“Burke didn’t tell you?” One brown eyebrow lifted. “Julie and I separated last month. I’ve moved into one of the company condos. She’s filed for divorce.”

“That’s too bad—and no, he didn’t tell me.” Allison licked her lips, a nervous habit she’d been trying to break. “Burke doesn’t discuss company business, let alone the personal lives of his colleagues, with me. After all, I’m only his wife.”

“God, then you don’t even know, do you?” He was gazing down at her like a doctor about to deliver a terminal diagnosis.

“Don’t know what?” A sense of foreboding hovered over her head, as if a vulture had flapped down to perch on the chandelier. “Tell me what’s going on, Garrett. Now.”

“The American Heartland’s been losing money for the past year—and now, with the fall season on, it’s like the dam’s broken,” he said. “Last spring we took out a short-term bank loan just to get the place up to code. We fixed the roof, replaced the old seats, and got a new lighting system. But it wasn’t enough to improve our ticket sales.”

“But why?” Allison had always assumed Burke’s business was doing fine. “What’s wrong?”

Garret shook his head. “The building’s old and still doesn’t have the technical setup for the spectacular shows that audiences want these days. And even with the agency reps scouting for talent, the top acts are out of our price range. Bottom line—most of our old customers are going for the big names, the flashy displays and aerial acts, or the dinner theater shows. We’re having to discount the tickets just to fill the seats.”

“But there must be something you can do.” Allison struggled against disbelief. This was real, and she needed to pay attention.

“The only way to compete with the newer, bigger places would be to shut down for six months, do a complete remodeling job, and reopen in the spring with a big-name act.”

“That sounds like a good plan. But what about the money?” Allison had run her own small gallery in Capitola. She was no financial wizard, but she knew the basics of what it took to operate a business. At the top of the list was capital.

“Burke and I are still weighing the options,” Garrett said. “Aside from just shutting down, we’ve got two choices. While our credit’s still decent, we can refinance the business for enough to cover the existing loan and make the updates. But it would leave us over our heads in debt. Worse, if we couldn’t make the payments, we’d lose everything.”