Page 24 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

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C H A P T E R

Gwen

Gwen woke up early the next morning and stumbled into the kitchen. “What can I do?” she asked.

“Good morning, Sunshine,” Millie said, smiling at her. “You can take the bread, butter, jelly, and toaster out to the counter in the middle of the dining room. People can make their own toast. Then, you can take out the orange juice and glass, as well as the coffee pot and cups.”

Millie stirred some scrambled eggs while Tessie flipped the bacon. Gwen snagged a piece of bacon and munched on it while she completed her assigned tasks.

Everyone poured into the dining room at six-thirty, since the rooms would have gotten cold quickly. After they ate, everyone took their dishes into the kitchen. Gwen offered to help, but Millie shooed her out. She and Tessie had it covered.

Feeling a little lost, Gwen meandered her way back into the dining room. Her mother sat at one of the tables, lost in a book she had found in the library. Gwen sat next to her.

“Hi, Honey. How are you doing?” Audrey asked.

“I’m alright. About the same as everyone else, I suppose. You?”

“Same. I saw you putting blankets on Sawyer and Lucas.”

Gwen nodded. “I felt so bad for them. It was obvious that they were completely exhausted.”

“Yeah. You know the Johnsons really are great people. Unless you knew who they were, you wouldn’t guess they were billionaires. I’ve never seen them treat anyone with less than kindness. Their cook, housekeepers, and ranch hands are treated like family and they all eat at the same table.” Audrey laughed. “Caroline, Sawyer’s mother, has always been over the top. When she throws a party, it is a massive affair. They are also very generous with their money and are willing to help anyone who needs it.”

“I remember that she was nice. She always bought Kyle and me nice gifts, especially for Christmas and birthdays. I remember a fundraiser they did to buy school supplies for kids. She was with everyone else, stuffing backpacks full of pens, papers, and everything else kiddos need. Why didn’t they help Dad during the drought?”

“They couldn’t. The Johnsons do have a river, but it wasn’t overflowing during the drought. There was enough water for themselves and they were able to irrigate, but they couldn’t divert the river or send water to our farm. That would not have been legal because of how water rights work in Colorado. Plus, it just wasn’t feasible. They did buy our farm, but they offered tosell it back to us, at cost. We could have made payments for it with no interest.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“I thought so, but your father was bitter and thought they should have just given the land back to him, I guess as a gift. Your dad wouldn’t listen to me.”

“That is a doozy of a gift. The biggest gift I ever wanted was a car for my birthday.”

Audrey laughed. “I know.

“Kyle could have continued in med school. Your father and I could have helped a little and he could have got a job. I suspect that he was drinking while he was still in school and used losing the farm as an excuse. Your father was blind, though, and refused to see the truth. As far as he was concerned, the sun rose and set on Kyle.”

“I guess I was so young when it all happened. I was fourteen when he dropped out of school so I wasn’t paying much attention. Then all I heard was Dad’s version of events.”

Audrey took a sip of her sweet iced tea. “I should have spoken up, but I guess I felt like it was useless. No one can hear my voice over your dad’s.”

“I’m sorry that you feel that way, Mom. I didn’t realize.”

She shrugged. “It is what it is, I suppose.”

“I promise I’ll hear you from now on,” Gwen said. “Maybe this avalanche was good for something. It gave us a chance to talk.”

“Yeah.”

Gwen hugged her mom and left the table in search of Sawyer. He was in the library, sitting in a recliner, next to the fireplace with a book in his hands. She sat in the recliner across from him.

“Can we talk?”

“What about?” his voice was cold and hard.

Her heart sank. He didn’t want to talk to her and she couldn’t blame him.

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