“Hello, Burke.” She was standing next to the bed, holding a tray. She placed it on the over-bed table and moved it within his reach. “The nurses let me bring your breakfast. You must be starved.”

“Take it back. I’m not hungry.”

“At least have some coffee, and maybe some of those scrambled eggs. You can’t get strong by starving yourself.”

Grumbling his displeasure, Burke took a sip of the black coffee, which wasn’t bad. But the eggs were too bland for his taste. He gave up after a few bites and put down his fork.

Allison had pulled the chair close to the bed. She looked fresh and pretty in a red cashmere sweater and gray slacks, with her honey-gold hair falling over one shoulder. Burke resisted the urge to reach out and skim his finger down her cheek. He’d meant what he’d said about that divorce, even though the thought of her finding someone else—and she would—was almost more than he could stand.

“Brianna left me a voicemail,” she said. “I’ll be picking her up at the airport this afternoon. I’m guessing she’ll want to come straight here.”

“And you couldn’t talk her out of coming? She doesn’t need to see me like this. It’ll only upset her.”

“Cut her some slack, Burke. She’s already lost one parent. She’s bound to be worried sick about you.”

Burke finished the coffee and sank back onto the pillow. “I’ve never wanted Brianna to be worried about anything. But if my business goes belly-up, I don’t know how I’m going to manage tuition at Northwestern. And that new car I promised her might have to wait.”

“She could have my Lexus. I’ve driven old cars most of my life. And if need be, Brianna could move back home and go to College of the Ozarks. The students there all work for their tuition.”

“I know. But she wants to be a journalist, and Northwestern is the big league. She wouldn’t be happy if she had to leave.”

“Maybe not, but if she’s as tough as you are, she’ll do fine wherever she is.”

Right now Burke didn’t feel tough, but he wasn’t about to say so. “Somebody needs to take care of the car,” he said, changing the subject. “I’m assuming it’s totaled.”

“I can do that,” Allison said.

“Fine. The policy is in my desk—lower left-hand drawer, where the files are. I’m guessing the police had the car hauled away. You’ll want to get me my phone if it’s still in there, and clean out the glove box and the trunk.”

“I’ll take care of that this morning. Anything else?”