“Exactly right. It’s very dangerous to come between a cat and her mouse.”

“Tell me about it! I’ve got scratches on both arms. I’ve had a rough day, Hannah. Can I come over so you can make things all better?”

“Of course you can come, but I’m going to extract my pound of flesh.”

“Feeling carnivorous are we?”

“Feeling just plain hungry is more like it.”

“Then Mike was right when he told us that you went on an exercise regime and a high-protein, low-fat diet to lose weight?”

Hannah was about to confirm it when she realized Norman had used the word us, as in plural. “Who’s us? Don’t tell me he mentioned it in front of your patients!”

“Of course not. I don’t allow anyone except relatives in the treatment rooms and that’s only when the patient is a child. Mike came in while I was having lunch at Hal and Rose’s Cafe. And by the way, he told us all that he’s very proud of you.”

Hannah gave a little groan of dismay. “I wish he’d be a little less proud and a lot more silent. Now everybody in Lake Eden is going to ask me how my diet’s going.”

“So you are on a diet?”

“Yes, at least until Mother’s book launch party.”

“Have you eaten dinner yet?”

Hannah thought briefly about the skinless, boneless chicken breast waiting for her in the kitchen, and decided that Moishe could have it for breakfast. “No, not yet.”

“Then I’ll stop at The Corner Tavern and get us steaks to go. You want yours rare, right?”

“Extra rare. Tell them it’s for me. They know how I like it.”

“Can you have a baked potato on the side?”

Hannah hesitated and decided to skip it. For the calories she’d save, she could take one small bite of the cookies she was planning to assemble for Calvin’s birthday party. “I’d better pass on the potato. Just bring me a small dinner salad, no dressing.”

“You got it. Anything else?”

Hannah glanced down at the photograph in her lap and flipped it over to reread the list of ingredients that were written on the back in pencil. “Yes, but you can’t get what I need at The Corner Tavern. Do you have time for a stop on the way?”

“I’ve got nothing but time. Where do you want me to go?”

“Pull in at the Quick Stop and pick up a box of vanilla wafers and some chocolate-covered cookies.”

“Sure. What kind of chocolate-covered cookies?”

“It doesn’t really matter as long as they’re round and flat on the top and the bottom, and they’re covered in melted chocolate. I’m not sure what brand Sean and Don carry, but I know they’ve got them.”