Her mind reeled as they drove home. She hadn’t sent those flowers tonight, despite what she’d told her father and Selby. And she’d never discussed it with Fleur. But she wasn’t about to let Simon think she was losing it. She’d call the florist tomorrow and find out.

They were just pulling into the driveway when her text tone sounded. She knew before she looked who it would be from.

Simon reached across Annabelle and grabbed her hand. “Is it him?”

Kate saw the words flash on the phone before she swiped. “Yes,” she said, her voice shaking. The blood in her veins froze as she read the text.

Did you really think you could take a night off? Pretty callous of you, being merry while your mother is decomposing in the ground. Are you as excited as I am to see what comes next? What might be in your coffee? Could your dessert be made with nuts? You’ll have to wait and see.

The next day, the jangling of the house phone made her jump, and she reached out a tentative hand, hesitant to pick it up, but then saw Selby’s name on the caller ID. “Selby. Hi.”

“How are you?”

“Okay. Thanks again for last night. Sorry for the confusion at the end of the evening.”

“It was my pleasure. Thank you for the beautiful roses. Do you want some company later? Or can I bring you anything?”

“Thanks, but I’m just going to lie low today. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?” Kate wanted to get off the phone.

“All right, talk then.”

After she hung up, she went into the bedroom, where Annabelle sat on Kate’s bed with a book in her lap.

Kate sat on the edge of the bed. “What are you reading, pumpkin?”

Annabelle closed the book and pointed to the title. “Look, Mommy. It’s Cordree. You read it.”

“Corduroy.” Kate laughed. “Come on, snuggle up and we’ll read it together.”

When they finished, Annabelle jumped from the bed and grabbed Harold and the Purple Crayon. “Read this one now,” she said, climbing back into bed beside Kate.

“Okay. One more, and then we get dressed.” When she finished the story, she ran her fingers through her daughter’s curls affectionately. “What would you like to do today, sweet girl?”

Annabelle wiggled closer to her. “Can we ride the horses?”

“Ooh, I don’t know about that. Mommy’s a little tired today. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Maybe Miss Sabrina will come again, and I can go with her and Daddy.”

Kate was very still. “Do you go riding a lot with Daddy and Miss Sabrina?”

Annabelle snuggled against her. “Sometimes she comes when you’re at the hospital. She’s a really good jumper, Mommy.”

Kate’s nostrils flared, anger coursing through her. So Sabrina was coming over when Kate wasn’t home. What the hell was Simon doing?