Page 22 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

“My favorite is a 1936 Model Ford 68,” Zaid said. “I actually have one that we restored. I take it to car shows when I get the chance.” He paused. “You fly helicopters, huh. I don’t suppose that you happen to have one handy, do you?”

“No, that would be too easy,” Lucas laughed. “It would probably be buried under several feet of snow, anyway.”

After a while, they reached the road. Sawyer let out a low whistle. “Wow.”

The road was completely impassable.

On the way back, Sawyer thought about Gwen. She had hated him a couple of days ago. Yesterday, or rather this morning, she thanked him and apologized for her father’s mouth. The apology seemed sincere, unlike the almost forced apology the first night. He vaguely remembered her covering him and Lucas up with blankets.

Has she changed or is it just because of the situation? My guess is that it’s the situation. She was terrified and my face was the first one she saw after the avalanche. Lucas and I werethe ones who helped them escape the cabin. Don’t expect her improved attitude to last.

The four men were tired when they got back to the lodge. Oliver and Daniel were in the dining room having a cup of coffee. They looked up when Sawyer, Lucas, Darren, and Zaid walked in.

“What’s the word, Boys?” Oliver asked.

“The road is completely impassible. Not only is it covered in several feet of snow, but there were a couple of drifts that had to be at least fifteen feet deep,” Darren reported.

“There’s no way that even snowmobiles can get down the road because there is no way to know where the road is and where the drop off is. It wouldn’t take much for the machine to slide off the side of the cliff.”

“Bummer,” Daniel muttered. “I guess we’ll have to wait for the town to break out their machines and unbury us.”

Daniel stood up and said, “I’m going to bring in more wood. It’s better to make sure the box is full since we have the heaters turned off everywhere but the dining room and kitchen during the day.”

“We’ll help,” Zaid said.

The cold air slapped them in the face when they walked back outside. Sawyer was certain that the temperature had dropped a few degrees just since they returned from their trip.

The five men traipsed through the deep snow to the wood pile. Despite his thick gloves, Sawyer’s fingers were already starting to get cold. His hands burned. Several of the blisters had popped.

Daniel loaded the wood onto the men’s outstretched arms and then piled as much wood onto his own arms as he could carry.

“I swear, this is like carrying heavy boulders,” Darren muttered.

Sawyer grunted his agreement. “Better this than freezing, though.”

“Better this than hanging around and being bored,” Zaid said.

They had almost reached the front door of the lodge when Zaid suddenly cried out in pain.

“What happened?” Sawyer asked as he dropped his wood and rushed to help Zaid.

Zaid’s face was twisted in pain. “My foot just slipped out from under me. I think I might have broken it.”

He was panting, his breath coming out in short gasps. His face was pale.

Sawyer gently examined Zaid’s leg and his stomach dropped. The tibia and fibula were clearly broken and Zaid’s leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Zaid winced every time Sawyer even touched it gently.

“We need to get him inside,” Sawyer said.

Darren, Sawyer, and Lucas carefully lifted Zaid, trying not to jostle his leg any more than necessary. Sawyer and Lucas supported him on either side while Darren tried to hold the broken leg steady. Every step they took was careful and deliberate, but the deep snow made the trek even more difficult.

Zaid let out a hiss of pain as they walked steadily to the lodge. “Isn’t this oodles of fun?”

Daniel ran ahead of them to open the door and then to find Oliver.

By the time they reached the lodge, Zaid was pale and his breaths were shallow from the pain. They carried him carefully through the door, making sure they didn’t accidentally bump him and laid him on the floor in front of the fireplace.

Everyone quickly pulled off their coats, hats, gloves, and boots. Oliver ran over to them with a large tackle box full of medical supplies.

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