Free Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke Page A

across the street is open, isn’t it?”
    â€œYes, it is.”
    â€œGood. I’ve got a delivery for the lady that owns it.”
    Hannah almost stopped in her tracks as an extremely unpalatable possibility occurred to her. She’d have to be careful how she phrased her question so that Kyle didn’t realize he was telling tales out of school, but suspicious minds needed to know.
    â€œIt’s a good thing he got flowers for Shawna Lee this year.” Hannah put on a big smile for show. “Last Valentine’s Day all he did was send a card and she wouldn’t speak to him for at least a week.”
    â€œYeah, the ladies expect more than a card. And let me tell you, a dozen roses don’t come cheap this time of year, especially when they’re a color we don’t normally stock. Kingston wanted yellow, because they’re her favorites. And they’re twice as expensive as your red ones.”
    Hannah gritted her teeth and managed to hold on to her smile until Kyle had left. If she’d known he was carrying a bouquet for Shawna Lee in his truck, she would have kept him talking until her rival’s expensive yellow roses turned into ice cubes. She had half a notion to dump the bouquet Mike had sent to her in the trash, but that was a waste of good flowers.
    Even though she was upset, Hannah found a vase for her roses. They were beautiful, and their lovely scent wafted out to permeate the whole kitchen. Perhaps Mike hadn’t known that Shawna Lee’s flowers would be more expensive than hers. He’d probably just rattled off his credit card number and assumed that all roses were equal, even in the off-season. But why had he sent Shawna Lee roses in the first place? Was it merely a friendly gesture toward the woman who’d once been his secretary? Or did it mean more than that?
    Hannah reached for the little white envelope that had come with her bouquet. She pulled out the card, read the message, and immediately felt a whole lot better. The card was a preprinted one that proclaimed Happy Valentine’s Day in flowing red script, but Mike had dictated a note on the back that said, I volunteered to work during the wedding, but I can make the reception. Save the first and last dance for me? I’ve got something special for you and I’ll follow you home.
    At least Mike wasn’t taking Shawna Lee to the wedding. Hannah let out a relieved sigh. And it was nice of him to volunteer to work so the deputies who’d known Lisa and Herb all their lives could attend the ceremony. The second half of his note pleased her even more. It meant that he wasn’t taking Shawna Lee to the reception either, since he wanted to dance the first and last dance with her and follow her home. And what was the something special he was going to give her?
    Hannah gave a little shiver of excitement as she considered the possibilities, none of which she would have discussed with anyone other than herself. Then, rather than spend her morning speculating on something that might or might not come to pass, as pleasant as that speculation might be, she headed to the freezer to get the peaches.
    She’d taken all of two steps before the phone rang. Hannah turned around to glare at it balefully, but she reached out to answer. It could be Mike and if it was, she wanted to thank him for her roses.
    â€œHannah? I’m so glad I caught you!” It was Lisa and she sounded panic-stricken. “You haven’t made your peach cobbler yet, have you?”
    â€œNot yet. What’s the matter?”
    â€œWe’ve got a problem. I just found out she’s bringing her peach cobbler.”
    â€œWho is?”
    â€œShawna Lee. She called the Lake Eden Inn to tell Sally she wanted to bring us three pans for a wedding present, but Dick answered the phone. And when she asked him if there was room for her cobbler on the dessert table, Dick checked the diagram of the table that Sally drew