then hummed louder and everyone laughed.
Gwen sucked in a huge breath to calm her nerves. She looked at her teacher’s assistant who looked back at her understandably.
“Mrs. Anderson, would you mind getting everyone started on the assignment while Robert and I have a chat outside.”
The older woman walked to the smart board at the front of the class and opened the class app where the assignment was so she could explain.
Robert slammed his hand down on the desk, kicked his chair back, and swaggered out of the classroom.
Once in the hallway, Gwen looked at him and shook her head. “What’s going on?”