"Put them all in. More nuts will be fine. And then mix everything up with those clean hands of yours." Hannah waited until Tracey was busy and then she turned to Andrea. "What did they offer him this time?" she asked in a soft voice.

Andrea watched as Tracey dipped her hands in the roaster and began to mix up the cereal and nuts with her fingers. Then she replied, keeping her voice low. "Another ten thousand a year if he accepts by the end of the month. That"s a lot of money on top of everything else they"ve offered."

"I"m done," Tracey said, stepping back from the roaster and turning to Hannah. "What should I do next?"

"Go find a quarter-cup measure." Hannah waited until Tracey had gone to search in the cabinet where Andrea had stored her measuring cups, and then she asked her sister another question. "You said there were other incentives?"

"I"ll say! If he travels, he gets five hundred a day for meals and extras. That"s a flat rate for every day he"s on the road. He doesn"t have to save receipts and invoice them when he gets back to the office."

"That"s a real perk," Hannah said and then she stopped talking as Tracey came up with a quarter-cup measure.

"This is right, isn"t it?" she asked.

"Absolutely. Now go find a gla.s.s measuring cup that"ll hold a pint. That"s two cups. If you can find one with a spout, that"ll be perfect."

It was clear that Tracey was used to fetching bowls, measuring cups, and kitchen utensils for Grandma McCann, because she found the measuring cup that Hannah wanted right away. There wasn"t even time to ask Andrea another question about the incentives that Tachyon had offered.

"I"m ready," Tracey said, waiting for her next task.

"Take a tube of frozen orange juice concentrate out of the freezer, open it, and measure out a quarter cup. Put the lid back on, seal it in a plastic freezer bag, and put the rest of the frozen orange juice back in the freezer. Then add the quarter cup of orange juice concentrate to the gla.s.s measuring cup."

Once Tracey was engaged in her task, Hannah slid her chair a little closer to Andrea. "Did they offer anything else?"

"They said they"d fly him down there first cla.s.s to take a look at their headquarters. And they offered to pay for me to come along."

"What did he say to that?" Hannah asked, but before Andrea could answer, Tracey was back for more instructions.

"We need a quarter cup of brown sugar. Don"t use the sugar you have in the pantry. Take it from the bag I brought. It"s on the counter."

After Tracey had found the bag and opened it, Hannah gave her further instructions. "Just dip the quarter cup measure in there and fill it up. Then pack it down until it can"t hold any more, and level it off with your finger."

"Like this?" Tracey did as Hannah had told her. "Do I put it in the cup with the orange juice?"

"Yes. And then get out a stick of salted b.u.t.ter, cut it in half, unwrap the half, and add it to the gla.s.s measuring cup."

Once Tracey was occupied with the next instruction, Andrea answered Hannah"s question. "He said he didn"t think I"d be interested in coming and I really didn"t want him to take the job. And when they asked him why, he explained that our families were here and we didn"t really want to move."

"Mom?" Tracey called out. "Do you want me to add this leftover b.u.t.ter to the b.u.t.ter dish?"

"Yes, please." Andrea said, and Hannah noticed that she looked impressed with her daughter"s ability to follow directions.

"But I thought you said you were afraid he was beginning to waver."

"I did. And I think he is. I found a piece of sc.r.a.p paper in the wastebasket. He was figuring out how much more take-home pay he"d make every week if he took the job at Tachyon."

"But that doesn"t mean he"s planning to take it. Maybe he"s just curious."

"Maybe, but..." Andrea stopped speaking as Tracey approached. "Is everything in the cup, honey?"

"Yes. What do I do with it now?"

"Heat the gla.s.s measuring cup in the microwave for one minute," Hannah answered her. "Take it out with an oven mitt, stir it all up together and if the b.u.t.ter has melted, pour it over the top of the cereal and almonds."

"How about the cranberries?" Tracey asked, pointing to the bag of sweetened dried cranberries Hannah had brought with her. "Aren"t we going to put those in?"

"Good question, but the cranberries go in after it bakes. Just stir everything up with a big mixing spoon, and then put the roaster in the oven. Close the door and set the timer for fifteen minutes."

Hannah waited until Tracey was busy, and then she turned back to her sister. "I really don"t think you have to worry. Bill doesn"t want to move to Florida, either. His parents, his relatives, and all of his friends are here in Lake Eden. He"s Minnesota born and bred, and I really don"t think he wants to leave. Tachyon might offer him the sun and the moon, but I"m almost positive he"ll turn them down."

"I don"t know..." Andrea looked worried. "It"s a really good job, Hannah. And he"d be one of their top executives."

Tracey carried the roaster to the oven and placed it on a shelf. Then she closed the oven door and reached up to set the timer.

"You"re forgetting one thing," Hannah said, giving her sister a smile.

"What"s that?"

"Bill loves you."

Tracey turned around and came back to give her mother a big hug. "Aunt Hannah"s right. Daddy knows you don"t want to move to Florida, so he won"t take that job."

Hannah and Andrea exchanged glances. They hadn"t realized that Tracey was listening.

"Besides," Tracey continued, "he can"t move to Florida."

"Why not?" Hannah and Andrea asked almost simultaneously.

"Because he likes the Vikings a whole lot more than he likes the Dolphins."

IMPERIAL CEREAL.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

9 cups dry cereal (any combinationI used Multigrain Cheerios and Rice Chex) 1 cup slivered almonds (I"ve also used pecans and I like them better) cup orange juice concentrate (I used Minute Maid) cup brown sugar (pack it down when you measure it) cup salted b.u.t.ter ( stick, 2 ounces, 1/8 pound) cup sweetened dried cranberries (I used Craisins) Hannah"s Note: The nice thing about this recipe is that you can use your choice of any dry cereal, any nuts, any frozen juice concentrate, and any dried fruit.

Place the cereal and slivered almonds in a large ovenproof bowl or a disposable roaster or steam table pan. Make sure to support the bottom with a cookie sheet if you use disposable vessels.

With your impeccably clean hands, mix the cereal and the almonds together until they"re evenly distributed.

In either a 2-cup measuring cup or a microwave-safe bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, and b.u.t.ter.

Heat the mixture in the microwave for one minute, or until the b.u.t.ter has melted. Stir thoroughly.

Pour the mixture over the cereal and almonds in the roaster. Mix it all together until the cereal is evenly coated.

Bake the mixture, uncovered, at 300 degrees F. for 15 minutes.

Take the roaster out of the oven and mix in the sweetened dried cranberries with a spoon.

Set the roaster on a cold burner or a wire rack until it has cooled to room temperature. Stir it again to make sure it"s not stuck together in big pieces. Store Imperial Cereal in a tightly covered container at room temperature.

Sally sends little packages of Imperial Cereal along with guests when they go for boat rides, hike through the woods, or take walks around the lake. She also confesses that she"s even eaten it for breakfast when she"s in a hurry.

Sally calls this snack Imperial Cereal because it"s fit for a king.

Yield: Approximately 10 cups of sweet, crunchy goodness that will be enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

Chapter Eight.

She had just turned over in bed and found a comfortable position midway between two lightly snoring felines when there was a soft knock on her door.

Must be the start of a dream, her tired mind said, reaching out to gather the warm soft blanket of semiconsciousness around her once again.

"Hannah?" a voice asked, and then there was a palpable change in the air, as if someone had entered her bedroom and was now sharing the prevailing oxygen with her.

The dream wasn"t that interesting and Hannah wished she could change the channel. Unfortunately, dreams seldom responded to remotes. This one would go on, dull, flat, uninteresting, until...

"Hannah!"

The voice was louder, and despite her best intentions, Hannah opened her eyes. And there was Mich.e.l.le standing close to her bed. "Huh?" she asked, surprised she could frame even that intelligent a question in the middle of the night.

But it wasn"t the middle of the night! Hannah came to that realization with a jolt. The dawn was already breaking outside her window and that meant it was almost five in the morning!

"Wha...time?" Hannah asked, pleased that she"d regained at least some of her ability to verbalize.

"Ten minutes to five. I heard your alarm go off, but then it stopped. And you didn"t get up. Don"t you have to go to work?"

"Work. Yes." Hannah sat up and blinked several times. "Thanks, Mich.e.l.le."

"There"s coffee. Take a quick shower while I pour your coffee and dish up some pancakes for you. I made Sausage and Cheese Pancakes this time."

Mich.e.l.le"s pancakes were legendary. She"d run the gamut of additions to her excellent pancake batter, quite literally from fruit to nuts. Lately she"d been experimenting with meats and cheeses, and this morning"s pancakes sounded like winners to Hannah. The thought of a tasty hot breakfast came close to making her actually want to get up and start her day.

Once Mich.e.l.le had left the room, Hannah wasted no time getting out of bed. She was late to work and she"d have to hurry. One lightning-quick shower, a moment with both toothbrush and hairbrush, a jump into her clothes, and Hannah found herself sitting at the kitchen table clutching a life-giving mug of what one set of her grandparents had called Swedish Plasma.

"Here you go, Hannah." Mich.e.l.le set a plate on the table in front of her older sister. "They"ve got breakfast sausage and sharp cheddar cheese."

"They look wonderful!" Hannah picked up her fork, preparing to dig into the fragrant dish.

"I"m all ready to go. Is there anything I can do for you while you"re eating?"

"I don"t think..." Hannah stopped as she remembered her promise to Lisa. "Yes, there is. I need Rose"s recipe for Zucchini Cookies. Mother got it last Christmas at a cookie exchange."

"Mother baked cookies for a cookie exchange?!" Mich.e.l.le looked completely shocked at the idea. As their mother so succinctly put it, she didn"t bake. Since Hannah had left home, the interior of her mother"s oven had seen the only two meals Delores ever made, Hawaiian Pot Roast and EZ Lasagna. Dinner at the Swensen family home consisted of entree A or entree B served with a tossed green salad, packaged dinner rolls that could be reheated in the microwave, and ice cream with jarred toppings for dessert.

"No, Mother didn"t bake cookies for a cookie exchange. I baked cookies for Mother so that she could take them to her cookie exchange. The recipe should be in a yellow folder on the second to the bottom shelf in the living room bookcase."

"Zucchini Cookies. I"ve heard of zucchini bread, but never cookies. I"ll find it for you if I can have a copy."

"Of course," Hannah said, except that it didn"t exactly sound that way since she was busy eating. Even so, Mich.e.l.le must have understood the m.u.f.fled a.s.sent because she gave a thumbs-up and went off to the living room bookcase to find the recipe.

By the time Hannah had finished her second helping, Mich.e.l.le was back with the recipe. When she noticed that Hannah had refilled her plate, a smile spread over her face. "That must mean you like my pancakes," she said.

"I love them. I don"t know why I never eat breakfast when I"m here alone. It"s my favorite meal. And it"s always wonderful when you make it for me."

"Thanks." Mich.e.l.le looked proud as she sat down at the table and began to copy the recipe for herself. "What"s on the docket for today? Mother said she could spare me if you need help with the turnovers."

"Thanks, but we should be okay. We"ve got double what we"ll need for the talent show tonight and we"ll rea.s.sess when it"s over."

"Are you sure? Mother doesn"t think there"ll be much business today since everyone will be at the charity luncheon."

"She"s going, isn"t she?"

"Yes, but Luanne isn"t. She"s going to stay and work on the books. And Luanne said that since she"s going to be there anyway, there"s no reason for me to stay."

"Then come over to The Cookie Jar. You can always wait on customers while Lisa and I get a head start on tomorrow"s cookie dough."

"But aren"t you going to the luncheon?" Mich.e.l.le asked, looking puzzled. "Mother said she gave you one of her tickets."

Hannah groaned. She"d forgotten all about the luncheon ticket her mother had given her.

"You forgot?" Mich.e.l.le guessed.

"Completely. I wonder if Mother would mind if I gave it to Lisa. Samantha Summerfield is the guest speaker and she"s Lisa"s favorite actress."

"I don"t think Mother would mind. She likes Lisa and she"d probably enjoy having lunch with her. Besides, she knows you hate organized luncheons and you can hardly wait until they"re over."

"You"re right." Hannah finished her pancakes and stood up. "Are you ready to go? The only thing I have left to do is give the cats food and fresh water."

"And all I have to do is get an outfit for the luncheon."

"You"re going, too?"

"No, but Lisa might need something and I think we"re the same size. I"ll take an outfit of mine along just in case."

Lisa"s eyes began to sparkle and she gave a delighted laugh. "Your mother wants me to go with her?"

"That"s what she said."

"But are you sure, Hannah? She bought the ticket for you."