Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanne Fluke

don’t have to bother. Everything’s perfectly all right out here. Thanks for being concerned, though. I appreciate it. See you tomorrow, Mike.”
    “So Mike’s jealous?” Ross asked the moment Hannah hung up the phone.
    “You could say that. I might not say it because it wouldn’t be nice, but you could.”
    Ross laughed. “He’s jealous, all right. It’s probably because you turned him down.”
    “How do you know about that?”
    “Michelle told me. I asked if you were dating anyone, and she gave me the lowdown.”
    “It seems that everybody knows my business,” Hannah said, trying not to sound churlish.
    “Life’s like that a lot. I’ll give him five minutes. How about you?”
    “Who?”
    “Norman. Mike’s bound to touch base with him. They’re probably in each other’s back pockets, now that you rejected them both. There’s nothing that unites two former rivals more than a third guy coming on the scene.”
    “And the third guy would be you?” Hannah asked, noticing his wicked grin and smiling in spite of herself.
    “Oh, yes. That would be me. So, do you want to bet, or…” The phone rang again, interrupting Ross’s sentence and he laughed. “There he is.”
    “It’s not him.”
    “How can you tell?”
    “Look at Moishe,” Hannah said, gesturing toward the feline between them.
    “What’s wrong with him? He’s all puffed up and his hair is standing on end.”
    “Cats do that instinctually when they’re angry or frightened. It’s a defense mechanism to make them look bigger. Moishe gets like this when Mother calls. He’s not infallible, but he gets it right more times than he gets it wrong.” She plucked the receiver from the cradle and brought it up to her ear. “Hello, Mother.”
    “I wish you wouldn’t answer the phone like that, Hannah,” Delores complained, but Hannah could tell from her tone of voice that her heart wasn’t it it. “Carrie just called. She said Norman told her that Ross was still out at your place. Don’t you think it’s time you went to bed?”
    “What a marvelous idea!” Hannah turned to grin at Ross. “I’ll tell him you suggested it. I really had no idea you were so liberal minded.”
    There was a sputtering on the line, a close cousin to the sound of Bill’s old Ford when the plugs were dirty. “That’s not what I meant and you know it!” Delores finally managed to say. “What are you doing, Hannah?”
    “We’re having coffee, Mother. And then I’m going to bake a cheesecake. But your suggestion sounds like a lot more fun than…”
    “Cut that out right now, Hannah Louise!” Delores interrupted her.
    “Just kidding, Mother.”
    “Well, it’s not funny! I want you to bake that cheesecake now. And then send him straight home. Don’t forget that you have to face yourself in the mirror in the morning.”
    Hannah heard a resounding click and she laughed as she hung up the phone. “I’m a mean person. I gave my mother such a hard time, she hung up on me. A good daughter wouldn’t have done that.”
    “Maybe not, but it feels good once in a while, doesn’t it?”
    “It sure does!” Hannah turned to give him a grin. “Your five minutes are almost up and Norman hasn’t…” The phone pealed loudly, drowning out the rest of her sentence.
    “That’s Norman,” Ross said.
    “You’re probably right.” Hannah reached for the phone. “Hello, Norman.”
    “Hi, Hannah. I figured you’d rather hear from me than my mother.”
    “You got that right!”
    “I just wanted to ask…I don’t have anything to worry about with Ross, do I?”
    Hannah stifled the urge to give Norman an earful about privacy, and personal freedom, and sticking his nose into someone else’s business, but she didn’t. He’d asked her straight out instead of being devious, and she owed him a straight answer. “If you ever do, I’ll let you know. How’s that?”
    “Fair enough,” Norman said. “Good night, Hannah. I love you, you know.”
    “I know,”