“No.”

“Then it doesn’t affect you one way or the other. They’ll notify me when they set a court date, but it won’t be for a while. You’re free, Hannah.”

“Free,” Hannah repeated, smiling widely. Freedom was something you really didn’t think about unless you lost it. And then it was the only thing that mattered. She caught sight of Norman’s car and came close to running down the courthouse steps so that she could climb in beside him, but she wasn’t entirely sure that her legs would hold her. Instead, she walked quickly down the steps and made her way to the curb. Her heart was still racing with the remnants of fear and she didn’t completely relax until she was seated next to Norman in the passenger seat.

“Oh, Norman!” Hannah exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and giving him a big kiss. “You really are my hero! Let’s go to your house.”

Norman pulled her closer and kissed her soundly. And then he chuckled.

“Why are you laughing?” Hannah asked him.

“If I’d only realized that all it took was five thousand dollars and a couple of signatures on some papers, I would have done this a long time ago!”

FRESH BLACKBERRY COOKIES

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Hannah’s Note: Winnie told Lisa that this recipe came from her daughter, Gina, who lives in Seattle. Gina developed this recipe while she was still at home on the ranch.

1 cup fresh blackberries (you can also use frozen)

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

½ cup salted butter, softened (1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound)

1 teaspoon baking power

½ teaspoon salt

1 and ½ teaspoons grated lemon zest (zest is the yellow part of the peel)

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

¼ cup milk

Rinse and thoroughly dry the blackberries. You can do this in a strainer and let them dry while you mix up the cookie dough. (If you’re using frozen blackberries, you don’t have to rinse them—just put them in a strainer and let them thaw.)

Prepare your baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper and then spraying the paper with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.

Place the white sugar and the softened salted butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat them together until they are light and fluffy.

Add the baking powder, salt, and grated lemon zest. Mix them in thoroughly.

Add the egg and mix until it is completely incorporated.

Add one cup of flour to your bowl. Mix it in.

Add the milk to your bowl. Mix that in.

Add the rest of the flour and mix until all the ingredients except the blackberries are combined.

Turn off the mixer, take out the bowl, and set it on the counter.

Pat the strained blackberries with a paper towel until they are thoroughly dry.

Add them to the dough in the bowl and gently fold them in with a rubber spatula. The goal here is to keep as many whole, uncrushed berries as possible. Some will crush and juice. It’s inevitable. Don’t despair because that is what will give your cookies streaks of lovely purple color.

Drop the cookies by teaspoonful onto the parchment covered cookie sheet, 12 cookies to a standard-size sheet. (Lisa and I use a 2-teaspoon cookie scoop to make these down at The Cookie Jar.)

Bake the Fresh Blackberry Cookies at 375 degrees F., for 12 to 15 minutes or until they are a light, golden brown color.

Yield: 4 to 5 dozen, depending on cookie size.