Free The Italian's New-Year Marriage Wish by Sarah Morgan

want you to show me where they are.’ He rose to his feet and noticed Amy. ‘Stay here. Promise me you won’t leave until we’ve finished this conversation.’
    â€˜I’m coming with you.’
    Already on his way to the door with Sam, Marco frowned at her. ‘I can’t have a conversation while I’m administering first aid.’
    â€˜I’m coming to help you,’ she said calmly. ‘I’m a doctor, too, remember?’
    Marco’s jaw tensed. ‘I thought you couldn’t wait to leavethis place?’ His tone was rough and his eyes scanned her briefly. ‘You’re not dressed to scramble down cliffs.’
    â€˜I’m fine. We’re wasting time, Marco.’
    â€˜Hurry up or they’ll have no blood left!’ Sam was still in the doorway, his eyes huge and worried. ‘I’ll show you where they are.’
    Marco glanced towards the bar. ‘Tony—call the coast guard and let them know what’s happening. If it’s serious we might need the helicopter to lift them off the rocks.’
    Â 
    Sam sprinted from the pub to the steep, narrow path that led down to the rocky cove below. ‘Come on! Come on!’ he urged them.
    Amy didn’t hear Marco’s reply because she was too busy trying to keep her balance on the path. The wind had risen and now whipped her hair across her face, obscuring her vision. She knew just how steep the path was because it had been a favourite of hers as a child. The cove below was rocky and dangerous and held just the right amount of wicked appeal for an adventurous child.
    Ahead of her, Marco covered the distance with sure, confident strides, drawing away from her, leaving her only the occasional reassuring glimpse of his broad shoulders.
    She couldn’t decide whether she was relieved or sorry that their conversation had been interrupted yet again.
    It was obvious that Marco was equally frustrated by the interruptions. The question was whether he was frustrated enough to just agree to the divorce and let her walk out of Penhally before nightfall.
    Did he believe her claim that she’d chosen a career over marriage and children?
    Resisting the temptation to hurry because haste might result in her crashing onto the beach and becoming another casualty, Amy followed more slowly and finally clambered over the huge boulders that guarded the entrance to the cove. In thesummer it was a favourite place for tourists who came with their nets and their buckets to explore the rock pools. In winter it was a wild and dangerous place and the sudden drop in the temperature had made the rocky beach particularly deadly.
    Jagged rocks glistened black with sea spray and Amy glanced across and saw the boys. One lay still, the other sitting beside him, his face covered in blood.
    Sam and Marco were already there and Amy picked her way across the rocks to join them.
    â€˜We didn’t mean him to die. We didn’t mean him to die. Do something, Dr Avanti,’ Alfie whispered, his whole body shaking and juddering as he fixed his terrified stare on the inert form of his little brother. ‘We didn’t know he’d followed us and then I tried to take him back but he slipped and banged his head really hard. And when I tried to get to him, I slipped and hit my head, too. Then he stopped talking. I couldn’t get him to answer me.’ He started to sob pitifully and Sam started to cry, too. He caught Marco’s eyes and took a shuddering breath.
    â€˜It will be all right, Alfie,’ he said in a wobbly voice. ‘We’ve got to be strong and try and help. What do you want us to do, Dr Avanti?’
    Marco was on his knees beside the still body of the little boy. ‘Just sit there for a moment, Sam. He isn’t dead, Alfie. I can tell you for sure that he isn’t dead.’
    Amy knelt down beside Marco, wincing slightly as the sharp rocks took a bite out of her knees. ‘Is he