“I know you need to get back to school,” he said to his daughter. “When’s your return flight?”

“Not till Sunday—if I decide to go.”

“No ifs. You need to be on that plane. You’re already missing too much school.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “While I’m here I can do my assignments on my laptop.”

Burke forced a laugh. “Amazing. We didn’t have things like that in my school days.”

“Your school days were a long time ago, Daddy.” Her dimpled smile gave him a glimpse of Kate that swiftly faded as she continued speaking. “Are you really going to go ahead and buy me a new car?”

“Sure, why not?” Burke forced himself to eat a spoonful of creamed corn, bracing himself for what was sure to be a challenge.

“It’s a red BMW convertible. I fell in love as soon as I saw it. The dealer’s holding it for a few days, but you’ll need to call him by the end of the week to arrange payment.”

Burke knew better than to ask the price. Even if he could talk the dealer down, it would be more than he could afford right now. Maybe it was time to sell his beloved boat, or apply the insurance payment from the wrecked Porsche to the deposit. A lease, if Brianna would settle for that, would be easier to arrange than a financed purchase, and less consequential if everything went south and he couldn’t make the payments.

She’d caught his hesitation. “Is everything all right, Daddy?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll work it out.”

She smiled. “I have the dealer’s card in my purse.”

“Keep it for now. I’ll call him in the next couple of days, when I’m feeling sharp enough to negotiate.”

“Oh—and you won’t need to worry about my having a car to drive while I’m here. Garrett’s offered me the company car for a few days. He’ll be bringing it by after work. After I drive him back to his SUV, I can drive the car home.”

Garrett again. Burke pushed the tray aside, his meager appetite gone. “He could have asked me.”

“Don’t frown, Daddy. Your Porsche is trashed, and I could hardly expect Allison to chauffeur me. I need my own wheels.”

Burke sighed. “No, it’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, but arguing would be a waste of breath. Maybe Garrett was just being thoughtful. But more than likely, he was using the girl to push his agenda. The hell of it was, Burke couldn’t object without sounding petty and overprotective. And he couldn’t do much else as long as he was trapped in this damned hospital.