Her weary expression didn’t change. “I told you, if you want a divorce, you can get one yourself. I’m not calling a lawyer, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Then you don’t understand what you’re looking at. Think about it. This is no time to be a sentimental fool.” He shifted in the bed, biting back a whimper as he felt the lumpy bulk of the dressing, the drainage tube, and the ice bag that lay against his lower back. Right now, all he wanted to do was rip out all the clamps, stitches, tubes, and needles, swing his feet to the floor, and walk out of this place a whole man. But that wasn’t his reality. Not anymore.

His gaze shifted to the window, dark night through the slats of venetian blinds. The sound of an incoming helicopter penetrated the glass. Only now did he remember that, before the surgery, he’d been transferred from the ICU to Cox Medical’s new orthopedic/neurological building on Cahill Road behind the main hospital. “What time is it?” he asked.

She glanced at the wall clock. “It’s five minutes after eight. You were in surgery and recovery most of the afternoon. The nurse says you can have some juice anytime you want. And you can have solid food in the morning.”

“Never mind that. Does Brianna know about the surgery?”

“I called her early this morning and again while you were in recovery. She’ll be here as soon as she can get a flight.”

“You should’ve told her to stay in school. What can she do here except make a fuss and get in the way?”

“You know better than that. She’s your daughter, Burke. She’ll want to be with you. I can call her now, on my cell, if you want to talk to her. She’ll be relieved to hear your voice.”

“Never mind.” Burke loved his daughter, but she was young and tended to react strongly to both joy and pain. And seeing him like this was bound to bring back memories of losing her mother. He wasn’t ready to deal with the emotion—or his guilt over what this accident would do to her life. There’d be time for that later.

“Have you spoken with Garrett?” he asked.

Did her eyes flicker away, or had he only imagined it? “He’s in the waiting room now, wanting to see you. I can put him off if you’re not up to talking business.”

“I might as well know what’s going on. Send him in.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

“No. Go get some coffee. Or better yet, go home. I don’t need you to sit here wringing your hands. There’s not a damned thing you can do.”