Page 13 of Steeped In Problems

Aiden glanced at his phone and then holstered it. “We should head out soon. Kids will be waiting.”

Lindsay looked at Kristy. “Before we go—what made you leave the hospital? If you don’t mind.”

Kristy paused, then finally replied, “I didn’t want to watch people die anymore. Not when I could help them live, even if it’s just with a muffin and a smile.” She shrugged, but Tanner could tell it cost her something to say it.

Lindsay squeezed her hand across the table. “Well, you’re helping more than you know. Sometimes, you just need a safe place to recoup.”

Aiden stood, chair scraping. “True that. Thanks for the coffee, Blaze.”

Tanner stood, too, and this time, the stiffness was gone. “Anytime, Cap.”

“Excuse me, I need to handle something before we go.” Lindsay stepped away from the table to make a call, cradling her phone and pacing near the front window. Kristy drifted back to the bar to help Rhonda with a sudden burst of customers, her laughter echoing even over the clatter of Daisy’s steamer.

“She’s good for this place,” Aiden said after a beat, eyes on the hero wall.

“Kristy?” Tanner asked as he joined him.

Aiden nodded. “You could do worse than having her on your six.”

Tanner grunted. “She’s got her own baggage.”

“Don’t we all,” Aiden shot back, “but she doesn’t let it slow her down. Not for a second. That’s rare, Blaze.”

There was a quiet. Tanner felt the old urge to defend himself, to explain how he was doing fine on his own, how the shop was running just as planned, but the words caught somewhere between his chest and his throat.

Aiden leaned in, voice lower. “You know, I wasn’t sold on this whole operation when you first pitched it. I figured it was a distraction, a way to keep your hands busy. But you’ve built something. You got people relying on you again. That means something.”

Tanner squeezed his hands into fists at his side. “Still not sure what, sometimes.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Aiden said, his voice suddenly all steel. “What matters is that you’re still in the fight. You didn’t just roll over. Most guys, they’d have punched out after what you went through.”

Tanner met his gaze. “You ever wish you had?”

Aiden thought about it, then shook his head. “Not my choice. God decided to keep me on the force. He has a different plan for you. You just need to trust him.”

He knew his friend was right, but Tanner had always struggled with his faith. He wished it came as easy for him as it did for Aiden.

They both watched as Kristy danced between customers, hands moving fast, face alive. She handled a family of four like it was nothing, even entertained the kids with a joke about Daisy being haunted by the ghost of a caffeine-addicted mouse.

“She’s a good one,” Aiden said gesturing with his head toward Kristy. “You should consider if she could be more than just a barista to you.”

Before Tanner could respond, Lindsay reappeared, looking relieved. “All set. The girls are terrorizing their Aunt Erica so we can head to the grocery store instead of home.”

Aiden helped his wife with her scarf, then turned to Tanner. “You coming to the next SAR dinner?”

Tanner shrugged. “If you need a chaperone.”

“We always do,” Aiden jested with a smirk.

“And bring Kristy,” Lindsay insisted. “She’d be the life of the party.”

“I’ll consider it,” he told them, though he doubted he would ever muster the courage to ask her whether he wanted to or not.

Tanner and Aiden traded another handshake, longer this time, and Lindsay pulled Tanner in for a hug that nearly knocked the air out of him. “You take care of yourself,” she said, voice muffled in his shoulder.

“Trying,” he answered, and he meant it.

The O’Connells left in a gust of cold air and sunlight. Tanner watched them cross the street and disappear into the park, then turned his attention back to the shop. Kristy was behind the bar, sleeves pushed up, stacking cups and wiping down counters with manic efficiency. Rhonda was telling a story to a pair of retired firefighters, gesturing wildly with tongs.

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