The Christmas Marriage Rescue (Lakeside Mountain Rescue 4)

‘Oh, yeah—and how great is she going to look when a drunk has vomited down her pink cashmere? Are you OK? You look pale.’

‘Just a bit tired.’

‘Look…’ Nicky put a hand on her arm, her gaze sympathetic, ‘I know things are rough for you and Alessandro at the moment, but I know you’ll work it out. The two of you were meant to be together.’

Were they?

She was starting to wonder.

‘There you are!’ Sean strode down the corridor towards them, interrupting them in mid-conversation. ‘Christy, the mountain rescue team have had a call about a man who has fallen some distance. Might have chest and head injuries. The details are a bit hazy but we’re trying to send an advance party of five out, with the rest of the team following.’

Christy stared at him blankly. ‘And?’ What did it have to do with her? She hadn’t been out with the MRT for several years.

‘We’re a bit thin on the ground in the team at the moment,’ Sean said wearily. ‘Everyone is either in bed with this flu bug or they’re snowed in or all sorts of other feeble excuses. Alessandro is going and I wondered if you’d join him in the advance party.’

‘Me?’ Christy’s voice was an astonished squeak and Sean gave her a keen look.

‘Why not you? You’re fit and you know these mountains. You were the best climber we had at one time.’

Christy licked her lips. ‘Yes, but I had the kids and—’

‘I wasn’t aware that childbirth affected your mountaineering abilities,’ Sean drawled, glancing round as Alessandro approached. ‘Garcia, just the man. I’m trying to persuade your wife to join you on this callout while I scrabble around and try and get some other people together.’

Alessandro’s brows met in a frown. ‘Christy?’

‘Why does everyone think it’s such a strange idea?’ Sean wondered aloud, and Alessandro’s mouth tightened.

‘Because the weather is foul and I don’t want her risking—’

‘I’ll go,’ Christy said immediately, turning to Nicky. ‘If that’s all right with you?’

Alessandro didn’t think she could do it, and she was determined to prove him wrong, just as she had by working in A and E. What was the matter with the man?

‘I’m used to it.’ Nicky gave a resigned smile. ‘I’ll just run the department on fresh air as usual.’

‘My walking boots are in the car but all my other gear is at home.’

‘You can use Ally’s gear,’ Sean was already walking towards the door. ‘You’re about the same size. My dear wife never gets round to removing it from my boot. Come on.’

* * *

As they walked towards the car Christy’s anger at Alessandro mingled with excitement. Ahead of them the fells loomed, covered in snow and ice and potentially lethal. Who had gone walking in this weather? she wondered. How had they got themselves into trouble?

‘You stick right by me,’ Alessandro growled as they slid into his car, and she turned and glared at him.

‘Why? In case I fall down a hole? For crying out loud, Alessandro, when I was twenty I could outclimb you any

day!’

It wasn’t strictly true and she saw by the lift of his eyebrow that he was aware of that fact, but he didn’t contradict her.

‘You’re not twenty any more.’

‘No, I’m thirty-two. Ancient.’ She stared at him in disbelief. ‘Is this what this is all about? You think I’m suddenly too old to do these things?’

‘It has nothing to do with age.’ Alessandro crunched the gears viciously. ‘You’re the mother of my children.’

‘And what? That means I should stay at home and knit?’ Her voice rose and she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. ‘Giving birth to children doesn’t come with a personality transplant. Believe it or not, I’m still the same person I was twelve years ago when you first met me!’