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He looked startled by her outburst "Shes in surgery She—"

"Katie!"

She heard Chad call out her na hiether 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 Thats all I know But shell be fine Bullets cant stop a storm "

"Shes not as tough as she pretends to be We both know that, dont we, Kate?"

She sed, nodded In an aard 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 Theyll want to be here "

She waited for hilassy-eyed, his hands flexing into fists at his sides like a gunslinger who ht soon have to draw his weapon With a tired smile, she walked away As she passed Johnny, she couldnt help but say, "Thats 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 wasnt her ave hi up

She turned around and Johnny was there, waiting for her "Im sorry "

"You should be "

"One of the things about this business, Katie, is that you learn to compartmentalize, to put the story first Its a hazard of the trade "

"Its always about the story with people like you and Tully " She left hi there and went to the sofa, where she sat down Bowing her head, she prayed again

After a moment she felt hi, she looked up

He didnt move, didnt even blink, but she could see how tense he was He see thread "Youre tougher than you look, Mularkey "