an American accent. Now, that he found interesting. What was an American woman doing in Austria at Christmastime? Did she have family here? Or was it something else? Perhaps it was the journalist in him, but he was curious about her story. And then he wondered if she might have an interesting story—something to humanize the holiday segment that he’d flown here to film.
He assured himself that it was professional interest—nothing more. After all, he was off the market. Ever since his wife passed away, he’d kept to himself. No one could ever fill the empty spot in his heart and he had no desire to replace his wife, not now—not ever.
Their progress was slow but steady. He felt bad for holding her back. “Why don’t you go on ahead?” he suggested. “You’ve got to be cold.”
“No colder than you. And I’m not leaving you out here. You don’t even know where my cabin is.”
“I can follow your tracks—”
“No. We’re in this together.”
Boy, was she stubborn. Even though it irked him that Mae was out here in the frigid air on his account, a small part of him admired her assertiveness. She would certainly be a tough nut to crack during an interview. Those were the interviews he enjoyed the most. The ones where he had to work hard to get the interviewee to open up—to get to the heart of the matter.
A lot of his peers would disagree and say that an interview should flow smoothly. But he wasn’t afraid of confrontation—of setting matters straight. But being stuck on the morning news cycle, he didn’t get to do many meaty interviews—certainly not as many as he would like.
They continued on in silence. And that was quite all right with Jackson. His head hurt. No, it pounded. But that pain was nothing compared to his ankle. However, he refused to let any of that stop him.
He clenched his jaw as he forced himself to keep moving. It was very slow progress, but one step at a time, he was moving over the snow-laden ground. The snow had seeped into his dress shoes. At first, his feet had grown cold. Then they had begun to hurt. Now they were numb.
He sure hoped they got to their destination soon. Freezing to death might make a big news story—but he wasn’t that desperate for headlines.
He glanced once more at Mae, but she’d pulled up her hood with the fluffy white fur trim, blocking the view of her beautiful face. “Is it much farther?”
“It’s just over that rise.” She turned her head, sending him a concerned look. “Do you need to rest?”
“No.” If he stopped now, he doubted he’d be able to move again. “I can make it.”
“Are you sure?” There was a distinct note of doubt in her voice.
“I’m sure.” His teeth started to chatter, so he clenched his jaw together.
Attempting to keep his thoughts on anything but the unending cold, he glanced at the woman next to him. He was torn between being angry at her for causing the accident by letting her dog loose and being grateful that she was some sort of angel sent to rescue him.
Then guilt settled in. How could he be upset with someone who was so concerned for him? She may have been irresponsible with the dog, but she’d cared enough to help him. He couldn’t forget that. Perhaps this was the twist in the story he’d come to Austria to tell. Perhaps he could attribute her actions to the holiday spirit. Maybe that was stretching things, but he liked the sound of it. He knew that angle would tug on the heartstrings of his viewers. But it wouldn’t be enough to garner the attention of the television executives—the same people who had passed him over for the evening news anchor role.
He stared straight ahead. There indeed was a slight hill. In his condition, it seemed more like Mont Blanc. But between the thick tree limb that Mae had located for him and her slim shoulders, he would make it.
Hopefully this cabin came equipped with a landline. He had to get out of here. This wasn’t a vacation for him. He was on assignment and his film crew was due to arrive tomorrow. He’d arrived early to scout out some special settings for his Christmas-around-the-world series. This accident would definitely put a crimp in his plans, but by tomorrow he’d be back on track. He refused to let his ankle and various minor injuries hold him back—not when there was work to be done.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when the cabin at last came into sight. He paused for a moment, catching his breath. But only for a moment and then he was moving again—pushing through the pain. Between the snow and his injured leg, this walk was a bigger workout than he normally experienced at the gym.
His body was giving in to the cold and he stumbled. “We need to stop.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Are you quitting on me? Are you a quitter?”
“I’m not a quitter.” What was wrong with her? “Can’t you see that I’m injured?”
“I think you’re being a wimp.”
“Wimp?” He glared at her. Anger warmed his veins. He’d been wrong about her. This woman wasn’t an angel—not even close. She was rude and mean.
He’d show her.
He kept going.
One slow, agonizing step after the other.
AT LAST.
Serena’s gaze zeroed in on the large log cabin. Any other time, she’d stop to admire how picturesque it looked with the snow-covered roof and the icicles hanging around the edges. But not this afternoon. With the thickening snow and the added weight from supporting Jackson, her back ached and her legs were exhausted. Still, her minor discomforts were nothing compared to Jackson’s injuries.
She felt bad for being so mean to him back there. But angering him enough for him to prove her wrong was the only way she knew how to keep him going—how to save his life.
If he’d stopped, she’d have never gotten him moving again. Pain and fatigue were deeply etched on his handsome face. And there was no way she was letting her favorite morning news show anchor become a human Popsicle.
Still, she had to temper her sympathy. If she let herself become too involved with this man, she’d end up paying a steep price. Her last romance had cost her dearly.
Her thoughts turned to Shawn McNolty—Hollywood’s rising star. He’d also costarred in Serena’s latest movie, which was set to release over the holidays. During the filming, their agents had contrived for them to be seen together to get the public buzzing about a potential romance. But as time went on, Shawn had convinced Serena that instead of putting on a show they could start a genuine romance. He had been so charming and attentive that she’d convinced herself that taking their romance from the big screen to real life could work.
And everything had been all right, or so she’d thought, until she overheard Shawn talking to one of his friends. They’d been out to dinner and she was just returning from the ladies’ room while they were standing in the waiting area. Shawn was telling his friend that his arrangement with Serena was working out much better than he’d planned. The longer he spent escorting Serena around town, the more promo he
