Allison paid for their food, then chose a table near the window. “So how is school going, Brianna?” she asked, making small talk.

Brianna gave her a sour look. “Do we have to have a conversation?” she asked.

“I guess not.” Allison poured dressing on her salad and buttered her roll. She’d tried, but if Burke’s daughter wanted to shut her out, there wasn’t much she could do.

Brianna played with her sundae, stirring the hot fudge into the melting ice cream and taking occasional bites, licking the chocolate off the plastic spoon like a child. At last she spoke. “Do you think my dad is going to die?”

Given the past, it wasn’t a surprising question. “Not from this,” Allison said. “He’s a tough man, and his injuries aren’t life-threatening. But it’s going to take time and rest for him to heal. And in the meantime, the less stress he has to deal with, the sooner he’ll recover. For you, that means not making demands on him or trying to force him where he doesn’t want to go. And don’t let Garrett use you to push his agenda. There are good reasons your father doesn’t want to sign that contract.”

Had she said too much? Allison studied her stepdaughter across the table. In Brianna’s defiant gaze, which was so like her father’s, she could see the girl’s defenses springing up.

“I would never let Garrett use me,” Brianna said. “I’m smarter than that. He’s a good friend, that’s all. Anyway, I have a boyfriend back in Evanston—oh!” Her fingers flew to her lips, as if she knew she’d revealed too much. “Please don’t tell my dad. He doesn’t need to know, and I don’t want him to know. Not yet.”

“All right, I can keep a secret for now,” Allison said. “But don’t put too much trust in Garrett. He’s a charming, sophisticated man who knows how to manipulate people and get what he wants.”

“Like you’ve manipulated my dad into giving you anything you want?”

“That’s not what we were talking about.” Allison refused to be baited. “I’m just telling you to be careful. I don’t want to see you or your father get hurt.”

“You’ve already hurt us! We were happy, Daddy and I, before he married you.” Brianna thrust her spoon upright into her ice cream and rose from her chair. “And I won’t have you talking about Garrett that way! He’s a good person! He’s trying to save the theater, which is more than you’re doing!”

Turning away, she stalked out of the cafeteria.