“Just watch me!” Burke managed to hold his smile until his friend walked out the door. Then, clenching his teeth against the pain, he pressed the call button for the nurse.

* * *

By the time Allison pulled the car into the garage, exhaustion had caught up with her. She knew she needed to rest, but it was early yet, not much past nine thirty. And she was too wired to sleep, especially with Brianna out partying and likely to be home late.

In the kitchen she laid the loan application on the counter while she checked the landline for messages. There were none, and none on her cell phone. She didn’t have much appetite, but the unfinished bottle of Chardonnay in the fridge had some appeal. She poured a glass half full, crossed the living room, and stopped in front of the fireplace, where the Kathleen Petyarre painting hung above the mantel. It was titled Mountain Devil Lizard, a traditional “dreaming” of the Aboriginal artist. Burke and his friends had made fun of it, asking why she didn’t just hang up a slab of cement. Allison had forgiven them for not understanding. But she loved the nuances of light and shadow and the deep, hidden meanings in that painting.

How much would it be worth now? Ten thousand? Fifteen? At least the money should be enough to make a small dent in the short-term loan on the American Heartland, or pay for a few more months of Brianna’s education.

It wouldn’t be enough to solve any of Burke’s problems. But the painting was the one valuable thing she owned outright—the one thing that was hers to sacrifice.

The San Francisco art dealer she’d bought it from was a friend. Tomorrow she would call him to ask how much he could get her for the painting and how soon he could find a buyer. With luck, if she lowered the price, the sale might not take long.

Still holding the glass, she wandered out onto the balcony and stood at the rail, gazing at the lights on the far shore. The night breeze was cool on her face, the wine burning a cold trail down her throat.

A single tear trickled over her cheek. Burke was the love of her life. When they’d married in that dream of a ceremony, she’d promised herself that she would be the perfect wife to him. Now everything was falling apart, and she didn’t know how to hold it together.