Wish Upon a Star

‘When people have a tricky patient, they always want you there,’ she said quietly, knowing that it was true. ‘You never panic.’

‘Panicking helps no one.’ Alessandro reached for a bread roll. ‘And confidence is important to everyone.’

Christy knew that to be true also. It was important to have someone competent in control. ‘If I had an accident, there’s no one I’d rather leading the trauma team,’ she said quietly, and he frowned.

‘You are not going to have an accident, but thank you for the compliment. But I have to learn to be less controlling with you, I can see that, and I will try.’

And he did.

Over the next few days he asked her opinion on everything and listened carefully, and Christy saw a whole new side to him.

Surely he couldn’t be making this much effort just for the children, she thought to herself. Surely his behaviour was an indication that he still had feelings for her?

The only physical contact they’d had had been the passionate sex they’d shared the night of the Snow Ball. And that hadn’t counted, she told herself miserably, because he’d been provoked.

Why was he still not touching her?

Alessandro had such a high sex drive that never before in their marriage had she found herself in the position of having to initiate sex, but now she was starting to wonder whether she should go down that route.

But what if he rejected her?

She bit back a hysterical giggle as she prepared the children’s lunch and got ready to take them to her mother’s for an afternoon of Christmas shopping. It must be awful being a man, she decided. They faced rejection every time they went near a woman.

She was just pouring coffee into mugs when Alessandro strode into the room, talking into his phone.

She could tell from his responses that he was talking to Sean about a rescue, and when he snapped the phone shut she looked at him expectantly.

‘Trouble?’

‘A party of teenagers were climbing in the gully and it avalanched.’

Christy winced. She knew how dangerous that climb could be because she’d done it herself plenty of times when she’d been younger.

‘How much do we know?’

Alessandro was already hauling equipment out of the utility room where it had been drying. ‘Two of them were above it and managed to get to the top and raise the alarm. The third is stuck on a ledge.’

‘So we’d do best to approach from the south-east ridge and then we’ll be above him. It’s just the best abseil,’ Christy breathed, and Alessandro scowled at her.

‘I always hated you doing that climb.’

She grinned. ‘It was fun.’

‘It was dangerous. And you have two children to think of now.’

Her smile faded. It was true, of course, and she would never take unnecessary risks. But at the same time she wished that sometimes he could think about her, rather than the children.

‘So are we the advance party?’

Alessandro nodded. ‘Yes, but it’s going to take a large team to get him down if he’s badly injured.’

Christy glanced out of the window. ‘At least the weather looks pretty good. Should be able to fly a helicopter in this.’

Katy danced into the room. ‘When are we going to Grandma’s?’

‘Right now.’ Alessandro grabbed the rest of the equipment and strode out of the kitchen, with Christy and the children hurrying close behind.

They dropped the children and then Alessandro drove out of town towards the road that would allow them to take the fastest route to the gully.