Page 45 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

Her face flushed from the heat and she pushed the thought away.

She sighed softly. Gwen was certain that she had fallen in love with Sawyer. There was no denying it anymore. Everything about him, from the way he cared for people, to the way he handled every crisis with calm strength, and even the way he smiled at her had stolen her heart.

Samantha, Maddie, and Emilia walked in and plopped onto the bed, sitting with their legs crossed.

“I’ve seen you and Lucas hanging out a lot,” Maddie said. “What gives?”

“He’s amazing. The man is incredibly intelligent. He is the first man I’ve actually had a conversation about philosophy with. Most men I go on a date with want to talk about how great they are or try to get in my pants. Lucas will ask me about my life as though he’s actually interested. We’ll talk about everything in life.” She giggled, and said, “He’s also an amazing kisser. Ladies, I think that I just might be falling for him.”

“That is so awesome. You deserve to find love,” Maddie said. “Darren’s pretty amazing, too. You know my dad has a couple antique cars he restored, with my help, so we actually have had some good conversations about that. He’s a Sylvester Stallone fan and also loves John Wayne and old Clint Eastwood movies. You know I grew up with that.”

“So, what about you and Sawyer?” Samantha asked.

“He’s pretty amazing. I think I’ve fallen in love with him.” Gwen sighed heavily. “The biggest problem is my father. We’ll see how things go after we get off this godforsaken mountain. I would hate to have to choose between the two of them.”

“I’ve noticed that your father hates him. That would be hard,” Samantha said. “But no offense, your father seems to hate everyone and everything.”

“None taken. I know he’s been a jerk, and there’s nothing that will change him. I’ve tried talking to him and I know Mom has to.”

“It’s not on you,” Samantha said.

“You’re awfully quiet, Emilia. Is everything okay?”

“Not really. You know that I’ve been hanging out with Zaid. He is an incredibly sweet man. He’s not been feeling well lately and hasn’t been eating.”

Gwen frowned, suddenly feeling the weight of the conversation shift. “What’s wrong with him?”

“He says that he’s just tired,” Emilia said, worry evident in her voice. “It’s more than that, though. Sawyer’s been keeping an eye on him. He thinks that an infection could be setting in.”

Gwen felt a pang of worry at the mention of Sawyer’s concerns. “An infection? That’s serious. What’s Sawyer going to do?”

“Sawyer’s already started him on antibiotics,” Emilia said, glancing at the other women. “Oliver happened to have some in his supplies, luckily. But Sawyer’s worried. If we don’t get off this mountain soon, things could get bad.”

There was a heavy silence in the room. They had all become friends since being stranded on the mountain and they cared about Zaid. Regardless of how good of a doctor Sawyer was, there was only so much he could do with limited resources. Zaid could possibly lose his leg – or worse.

“We need to pray,” Maddie said, softly.

They all nodded and bowed their heads.

Maddie said, “Lord God, we come to You asking for Your healing hand over Zaid. Please give him strength and restore his health. Guide Sawyer and those caring for him with wisdom and skill. We ask that You provide a way for us to safely get off this mountain and for Zaid to receive the help he needs. Protect us all during this time, and bring us peace and comfort. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”

“Amen,” everyone said.

When the prayer ended, Gwen opened her eyes and let out a long breath. She thought about what Emilia had said. She thought about how Sawyer had set Zaid’s leg, how he had jumped into action the moment Zaid showed symptoms, and how he’d done everything he could with what little they had. It only made her feelings for him deepen.

“He’ll be okay,” Gwen said, trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince Emilia.

“I hope so,” Emilia said with a weak smile. “Zaid’s been strong through all of this and tried not to let anyone see how much pain he’s in or how badly he feels, but he’s not invincible. I’m afraid that if help doesn’t get here soon, I’m going to lose him before we even have a chance to see where our relationship is going to go.”

The conversation winded down and as Gwen fell asleep, she said another prayer that God would send help soon.

Gwen woke up early the next morning and wandered into the kitchen to see if Millie needed help. Elsie was already there, so Gwen went to the parlor to wait. She was reading the same book about the mountain that Sawyer had. Gwen had to admit that there had been a whole lot of bad situations happening on the mountain – maybe more than in other cursed or haunted places.

Sawyer, Lucas, Darren, and Joseph went outside to chop more wood after breakfast, so Gwen started to head into the library. She didn’t hear her father’s footsteps behind her.

“You need to stay away from Sawyer,” Jerome said, his voice sharp and angry. “Are you having sex with him?”

Gwen turned around, her fists clenched at her side, trying to keep her temper in check.

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