Never one to run away from a problem, Hannah decided that there was no time like the present to confront it. Mike Kingston would think that she was crazy if she ducked into a different room every time he came into The Cookie Jar. She marched out of the bathroom, picked up the box of the Black and Whites for the open house, and pushed back through the swinging door to the front of her shop.

Mike Kingston turned to smile at her and Hannah’s breath caught in her throat. She hoped she wasn’t staring at him like a teenage groupie who’d come face to face with her favorite rock star.

“It’s really nice of you to bake these cookies for us, Hannah. Sheriff Grant said that you do it every year.”

“I do.” Hannah was relieved. He didn’t seem to have noticed how flustered she was and that was good. “I cater your summer picnic, too. It’s a bring-your-own-steak barbecue out at Eden Lake and I provide lemonade and cookies.”

“That sounds good. There’s nothing like a barbecue out at the lake.”

“We’d better get going, Mike.”

Sheriff Grant turned to his newest protégé, and Hannah could see the admiration in his eyes. He had to look up. Mike Kingston was at least six three, and Sheriff Grant was a good four inches short of the six-foot mark. The newest member of the Winnetka County Sheriff’s Department made Hannah feel petite, and she’d never felt petite before in her life.

“See you later, Hannah.”

Mike Kingston gave her a wave and Hannah smiled. He seemed perfectly nice. She had nothing against him personally. But she was prepared to despise him if Bill didn’t get his promotion.

“Nice to meet you, Norman.” Mike nodded to Norman and then he turned to Andrea. “I’m looking forward to working with your husband, Andrea.”

“That’s my daddy,” Tracey piped up.

“I know.” Mike Kingston leaned down and whispered something in Tracey’s ear.

As Hannah watched, her niece’s eyes widened and then she gave a delighted giggle. “Really?”

“I promise.” Mike nodded. “But it’s a secret until tomorrow night. I’ll bring it then.”

The minute the door had closed behind them, Andrea turned to Tracey. “What did he say?”

“I can’t tell you.” Tracey was all smiles. “You heard him say it was a secret. But you’ll find out tomorrow night when we have the pizza.”

Andrea exchanged a glance with Hannah. She seemed pleased that her daughter had gotten along so well with Bill’s new supervisor. “I’ve got to run, Hannah. I’m taking a load of things out to Luanne, and Tracey’s going to help me. And then we’re going out to the open house at the sheriff’s station.”

“I’ve got to leave, too. I have a patient in twenty minutes.” Norman reached into his pocket, pulled out a stack of business cards, and handed them to Hannah. “These are for you.”

Hannah took the cards and began to smile. They were perfect, and Norman had even printed little cookies around the border. “Thanks, Norman. They’re wonderful.”