“I know how to undress myself.”
“Fine. Take everything off. I’ll get you some blankets.” Seeing him standing there leaning all of his weight on his good leg, she knew he was close to falling over from pain and exhaustion. “Let’s move you closer to the fire.”
She once again lent him her shoulder. Lucky for both of them, the couch was close by. Once he was seated and loosening his tie, she worked on getting a fire started.
A few minutes later, she returned to the great room with her arms piled high with blankets. Jackson sat on the couch in nothing but his blue boxers and socks. Heat immediately rushed to her cheeks. She was being silly. This was an emergency and it wasn’t like she was a virgin.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
She knew she was blushing and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She averted her gaze. “Here you go.”
She set the blankets beside him. One by one, she draped them over him. That was better. But she couldn’t get the image of his very lean, very muscular body out of her mind.
She swallowed hard. “You forgot your socks and they’re soaked. I’ll get them—”
“No. I can do it.” There was obvious weariness in his voice and his eyes drooped closed. “Stop...”
She ignored his protest and set to work. She removed the sock from his good leg. His foot was scary cold. She held it between her hands, trying to get the circulation going. It didn’t work.
She glanced up at her unexpected guest. His eyes were still closed. Next, she worked the sock from his injured leg. His ankle was swollen and an angry mess of red and purple bruises.
“Is something the matter?”
His voice startled her. “Um, no.” She had to tell him something. “It’s just that your feet are so cold.”
“They’ll be fine.”
“It could be frostbite. You weren’t exactly dressed to hike through a blizzard. Can you feel your toes? They are awfully pale.”
“They have that pins-and-needles sensation.”
Holding his feet in her hands wasn’t going to be enough help. She grabbed a basin of lukewarm water for him to soak his feet in. He put up a fuss, but eventually he gave in to her ministrations.
When Jackson’s feet had sufficiently warmed up, he settled back on the couch. “How does it look?”
The horrible purple-and-red bruise was on both sides of his ankle. The inside wasn’t as bad as the outside, but the ankle was a mess. And it was swollen to the point that she couldn’t see his ankle bone.
“I think it’s broken,” she said as though she had any clue about medicine.
“Are you a doctor?” he asked.
“Me? No.” Heat swirled in her chest and rushed up to her face. She knew where this conversation was headed.
He arched a brow as he studied her face. “I have the strangest feeling that we’ve met before. Have we? Met before, that is?”
“No. I don’t believe we have.”
She knew for a fact that they’d never crossed paths. For the most part, her life was limited to Los Angeles while she knew his work kept him based in New York City. And if they had met, she wouldn’t have forgotten. The man was drop-dead gorgeous, and he had the sexiest deep voice. He was the only reason she tuned into the morning news show.
And now he was here, in her cabin, in nothing but his underwear. But it couldn’t be further from a romantic interlude. He was a member of the press and she was a Hollywood star in hiding. Once he figured out who she was, he’d broadcast it to the world. The thought made her stomach roil, especially after the mess she’d left behind in California.
“Hmm... I don’t know where I’ve seen you, but I’m good with faces. It’ll come to me.”
Not if she could help it.
She retrieved a towel that she’d grabbed while gathering the blankets for Jackson. She called Gizmo over and dried him off. Then she situated him on a chair near the fire with an extra blanket. The puppy immediately settled down. With one eye closed and one partially open, he looked at her as though to make sure she didn’t go anywhere.
“I won’t leave you.” She petted him and then kissed the top of his fuzzy head.
She got to her feet and turned to Jackson. “I’ll call emergency services. They’ll be out in no time to take you to the hospital and deal with your car.”
“I’m sorry to be such a bother.”
“It was my fault, or rather my dog’s. Anyway, everything turned out okay. Except for your ankle...and your car.” She moved to the phone on the desk.
When she’d checked in at the leasing office, they’d warned her that cell service was spotty in the mountains so they’d installed a landline. She picked it up and held the cordless phone to her ear. There was no sound. She pressed the power button on and off a few times, but there was still no dial tone. Great!
She could only hope she’d get a signal with her cell phone. She hadn’t in the couple of days she’d been here, so why would today be any different? But she refused to give up hope.
With her cell phone in hand, she headed for the door. She paused to slip on her boots.
“Where are you going without a coat?” Jackson asked.
“Out on the porch. The phone lines must be down due to the storm, so I’m going to see if I can get a cell signal outside.”
He didn’t say anything more. She noticed this was the first time she’d headed for the door without Gizmo hot on her heels. Today’s adventure had wiped him out. He hadn’t budged from the chair. In fact, at one point she’d heard Gizmo snoring. He was so sweet and she felt so blessed that he was safe.
She paced from end to end of the large porch. There was no signal at all. She held it above her head and craned her neck to see if that helped. It didn’t.
She lifted on her tiptoes and waved it around. Nothing. She leaned out over the large wooden banister. Snow fell on her phone and her arm, but there was still no signal. There had to be something she could do.
Her gaze moved to her rented all-terrain vehicle. Maybe she could go get help. But then she noticed how the snow was piled up around the tires. She glanced into the distance and she couldn’t even see the line of trees at the end of the smallish yard. Who was she kidding? She’d never even get out of the driveway.
With a heavy sigh, she turned back toward the door. Chilled to the bone, she rushed back inside. She brushed the snow from her arm.
“Well?” Jackson’s weary voice greeted her.
“Do you want the bad news? Or the bad news?”
He arched a dark brow. “Is that a trick question?”
“Not at all. So which shall it be?”
Was that the beginning of a smile pulling at his lips? Serena couldn’t quite be sure. And then she conjured up the image of him smiling like he did each morning on television when he greeted the viewers. He was so devastatingly sexy when he smiled—
“Did you hear me?” Jackson sent her a funny look.
She’d lost track of the conversation, but she knew that he was waiting on her news. “The bad news is that there’s no phone service whatsoever.”
“And the other bad news?”
“We’re stuck here. Together.”
His handsome face creased with frown lines. “And exactly how long do you think we’ll be snowbound?”
She