Page 27 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

C H A P T E R

Sawyer

Sawyer watched, bemused, as Gwen practically sprinted out the door. He had no idea what to think. He touched his lips, which were still tingling from the kiss. As brief as it was, it seemed as though a ball of electricity hit him in the gut.

Maybe it’s just been such a long time since I was with a woman that her kiss jolted me. Why in the world did she do that, anyway?

He sat down and ran his fingers through his hair. Maybe it is a combination of being terrified, overwhelmed, and grateful all rolled up in one.

Sawyer had to admit being shut up in a lodge, with limited resources, alongside several other strangers was a bit unnerving. That could do a lot to a person.

She was a good kid and I like her alright now that she lost her attitude. I’m just wondering whether it is a permanent attitude change or just because we’re all stuck together. Heshrugged. Oh, well. I’ll take what I can get. Now, the only attitude I have to deal with is Jerome’s and he mostly avoids me.

He stretched and yawned. The heat might not be on in the room yet, but he was exhausted and the sleeping bag was warm. Sawyer was pretty sure that he could sleep for a month straight and still not be recuperated from digging people out.

Before he headed for his cot, he checked on Zaid. He was in the middle of a card game.

“The tea helps a lot with the pain. I’ve been keeping it elevated and Millie or Tessie brings ice packs at least once an hour and leaves them on for fifteen minutes.”

Sawyer patted him on the shoulder and said, “Good man. Put a pillow or two under it when you go to bed.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Darren said.

“Wake me up if you need help getting him from the chair to the bed. I’m going to bed now. I’m whooped.”

Sawyer took his five-minute shower, brushed his teeth, and settled into his cot. The next thing he knew, the sun was shining through the window. Groaning, he opened his eyes and looked around. Everyone else had already gone to breakfast and it was clear that the heat had been turned off because the air was nippy.

The day started off normal. After breakfast, they refilled the wood box. Lucas and Sawyer played a couple games of spades with Darren and Zaid. Every so often, Sawyer felt someone watching him. Gwen turned her head when she saw him looking back.

He knew she had a crush on him when she was younger. Maybe now that the hatred was gone, the crush had replaced it.

Sawyer was in the library after lunch when Gwen ran in. “Sawyer, Brent is missing.”

His heart dropped into his stomach. “What do you mean, Brent is missing?”

“No one had seen him since shortly after breakfast. I asked around, but no one has seen him. We checked all the rooms. He’s gone,” she said, her voice trembling with fear.

Sawyer jumped to his feet and ran into the living room. Lucas, we have to go. Brent hasn’t been seen for a couple of hours.”

Lucas, Daniel, Samantha, Darren, Joseph, and Elsie jumped up and ran to the coat rack. They all knew that there was no time to waste. It was way too cold for a ten-year-old to survive long. The temperature held steady at ten below zero.

“We’ll go in teams,” Sawyer said. “Gwen, you come with me. Lucas and Daniel you guys go, Samantha and Darren pair up, and Joseph and Elsie are a team.”

Oliver hurried toward them with four emergency backpacks. A whistle was attached to each.

“If you find him blow the whistle. Hopefully, he couldn’t have gone too far and we’ll hear it,” Lucas said.

They divided the area up around the lodge and each pair set off in a different direction, calling out Brent’s name. Sawyer’s breath came out in frozen clouds of mist as he and Gwen walked a narrow trail through the woods. It had started to snow so it was impossible to follow any footprints.

The snow was deep and every step was exhausting. It had gotten dark quickly, between the thick layer of clouds and the waning sunlight. Sawyer and Gwen pulled their flashlights out of their bags, the thin light barely penetrating the darkness.

“We can’t leave him out here all night. He’ll die,” Gwen said, her voice shrill with panic.

Sawyer felt fear grip his heart but he forced himself to speak calmly. “We’ll find him. No one will go back to the lodge until he’s found.”

For the next hour, they trudged through the snow, calling out Brent’s name. They listened intently but didn’t hear anyone calling back. The wind picked up again, making it even harder to hear anything but the sound of their own footsteps crunching in the snow. Despite his comforting words to Gwen, Sawyer’s mind raced with worry.Was he hurt? Did he run into a wild animal?

Sawyer’s fingers and nose were numb. His body ached from the cold. He was determined not to give up until someone found the boy.

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