“I’ll be right here until four-thirty. I’m going to let Lisa close up today. Michelle and I will head back to the condo to get something to eat and feed Moishe. And then we’ll drive back to town to attend the last rehearsal of the play at the school auditorium.”

“And after that?”

“Back to the condo until early tomorrow morning, when Michelle and I should get here about five. You’re welcome to drop by then for coffee and cookies if you want to check up on me and get the schedule for my day.”

“Thanks, Hannah. I appreciate that. And you won’t go anywhere else?”

“I’m not planning on it.”

Mike looked properly grateful for her cooperation, and Hannah couldn’t help but wonder if they were on a new footing as she walked him to the door. When they got there, she opened it for Mike, but he didn’t step out. Instead, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug. “If you deviate from the schedule you gave me for tonight, please text or call,” Mike told her after ending the hug. “I don’t want to remove another cold dead body from a snowbank.”

CHOCOLATE-COVERED MINT COOKIES

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.

1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks, 8 ounces,

½ pound)

1 small package (makes 4 half-cups) chocolate instant pudding mix (NOT sugar-free)

½ cup white (granulated) sugar ½ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)

1 and ½ cups quick rolled oats (not instant—the Quick 1-minute kind)

1 cup chocolate-covered mints (I used Junior Mints)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (a 6-ounce pack- age—I used Nestle)

In a medium bowl and using an electric mixer, on MEDIUM SPEED, beat the softened butter with the dry chocolate pudding mix. Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the white sugar and the brown sugar. Continue to beat on MEDIUM speed until the contents are well-mixed.

Add the egg and the vanilla. Mix well.

Add the baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Mix until they are well incorporated.

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

Add the rolled oats in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and give it a final stir by hand. You will finish the rest of this recipe by hand.

Stir in the chocolate-covered mints by hand, being careful not to over-stir and crush them.

Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir them in. Again, stir lightly so that you don’t crush the mints.

Prepare your cookie sheets by lining them with parchment paper, or spraying lightly with Pam or another non-stick cooking spray.

Drop, by rounded teaspoons, no more than 12 cookies to a standard-sized sheet. You can also use a 2-teaspoon size scooper if you wish.