“You get to taste them.” Delores laughed as she reached for the foil-covered plate at the end of the workstation. “Wait just a second. I’m going to get Michelle. She wanted to be here when you tasted them.”

The moment the swinging restaurant-style door between the kitchen and the coffee shop had shut, Hannah reached for the foil-covered plate and pulled off the foil. “They’re pretty.”

“You’re not going to taste one until Michelle gets here, are you?” Lisa sounded worried.

“Nope. It was sweet of them to bake for us and I can wait if you can.”

“I don’t know if I can, or not. They smell really good.”

“Yes, they do! Maybe we could just take a little bit off the bottom and . . . ” Hannah halted in mid-reach as the door swung open and Michelle and Delores came in.

“You didn’t taste them yet, did you?” Delores asked.

Hannah shook her head. “No, but it was close. It’s a good thing you came in when you did.”

A moment later, all four of them were munching on Michelle’s creation. Hannah popped the rest of her bar cookie in her mouth and gave a happy sigh. “Incredibly delicious,” she pronounced.

“Just wonderful!” Lisa added. “Do you think we could make them without the vodka so we could sell them in the coffee shop?”

Michelle looked thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t see why not. There’s one-third cup of vodka in the whole pan of bars. And we used one-third cup of lime juice. I don’t see why you couldn’t use one-third cup of whole milk for the vodka and leave the lime juice as it is.”

“How about increasing the lime juice to two-thirds of a cup?” Delores asked her. “I really like lime.”

“So do I, but that might make it too limey . . . if limey is a word, that is.”

“It is,” Hannah told her. “It’s a term that was used for English sailors back in the early days. They were at sea for months, sometimes years, and they used to carry barrels of limes on a ship for sailors to eat to keep from getting scurvy. I like limes as much as you do, Mother, but I agree with Michelle. It could be a little too limey.”

“That’s why I’m just the measurer and not the baker,” Delores said. “These are just perfect, Michelle. It’s really a delightful recipe and I know Doc would absolutely love to taste them.”

Hannah caught her mother’s not so subtle hint. “I get it, Mother. Let’s all have one more and save a couple for Lisa to take home to Herb. And then, if you like, you can take the rest out to the hospital for Doc.”

“Not just Doc,” Delores explained. “I was thinking about that lunch with the board members. Doc needs their approval on a couple of things, and I don’t think a little vodka ever hurts when you’re dealing with board members.”