Hannah smiled as Del Woodley, the head of DelRay Manufacturing, came up to greet her. “Hi, Del. How’s everything with you?”
“Good.” Del gave a quick nod. “Benton and I listened to what you had to say, Hannah, and I just want to tell you that if Ross ever shows his lying face in Lake Eden again, Benton and I want you to call us. We’ll be glad to take care of that lowlife for you!”
There was a determined expression on Del’s face, and Hannah gave a little shiver. It was clear that he was serious. Del had a reputation for being tough in his business dealings, and Hannah had no doubt that he could also be tough when it came to something personal.
“Thank you, Del,” she said, trying to think of some way to accept his sentiment without actually accepting what she thought he was proposing. “It makes me feel better just to know that I can count on you and Benton.”
“Don’t forget that we’ll be there if you need us.”
“I won’t forget,” Hannah promised.
The next people to arrive at Hannah’s table were Lisa and Herb Beeseman. Lisa was Hannah’s business partner at The Cookie Jar, and Herb was Lake Eden’s marshal in charge of local security and parking enforcement.
“Lisa!” Hannah was surprised to see her. “I thought this was your week at St. Jude’s.”
“It is,” Herb explained, “but when Lisa found out that you planned to address the congregation here, we decided to go Lutheran two weeks in a row and Catholic for the next two weeks.”
Hannah smiled at her partner. Since Lisa’s family was Catholic and Herb’s family was Lutheran, Lisa and Herb had worked out a plan even before they were married. The whole family would spend one Sunday at Lisa’s church, St. Jude, and the next week at Herb’s church. Since Herb’s mother, Marge, had married Lisa’s father, Jack, this worked out well for both families.
Herb cleared his throat and leaned close to give Hannah a piece of paper. “Here’s my cell number, Hannah. Call me if Ross ever bothers you again and I’ll take care of him for you.”
“And I’ll help!” Lisa said with a frown. “Herb and I talked about it last night and I’m already on the lookout for him at The Cookie Jar.”
“Thank you,” Hannah said, tucking the number in her purse, “but I really doubt he’ll come back to Lake Eden again. He must know that there’s nothing for him here.”
Lisa did not look convinced. “Maybe, but it never hurts to be prepared. Herb and I worked out a plan. If he sees Ross, he’s going to stop him for some trumped-up traffic violation and give you time to make yourself scarce.”
Once Lisa and Herb had left, Lisa’s Aunt Nancy bustled up to the table. She was wearing the lovely engagement ring that Heiti had given her at Christmas. “Hello, Hannah,” she said. “I thought your speech went very well. I watched everyone’s reaction, and there isn’t a single person here who’s not completely on your side. Ross is a rat and he doesn’t deserve a wonderful person like you.”
“Thank you.” Hannah could tell that Aunt Nancy had rehearsed what she planned to say because she’d blurted it out rapid-fire. “Lisa told me that you’re working on a new cookie recipe for me.”
“That’s right. I’m going to bake them again tonight and I’ll bring some in tomorrow morning. They’ll be perfect for Valentine’s Day.”
“Hannah, I need a private moment with you please.”
Hannah turned to the man who had come up behind Aunt Nancy. There was no mistaking the authoritarian voice or the imposing figure of Mayor Bascomb.
“Yes, Mayor Bascomb?” she greeted him once Aunt Nancy had hurried off.
“You have no need to worry about Ross coming back to Lake Eden. He won’t get more than a block inside the city limits before he’s ticketed and arrested.”
“Ticketed for what?” Hannah asked him.
“We’ll start with a parking ticket and go on to failure to stop at a stop sign. And if he goes past Jordan High, we’ll nail him for speeding through a school zone.” Mayor Bascomb looked proud of himself for citing all these violations. “We don’t want liars like Ross Barton in our midst. I’ve ordered Marshal Beeseman to pick him up if he comes back. That’ll give you plenty of time to take cover.”
Take cover? Hannah almost asked, but she quickly thought better of the idea. It was quite obvious that Mayor Bascomb had been watching late-night war movies again.
“Thank you, Mayor Bascomb,” Hannah said instead. “I appreciate your efforts on my behalf.”
The mayor looked pleased as he walked away, and Andrea nudged Hannah. “I heard that,” she said in a barely audible voice. “I’m proud of you, Hannah. You handled him perfectly. And just for your information, Bill planned a little surprise for Ross, too.”
Good heavens! Does everyone in town think I need protection? Hannah thought, but instead of asking that question, she substituted another. “What surprise did Bill plan?”
“He went out to the courthouse and got a warrant for Ross’s arrest for bigamy.”
“Good heavens!” Hannah exclaimed, thoroughly shocked.
“That’s right. Bill and Mike talked to Howie Levine and he drew up the paperwork for them.”
“But . . . I wasn’t legally married to Ross.”
“I know, but all they need is intent. Bill got a copy of the marriage certificate that you and Ross signed from the county records office. It’s true that you’re not legally married, but the intent to defraud was there. And that’s why the judge signed off on the warrant.”
“Did you know about this?” Hannah asked Michelle, who was sitting on the other side of her.
“No. I figured they’d do something like that, but I didn’t know it had actually happened. Ross did do something illegal, you know.”
“I know.”
“And you were hurt by it!” Andrea pointed out. “It can’t have been easy to give that speech in front of the congregation. And you wouldn’t have had to do that if Ross hadn’t been such a louse.”
Hannah couldn’t argue with that. Ross had been a louse. He’d put her through the charade of a wedding when he was married to someone else.
Grandma Knudson came up to the table and put her arms around Hannah. “We love you, Hannah. Everyone here loves you and we want the best for you. You believe that, don’t you?”
It took Hannah a moment to find her voice past the lump in her throat. “Yes, I do believe that.”
Grandma Knudson gave her another little hug. “You’ve been through a lot, Hannah, and we all want to help you through this.”
“Please tell everyone that I appreciate that,” Hannah managed to say. And then her eyes filled with tears and she knew she had to leave. “I have to go, Grandma Knudson.”
“I understand. I’ll tell everyone that you’re grateful for their support.” Grandma Knudson waited for Hannah to push back her chair and get to her feet. “I’ll walk you to the stairs, Hannah.”
Hannah gave everyone the best smile she could muster, and walked to the door with Grandma Knudson. When Grandma Knudson pulled open the door to the stairs, Hannah gave her a tremulous smile and headed up the steps to the cloakroom. Once there, blinking back tears, she put on her parka and boots. Then she opened the outside door to the church and hurried across the parking lot to her cookie truck.
The snow was beginning to fall as she drove back to her condo, but Hannah barely noticed. And once she got home, she scooped up Moishe, no easy task with her twenty-three-pound feline, and carried him to the bedroom. She placed Moishe on a pillow, waited until he had made a nest for himself, and then she changed into sweatpants and a warm turtleneck sweater.
“It’s naptime, Moishe,” she said, stretching out on the bed to pet him.
Her eyes filled with tears and she blinked them away. It was nice to know that everyone in Lake Eden wanted the best for her and wished her well, but that didn’t help one iota when it came to fixing her shattered dreams or mending her broken heart.
Moishe seemed to know that something was wrong and he reached out with his paw, claws retracted, and patted her cheek. Then he snuggled closer and Hannah, comforted at last, fell asleep.