“Everything you said to me at the house was true.” His voice rasped in his throat. “When I asked you to marry me, I made you a lot of promises—promises I meant to keep. I wanted to lay the world at your feet, girl. I wanted to spend every minute of the time God gave us just making you happy. If I’d known what a rough ride this was going to be, I’d have walked away and kept right on walking.”

“Hush!” Allison laid a finger against his chapped lips. “Don’t you dare talk like that. I behaved like a fool. I said stupid things, ugly things I didn’t mean. But that’s all in the past. Right now, all I want to do is help you get—”

“I said hear me out,” he snapped. “Damn it, Allison, this is hard enough to say without you interrupting!”

She stared at him, shocked by his vehemence.

“I thought there was a chance to save the business. But now that this has happened, it’s all going down,” he said. “The American Heartland, the money, me, the whole damn-blasted house of cards! A year from now, if I’m still alive, I’ll be lucky to have a roof over my head. This isn’t what you signed on for, girl. It’s not what I promised you.”

“Burke, it doesn’t mat—”

“Listen to me! There’s nothing you can do here but sit around and wring your hands. As soon as it’s light outside, I want you to drive back home. When you get there, call a lawyer, the best one you can find. Tell him you want to file for divorce.”

* * *

Garrett stepped into Allison’s path, halting her as she fled blindly across the waiting room.

“Are you all right?” His hands clasped her shoulders, forcing her to face him. “Lord, what’s wrong? Is Burke—?”

Allison willed herself to speak calmly. “Burke’s awake and talking. I’m just a little . . . unraveled, that’s all. I’ll be fine.”

He shook his head. His eyes were bloodshot, but his thick brown hair was neatly combed. He’d changed from his dinner clothes into khakis and a fresh navy polo shirt. “You look like you could use some coffee,” he said, steering her toward the cafeteria. “Come on. We need to talk.”