QUOTE : There was a pause, and she looked over at him, surprised that he stopped barking out orders long enough to draw a breath. “Don’t go,” he whispered. “Please don’t go, Kate.” The plea was so soft she barely heard it, but it sliced her to shreds. If Nurse Ackerman hadn’t been standing a few feet away, Kate would have wept. Instead, she swallowed hard so that the tears wouldn’t leak into her voice. “Hold it together, McDonough,” she said softly. Never had she seen a man keep a volcanic flood of emotion so tightly locked inside, yet any attempt to comfort him would merely prolong their agony. Trevor knew exactly what he needed to do to keep her with him. And it broke her heart to know he never would.