Page 43 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

“I do have the authority,” Oliver said, behind Sawyer. “I back everything he said.”

Jerome and Sawyer jerked their head to him. Neither of them knew he was there.

“Excuse me?” Jerome said with a snotty voice.

“You heard me. Either you start acting like a human being, or you can stay in that cabin, just like Sawyer said. No one’s forcing you to be here. But we’re all dealing with the same thing, Jerome. Stop making it harder than it already is.”

Jerome looked at Oliver with pure hatred. His upper lip curled. Sawyer saw the storm brewing in the man’s eyes and waited for him to lash out. However, he apparently decided that Oliver meant every word that he said. Jerome let out a frustrated growl and stormed past them, to the bedroom. The door slammed shut.

“Well, that went well. I should go in there and make him open and shut that door nicely a hundred times,” Oliver said.

Sawyer chuckled and shook his head. “That man is something else. Thanks for backing me up.”

“You’re welcome. You’re not the only one who’s tired of his nasty attitude. He’s been a pain in the butt since day one. Maybe he’ll get over his attitude or he’ll stay in the room and sulk the rest of the time we’re here.”

Sighing heavily, Sawyer said, “Let’s hope so.”

“If not, we’ll make good on our promise.”

Sawyer went back into the dining room. This time Lucas was ahead. He looked at Sawyer and raised his eyebrows. Sawyer just shook his head.

The next morning after breakfast, Sawyer and Lucas decided to trek toward the main road to see its condition and whether they could get any service on the radios or their cell phones.

As usual, the air was biting cold and the wind felt like knife blades cutting into their faces. Their breath was visible in the frozen air.

They spotted elk tracks as they plodded across the snow toward the road.

“Hopefully, we’ll get some kind of signal,” Lucas muttered.

Sawyer nodded in agreement. Being trapped in the lodge was taking its toll on everyone. The building was starting to feel more like a prison than a safe haven. They had no idea how long it would take for help to arrive.

They held up their cell phones every so often, but there was nothing. Sawyer tried the radios when they reached the road, but all he got was static. They couldn’t call for help. The road looked just as impassible as it did the first time, they looked at it after the initial avalanche.

Sawyer laughed. “You know, I’m reminded of zombie movies and shows, where a few people are desperately trying to make contact with someone else in the world and there’s nothing.”

“Hush your mouth,” Lucas laughed. “The last thing we need out here are snow zombies.”

They were grateful for the warmth of the fire when they returned to the lodge. Oliver was in the dining room, sipping coffee, and working a puzzle in his crossword book.”

“We didn’t even get a blip,” Sawyer said. “The road looks just as bad as it did before.”

Oliver didn’t seem surprised. He sighed and set his cup on the table. “I figured as much. The people in town know we’re here and they’ll get us help as soon as they can.”

Sawyer rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, but how long?”

“As long as it takes, I suppose. We’ve got enough food to last us for the next day or so. If we run out, then we know how to hunt.”

Sawyer nodded. He went into the library and found a book on the mountain’s history. The more he read, the more he realized why the mountain was considered cursed. In the late 1800s, a group of experienced trappers were hunting on the mountain in the fall. They just disappeared and none of their bodies were ever found. Legend dictated that their souls haunt the mountains. Over the years, campers have reported seeing their ghosts. Occasionally old rusted traps would be found outside of their tents.

Another chapter described an avalanche in 1932 that wiped out an entire village. This was a different village than Claire’s. Everyone died. The rumor was that anyone who went near the abandoned ruins ended up dying in a weird way.

A third chapter told of sacred Native American grounds that were disturbed by white settlers. The people of the tribe, who were now extinct, cursed the area. Many people who went near the area reported being struck down by mysterious illnesses, some of which were deadly.

There were tales of missing hikers, animals acting strangely, and ghostly apparitions.

“Maybe it is cursed,” he muttered under his breath.

Gwen asked, “What’s cursed?”

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