With a sweet laugh, Zoey tucked her makeup supplies back in a bag. “Trust me, he drives me crazy plenty. It wouldn’t be any fun if he didn’t. But I’m kind of ridiculously in love with the big lug, so I ignore his more irritating habits. Okay, you’re all set. How do you want me to handle everyone out there?”

With a grimace, River sat up straighter in her bed, ignoring the pain in her toe as she pulled her blanket over her foot to cover it from view. “Open the floodgates. Trust me, they’ll find me.”

And find her they did. Stuffed together so tight in the tiny hospital room, everyone’s personal bubbles had officially been popped by the time River started her interview. To her credit, Zoey stubbornly stayed at River’s side, although the poor woman was uncomfortably squished between the hospital bed and a cameraman’s shoulder.

“Wow, this is a lot of attention,” River joked. “I should have fallen off a mountain earlier in my career.”

A murmur of laughter rippled through the camera crews.

“River, how are you doing?” someone asked.

“I have some frostbite on my foot. It’s not pretty, which is why no one gets to see it. Other than that, I’m fine. I need to rest up awhile, and then they’ll send me home.”

Another reporter held out a microphone in her direction. “River, what happened on the mountain?”

“You’ll have to see my documentary to know that.” She flashed the same pleasant expression she had practiced for years in her mirror. “As my first job behind the camera, I’ve both appreciated the opportunity and deeply enjoyed experiencing all the wonderful things Moose Springs, Alaska, has to offer. I think the Alaskan Tourism Board will be pleased with the end result of our documentary. As for the actual details of the film, you all know the drill about how nondisclosure agreements work. None of us can talk about what happened, legally.”

“River, can you tell us about Easton Lockett? Are you and he in a romantic relationship? What about Sweeny?”

“Sweeny and I are friends, and we still enjoy each other’s company.”

Actually, she couldn’t stand him, but she knew better than to ever tell the paparazzi the truth of the relationship. Instead, she pushed ahead.

“Easton is the guide who got us up and safely back down the mountain. But like the rest of us, Easton’s signed a nondisclosure agreement. Everything we’ve been doing here in Moose Springs has been a part of filming, so we really can’t talk about any of it. You ladies and gentlemen know how much trouble we’ll all get in if we spill the beans.”

“River,” a familiar entertainment report asked. “What can you say?”