I sighed as I hefted the large tray off the table and headed into the kitchen, glasses carefully balanced on the tray in one hand, a small stack of plates in the other.

"Ken! I need that order with the double bacon cheese burger stat!" I yelled out as I placed the stack of plates on the counter of the dish pit and began unloading the glasses off the tray.

This was only hour 4. I had another hour before I'd get a break. Maybe Donna would let me go home, I really should check on Gramma...

"Up in 2 minutes, doll." Ken answered from behind the grill.

"Thanks Ken!" I called as I hustled out of the kitchen and back into the dining room.

I let my hips sway ever so slightly as I walked past the tables to the far corner where some new customers had seated themselves. I pulled my pad of paper out of my one apron pocket and fished around for pen in my other pocket.

I hadn't really looked up yet when I began to speak, "hello there! Welcome to Donna's Diner, how are we all doing today?" I let my words drawl as I finally found my pen and looked up at occupants of my table.

Green eyes looked up from the menu and met mine before a thick American accent drawled out, "We're doin' just fine Miss, how about yourself?" I couldn't tell if his tone was flirty or friendly, so I played friendly.

"I'm doing alright, thanks for asking! My name is Lynn and I'm going to be your waitress today!" I smiled brightly at Green Eyes and then across at his companion, whose thick chestnut-auburn hair covered his face as he looked at the menu. Sensing me looking at him, he ran his fingers through his hair as he leaned back and met my smile with his own.

I quickly took in their appearances. Definitely not from around here, I knew practically everybody in this dead-end town. And they were young, late twenties, early thirties...and handsome. Most of the men around here were old hunter-trappers, carpenters, farmers, but these two were wearing suits in the middle of the week. They were businessmen of some kind, since they couldn't be coming from a funeral, no one had died. As much as their suits spoke of a softer life, they both had keen, wary eyes...haunted even. I snapped out of my observation when Green Eyes spoke.

"Well aren't we the lucky ones, eh Sam?" He said to the man across the table, obviously Sam. Sam smiled tightly at his companion and then it blossomed into a deep friendly one as he looked at me. He opened his mouth to speak, but Green Eyes interrupted, "Say Lynn, sweetheart, could we please get a couple of coffees? My partner and I ain't exactly sure of what we're having yet, so if you don't mind grabbing that while we decide?"

"Sure thing, I'll be back in a minute." I spun around just in time to hide the colour creeping up my cheeks and down my neck.

Wow...you're getting weak, it was only "sweetheart"!

I shook my head at my annoying inner-self, who berated my involuntary blush, as I pushed back into the kitchen. Ken had finished my order for me so I needed to take it out before I got the business men...business men who were partners... their coffees.

As I grabbed the plate I called back to my boss, "Hey Donna? You might wanna check out what the cat dragged in and on over to table 16. They're worth a look!" I laughed as I saw my co-worker, Rachel, spin around in curiosity from the coffee she was making.

"Oh really?..." she wandered out of the kitchen behind me as I dropped off the burger to Mr. Harrigan who ran the saw mill.

"Here you are Mr. Harrigan! Need any mustard or relish?"

"Nah, thank ya Lynn, this will do just fine!" he dug in as I smiled and walked away. I headed back to the kitchen, and I noticed Rachel craning her neck around the corner to peek at my attractive table.

"Rachel!" I hissed and she jumped, revealing that Donna was there spying as well. I waved them towards the kitchen and we all walked in the swinging doors.

"Guys!" I all but wailed at them, "I said 'look' not 'stalk'! What if they saw? I'm going to get no tip now," I pouted as they looked at me guiltily.

"Now Lynn," Donna began, "they didn't see us! And besides, you told us to look, knowing full well that we were gonna need to stare a little bit!"

Rachel was smirking and nodded her head, her blonde hair bouncing in gorgeous waves. She was a stunning picture to look at, with her thin yet curvaceous figure, topped with blueberry blue eyes and a sensuous smile, she stopped men dead in the street. She was also a darling friend, the kind every girl wishes she had. Rachel would do anything for me and I loved her to bits for it, but when it came to men...we had extremely different opinions.

And experiences.

She had earned herself a reputation, to put it mildly. I suppose I had earned a reputation for myself too...

I just wish, just once, I could have the confidence with men the way she does. She just knows they'll fall for her and they do!

I realized my minute had turned into 5 and the men at table 16 were still waiting for coffee.

"Crap," I said under my breath as I stepped between Donna and Rachel, grabbing coffee mugs, sugar, cream, and the coffee pot.

"Mmmm, I like 'em tall." Rachel gushed. "They're both gigantic!"

"But the shorter ones always know a thing or two," Donna added sagely. "Besides Rachel, you're 5'3", most men are gigantic to you." Rachel huffed at Donna and I giggled as I loaded my tray.

"Now Lynn, here..." Donna wrapped her arm around my elbows and turned me towards Rachel. "She needs a tall man, what are ya, 6 feet?" I rolled my eyes, "no Donna, I'm like 5'8" or something."
"Exactly!" Donna exclaimed, ignoring my tone,
"So...Lynn...which one of them tall boys would you want to take out for a spin?"
"Donna!" I sputtered as she and Rachel keeled over laughing at my embarrassment.
"Aw, hunny, one day you'll grow up!" She patted my shoulder as I lifted my tray and walked towards the dining room, my face aflame and somehow feeling a little ashamed.

I could still hear them discussing which one of them wanted which man as I headed back to the far corner of the diner.

"Sorry gentlemen, you probably thought I forgot about you!" I smiled wide as I placed the mugs, sugar and cream on the table and began pouring the coffee.

"Nah, it's alright, sweetheart! We've got lots of time! It's easy for someone to forget about us, but you on the other hand..." Green Eyes lazily dragged his tongue across his teeth beneath his lips before flashing me a smirk. "You, would be impossible to forget."

My eyes widened at his gesture but thankfully sarcasm and sass came to the rescue before my blush could begin Act Two,

"Aw, that's sweet of you to say, but I do believe you've got me confused with the other waitress, Rachel!" I sent him a cocky wink before I glibly changed the subject, "So you folks here on a business trip?"

Green Eyes seemed stunned at the topic change, while Sam tried to cover a laugh with a cough, but he quickly regained his footing, "How could you tell?" he laughed, smiling lightly.

I shrugged and sent him a cute smile, while I set down his mug full of coffee and began to pour Sam's. "Well, you're partners, you're wearing suits in the middle of the week, it's a small town and I know no one has died, so you can't be coming from a funeral, and you've found yourselves in Ennisbrooke...sure it's not far off the highway, but it certainly is a dead-end town, therefore: you're here on business." I set Sam's mug down with a quiet thud, placed the coffee pot on a nearby table and reached for my notepad.

"Wow, she's good! Better watch your back, Dean," Sam chuckled and sent a look over to Green Ey...er, Dean, now, "in more ways than one." Sam grinned innocently up at me.

I felt the traitorous blush starting, so I giggled to cover it, "you would be shockingly surprised at how much waitresses know by constant observation and overhearing." I winked playfully, feeling in control of my facial colour once again. "Now what'll it be?"

I watched them exchange a glance before Sam started stammering,

"Oh yeah, sorry, yeah, could I please have the mandarin pepper salad?"

"Of course you can, and what can I get you...Dean, right?"

Dean looked up at me with surprise and...something else. "Yeah, it's Dean. And I'll have the double bacon cheese burger with French fries, please."

"My favorite!" I closed my eyes and licked my lips for emphasis. "Mm-mm, Donna's makes the best! I'll get that right off for ya's." I turned around writing on my notepad.

"Thank you, and Lynn?" I turned around.

"Yes, Dean?"

"When do you get your next break?"

"I get off in an hour," I answered, "but then I'm back on for the supper shift." I gave a one shoulder shrug as I tilted my head and cheekily walked away before they could say anything else.

Why did he want to know when I get off? Did he want to...no! No way...

I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Thank heavens I only blush when I leave that table," I complained to Rachel in the kitchen.

She smirked, "girl, now's your chance to try out some of those flirting techniques I keep telling you to use. Which one of them do you fancy?"

The thick gorgeous hair as well as the green eyes flashed through my mind.

"Neither."

"Liar!"

"Look, they're both hot! Smoking hot! But that doesn't mean I fancy either of them. One of them is super flirtatious, which makes me on edge. I mean, if he flirts with me, he flirts with everyone, you know?"

"And the other one?" Rachel's smirk somehow deepened her already deep dimple.

"And the other appears so tightly wound, I don't know if he ever has had fun in his life."

Rachel laughed with me before giving her inevitable opinion:

"Then why don't you flirt with one and have fun with the other?"

"RACHEL!!"

"Well?!"

I sighed heavily as I placed extra peppers on the salad. "I don't actually know if the one is a flirtatious jerk type, or that the other one never has fun," Rachel began wiggling her eyebrows at me, so I hurried on, "but what I do know is that I don't know a thing about them, and in my books, that means I can't possibly fancy them. I can just...appreciate, how well the good Lord made them."

Rachel leaned heavily against the counter and groaned.

"You just don't get it do you?"

"Get what?"

"I want to know which one you want so I can go after the other, capische?"

I felt something inside me go hard and cold. "Go after whichever one you want, or both Rachel, I don't care." And I swooped past her and back out in the dining room, even as I felt a simmering frustration build in my heart.

"Mr. Harrigan, how was your burger?"

***

"Your second double bacon cheese burger in 15 minutes is up," Ken called, pretending to be annoyed with me. We really got along great, so the annoyance was just all part of the ruse to find ways to tease each other. I rolled my eyes dramatically, "It's about freaking time, Kenneth." I said as I swooped up the salad and the hamburger and headed over to table 16.

As I rounded the corner, the men were in deep conversation, but as soon as they saw me, they straightened up and smiled.

"Here's your salad, and here's..." I twisted the plate around so it presented better, "your hamburger." As I placed the dishes, I saw that their coffees were basically empty.

"I'll get you some more coffee," and I turned on heel before they could say anything beyond their thank you's and make me flustered.

Rachel was waiting when I got back into the kitchen, "well? Did they say anything when you dropped off the food?"

I didn't look at her when I answered evenly, "No, their coffees are empty."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Rachel nod knowingly. "Typical." She practically spat out. "Out of towner's getting all snooty, think they're better than us! Some days I wish I could give them a piece of my mind!" She huffed angrily and went to give the cheque to the last table in the dining room, besides my table.

Rachel thought that they'd rudely mentioned they were out of coffee, and frankly, right now, I was ok with her thinking that. I wasn't exactly sure why I was upset with her, but until I figured it out, I didn't want to talk; especially not about men. I picked up the coffee pot and went back out into the now nearly empty dining room. I counted the eleven steps it took to get to their table and cursed the anxiety I felt building in my gut in spite of myself...what was with these guys that made me so on edge? How did their very presence create such butterflies inside me?

Dean spoke up around a mouthful of food as I approached the table, "Here she is, thank you so much!" He closed his eyes as he savoured his food. "You're right, this is the best burger I've had in a loooong time!"

I giggled and reached for his mug, but before I could speak, he continued, "so uh, is it normally this quiet in here at this time of day?"

I nodded, "yeah, it gets really dead in here. I sometimes can scoot home if I get all my work done before I have to get back for my second shift." I placed Dean's mug down and reached for Sam's.

"This salad is excellent." Sam said as he held his fork in mid air for emphasis.

"I'm glad to hear it!" I placed Sam's now full mug on the table.

"Well now, you gentlemen need anything else before I disappear?" I smiled brightly, waiting to be dismissed.

It wasn't to be.

"Well now, actually, if you're not too busy, maybe you could have a bite of food with us yourself while we ask you a couple questions..." Dean must've realized how confusing he sounded because he quickly clarified, "you see, I'm Agent Page, and this is Agent Bonham, we are actually with the FBI and are investigating some local disappearances."

He and Agent Bonham stopped eating and produced badges, clearly stating they were with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It took everything in me to not have my mouth hang open in shock.

That's why they're so mysterious...and probably why they've given me anxiety!

"Uh, uh, why, I mean, huh? I mean, me? What does the FBI need to know from me?" I finally stammered out.

"Well, you said so yourself," Agent Bonham finally spoke, "waitresses observe a lot. We want to pick your brain about some locals, their habits, behaviours, comings and goings that you're aware of, that type of thing."

My brain was scrambling as I sensed someone behind me.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," Donna had come up and I hadn't noticed. "I couldn't help but overhear as I came over here that you are federal agents. You would like to question my girl, Lynn, here?"

"If that's alright, ma'am," Bonham turned towards her, "we don't mean to take her from her work, but it would be helpful."

"Pshaw! No trouble at all!" Donna waved her hands in front of her, "only thing is, this young lady hasn't had her lunch yet, so is it all right if she eats with you? I need her to be ok for the supper shift tonight." Donna was such a sly fox...I could sense Donna's match-making voice and it worried me. I mean, these were federal agents...not some road weary hustlers living out of a car as they drove across the country. These men had real business here.

I felt my mouth forming words of objections but Agent Page interrupted them.

"Absolutely!" he agreed, "go get yourself a burger and come sit with us. I'm sure you could use the time off your feet." He then winked at me and I felt the blush...again...

Stupid, stupid, STUPID red-head problems...fair skin tells it all...

I spun on my heel and followed Donna into the back. She was SO gonna hear about this...