Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #4)(5)

22

Joanne Fluke

A sigh escaped Hannah's lips as she thought about Mike. He was the handsome and sexy head detective with the Win-netka County Sheriff's Department. He was also her brother-in-law's partner and Bill hadn't been shy about telling Hannah that he hoped she'd marry Mike. Andrea also liked Mike, but she'd adopted their mother's view. As long as the candidate was male and single, any old groom would do in a pinch.

Thoughts of her mother caused Hannah to withdraw her hand without taking the cookie. If she got thinner and Norman proposed, Delores would have to stop playing matchmaker and fixing her up with every eligible man who stepped inside the Lake Eden city limits.

But did she really want to get married at this point in her

life? Hannah reached for the cookie again. It might serve her better to stay a little heavy, delay any proposals of marriage, and date both Norman and Mike into perpetuity.

The back door opened and Hannah pulled her hand back from the cookie plate. It was a guilty reaction, pure and simple, and she gave her partner, Lisa Herman, an embarrassed smile. "Good morning, Lisa."

"Hi, Hannah." Lisa hung her purse on a hook, grabbed her apron, and walked over to stare at Hannah curiously as she put it on. Since she was petite, she had to roll it up around the middle and wind the strings around her waist twice. "I saw you put that cookie back. Is there something wrong with them?"

"No. I'm sure they're delicious."

"Then why didn't you take one?"

"Because I'm on a diet. No desserts until I lose twenty pounds. If you see me reaching for another cookie, slap my hand."

"Okay. But what brought this on?"

"My favorite pair of summer slacks. I bought them on a shopping trip with Andrea last summer and now I can't even zip them up."

"That's strange. You don't look like you've gained weight to me."

LEMON MERINGUE PIE MURDER 23

"Not to you maybe, but..." Hannah stopped speaking and sighed. "Norman bought a house."

"He did?" Lisa looked startled.

"It's the house Rhonda Scharf inherited from her great-aunt. He's coming here to sign the papers this morning."

"Then Norman's moving?"

"Not yet. He's going to bulldoze the old house and start building the dream house we designed for the contest."

"That's wonderful," Lisa said, walking over to the sink to wash her hands, "but what does it have to do with you losing weight?" I "He called to tell me about it this morning, but he didn't

ask me to marry him."

Lisa turned to give Hannah a stern look. "And you really believe that the only reason Norman didn't ask you to marry him is because you're twenty pounds overweight?"

"Well... no. But..."

"Don't get me wrong," Lisa interrupted her. "Go on a diet if you want to, but don't use Norman for an excuse. He's crazy about you. Anybody can see that. I think he'll ask you one of these days."

Hannah felt her spirits rise. "Do you really think so?"

"Absolutely. It takes some men a while to work up the nerve. I've been dating Herb for as long as you've been dating Norman, and Herb hasn't proposed yet."

"Do you wish he would?" The moment the words were out of her mouth, Hannah regretted them. Lisa's relationship with Herb was none of her business. But Lisa didn't seem to mind the question and she smiled slightly as she dried her hands.

"Sometimes I wish he'd ask me. How about you? Do you ; want Norman to ask you?"

"I don't know. But I do know I don't want him to ask anyone else."

Lisa laughed. "I don't think there's any danger of that. So how about the diet? Is it still on?"

Hannah thought about it for a moment. "It's on. I can't afford to buy a whole new wardrobe."

24

Joanne Fluke

"Now that's a good reason for a diet," Lisa said, heading for the door to the coffee shop. "I'll go start the coffee so you can fill up on something that doesn't have any calories."

The stove timer sounded and Hannah rose to take her pies out of the ovens. By the time she'd set them all out on racks to cool, Lisa was back with a fresh hot cup of coffee.

"Here you go." Lisa handed her a white mug with the cookie jar printed in red block letters on the side. "This'll get you going. And once you increase your energy level, you'll burn more calories. Gorgeous, as always."

Hannah, who had been about to take her first sip of coffee, looked up at the apparent non sequitur and found Lisa eyeing the row of baked pies.

"I think lemon is your prettiest pie. Of course your cherry pies are nice, too. They look yummy with all that bright red juice bubbling up through the latticework crusts. And your apple pies are gorgeous, golden brown on top and they smell so good. And your blueberry pies are just..."

"Stop!" Hannah interrupted her, holding up her hands in surrender. "I'm on a diet, remember?"

Lisa looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Hannah. Forget what I said about your pies. Are the wedding cookies cool enough to decorate?"

"They should be."

Lisa went to the counter and began to sift confectioner's sugar into a bowl. "I'll mix up the frosting and do the initials first."