Page 28 of Steeped In Problems

“Letting people help. Not being the lone wolf.” She smiled, not a tease but a real question.

He thought about it. About the years he’d spent shutting people out, about how much easier it was to focus on equipment and numbers and never let anyone see the cracks. He shrugged. “Not as weird as I thought it’d be.”

She looked at him, really looked, and he felt that heat again. This time, he didn’t look away.

Before anything else could happen between them, Kristy’s pen ran out of ink. She shook it, then launched it perfectly into the trash, where it clinked off a Coke can and fell in. “I should get a medal for that,” she jested.

“You want a medal for basic recycling?”

“Are you kidding? Have you seen my basketball skills? That’s a career highlight.”

Tanner smiled, real this time. He went to the back for more pens and found a drawer full of Sharpies that Rhonda had been hoarding. He brought the whole cup forward, setting it on the counter between them. “Here. For your next trick.”

She selected a green one and clicked it open. “We need to work on the car wash. What will make it stand out, really get people to turn out for it?”

“What if we partner with the fire department? Use their water hookups—they’ll love showing off the trucks. Plus, they’re always looking for good PR.”

For a second, Kristy just stared, and then her face lit up like she’d discovered a cheat code. “That’s...actually brilliant.” She scribbled it onto her notepad, then circled it three times. “We can do it on Saturday, post flyers at the high school. Maybe get some of the students to volunteer—if we promise them community service credit and free iced lattes, they’ll show.” She reached over and slapped his shoulder, just hard enough to make him pretend it didn’t sting. “See? I knew you were secretly a genius.”

He tried to hide the pride, but it snuck into his posture anyway. “Just spent too many years scrubbing bugs off cruisers. Old habits.”

Kristy wrote “CAR WASH—FIRE DEPT PARTNER” in huge letters at the top of the new list, underlining it with a flourish. “You want to MC the event? Maybe do a live demonstration of how to get blood stains out of a uniform?”

He choked on his coffee. “Pass. I’ll stick to logistics.”

She giggled, and the sound bounced off the empty walls, filling the space with something close to joy.

Rhonda showed back up, arms full of fresh baked goods. “I ran out of room at my place for these. The bake sale is going to do great tomorrow.” She dropped them on the counter and then immediately started sorting. “We should feature the ‘Brave Blend’ tomorrow, too. Highest margin, and it’s got the most caffeine. Push the oat milk for the health crowd, and offer kid-sized lemonades to upsell the parents.”

Kristy whistled. “Rhonda, where did that come from? Remind me never to play poker against you. You’re ruthless.”

Rhonda chuckled. “Only when I have to be, and this calls for it. I don’t want to lose this place.”

They huddled together, poring over numbers and strategies. Emily dissected every angle with calculated logic, but Kristy kept pushing for ideas that would make people smile or at least want to come back for more than just a guilt-donation. Rhonda bridged the gap, translating Emily’s corporate jargon into “how to make it work in Clear Mountain.” It was the best teamwork he’d experienced since his last SAR call.

Every so often, Kristy would get up and pace, talking through her ideas out loud, gesturing with both hands. Tanner noticed how she’d unconsciously touch the edge of the counter with her fingertips like she needed to stay anchored to something. He wondered if she even realized it.

He also noticed the way she never seemed to lose hope, even when Emily pointed out that most first fundraisers lost money or that the five-thousand-dollar goal was a big reach. Every time the odds came up, Kristy found a workaround. “We’ll just sell more tickets.” “We’ll get a sponsor.” “We’ll convince Zach to go shirtless at the car wash. He’s got abs for days.”

Rhonda snorted. “You do that, and the entire town will show up. Just make sure you have extra towels.”

Tanner shook his head, but inside, he was already plotting how to rope Zach in. He’d never admit it, but Kristy was infectious. She made impossible things sound possible.

At one point, Kristy and Rhonda left to make more coffee, leaving the two of them alone at the table. Tanner eyed the spreadsheets, then Emily.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked quietly.

She paused, scanning the paper in front of her. “I like fixing broken things. And Joe’s invested in you. I respect Joe.” She glanced up, gaze pinning him. “You’re better at this than you think, you know.”

He shook his head. “I’m just trying not to lose it all.”

Emily shrugged. “Sometimes that’s enough.”

The moment hung in the air until Kristy came back, two mugs in hand. She slid one to Emily, then perched on the counter herself, legs swinging. “You two talking about me?”

“Not this time,” Tanner told her with a smirk.

Rhonda joined them, and they worked past midnight, trading ideas, arguing over details, and building a plan from scratch. The whiteboard became a battleground of concepts and corrections, red arrows and green underlines, and a whole corner dedicated to “in case of total disaster.” At some point, the four of them stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at the final draft.

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