Hearing his frustration, she touched his arm. She knew how important his rescue work was to him, how responsible he felt for the men and women he worked with. “Not today, but with the progress you’re already making, you’ll be up there soon enough. It’ll be better if I have an idea of what’s going on before that happens.”
Some of the tension left his face. He tugged on her braid. “Come on.”
“Do I need to bring anything?”
“Patience,” he said. “Maybe some prayers. A book wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. It could be a long day.”
She stared up at him, her heart full of love. “As long as I’m with you, it won’t matter.”
He shrugged on his OMSAR jacket. “Oh, didn’t you want to talk to me about something?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “But it can wait.”
“There’s another weather system moving in.” Sean, acting as the PIO, public information officer, spoke to the media at the base of rescue operations. He would rather have been on the mountain. But he was happy to contribute in any way he could, and he was comfortable in the public eye. Good thing, too, as the number of microphones and cameras kept increasing as more information about the missing climbers was released. “According to NOAA, the winds will increase to eighty-five miles per hour. The rescue teams on the mountain have a turnaround time of two o’clock to make sure they’re out of danger.”
“What about the missing climbers?” a local news station reporter asked. “Won’t those winds be dangerous for them?”
“Rescuer safety is our first priority,” Sean explained. “We are attempting to regain contact with the missing climbers.”
He glanced at the back of the room for Zoe, but she had slipped away. He didn’t blame her. The media storm was pretty intimidating for anyone who wasn’t used to it.
“So to confirm what we know,” a radio reporter said. “A father and his two teenage sons, ages seventeen and fourteen, are missing somewhere on Mount Hood.”
“Correct,” Sean said.
“Do you know if both boys are injured?” a journalist for the Portland daily paper inquired.
“We are still trying to confirm the extent of the injuries for each of the subjects.” Sean noticed the IC, incident commander, gesturing to him. “The teams will continue their search until the turnaround time. We’ll have another briefing at fourteen hundred. Thank you.”
He hurried over to the IC and waited while the man ended a cell phone call. “Any word?” Sean asked.
“No, all the snowfall overnight is making it hard to see anything,” the IC said. “This is going national. CNN, FOX, MSNBC.”
That meant phone interviews until they got their crews out here or piggybacked with one of the local news affiliates.
“It’s going to turn into a real circus,” the IC added.
“No worries,” Sean reassured him. “It’s nothing we haven’t dealt with before. Or won’t deal with again.”
The lines of IC’s face relaxed. “Nice to have you down here for once, Hughes. Though I know you’d rather be up there.”
Sean thought about the teams up there. Yeah, that was where he wanted to be, too, but until he was a hundred percent recovered, he would only be a liability. At least his effort down here freed an able-bodied person to do the real rescue work. “Happy to help out where I can.”
“I need to go and check with the safety officer.”
“I’ll prepare for the interviews.” Sean sat at a table with notes about the mission objectives, the number of teams in the field and the three subjects. A steaming cup of black coffee appeared in front of him. “Just what I needed.”
Zoe placed her hands on his shoulders. “Caffeine works wonders.”
He leaned back against her and felt the beating of her heart. “I wasn’t talking about the coffee.”
She kissed the top of his head. “Just tell me what you need.”
“That’s easy.” Sean wished he could send some of the warmth he felt right now to the teams in the field. Up on the mountain, the risk of frostbite was high. “All I need is you.”
All he would ever need.
Sean wasn’t about to let Zoe get away from him. He would have to see about getting his grandmother’s ring out of the bank safe-deposit box. Just to be prepared…
A traditional girl like Zoe deserved a traditional proposal. That would take planning and preparation. Right now, he needed to focus on the missing climbers and rescue mission.
She massaged his shoulders. “Things are tense around here.”
“With the weather changing again, the teams will have to come down.”
“I can’t imagine what that father and his two sons must be going through up there. Injured. Stuck on the mountain.” She shivered. “I can’t shake the sound of that teenager’s voice during the 911 call.”
“The kid’s keeping it together given what happened,” Sean said, impressed with what he’d heard in a call from the fourteen-year-old. “Now that we’ve lost contact… You know, I was the same age the first time my dad took me up Hood. I remember what he told me as we were preparing for the climb. He said, ‘Son, there are old climbers and there are bold climbers, but there are no old bold climbers.’ Climbing with your dad is great, and it should never turn out like this.”
“They’ll find them.” Zoe pressed against him. “It’s only the twenty-sixth of December. There has to be some Christmas magic left on the mountain.”
Sean turned and kissed her quickly on the lips. “Maybe we can send some of our magic up to them.”
“Your kisses are pretty magical.” She smiled. “So is the way you handle the press. They adore you. I have a feeling a photograph of you hugging the boys’ mom will be on the front page of the paper tomorrow.”
“I didn’t know you were watching me.” He took a sip of his coffee. “Every time the press appears, you disappear.”
“Just trying to stay out of the way.”
“Well, I’m really glad you’re here.”
“Me, too.” Zoe smiled at him. “I’m getting an idea of what you do, and the precautions you take to make sure everyone stays safe. I’m impressed.”
Her willingness to lend a hand, do whatever needed to be done, warmed and impressed him. “You’ll make a fine associate member.”
“That’s what Will said.” He had been working here at the base, too. Not for OMSAR, but the sheriff’s office. “He also said cooking wasn’t a membership requirement.”
Sean laughed. “A good thing in your case.”
“Hey, I can learn,” Zoe said. “Remember, I got five cookbooks from your family for Christmas.”
“And two fire extinguishers.”
She grinned. “Well, you like to be prepared, and your family is getting to know me well.”
A loud commotion sounded. Streaks of light flashed. The noise level rose exponentially.
Zoe looked at him, her nose crinkled. “I didn’t think you had another press conference scheduled until later.”
“We don’t.” Sean rose. He would have heard if the status had changed. “I better find out what’s going on. Come on.”
“I don’t mind staying here.”
“Humor me.”
Zoe pulled her ski cap so low he could barely see her face. “Okay.”
“There’s no reason for you to hide.” He tugged on her hat. “Unless you’re wearing something that says OMSAR, even someone as pretty as you is safe from the media frenzy.”
He entered the cafeteria to see Will, in full deputy’s uniform, escorting a stylish older woman.
Will motioned to him. “This is Sean Hughes, Governor.”
Governor? Not of Oregon, that was for sure. But the woman’s face looked a little familiar. Still, Sean couldn’t place her.
“It’s so nice to meet you, Sean.” The woman’s wide smile reached her blue eyes. “Zoe’s told me a little about you.”
“Zoe…”
“Mother?” Zoe sounded horrified. “What are
you doing here?”
Mother? Sean’s gaze darted between the two. He could kind of see a resemblance. Straight nose. Full mouth. Maybe that accounted for the familiarity of her face? But Zoe and her family were estranged.
“Visiting, dear,” the woman said.
“You said you wouldn’t be here for two more days.”
“I know, but I wanted to see you so I decided to come today.”
“You left Maxwell’s house early to come see me?”
The surprise in Zoe’s voice, the hope in her eyes, nearly broke Sean’s heart, even though he was really confused and still reeling from their introduction. What did Will mean calling her Governor? Governor Flynn?
The woman nodded. “I wanted to see you and meet Sean.”
Zoe ran to her mother’s open arms.
A flash captured the moment.
Zoe drew back as if she’d been covered in acid, not light.
“Don’t worry, dear,” her mother said gently. “It’s okay.”
Not wanting to interrupt, but needing to know what was going on, Sean cleared his throat.
“I’m Vanessa Carrington.” The older woman extended her arm. Her nails were polished. Her skin soft. “It’s so nice to meet you, Sean.”
Not Flynn. Carrington. He knew who Governor Carrington was. Most people did. The then-wife-now-widow of a multimillionaire who’d decided to give politics a whirl. The mother of a flighty socialite. He’d seen the stories on E! and in the tabloids at the supermarket. Sexy blond party girl Zoe…
Carrington.
He stared at Zoe, hoping for some other explanation.
She hunched her shoulders. “Flynn is my middle name. I’m really Zoe Carrington.”
The missing socialite. The wild child. The other woman.
But that couldn’t be the same sweet brunette who burned food, danced in the snow, walked his dog and played with his cousins’ kids.
No way. Not his Zoe. Someone had to be pulling a prank.
He looked again from the governor’s well-preserved jaw-line and expertly made-up face to Zoe’s. He could still see that resemblance between the governor and her. Around the nose and mouth.
Sean glanced at Will, who looked as surprised as he was.
“I was planning to tell you, but…” Zoe glanced at the curious media with a look of fear in her eyes.
Sean might be confused, but Zoe was scared. Trembling. He needed to protect her. “Hey, baby, it’s going to be okay.”
It had to be okay. This was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
“Look, it’s Zoe Carrington,” someone yelled.
“She’s with Sean Hughes,” another shouted.
The media rushed forward like a wave about to pound the shore. Will stepped in front of the governor, placing himself between her and the horde of reporters while her security detail scrambled to get closer.
“I’m so sorry, Sean,” Zoe mumbled.
“Let’s just give them what they want.” Governor Carrington smoothed her jacket and adjusted her scarf. “Then they’ll leave us alone.”
Sean didn’t think a sound bite or two would satisfy that hungry crowd.
“Whatever you think best, Mother.” Zoe sounded different. Polished. She readjusted her hat, combed through her hair with her fingers and pinched her cheeks to give them color.
He stared in disbelief at the sudden change in her.
“Ready, Sean?” Vanessa asked.
Will gave him a sympathetic look.
Zoe’s blue eyes implored him.
Sean would do this for her. “Sure.”
Will raised a hand to quiet the mob. “Governor Carrington will take a few questions now.”
The press jockeyed for positions. Flashes blinded them. Lights blared down on them. Cameras rolled. A bouquet of microphones was shoved toward their faces.
Sean wasn’t a stranger to the press, but all this was rather disconcerting. The governor acted as if this were nothing. Zoe stood as still as a statue.
“Good afternoon,” Governor Carrington announced to the media. “Our prayers are with the missing climbers, the rescuers on the mountain and all of their families today.”
“You’re in the middle of a tough campaign for a coveted U.S. Senate seat,” a woman reporter asked. “What brings you to Mount Hood only a few weeks before the special election?”
“My youngest child. My daughter, Zoe, has been staying in Oregon.” The governor smiled at her and Sean. “I’m here to support her and someone who is very special to the Carrington family.”
Sean stiffened at the implication of her words. Okay, it might be true, but he didn’t like the way she’d announced it to the world. His arm slipped from around Zoe’s waist.
“How long have you been in Oregon, Zoe?” someone shouted.
“Since mid-November.” She flashed a flirty smile. “I’ve been staying in Hood Hamlet for almost a month now.”
A reporter scribbled a note. “Right under our noses.”
No, right under his. Sean stared at her.
“Well, I’d hoped it was the one place you wouldn’t suspect, and you didn’t.” Zoe was transforming before his eyes from the sweet woman who took care of him to first daughter without the slightest hesitation. He was stunned by the way she handled the media like a pro, teasing and flirting as if she’d done it her entire life. It was weird and unsettling to see her act this way. “Though I had to hide when some of you interviewed Sean at the hospital.”
So that was why she hadn’t been in his hospital room, he realized. One question answered, but more kept surfacing.
Where was the woman he’d fallen in love with? Who was the woman standing next to him?
Sean felt totally blindsided. He wanted answers. He wanted them now.
“You could have told us, Sean,” a reporter he knew well said.
Survival and self-preservation instincts kicked in. “I wanted to keep Zoe all to myself.”
“I don’t blame you there.”
“He also has been a little preoccupied with his recovery,” Zoe added.
“And you?” someone yelled from the back of the crowd.
Zoe smiled coquettishly.
Talk about the press conference from hell. Sean gripped his crutches so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“What are your plans, Governor?” a woman shouted.
“Well, I want to spend a little time with my daughter.” Vanessa smiled at Sean. “And I’d also like to see if I can convince Sean to fly back east and join us on the campaign trail for a few days.”
Join them where? Sean’s temper flared.
“What do you think about that, Sean? You ready to leave the mountain for politics?” a radio reporter asked.
Hell, no, was how Sean wanted to answer, and he would have except he didn’t want to hurt Zoe. Instead, he motioned to his crutches. A perfect excuse. “I’m not sure I’d be much help in my current condition.”
Zoe stared at him with gratitude in her eyes. “But once Sean’s back at one hundred percent, there’ll be no stopping him.”
“What about Lonzo Green?” another reporter called out.
The married actor? Sean looked at Zoe.
She held her head high. “You should talk to his wife if you want information about him, not me.”
A reporter held a digital tape recorder. “How do you feel about Zoe’s colorful past, Sean?”
“The only thing that matters is the present,” he answered.
“Governor? Any comment?”
Vanessa Carrington beamed. “Of course, I’m delighted with Zoe’s choice. Sean’s going to fit into the family just fine.”
His jaw worked. So, Zoe had an interfering mother. So did he. Sean could live with that. But at least his family’s expectations had always been expressed in private. He’d never expected—he’d sure as hell never wanted—some media-savvy governor presenting him to the press as some kind of “first-son-in-law” and wanting to take him on the campaig
n trail.
Sean motioned to Will, who stepped in and called a halt to the press conference. “That’s all, people.”
“What is going on?” Will whispered, as the media dispersed.
“I have no idea,” Sean said grimly.
The deputy glanced at Zoe, who was huddled with her mother. “You didn’t know?”
“Nope.”
“Damn.”
That was putting it lightly.
Zoe walked over to him. “Are you ready to go home?”
Sean’s pride was hurt and his faith in his judgment was shaken. He felt used by both Zoe and her mother.
“The mission is still going on,” he said tightly. “I can’t leave.”
She stared up at him with wide eyes. “But…we need to talk.”
“Not now. I don’t have the time.”
“But—”
“Three climbers are missing.” He couldn’t control his temper any longer. “I have a responsibility here. A role. This is what I need to focus on right now. Not this. Not you. Go home.”
“I can’t leave.” She touched his arm. “You need me.”
“No.” He jerked away. “I don’t.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ZOE DELAYED taking Denali for a walk until the rescue was reported on FOX News. A rescue team had found the missing climbers, a father and two sons. The three missing climbers were suffering from frostbite and broken limbs, but at least they were alive. A happy ending, the anchor concluded joyfully.
A last moment of Christmas magic, Zoe thought.
Standing in the snow with Sean’s dog, she blotted her eyes and blew her nose, grateful and miserable at the same time.
Her feelings were hurt, but she knew Sean had a tendency to overdo it; however, with three lives on the line, his preoccupation was justified. Still she needed a sprinkle of that Christmas magic herself right now.
You need me.
No, I don’t.
She whistled for Denali and headed back to the house.
I don’t need you.
“Sean’s back.” Vanessa met them in the foyer, her usually severe face sympathetic. “I’m going to be in the study checking my e-mail and making phone calls so the two of you can talk.”
“Thanks, Mother.”
Christmas Magic on the Mountain Page 16
