Page 49 of Snow Going Back

Kate watched him for a moment, her grudging admiration for him growing. ‘Well, you certainly sound like you’ve found your purpose in life.’

‘Everyone needs one, right?’ he asked, his piercing gaze meeting hers. ‘My aunt used to say that so long as you have a purpose and something or someone in your life that makes you feel alive, that’s all you need. I’m lucky that my work ticks both.’

Kate nodded. ‘That makes sense.’

His gaze flickered to her ring, then back to her face, roaming around it like he was reading all its secrets. As though he could see right through her carefully perfected mask and knew she wasn’t as together as she liked to make out. She looked away.

A few more seconds passed, and then Sam cleared his throat. ‘Listen, let’s wipe the slate clean. Put all the craziness behind us and start over,’ he suggested, reaching out a hand. ‘Hi. I’m Sam.’

Kate looked at his offered hand and then took it in hers with a smile. ‘Kate.’

TWENTY-SEVEN

‘He’s away at the moment, I’m afraid,’ the reedy voice on the other end of the phone informed her. ‘Won’t be back now for a month.’

‘Amonth?’ Kate exclaimed, putting her free hand to her head in despair. ‘Is he reachable at least? Is there a number I can try? It really is quite urgent.’

She’d been trying to get hold of Edward Moreaux all week, after the incident with Aubrey and Evelyn, but it was proving to be almost impossible.

‘I’m afraid not – he’s at a health retreat. No phones. Only emergency calls allowed to the main number. Is it anemergency?’ the woman asked, the unsteady wobble in her voice betraying her more advanced years. ‘Where did you say you were calling from again?’

‘From Morris and Sch—’ Kate clamped her mouth shut to contain her seething frustration. ‘I’m his late brother’s lawyer, Kate Hunter. I’ve called a few times. It’s about his brother’s estate.’

‘Whoselawyer?’ she asked, sounding even more confused.

Kate closed her eyes and counted to five. ‘Edward’s brother William.’

‘Oh,thatbrother. He died years ago.’ Her voice became suspicious. ‘Who are youreally?’

Kate pressed her fingers and thumb into her temples. ‘When will Edward be back?’

‘He’s back sixteenth of December, so you’ll have to call back then,’ came the reply.

Kate closed her eyes and slumped forward over the kitchen island, pressing her face to the cold marble as she mentally watched all hope of tying this up before Christmas wave merrily goodbye and walk out the door.

‘Hello?Miss? Are you there?’

‘Yes, I’m still here,’ Kate replied, her words mumbled from where her nose and mouth were still squashed against the countertop. ‘Sixteenth, OK. I’ll call back then, thank you.’ She ended the call and groaned, not moving.

‘It’s fine,’ she muttered with dramatic self-pity to the empty room. ‘There probably won’t be a wedding anyway once they all learn I’llstillbe tied up here. And even if thereis…’ She raised her hands and held them out helplessly, feeling too defeated to lift her head. ‘Well, my mother will probably just put me in peach to show her passive-aggressive disapproval. Bell sleeves, giant flowers all around the neckline from Nanna’s old curtains…’ She could visualise it now. ‘She’ll invite everyone she’s ever met and turn it into a circus, whereI’llbe the main attraction. Aspenance. Andthenshe’ll tell me I brought it on myself and to get out and perform.Dance, monkey, dance!’ She waved her hands around above her head to mimic a pair of performing monkeys, then let them drop heavily back to the counter.

The crunching sound close by nearly made her jump out of her skin, and her head darted up. She froze, mortified, as she clocked Sam standing directly in front of her across the island with an apple in his hand. He stared back with a deeply concerned pucker between his dark brows as he slowly chewed.Holding her gaze, he walked back out with slow, deliberate steps, not saying a word.

She waited until she heard his door close before she shut her eyes and let the burning shame ride free. ‘Ofcoursehe heard that,’ she muttered under her breath before glancing up to the heavens. ‘Can a girl not catch abreakdown here?’

Her phone pinged, and she looked down expectantly. It was a voice note from her mother. ‘I guess not,’ she muttered wryly. She opened it up and pressed play.

‘Kate? It’s yourmother,Eleanor,’ came the voice, each syllable accentuated as though she were talking to someone almost completely deaf.

Kate shook her head. She’d explained voice notes to her mother a thousand times, but it just never seemed to take.

‘When you’re not working, you need to call me. On thetelephone, not on the What’sUp app, OK, darling?Callme. On thetelephone.’

‘Eleanor, she can hear you perfectly clearly. You don’t need to repeat everything like she’s a small child,’ her father said in the background.

‘Henry, bequiet, I amtryingto send a recorded message!’ Eleanor sighed irritably, and Kate grinned, amused. ‘So, as I said, darling, docall mewhen you can. On thetelephone. We need to talk aboutthe flowers. Amy’s had some rather strange ideas that I don’t like the sound of, atall. Andcall Lance, if you haven’t yet today, Kate, won’t you? Don’t forget.Call Lance. Oh! And Harriet Parsons – you know the one:Harriet, from the bigbluebell fiascolast year – she’s been asking around for my secret Christmas cake recipe. Absolutely shameless. I’m just telling you, darling, so that you know. So if she tries to contact you and asks, I havenotsanctioned this. I repeat,do not give up any information.’

‘Oh, for crying out loud, Eleanor,’ Henry exclaimed. ‘No one is going to contact Kate to try and steal your recipe. And even if they did, Kate knows the score, OK? You trained her well. She’s ready to withstand any and all torture tactics before handing over your state secrets.’

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