Kate looked at her father. “I don’t think it’s right,” she objected. “It should just be the trust for Annabelle. The rest should go to you.” Kate didn’t think she and Simon needed the money. They had plenty of income between their salaries and Kate’s trust, and her parents had given them a very generous check that allowed them to buy the land and build their own home.

“No, Kate. This is what your mother wanted. Her parents’ estate was handled the same way. I don’t care about the money. I just wish she were still here . . .” His voice broke.

“Still—” she began, but Simon interrupted her.

“I agree with your father. If that’s what she wanted, we need to respect that.”

A look crossed Harrison’s face, and Kate thought she read annoyance in his eyes. Simon’s interjection irritated her too. It wasn’t his place to say anything, really.

“I must agree with Simon on this,” Gordon said, and Kate cocked her head, knowing how much he must have hated to agree with Simon on anything. “The estate is quite sizable. Thirty million to Harrison and thirty million to you, Kate, with ten of that put aside in a trust for Annabelle.” Kate had known the number would be considerable, but she was still surprised by it. This new inheritance would be in addition to the millions that her grandmother had left her when she’d died. A good portion of that money had been used to create the Children’s Heart Foundation, which provided free cardiac care to children who didn’t have insurance. The foundation took care of all of the kids’ medical expenses, along with housing for the parents while the children were in the hospital. Kate and Harrison, also a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, saw patients from all over the country, and the foundation allowed them to dedicate a significant amount of their practice to pro bono work.

Kate leaned forward in her chair. “I want to put some of the money into the trust for the foundation,” she said to Gordon. “Will you set up a meeting with Charles Hammersmith at the trust and our attorney to discuss it?”

“Of course. I’ll get right on it,” Gordon said.

Simon cleared his throat. “Maybe we should take some time to think about how much should go into the foundation before we meet with them.”

Gordon looked from Kate to Simon and back to Kate again, his eyes resting on her for an answer.

“Why don’t you go ahead and set up the meeting, Gordon?” She turned to Simon and gave him a tight smile. “We have time to discuss it later,” she said.

Gordon clasped his hands together and leaned forward. “I’m not sure how to bring this up, except to just tell you.” He took a dramatic pause as they all looked at him expectantly.

“What is it?” Harrison asked.