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.”“Okay, Mommy.I can take the detective bear that Mike gave me, can’t I?”“Sure, you can,” Bill answered her.“But it’s a collectible,” Delores objected.“What if one of Tracey’s friends gets it dirty?”Mike shrugged.“Then it’ll get dirty.Let her take it, Andrea.It’s not much of a present for Tracey if she can’t play with it.”“You’re right.” Andrea smiled at him and then she turned to Tracey.“You can take it, honey.It’s okay.”Hannah watched the exchange and it made her feel good.Perhaps Andrea was becoming a little less materialistic.She certainly was becoming more maternal.Tracey had called her “Mommy,” and Andrea hadn’t objected to the label.After Tracey had kissed everyone good night and left to go upstairs with Andrea, Delores motioned to Hannah.“Could you help me dress another salad, dear? We’re running out.”“Sure.” Hannah followed Delores into the kitchen, but the moment they were out of earshot, she took her mother’s arm.“Spill it, Mother.”“Spill what, dear?”“The reason you wanted to get me alone.We weren’t running out of salad.The bowl was half full.”“You always were the smart one.” Delores laughed.“I just wanted to know how you felt with two men competing for you.”Hannah reared back on her heels and gave her mother a look that would wither baby grapes on the vine.“Are you crazy, Mother? Norman isn’t interested in me that way.We’re friends, but that’s as far as it goes.And Mike Kingston certainly isn’t.He’s just being polite to his new partner’s sister-in-law.”“I don’t think so.” Delores didn’t seem at all swayed by that argument.“Norman told Carrie that you’re the first girl he’s felt comfortable with in years.”“That’s nice, but it doesn’t spell romance.Norman’s just as comfortable around Andrea.As a matter of fact, I think he’s even more comfortable around her.They were huddled together in the living room for a long time, discussing what color Andrea should choose for her new carpet.”“But Andrea’s married,” Delores pointed out, “and you’re not.”Hannah couldn’t resist teasing her mother.“That’s true.Do you think that Norman would feel even more comfortable around me if I got married?”“That’s not what I mean and you know it!” Delores sounded as outraged as she could, given the fact she had to keep her voice down.“Sorry, Mother.It’s just that you’re always trying to push me into marriage.I’ve told you before, I’m perfectly happy being single.”“That’ll change when you meet the right man.” Delores seemed very certain.“I think you’ve already met him and you just haven’t realized it yet.Norman’s a very good catch.”“You make him sound like a trout.”“It fits, dear.” Delores looked highly amused.“Norman’s swallowed the bait.Now all you have to do is reel him in.”Hannah laughed at the mental picture that popped into her head, and Delores joined in.When they stopped laughing, Hannah gently admonished her.“If you stop trying to set me up with every man in town, we’ll get along much better.You’ve already got a grandchild and she’s perfect.And your son-in-law just solved a double homicide and got promoted to detective.Let’s just have a good time tonight and celebrate all the good things that have happened.”“You’re right, Hannah,” Delores agreed.“But I still think both of those men are competing for you.”There was no stopping Delores, and Hannah was almost ready to give up the fight, but not before she fired a parting shot.“If they’re competing for me, why hasn’t either one of them asked me out?”“Oh, they will.” Delores sounded very confident.“Before the night’s over, you’ll have two dates.”“You think so?”“Want to bet?”“I don’t know.What’s in it for me when I win?”“If you win,” Delores corrected her.“All right, if I win.”“I’ll buy you a new outfit.Claire has a stunning green silk suit that’ll look just lovely on you.”Hannah had seen the green silk in Claire’s window and Delores was right: It was stunning.“You’ll never win this bet, Mother, but just for form’s sake, what do you want if you win?”“I want you to stop wearing those awful old tennis shoes.They’re disgusting!”“But I love them.” Hannah glanced down at her old Nikes, the most comfortable shoes she owned.“You’ve loved them for the past five years and it’s time to give them a decent burial.” Delores gave her a challenging smile.“What are you so worried about? You just told me that I couldn’t win.”Hannah thought about it.The probability that both Norman and Mike would ask her for a date before the night was over was too astronomical for her to calculate without using numbers with strange names like googol and googolplex.“Okay, Mother.You’ve got a bet.”“Good.” Delores beamed at her.“Let’s put that salad together before someone comes in to ask what we’re talking about.”When the salad was ready, Hannah carried it out to the table.Delores started bending Mike’s ear about collectible toys, and Norman and Andrea got into a discussion about textured walls and the sponge method of applying paint.That left Hannah with Bill and she knew she’d never have a better opportunity to talk to him about Coach Watson.“Will you show me where you keep the recycle bin?” Hannah picked up her diet Coke can.“You know where it is.It’s that yellow box in the kitchen, under the sink.”Hannah glanced around.No one was paying any attention to them, so she grabbed Bill’s arm and leaned close.“I need to talk to you alone.”“Oh,” Bill whispered.“Sorry, Hannah.Let’s duck into the living room.”Once they were out of earshot, Hannah turned to him.“I need a favor, but it’s tricky.”“Okay.What is it?”“This isn’t official, Bill.And you can’t let anyone know that I told you.”“I won’t say anything.”“I know that Coach Watson has been battering Danielle.I talked to her about it, but she won’t press charges.”“There’s nothing I can do if she won’t file a report.” Bill sighed deeply.“It’s really a shame, but my hands are tied.”“I know.Boyd’s in therapy, but I’m still worried.I just wondered if you could keep an eye on him unofficially.”“I can do that.”“You can’t say anything to him.If he thinks that Danielle told anyone, he might just snap.”“That’s been known to happen.Can I ask Mike for some advice on this?”“Good idea.” Hannah smiled.“He must have dealt with this type of situation before.But don’t mention Boyd or Danielle by name.”“I won’t.It’s a good thing you told me now, just in case something happens.”Hannah shivered as she walked back into the dining room with Bill.She hadn’t known Danielle very well before Ron had been killed, but she did now, and she liked her a lot [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.”“Okay, Mommy.I can take the detective bear that Mike gave me, can’t I?”“Sure, you can,” Bill answered her.“But it’s a collectible,” Delores objected.“What if one of Tracey’s friends gets it dirty?”Mike shrugged.“Then it’ll get dirty.Let her take it, Andrea.It’s not much of a present for Tracey if she can’t play with it.”“You’re right.” Andrea smiled at him and then she turned to Tracey.“You can take it, honey.It’s okay.”Hannah watched the exchange and it made her feel good.Perhaps Andrea was becoming a little less materialistic.She certainly was becoming more maternal.Tracey had called her “Mommy,” and Andrea hadn’t objected to the label.After Tracey had kissed everyone good night and left to go upstairs with Andrea, Delores motioned to Hannah.“Could you help me dress another salad, dear? We’re running out.”“Sure.” Hannah followed Delores into the kitchen, but the moment they were out of earshot, she took her mother’s arm.“Spill it, Mother.”“Spill what, dear?”“The reason you wanted to get me alone.We weren’t running out of salad.The bowl was half full.”“You always were the smart one.” Delores laughed.“I just wanted to know how you felt with two men competing for you.”Hannah reared back on her heels and gave her mother a look that would wither baby grapes on the vine.“Are you crazy, Mother? Norman isn’t interested in me that way.We’re friends, but that’s as far as it goes.And Mike Kingston certainly isn’t.He’s just being polite to his new partner’s sister-in-law.”“I don’t think so.” Delores didn’t seem at all swayed by that argument.“Norman told Carrie that you’re the first girl he’s felt comfortable with in years.”“That’s nice, but it doesn’t spell romance.Norman’s just as comfortable around Andrea.As a matter of fact, I think he’s even more comfortable around her.They were huddled together in the living room for a long time, discussing what color Andrea should choose for her new carpet.”“But Andrea’s married,” Delores pointed out, “and you’re not.”Hannah couldn’t resist teasing her mother.“That’s true.Do you think that Norman would feel even more comfortable around me if I got married?”“That’s not what I mean and you know it!” Delores sounded as outraged as she could, given the fact she had to keep her voice down.“Sorry, Mother.It’s just that you’re always trying to push me into marriage.I’ve told you before, I’m perfectly happy being single.”“That’ll change when you meet the right man.” Delores seemed very certain.“I think you’ve already met him and you just haven’t realized it yet.Norman’s a very good catch.”“You make him sound like a trout.”“It fits, dear.” Delores looked highly amused.“Norman’s swallowed the bait.Now all you have to do is reel him in.”Hannah laughed at the mental picture that popped into her head, and Delores joined in.When they stopped laughing, Hannah gently admonished her.“If you stop trying to set me up with every man in town, we’ll get along much better.You’ve already got a grandchild and she’s perfect.And your son-in-law just solved a double homicide and got promoted to detective.Let’s just have a good time tonight and celebrate all the good things that have happened.”“You’re right, Hannah,” Delores agreed.“But I still think both of those men are competing for you.”There was no stopping Delores, and Hannah was almost ready to give up the fight, but not before she fired a parting shot.“If they’re competing for me, why hasn’t either one of them asked me out?”“Oh, they will.” Delores sounded very confident.“Before the night’s over, you’ll have two dates.”“You think so?”“Want to bet?”“I don’t know.What’s in it for me when I win?”“If you win,” Delores corrected her.“All right, if I win.”“I’ll buy you a new outfit.Claire has a stunning green silk suit that’ll look just lovely on you.”Hannah had seen the green silk in Claire’s window and Delores was right: It was stunning.“You’ll never win this bet, Mother, but just for form’s sake, what do you want if you win?”“I want you to stop wearing those awful old tennis shoes.They’re disgusting!”“But I love them.” Hannah glanced down at her old Nikes, the most comfortable shoes she owned.“You’ve loved them for the past five years and it’s time to give them a decent burial.” Delores gave her a challenging smile.“What are you so worried about? You just told me that I couldn’t win.”Hannah thought about it.The probability that both Norman and Mike would ask her for a date before the night was over was too astronomical for her to calculate without using numbers with strange names like googol and googolplex.“Okay, Mother.You’ve got a bet.”“Good.” Delores beamed at her.“Let’s put that salad together before someone comes in to ask what we’re talking about.”When the salad was ready, Hannah carried it out to the table.Delores started bending Mike’s ear about collectible toys, and Norman and Andrea got into a discussion about textured walls and the sponge method of applying paint.That left Hannah with Bill and she knew she’d never have a better opportunity to talk to him about Coach Watson.“Will you show me where you keep the recycle bin?” Hannah picked up her diet Coke can.“You know where it is.It’s that yellow box in the kitchen, under the sink.”Hannah glanced around.No one was paying any attention to them, so she grabbed Bill’s arm and leaned close.“I need to talk to you alone.”“Oh,” Bill whispered.“Sorry, Hannah.Let’s duck into the living room.”Once they were out of earshot, Hannah turned to him.“I need a favor, but it’s tricky.”“Okay.What is it?”“This isn’t official, Bill.And you can’t let anyone know that I told you.”“I won’t say anything.”“I know that Coach Watson has been battering Danielle.I talked to her about it, but she won’t press charges.”“There’s nothing I can do if she won’t file a report.” Bill sighed deeply.“It’s really a shame, but my hands are tied.”“I know.Boyd’s in therapy, but I’m still worried.I just wondered if you could keep an eye on him unofficially.”“I can do that.”“You can’t say anything to him.If he thinks that Danielle told anyone, he might just snap.”“That’s been known to happen.Can I ask Mike for some advice on this?”“Good idea.” Hannah smiled.“He must have dealt with this type of situation before.But don’t mention Boyd or Danielle by name.”“I won’t.It’s a good thing you told me now, just in case something happens.”Hannah shivered as she walked back into the dining room with Bill.She hadn’t known Danielle very well before Ron had been killed, but she did now, and she liked her a lot [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]