"Are you under the impression that I owe you anything?"

"No. No, I'm not."

"So then you'd owe me."

"Careful," Kate said, opening the door. "The last person who said that to me is dead."

Inside, he caught her arm. "Who's that blonde?" He nodded at Christie Turner, who was dancing next to Dandy Mike in the circle.

"Bernie's new barmaid."

The song was thundering to a finish. "Introduce us."

"Bernie will kill me," Kate muttered. "Not to mention Dan." But she did as she was told, a down payment on the payback.

Christie accepted an invitation to dance, and since the drummers were taking a break, Pete guided her to a chair instead and brought her a plateful of choice morsels. Kate, watching from behind the gift table, saw the infamous Heiman charm begin to have its inevitable effect. Pete had a weakness for blondes, having married three of them. She hoped Christie had the backbone to resist, because Pete's ego was already big enough. Plus, he had to be at least thirty years her senior, not to mention her prior relationship with Dan. Where was Dan? She looked around but didn't see him.

"Kate."

She stiffened. "Jim."

"Thought I'd drop by to pay my respects." It was politic for the resident trooper to put in an appearance at big ceremonial events, something in the way of a diplomatic mission. And he'd known and liked Dina. And he'd known Kate would be there.

He looked at the picture in its many frames. "Nice idea." He picked a dark blue one and slipped it into an inside pocket. "I wondered how you'd get around the gift thing."

She took a careful breath. "People seem to like them. And I didn't want to give any of Dina's stuff away. Have you talked to the hospital today?"

He nodded. "The same."

When he looked at her, she saw a fading corner-shaped bruise on his left temple. She hugged her elbows, caught in a sudden draft. Or so she told herself. "How long can she stay like that?"

"She's not in pain."

"How do we know that?"

"We don't."

"Then don't say it."

"Sorry."

There was a pause, broken by her stomach growling.

"Are you hungry?" he said.

"No." Her stomach growled again.

"I'll get us plates." He walked away.

I'll get us plates. I'll get us plates. Whichever way you looked at it, the phrase made her nervous.

As if she had conjured him up, Ethan materialized in front of her, Johnny in tow. "Hey." He leaned over to kiss her just as Jim came back. Kate turned so that she caught the kiss on her cheek. Ethan's eyes narrowed. Jim handed one plate to Kate, and smiled at Ethan. Ethan didn't smile back. "Kate," Ethan said, "I've got to talk to you."

"I'm kind of busy, Ethan." Just then, the drummers started up again and circles formed on the floor. Johnny said hopefully, "Urn, will you teach me to dance?"