by Joanne Fluke
Ten minutes later, Hannah had taken a quick, bracing shower, dressed in clean jeans and the semi-dressy tunic top she’d found in the Helping Hands thrift store. She slipped on moccasins, gave her unruly red hair a cursory brushing, and hurried down the hallway to the kitchen.
Michelle was just taking a pan of muffins out of the oven, and Hannah realized that the delectable aroma was coming from Michelle’s newest creation.
“They smell heavenly,” Hannah praised her. “The aroma was so wonderful, I realized that I was starving.”
“Of course you’re hungry. You didn’t have lunch, did you?”
Hannah took a fast moment to review her day. “No, I didn’t. But I did have Grandma Knudson’s lemon pie, a couple of Andrea’s whippersnapper cookies, and one Chocolate Almond Crisp.”
“All that is sugar central. It gives you fast energy, but when you crash, you really crash. You can eat a couple of crackers and pâté to tide you over until dinner.”
“You made the muffins and put together a pâté since we got home? After working all day at The Cookie Jar?”
“Yes. Why are you surprised? You do it almost every day. I also made Nutmeg and Cinnamon Faux Crème Fraiche to go on top of our dessert.”
“I could try that now with a little bit of the dessert,” Hannah offered.
“No, you can’t. The dessert is in the oven, warming. You’ll have to wait, along with the rest of our company.”
“The rest of our company? Who else is coming besides Ross?”
“Mike called. He’ll be here at six-fifteen. And I called Norman to see if he’d like to join us. He said yes, and he promised to be here at the same time.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really.” Hannah knew she must have seemed surprised because Michelle hurried to explain. “I figured it was okay since you two seem to be back on your former footing.” She paused slightly. “I was right, wasn’t I?”
“You were. I’m glad Norman’s coming, too.”
“Then it’ll be like old times. I hope you don’t mind, but I told Mike to bring Lonnie.”
“Good. Lonnie’s always welcome, but I thought he was working the night shift.”
“Not anymore. Mike pulled him off the night desk and put him on day shift. The new rookie’s got the night shift now.”
“Great,” Hannah said with a smile. This should be a fun evening. She’d been a bit depressed when she’d fallen asleep, but now she’d regained most of her energy and she felt much better. Instead of dreading a late night with company, she found she was looking forward to the evening ahead. In addition to being a great sister and a wonderful cook, Michelle had the ability to snap her out of her doldrums.
“I’ll set the table,” Hannah offered, spreading some pâté on a cracker and popping it into her mouth. She chewed, swallowed, and asked, “Is this Mike’s Rainy Day Pâté?”
“Yes. You had some braunschweiger in the meat pan that was going to expire in a couple of days, and there was a jar of horseradish sauce. I figured I might as well use the meat before you had to throw it out.”
“Good thinking.”
Hannah prepared another cracker, ate it, and headed for the cupboard to get out the plates. She was smiling as she spread a clean tablecloth on the dining room table and arranged six place settings.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Michelle said from the kitchen. “No pâté for you! There’s too much horseradish in it. I’ll put a couple of salad shrimp in your bowl, but that’s it.”
Hannah heard the freezer door open, and then there was a sound of running water. Michelle was thawing the shrimp for Moishe. The next thing she heard was the clicking of kitty toenails on the floor as Moishe rushed over to his food bowl.
There was the sound of something rattling against the kitty krunchies in the bowl and then a soft yowl of appreciation. Moishe was obviously thanking Michelle for being so thoughtful. When Hannah gave him frozen salad shrimp, she simply took them out of the freezer and tossed them into his food bowl. Michelle was not only good to her, she was also good to Moishe!
Once the table was set, Michelle brought Hannah a glass of white wine and motioned toward the living room couch. “Sit down and relax, Hannah. Everything’s under control in the kitchen, and all we have to do is dish up when everyone’s ready to eat. Do you want to watch the Food Channel and see if they’re advertising the contest?”
“That’s a good idea.” Hannah set her wine on the coffee table and took her customary place on the couch. For the hundredth or so time she wished she had a couch with built-in recliners, but there was no way she could afford the expense of a new couch. Perhaps, after they were married, they could save up for one. With two salaries coming in, the budget wouldn’t be as tight as it was right now.
Michelle had turned on the television and switched to the Food Channel, but Hannah barely noticed. She took a sip of her wine and thought about a new couch and perhaps even new carpeting. She’d hated the old green carpet when she moved in, and she’d vowed to save the money to replace it, but something always came up that was of a higher priority. Perhaps she could finally replace the threadbare carpeting once they combined her monthly profits from The Cookie Jar with Ross’s salary at KCOW-TV.
“Hannah! It’s on!”
Michelle leaned over and tapped her on the arm, and Hannah was startled out of her dream of couches and carpets. Her photo was on the screen! “Where did they get that?” she gasped.
“From me. I took it with my phone while you were in the kitchen baking. I had to submit a photo with the application for the contest.”
“Good heavens!” Hannah groaned, staring at her photo as the camera panned the line of photos. There were five in all and her photo was directly in the center. There was a smudge of flour on her nose and her apron, the one that said THE COOKIE JAR on the bib, was rumpled. Every single one of the other contestants had photos that had obviously been taken by professional photographers. They stood posing, smiling at the camera in spotless toques and wearing chef’s jackets. A banner across the bottom of the screen read, DESSERT CHEF COMPETITION—LIVE COVERAGE, and gave the date of the first night’s competition.
Hannah was given another second or two to stare at her photo and wish Michelle had asked Norman to take it, and then the row of photos changed to show the Food Channel cooking set, with Chef Christian Parker standing behind a counter filled with an array of ingredients.
Hannah was about to ask Michelle to turn up the volume, hoping that they could pick up some helpful information about the judge by watching his show, when there was a knock at the door.
“They’re here,” Michelle said, picking up the remote control. “I’ll set this show to record if you’ll go to let them in.”
“Deal,” Hannah agreed, not wanting to tell Michelle that she’d never bothered to learn how to record a show. She opened the door and was surprised to see Ross standing there, all by himself. “Ross!”
“You were expecting somebody else?” Ross asked, but he didn’t wait for her answer. He just pulled her into his arms and kissed her for long, breathless moments.
Hannah was smiling happily when he let her go and stepped inside. He greeted Michelle, gave Hannah another hug, and said, “You didn’t answer my question.”
Hannah looked at him blankly, still feeling the effects of his kiss. “What question?”
“When you acted surprised to see me, I asked you if you were expecting someone else.”
“Oh. Yes. Yes, you did. And yes, we are. We invited Norman and Lonnie to dinner. That was after Mike called Michelle and invited himself.”
“I should have guessed that Mike’s food-dar would strike again,” Ross said with a smile. “If there’s any good food within a fifty-mile radius, Mike will find it.”
Hannah searched his face. “But you don’t mind that he’s coming for dinner, do you?”
“Of course not. Mike is a friend. And you said that Norman is coming, too?” He waited until Hannah had nodded, and t
hen he smiled. “Good. That must mean you asked both of them to be in the wedding party.”
“I did. Mother said she’d called to ask and you said it was fine with you.”
“That’s right. I’m glad we’re having a big wedding, Hannah. I felt a little like we were teenagers sneaking off to get married for fear our parents would stop us.”
Hannah was surprised. “But you never said that to me!”
“You’re right. I didn’t. The only thing I said was that you could plan anything you wanted and it would be all right with me. And it would have been, Cookie. Really, it would have been. It’s just that I like this way better. All our friends will be there, and we can have a real celebration. It’s the only wedding I’ll ever have, and I want it to be special for both of us.”
“Oh, it will be with Mother at the helm! I just hope that we’ll live through it.”
Ross gave her a curious look. “What do you mean by that?”
“I mean that you can never tell what special surprises Mother might have in store for us. She may decide to have the Lake Eden Players do Taming of the Shrew with real shrews!”
Ross threw back his head and laughed. So did Hannah, and then Michelle joined in. “I wouldn’t put it past her,” Ross said. Then he turned back to Hannah. “Have you ever seen a real shrew? I’m not really sure exactly what a shrew looks like.”
“It’s a little like a mouse,” Hannah explained. “As a matter of fact, it’s sometimes called a shrew mouse. My dictionary describes it as a mole-like creature between three and four and a half inches long.”
Michelle laughed. “That could cause real panic at a wedding reception. A lot of people are afraid of mice.”
“Do you think we should have Sally set traps, just in case?” Ross asked her.
At first Hannah wasn’t sure how to answer. She thought he was teasing her, but she wasn’t entirely sure. Then she saw the twinkle in his eyes and she shook her head. “No, let’s let the shrews run wild. Then you can film it and air the footage on KCOW. If Stephanie Bascomb lifts her skirts and climbs up on a table, it’ll be an overnight sensation.”
“Or even better, maybe you can get Mayor Bascomb cowering behind one of Sally’s artificial trees in the dining room,” Michelle suggested. “That ought to increase viewer numbers for KCOW.”
“Mother’s afraid of mice, too,” Hannah pointed out. “Maybe we should take Moishe along to the reception. He’s a very good mouser. I had to take him to Mother’s house once, to catch a mouse in her spare bedroom.”
Ross laughed. “Loose shrews and enough cats to catch them. That sounds like the beginning of a comedy to me. Now, who or what is going to catch the cats?”
“Dogs,” Hannah answered. “Mother can gather up all the dogs on her block and drive them out to the reception.”
“And who or what is going to catch the dogs?” Ross carried it further.
“Their owners,” Michelle answered quickly. “They’ll be there anyway. Everyone in Lake Eden is coming to your wedding and your reception.”
“It’s going to be that big?” Ross asked Hannah.
“I’m afraid so. Mother only knows one way to throw a party. She doesn’t want to take the chance that she’ll leave someone out and cause hurt feelings. So, to make sure that doesn’t happen, she sends invitations to everyone she knows.”
“And some she doesn’t,” Michelle added, flashing a grin at Hannah. “You should have seen Hannah’s high school graduation party. There were kids there that none of us had ever seen before.”
There was a knock on the door, and Ross reached out to give Hannah a quick hug. “Go ahead and do what you have to do in the kitchen. I’ll greet the gang and let them in.”
Just as soon as coats had been removed, hands had been washed, and wine and beer had been poured, Ross and Hannah, Lonnie and Michelle, and Norman and Mike took seats around Hannah’s big dining room table. As they passed the pâté, conversation flowed. Norman had brought his cat, Cuddles, to play with Moishe and the two cats were prowling around, exploring every room in the condo, looking for anything that might provide feline entertainment.
Hannah noticed that at first Norman seemed a bit tense, but then Ross began to tell him about the new remote control cameras he’d bought for the studio at KCOW, and Norman visibly relaxed.
“You’re taping the basketball game tonight at the high school, aren’t you?” Hannah asked Ross, even though she knew he’d already gone there to set up his equipment.
“Yes, but it’s not taped, Hannah. We’re doing a live feed.” Ross turned to Norman. “I don’t suppose you’d like to come and help out, would you?”
A broad smile spread across Norman’s face. “Sure! I’ll be glad to come.”
“Then we’ll leave together, right after dinner. I still have a couple of things I have to set up before the game.”
“Fine by me,” Norman agreed.
Michelle, who was sitting next to Hannah, gave her a gentle poke in the ribs. Hannah turned to look at her and Michelle raised her eyebrows.
“Let’s dish up the stew,” Hannah said, knowing exactly what her sister meant. Michelle wanted to talk to her alone in the kitchen.
They waited, leaning against the counter, until the conversation around the table began again. Then Michelle turned to Hannah. “Do you think that was a ruse to get Norman to leave when Ross did?”
“Oh! I didn’t even think of that!” Hannah exclaimed, keeping her voice low so that no one around the table in the dining room could hear her. “Do you think that’s what Ross was doing?”
“Could be. And if that’s so, Ross is pretty darn sneaky!”
“Sneaky? I’m not sure I like that idea. I’d rather think that he just wanted a friend to go with him to the game, and he knows that Norman’s interested in all kinds of photography.” Hannah opened the cupboard and took out six bowls. “Come on, Michelle. I’ll dish up the stew while you take your corn muffins out of the pan and put them in a basket. We also need a bowl of sour cream for anyone who wants a dollop on top of the stew, some of that hot salsa I picked up at the Red Owl, and the bottle of Slap Ya Mama hot sauce for Mike. You can carry all those to the table while I fill the bowls. And when you come back, you can start carrying in the bowls of stew. We’ve got four hungry men out there who want to be fed.”
While Hannah finished dishing up the stew and Michelle carried bowls to the table, Hannah thought about what her youngest sister had said. It was rather flattering to think that Ross might be a bit jealous of Norman. She wished she could tell him that he didn’t have any reason at all to be jealous, but if Ross wasn’t being devious, she’d look very silly saying something like that to him. It would be wiser for her to say nothing and ignore the whole thing.
Once dinner was served, Hannah received wonderful compliments on her stew. Ross even said that it was a pity the Food Channel contest was limited to desserts. Michelle’s Cheesy Chili Corn Muffins were also a big hit.
“Now for the dessert,” Hannah said when everyone had eaten at least two bowls of stew and Mike had finished his third. “Michelle and I need your honest opinion. We’re testing desserts to see which ones we ought to bake for the competition, and Michelle baked a pineapple crisp.”
Lonnie grinned at Michelle. “If Shelly baked it, it’s bound to be great. I don’t even have to taste it to know that.”
“Thanks, Lonnie.” Michelle took time to smile at him, and then she said, “But what we really need is your honest criticism and any suggestions you have to make it taste even better.”
Hannah nodded. “Michelle’s right.”
The two sisters cleared the table and carried in coffee. Then Michelle cut squares of her dessert while Hannah carried the bowl of Nutmeg and Cinnamon Faux Crème Fraiche to the table. “Just pass the bowl around and take as much as you want after we bring in your dessert. And please think about whether we should serve it to the judges with the topping already on it, or whether we should give the bowl to the judges a
nd let them pass it to each other.”
Less than five minutes later, everyone was munching happily and the consensus of opinion around the table was that Hannah should deliver the dessert plates to the judges and Michelle should follow in her wake with the bowl of topping so that the judges could taste the dessert without the topping, if they wished, and then take some of the topping and judge it separately.
“That’ll give you two chances to come out on top,” Norman pointed out. “One chance if they like it better without the topping and another chance if they prefer it with the topping.”
“Good idea, Norman!” Ross said, patting him on the back.
“He’s right,” Mike agreed. “That’ll cover all the bases.”
Michelle turned to Hannah. “I think we should talk to Lisa and Aunt Nancy about running a series of taste tests at The Cookie Jar. We could tell whoever’s there, and The Lake Eden Gossip Hotline would take care of the rest.”
“That’s a good idea, Michelle.” Hannah paused and gave Mike her own version of his own devilish grin. “Who knows? It might bring in as much business as another Lake Eden murder!”
GREEN TOMATILLO STEW
Grease or spray the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
Start this stew in the early morning of the day you wish to serve it for dinner.
The Ingredients:
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 pounds frozen chicken tenders (I used Foster Farms)
1 cup carrot nuggets (I used a fresh pack, the kind of carrot nuggets that you might put in a school lunchbox)
14-ounce package frozen tri-colored pepper strips (I used C&W, which is made by Birds Eye)
4 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
