“From the sound of his voice when I called, if he could have flown, he’d already be here. Sounded really worried.”

“He likes her a lot.” Cole looked toward the curtain. “So does Buddy.”

“And so do you, my man. If you can’t admit it to me, at least admit it to yourself.”

Cole wouldn’t look up, but the words came out. “What if she can’t handle my job, Rick? I won’t give it up. And I’ve seen too many marriages go to hell because of the crazy work schedules and the constant danger. I wouldn’t be able to face losing her.”

“If you don’t give yourselves a chance, you’ve already lost her, buddy. Ever think about that?”

Cole buried his face in his hands. Rick slapped him on the back and made a quick exit. He waved at Cole’s father as he came hobbling into the hallway and directed him to where Cole was sitting.

“I knew I shouldn’t have left her alone,” Morgan said as he sank down onto the chair beside his son. “If I hadn’t, none of this would have happened. It’s all my fault.”

Cole frowned. “That’s not exactly what you’ve spent the last thirty-odd years trying to teach me, mister. I thought you always said that whatever was going to happen, would happen, no matter how much hindsight was applied.”

Morgan shrugged and then smiled. “You pick the oddest times to remember my sermons.” He heard Debbie’s voice. “Is she going to be all right?” The worry was back in his voice.

Cole looked at the man who was so like himself, and smiled. “Yeah, Dad. She’s going to be just fine. Got a bump on her head and a bruise on her chin, but she’s already worrying about who’s going to cook dinner tonight. I just heard the doctor tell her to order out. What do you bet we eat Chinese again? All those cute little boxes…remember?”

“My God,” Morgan sighed. “The resilience of youth.”

*  *  *

“We’ll take turns looking in on her,” Buddy offered. It was a major concession for him that he would even consider leaving his computer components for a human being.

“I don’t usually go to sleep until after the Carson—I mean, the Leno show. I could do it,” Morgan offered.

“Thanks. But I’ll tend to her,” Cole said. “It only makes sense. She’s right across the hall. I used to look in on Lily when she was sick, remember?”

Morgan remembered. He also remembered the look he’d seen on Cole’s face when he’d first walked into the emergency room. It had been somewhere between desperate and devastated. He was just thankful that Debbie was not seriously hurt. Cole could not have handled anything worse.

“Whatever you think, son,” he said. “But if you do need help, you know where we are.”