Page 5 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

“Hi, Mom.”

“You sound tired.”

“I am.”

“Sounds like you need a vacation.”

“The thought of spending the entire week with Dad in a cabin on a mountain does not sound much like a vacation to me.”

Her mom’s voice softened. “I know that he can be a bit much sometimes, but this is for Brent.”

Before she could say anything, Brent said, “Aunt Gwen, please come with us. It won’t be any fun if you don’t. You always make everything more awesome. I won’t ask for anything else for a whole year – not even for my birthday.”

She sighed heavily. Brent sensed that she was about to give in.

“Please.”

Gwen hung her head. How could she say no to him? She loved spending time with him. Plus, it wasn’t his fault that her father could be so difficult.

“Okay. I’ll come.”

“Yes. You’re awesome. I love you, Aunt Gwen.”

“Love you too, Buddy.”

“We’ll pick you up at eight on Saturday,” her mother said.

“Can’t way.”

“It’ll be great. I’ll talk to you later.”

Saturday morning came too soon. Her father added her skis and poles to the roof of the SUV. She slid her bag into the back and hopped into the back seat next to Brent.

Brent hugged her and said, “Guess what?”

“What’s that?”

“I got accepted into the travel football program. I’m going to be the linebacker.” His eyes sparkled with excitement.

Gwen grinned at him. “A linebacker, huh? That’s very impressive. Congrats.”

He grinned. “I get to tackle people. I’m pretty good at it. I am bigger than a lot of the other kids and faster, too.”

“You’ll have to give a schedule of your games so I can come.”

“I will. When football season is over, I’m going to play basketball. I want to play point guard, but I like all of the positions.”

“Are you going to have time for school?”

“Of course. Grandma says that if I don’t have A’s and B’s, then I can’t play.”

Brent continued to rattle on during the entire four-hour drive. Gwen smiled. This might not have been her idea of the best vacation, but she did love Brent and enjoyed spending time with him.

Gwen was grateful when the resort came into view. She volunteered to go inside and get the family signed in. The cold mountain air almost took her breath away as she trudged through the snow to the main building. She filled out the paperwork and the woman behind the desk handed her the key to cabin seven.

“Enjoy your stay,” the woman said.

“Thanks,” Gwen smiled and headed back outside.

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