“Okay, but what if she won’t come here?”

“Then I’ll go there, wherever it is.” Hannah felt the same surge of fierce protectiveness she experienced when she held small kittens and puppies. “Just make it clear that I’m not letting Candy out of my sight until I know she’s going to be okay.”

FUDGE-AROONS

Do not preheat oven—this dough must chill before baking.

1 cup chocolate chips (6-ounce package)

1 cup butter (2 sticks, ½ pound)

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ cups white (granulated) sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 beaten eggs (just whip them up with a fork)

3½ cups flour (not sifted—pack it down when you measure it)

Put the cup of chocolate chips and the cup of butter in a 4-cup bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth and let the mixture cool while you do the next step.

Combine the brown sugar and white sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the two beaten eggs.

Check the chocolate chip and butter mixture. If it’s cool enough to touch, add it to the sugar mixture and stir thoroughly.

Add the flour in half-cup increments, stirring after each addition.

Cover your bowl and refrigerate it. This dough must chill for at least an hour. (Overnight is fine, too.)

The coconut (“aroon”) filling must also chill. Mix it up now.

COCONUT FILLING:

2 cups shredded coconut

1 cup white (granulated) sugar

1 cup flour (not sifted—pack it down when you measure it)

½ stick cold butter (¼ cup, 1/8 pound)

2 beaten eggs

In a food processor with the steel blade, zoop up the coconut with the sugar and flour. Pulse it several times so that the coconut flakes are no longer than a quarter inch.

Cut the butter into four pieces and add them to your work bowl. Pulse again, until the mixture looks like coarse meal.

Crack the eggs into a small bowl or a cup and whisk them up with a fork. Add them to your work bowl and pulse until they’re incorporated into the mixture.

(If you don’t have a food processor, you don’t have to buy one to make this cookie—it’s just a little messier when the coconut flakes are longer. To make this cookie without a food processor, just add all of the ingredients except the butter to a small bowl and stir them up. Then melt the butter and mix it in.)

Cover and chill the coconut mixture for at least an hour. (Overnight is fine, too.)

When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

Form balls of chocolate dough, 1 inch in diameter, with your hands. Place them on a greased cookie sheet, 12 to a standard-sized sheet. Press them down with the heel of your impeccably clean hand.

Form balls of coconut just a bit smaller than the chocolate balls you made. Place them on top of each squashed chocolate ball. Now squish those down.