Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(38)

Hannah preened a bit. Her scenario had been correct. "I'm curious, Claire. What were you going to do with three pies anyway?"

The color began to rise in Claire's cheeks. She looked as guilty as a kid caught going through the lunch line twice. "If I tell you, will you keep it to yourself?"

"Yes, if it doesn't have anything to do with Rhonda's murder."

"It doesn't. You heard that our church is trying to raise the money for new hymnals, didn't you?"

Hannah had heard about the hymnal fund the last time she'd catered a Redeemer Lutheran board meeting.

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"We had a meeting two Sundays ago to discuss fund-raising ideas. I suggested holding a weekly bake sale on Saturday mornings."

"I bet they roped you into organizing it," Hannah guessed, knowing how local church politics worked.

"You're right. They nominated me and I couldn't say no, since it was my idea in the first place. And of course I had to contribute something, but I don't bake."

"So you bought three of my pies to take to the bake sale?"

"Exactly. I repackaged the two I had left and I didn't exactly say I'd baked them, but I didn't say I hadn't, either. Do you think that's cheating?"

"Maybe technically, but it was for a good cause and I don't mind. How much did they sell for?"

"Ten dollars apiece. The bake sale was a huge success, Hannah. Bob was very impressed."

"Bob who?" Hannah asked. It was a fairly common name in Lake Eden, and she knew at least a dozen local Bobs.

"Reverend Knudson. He asked me to call him Bob."

Hannah watched the color come up on Claire's cheeks again and one possible explanation occurred to her. Claire had broken off her long-standing affair with Mayor Bascomb last winter. As far as Hannah knew, Claire hadn't dipped her toe into the dating pool again, but the pink rising in her cheeks was a dead giveaway. Unless Hannah missed her guess, something new was going on in Claire's love life. "Hold on a second, Claire. Are you dating Reverend Knudson?"

"Not exactly. But we're really good friends and I just adore his grandmother."

A tactless question popped into Hannah's mind and she asked it before she could stop herself. "But don't you find him boring after all that time with the mayor?"

"No, not at all. You wouldn't think Bob was boring if you knew him as well as I do. He has a wonderful sense of humor."

Hannah hoped she didn't look as dubious as she felt. Reverend Knudson's sermons about the wages of sin hadn't

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seemed the least bit humorous to her. Of course, the subject matter didn't leave a whole lot of room for jokes.

"Before you ask, Bob knows all about my affair with the mayor," Claire interrupted Hannah's thoughts. "I told him myself."

"What did he say?" Hannah held her breath. Reverend Knudson had never struck her as the liberal type.

"He said it wasn't important and I shouldn't worry about it."

Hannah blinked. "Reverend Knudson said an affair wasn't important?"

"That's right. He's not as strict and proper as you think he is, Hannah. Bob's really a lot of fun once you get him out of his clerical garb." Hannah's eyebrows shot up at that turn of phrase and Claire started to giggle. She sounded giddy, like a teenage girl, and her eyes sparkled with pure laughter. "I didn't mean it that way!"

Hannah and Claire were still laughing when Andrea appeared in the doorway, wearing one of the outfits. It was a dark green cotton dress with large gold sunflowers scattered over it. "I'm taking them all, Claire. And I'm wearing this."

"I'm so glad you like them." Claire looked pleased. "That dress is wonderful with your coloring."

"I think so, too. I'm helping Hannah with her catering this afternoon and I need to look my best." Andrea turned to Hannah. "Why don't you pick out something else to wear, Hannah? I'll even pay for it. Our greens clash."

Hannah felt herself climb firmly on the defensive. It was the old Queen-of-the-Hill battle they'd played countless times before. "You pick out something else. I was wearing my green first."

"But yours is at least two years old and mine is new. New takes precedence over old."

Hannah shook her head. "My green stays. The caterer takes precedence over the assistant."

The two sisters locked eyes, four orbs burning with equal

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intensity. But after a moment, what would have led to a pitched battle in the past suddenly dissolved into laughter.

"I'm sorry, Hannah," Andrea said through a volley of chuckles. "You're the caterer. You win."

"No, you're the one who's pregnant and facing your dragon of a mother-in-law. You win."

"Really?" Andrea's smile was as radiant as the sun after a sudden downpour. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, and you don't even have to buy me a new outfit. I'll just put it on my almost-maxed-out credit card."

Ten minutes later and eighty dollars poorer despite the huge discount Claire had given her, Hannah walked out of Claire's shop. She was wearing her new outfit and it was in her very favorite color, one she'd always despaired of being able to wear. It was a summer-weight skirt and jacket in an odd shade of red that miraculously failed to clash with her hair. Claire had chosen the outfit from her new shipment and it had been worth every penny Hannah had spent. She felt svelte and gorgeous.