“It just goes on and on, and I know that there’ll be no respite for me, until . . .”—she bit at her bottom lip—“until something pretty final happens to Patrick.” She paused to take another drink of wine. “No, I don’t think you can ever imagine how I’m feeling. Patrick has been my protection, my rock, ever since we were married. I was never cut out to take over that role from him. He knows it too and that’s one of the reasons he feels that he has to keep going. But sometimes, it just makes me feel very vulnerable and very lonely, and I long for him to be whole again.” She gazed at her wineglass as she spun it around in her fingers. “The worst are the nights. I lie in that huge double bed by myself and listen to him moving restlessly about in that poky little room downstairs. I long to just get up and go to him and lie down beside him and let him wrap me in those big powerful arms of his and hear him say, ‘Don’t worry, Kate. I’ll look after you.’ But, of course, I can’t.” She let out a hopeless laugh. “The bed’s too narrow and his arms are too weak.” The unhappy smile slid from her face. “And then, the following morning, I’m supposed to leap out of bed and be strong and resolute and supportive of my family.” She shook her head as she took another sip of wine. “I can’t really describe it, Dan, but I do know that you can never imagine how I’m feeling.”

“No, you’re right. I don’t think I probably can.”

Katie rocked back in her chair and threw her hands up in the air. “But this is so unfair. I shouldn’t be saying that kind of thing to you. All you’ve done is help us, Dan. Both you and Josh came out of the blue and you’ve been our . . . saviours. We could never have survived these last few months without you. So what gives me the right to come out and say something like that?”

Dan leaned forward on the table and rubbed at the two-day’s worth of stubble on his chin. “I hope it’s because I’m a friend.”

Katie smiled and reached over and gripped his forearm. “You are, Dan. A very dear friend, both to Patrick and to me.” She pushed back from the table and pressed her fingers against her eyes. “I am just feeling so tired. I didn’t sleep a wink last night, and all I really want to do is to crash out for about twelve hours without interruption.” She picked up her canvas bag from the floor. “Would you mind if I went back to the hotel now?”