that's a -- >> her best friend, as she made clear to all the others, was ethan mack. >> she really liked ethan. she really trusted him. "this is my best friend, jason." she put a lot of trust in him. >> she's a lovable person, full of energy, always rambunctious. >> ethan worked in a local hotel. a very different background than kate. but he'd been her best buddy for years and in a way her protector. everybody in ethan's neighborhood knew you didn't mess with kate when ethan was around. they loved each other like -- well, siblings. >> i made sure no harm would come to her when certain little boyfriends would act like they got hand problems. i would put them in their place -- >> it wasn't a romance at all then? >> never at all. she was like a little sister to me. >> it was a token of his family's regard for kate that she was godmother to ethan's nephew, malachi. on her moscow trip, kate bought herself and ethan matching brass