Crissy tried really hard to not regret sending Amy home and giving her a break but...a small part of her still did anyway. Especially when the coffee shop picked up between breakfast and lunch. She was used to working the kitchen and only the kitchen. She liked it that way. People were confusing. Food was not.

But now that Amy wasn't there to work the register and handle the customers, it was up to Crissy to manage the kitchen as well as the register and she was feeling more than a little frazzled. She'd already burned two trays of buttermilk scones, and crushed an entire platter of fresh cinnamon rolls, putting her well behind the demand of the customers.

Crissy wasn't going to say one word to Amy about any of this. It was just one day. Amy would be back on track in no time. She never stayed down for long. She deserved the rest anyway. But she might put the bug in her boss' ear to hire somebody else to ease up on their work load. That was the problem with being so devoted to her job – the boss didn't see the need to hire anyone else to help out.

The bell by the register went into a rapid fire assault of high-pitched ringing. Crissy fumbled the tray of blueberry muffins and slid it onto the counter right before she lost control and saved it just in time.

"Be there in a minute!" she called.

She wiped her hands on a dish towel, checked the new batch of buttermilk warming on the stove and fiddled with the heat to keep it from burning. The bell continued to ping wildly.

"Coming, coming," Crissy chanted, hurrying out of the kitchen and doing her best to not look as harried as she felt.

A woman stood at the counter with two boys zipping around her. She held out her to-go bag with a frown.

"You got my order wrong," she said.

Crissy blinked, surprised. She was always so careful with orders, double, even triple checking to make sure she got it right.

"I'm...sorry? What did you...?"

"I ordered two white chocolate raspberry muffins, a strawberry twist doughnut, and a cappuccino," she said, ripping the bag open. "Instead, I got three peanut butter cookies and sweet almond bread and no coffee at all." She unloaded each item with so much venom that crumbs scattered across the countertop like sand.

"Oh, well then if you could just show me your receipt..."

"I don't have the receipt because you didn't give me one," the woman snapped.

The two boys were now trampling behind the counter, chasing each other around Crissy's feet and trying to pry the glass display case open to get at the food inside. Crissy unpeeled their sticky, pudgy little fingers from the handle and shut the door.

"Excuse me," the woman growled. "You have no right to manhandle my children like that. They're trying to get the food they wanted in the first place."

Crissy took a deep breath and cast her gaze towards the ceiling. Amy would have had this resolved in no time but Crissy was floundering. Drowning, actually.

After a moment, she returned her gaze to the woman at the counter. The two boys were still plastering their fingers and faces against the display case.

"Since you are sure," Crissy said in a forcibly measured tone, "that wasn't what you ordered, I'll..."

"Of course it's not what I ordered," the woman cut in. "My sons are allergic to nuts. I wouldn't let them touch any of this!"

The boys had wedged their fingers into the glass door again and Crissy had to push her way between them and the display case, blocking the door with her body. God, Amy's kids better be more well behaved than this. Then again, Amy was already better behaved than their mother.

"If you could just tell me what you originally ordered," Crissy said, "I'll get it fixed it up right away and..."

Crissy let the sentence trail off as Quinn seemed to materialize next to the woman, his hand on her elbow.

"Such a concerned mother like yourself," he said, "wouldn't let her handsome young boys risk coming in contact with a nut allergen."

The woman squinted in suspicion but she nodded. "Of course. They're my children."

Quinn nodded at the boys still trying to wrestle past Crissy. "Then you must be well aware that two hungry boys won't know the difference between a peanut butter cookie and a chocolate chip cookie once they get their hands in that case and start eating."

The woman's mouth opened and closed then she whipped around, grabbed the wrist of each boy and hauled them out of the coffee shop. Crissy pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle the laugh that was beginning to bubble up. Quinn leaned over the counter.

"I can't stand parents who are allowed to run wild like that," he whispered.

A small yip of laughter escaped Crissy's lips and she clamped her other hand over her mouth as well.

"People will hear you," she whispered back.

He shrugged. "Everyone else was thinking the same thing. Just stating the obvious. Except for that one little lie."

Crissy frowned slightly. "What do you mean? What lie?"

"Those boys were not handsome."

Her eyes widened and she hiccupped even harder with laughter. "That's terrible!"

He trailed one hand over the countertop as he walked around the display case and came around to Crissy's side. He held up a brown paper bag and set it on the counter.

"You left your coat and scarf back at the station last night," he said. "After your quick getaway."

Crissy winced. "I didn't mean it like that, I just..."

"I'm teasing," he said softly as he slid his hand off the countertop and around her waist. "At the risk of sounding cheesy here – especially after I only saw you less than twenty-four ago – I missed you."

Crissy beamed. She took a step closer, making his hand slide even further around her waist, but as she reached up to wrap her fingers around the back of his neck and pull him down to her level...the bell over the door jangled. A herd of college students tumbled in, shaking a small blizzard of snow onto the floor as they made their way to the counter. She sighed and let her forehead rest against Quinn's chest for a moment, just one blessed moment.

Quinn chuckled, a warm, vibrating rumble deep in his chest. Crissy closed her eyes and almost melted right into that sound. He kissed the top of her head and she forced herself to pull back.

"You're half-dead on your feet already," he said. "And it's only the lunch rush."

Crissy groaned. "Don't remind me." She knew she should at least start moving towards the register, those kids would get restless real quick. But she didn't want to leave Quinn's welcome presence.

"I should probably go," she hedged, glancing over her shoulder at the swarm of college kids.

"And I should stop getting in your way."

"You're not," Crissy replied, perhaps a little too fast.

Quinn's eyebrows shot up and a slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

A hot blush blossomed across Crissy's cheeks. "I meant..."

She fumbled for a full minute and Quinn just stood there, his smile growing wider by the second, until finally he had mercy on her and interrupted.

"Are you working the place all by yourself today? I haven't seen anyone else around."

She nodded. "My friend...she needed a day off. Personal problems."

Quinn lifted his gaze over Crissy's head. "Well if you don't get help soon, you're going to be pretty swamped."

I already am, she thought.

A beat of silence passed, seemingly heavy with expectation, and Crissy looked up at Quinn. He was staring down at her, waiting for...something.

"I could..." he started, "I don't know...lend a hand. If you wanted."

"What about the station?"

He shrugged. "Got the day off."

"But I can't ask you to spend your time off working my job."

He chuckled and edged between Crissy and the counter. Crissy sucked in her breath at how close he was, how his hand brushed against her arm.

"You don't have to," he said, his voice pitched low so only she could hear in the small space they occupied for this brief moment. Then he was past her and shedding his coat.

"But consider it fair warning," he said over his shoulder. "I'm still a little hazy on the details of how to work a microwave without burning my food to a black crisp so I'm probably not much help with kitchen duty."

He turned to the register, put on a bright smile, and started chatting with the college kids like they were old friends.

Crissy watched him for a moment. He looked so natural there, like it was a perfectly normal, everyday occurrence that he would simply work alongside her. She smiled to herself as she slipped into the kitchen, cradling that sweet, sweet thought all to herself for the rest of the day.