Page 59 of Snowed in With My Small Town Billionaire

“I see. Well, I guess you’re all grown up and can make your own decisions, but you should consider this: If you decided to be with him, then you will no longer be my daughter.”

With that, Jerome walked away.

Gwen shook her head. I can’t believe he just said that to me. Wait, never mind. Yes, I can.

She wondered whether he really meant it and if it would be a forever thing.

Did I dare risk it? What if I do decide to pursue a relationship with Sawyer, it doesn’t work out, and I lose both of them.

Feeling trapped and as though the walls were closing in on her, Gwen went to the foyer and pulled on her coat.

“Where are you going?” Audrey asked.

“I’m just going to step outside for a few minutes. I need some fresh air.”

“What was your father talking to you about?”

“Go ask him,” Gwen said, feeling that it would be useless to talk to her mother about the situation.

The night air was so cold, but it was a relief from the stifling, musty air inside the lodge. It was obvious that some of the people weren’t making good use of the five-minute shower time allotted to them.

She wasn’t really paying attention to where she was walking. Gwen just focused on her breathing and pushing all other thoughts a break, hoping to clear her mind.

Suddenly, she noticed that it had started snowing again. She turned around to head back to the lodge but didn’t see the lights. Gwen tried to retrace her steps, but in the inky darkness, shecouldn’t see them. She walked for a while and then realized that she was completely lost.

Terror exploded inside of her. Her heart thundered and she couldn’t breathe. She started shaking, and not from the cold.

“Stop it, Gwen,” she told herself. “Panicking isn’t going to help you. You need to focus.”

She looked around here, but she didn’t recognize any landmarks – not that she could see them in the darkness anyway. Looking up, she saw that there was no north star to follow because of the thick clouds, and she hadn’t paid attention to the direction she was walking in, anyway.

Gwen paused a moment to consider her options. One, she could keep walking. She had heard that when people get lost, they tend to walk in circles. If she did that, she might end up back at the lodge – or she might end up in a ravine like Brent, or worse, with a broken leg or arm.

Her other option was to wait. Someone would notice that she was missing and come looking for her. She laughed bitterly.It’ll likely be Sawyer and Lucas who search for me, not my dear old dad.

She pushed the thought away. That’s not helpful right now.

If she kept walking and somehow managed not to fall into a ravine, she would make it that much harder for them to find her. However, if she stayed in one place without moving, she would freeze to death.

Gwen remembered that Sawyer said that snow was an insulator, which was why the Inuit people used it to build igloos. Of course, they had body heat and fires to heat the insides with, but it was better than nothing.

She found a stick and started digging a hole in the snow, packing the snow hard against the walls of her hole, just like thetunnels that Sawyer and Lucas had dug to get them out of the cabins.

When it was big enough, she crawled inside and prayed that Sawyer would find her soon. The tunnel protected her from the falling snow and the biting wind. Between that and her parka, sweater, sweatpants, and thermal underwear, she was just slightly chilled, at least at first. Then, the longer she sat there, the more the cold seeped in through her clothes, her skin, and into her bones.

Gwen must have fallen asleep because she was startled awake when she heard Sawyer calling her name.

She tried calling out, but her voice was caught in her throat. Gwen cleared her throat and tried again. “Sawyer, I’m here.”

“Gwen?” he called again.

She stood up on shaking legs, emerging from the snow like the abominable snowman. Sawyer and Lucas rushed up to her.

“Are you hurt?” Sawyer asked.

“No, I’m fine. Just cold.”

“What in the Hades were you thinking, Woman?” Lucas exclaimed. “Didn’t you learn anything from your brother’s little adventure?”

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