Their wedding, in the stone and wood chapel at Top of the Rock in Big Cedar, accompanied by the strains of a bagpipe, had been a dream. Even though Brianna had pouted her displeasure through the entire ceremony, Allison had believed herself the luckiest woman in the world. And she had made herself a silent promise that she would be the perfect wife to this wonderful man.

She’d tried—tried to the point of exhaustion. But nothing she did was ever good enough for Burke’s daughter or the friends who’d kept Kate’s memory alive.

She glanced up at the wall clock. Brianna would be here soon. Hopefully, Garrett would just let her off at the hospital and leave. If he came into the room, Allison knew that it would be up to her to keep him from upsetting Burke again.

Putting the magazine aside, she stepped into the bathroom, finished, and stood to wash her hands. The mirror above the sink reflected a tired face, bare of makeup, the eyes ringed in shadows. A bitter smile tugged at her lips. Nobody would call her a trophy wife now.

* * *

Brianna stood in the hospital parking lot, watching Garrett lift her suitcase out of his SUV. At seventeen, she’d had a schoolgirl crush on the man. But now that she’d met Liam, she could see Garrett’s flaws. He was showing his age, his hair thinning on top, his teeth slightly yellowed, and his muscles losing their tone. And she’d noticed he had a way of putting other people down to make himself look good. She no longer found him attractive, but she still liked him. He was easy to talk to, and he was one of the few people who’d always treated her like an adult.

Wearing distressed jeans, high-heeled boots, and a black leather jacket, she strode toward the building, with Garrett trailing her. She’d dressed to give herself confidence, but now that she was here, she realized that how she looked didn’t matter.

“Are you okay?” he asked as they walked through the main entrance.

“I’ll have to be okay, won’t I?” The truth was she felt shaky and scared. But she couldn’t let it show. She had to be brave for her father.

She pictured him in her mind—tall and strong and energetic, the man who’d always taken care of her and provided for her every need. Maybe his condition wouldn’t be as serious as she’d been told. Maybe she would walk in to find him sitting up and smiling, ready to get out of the hospital and get back to work. He was still young—not yet fifty. Surely, whatever had happened to him, he would be strong enough to bounce right back to normal.