Kate heard the admiration in his voice, saw it in his eyes. Any other time it might have wounded her, that obvious pride; now it pissed her off. “That’s why you’re in love with her, isn’t it? Because she has the guts you don’t. So you put her in harm’s way and get her shot and you’re proud of her passion.” Her shaking voice drew the last word out like a piece of poisoned taffy. “Screw the heroics. I wasn’t talking about the news. I was asking about her life. Have you even asked how she is?”

He looked startled by her outburst. “She’s in surgery. She—”

“Katie!”

She heard Chad call out her name and she turned, seeing him run into the lobby. They came together as naturally as wind and rain, clinging to each other.

“How is she?” he whispered against her ear, his voice as fragile as she felt.

She drew back. “In surgery. That’s all I know. But she’ll be fine. Bullets can’t stop a storm.”

“She’s not as tough as she pretends to be. We both know that, don’t we, Kate?”

She swallowed, nodded. In an awkward silence they stood together, bound by the invisible threads of their mutual concern. She saw it in his eyes, as clear as day; he did love Tully, and he was scared. “I better go call my mom and dad. They’ll want to be here.”

She waited for him to respond, but he just remained there, glassy-eyed, his hands flexing into fists at his sides like a gunslinger who might soon have to draw his weapon. With a tired smile, she walked away. As she passed Johnny, she couldn’t help but say, “That’s how real people help each other through hard times.”

At the bank of pay phones, she put in four quarters and dialed home. When her dad answered—thank God it wasn’t her mother; Kate would have lost it then—she gave him the news and hung up.

She turned around and Johnny was there, waiting for her. “I’m sorry.”

“You should be.”

“One of the things about this business, Katie, is that you learn to compartmentalize, to put the story first. It’s a hazard of the trade.”

“It’s always about the story with people like you and Tully.” She left him standing there and went to the sofa, where she sat down. Bowing her head, she prayed again.

After a moment she felt him come up beside her. When he didn’t say anything, she looked up.

He didn’t move, didn’t even blink, but she could see how tense he was. He seemed to be holding on to his composure by a rapidly fraying thread. “You’re tougher than you look, Mularkey.”