Free Joanne Fluke Christmas Bundle: Sugar Cookie Murder, Candy Cane Murder, Plum Pudding Murder, & Gingerbread Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier Page B

didn’t go for one of those.”
    “So am I!” Hannah’s reply was heartfelt. A flocked tree was fine for the lobby of a hotel, or the front window of the First Mercantile Bank, but school kids should experience a real tree that wasn’t sprayed all over with plastic and adhesive and whatever else the Crazy Elf used for flocking material.
    “They really swing up high on that Yule Log.” Mike leaned out the side of their sleigh to take a better look. “I think there’s one point where you stop and you’re perfectly suspended before you go on the downswing again.”
    Hannah thought about being suspended with Mike’s arm around her. That would be nice, but only if they could just stay there and not go on the downswing again.
    “There’s Larry’s headquarters,” Mike pointed from his side of the sleigh. “See it?”
    Hannah glanced down in time to see a man entering Larry’s trailer. He must be arriving for the business meeting Larry had told them about. As the man passed through the doorway, Hannah realized that he looked a bit like Earl Flensburg. Of course that was about as likely as snow in July. The Winnetka County tow truck and snowplow driver wasn’t the type to attend a business meeting, especially a one-on-one meeting with a high-powered executive like Larry Jaeger.
    “It’s funny, isn’t it, how there wasn’t a single Christmas thing inside?” Mike asked.
    For a moment Hannah was puzzled and then she realized that Mike was referring to Larry Jaeger’s trailer. “Not really. If you were around something every waking minute, you’d probably want to get away to something completely different.”
    “Careful, Hannah,” Mike said, giving her the devilish grin that always made her toes tingle. “I think you just gave me the guy’s argument for infidelity.”
    And naturally you recognized it, Hannah thought, but of course she didn’t say it. “I prefer to think of it as an argument for going camping after a hard week at work,” she countered, “or the reason someone who lives in Minnesota likes to vacation in Hawaii.”
    “You’ve got a point. I wouldn’t mind a little fun in the sun in the dead of winter. Say, Hannah…I’ve got two weeks of vacation coming at the end of January. I was thinking about flying to St. Thomas and I…isn’t that Andrea?” Mike leaned out even farther and waved his arm. “It’s her, all right. Andrea’s down there waiting for us.”
    Saved by the sister , Hannah thought, not quite sure if she was grateful or disappointed that Mike hadn’t finished what had sounded like an invitation to come along on his winter vacation.
    The sleigh began to descend and their time for privacy was over. Hannah leaned out to smile at her sister as they came to rest and an attendant rushed over to help them out.
    “Did you have fun?” Andrea asked when they were both on the ground.
    “It was nice,” Hannah answered.
    “Nice,” Mike teased her. “I thought it was more than nice.”
    “Okay, it was fun.” Hannah turned to Andrea. “You can go on this one with Tracey. It won’t make her sick. You could even take Grandma McCann and Bethany if you want to. But watch out for the Yule Log.”
    “I know. I walked past it on the way over here, and the Yule Log is definitely out.” Andrea led them toward the entrance. “We’re all through shopping and Norman’s out in the parking lot helping them tie on the trees.”
    “I’ll go help him,” Mike said, striding forward and leaving the two Swensen sisters alone.
    “You said trees ,” Hannah reminded her. “Did you get more than one tree?”
    “Did I say trees? I didn’t mean to. I just hope mine doesn’t scratch the roof of my Volvo.”
    “Yours?” Hannah asked. “Does that mean there’s a tree that isn’t yours?”
    “Of course there is. My tree is mine. It’s the one I bought for Tracey’s class. It’s mine as opposed to somebody else’s. My tree is mine. Their tree is theirs. I didn’t mean anyone