Goldie was humming her favorite holiday tune when she stepped into Missy's Muffin Shop. She breathed in deep the smell of peppermint and chocolate for the new Peppermint Mocha Coffee they were making special for the holiday season and sighed happily.

Missy came out holding a handful of peppermint sticks for those Hot Chocolate lovers who wished to add some flavor to their drinks and stuck them in a Mason jar on the counter.

"Good morning!" Goldie said, cheerily.

"Bah, Humbug!" Missy replied.

"That's not like you. What's going on?"

"Sorry, with all this snow I've been having a real problem with my roof. This morning I awoke to drops of icy water hitting my face. I'll need to leave early today to meet the gutter guy, I'm hoping it's just some clogged leaves."

"Oh no! That's terrible. No wonder you're in such a mood."

"Yeah, and with this being my first year open, I've got little financially to show for it. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I would have made it into the black at all this year, but if it turns out to be something serious, I'll be back in the red."

"Well, red is the color for Christmas!" Goldie said but Missy just groaned at her joke.

"Okay, that was too lame, I'll try another. Perhaps all you need is a little more green?"

Missy's frown deepened.

"Okay, that's no good either." Goldie chuckled.

Before she could find a joke that was just right to cheer her friend, Bear came from the back room with his new plans for his next project with the Boar Brothers.

"Hey, when did you get here?" Goldie said sneaking her fiancé a quick kiss, and laughed when he pouted that it was over too quickly.

"This is no time for a make out session, your sister is in distress."

"I know. Who do you think she called this morning? I nearly killed myself on that roof of hers. It's covered in ice, but I did manage to patch the leak, but something will need to be done as they are calling for more snow this weekend."

Missy groaned, again.

"Awww!" Goldie said, giving Missy a hug, "It'll get better."

"Well, one positive thing about my lack of sleep is I came up with some inspired recipes based of my favorite food... Cottage Cheese."

"Really, Red's Gran is a big curds and whey fan but you?"

Missy handed her and almond roll pastry with cottage cheese rolled in. It was sweet but not too sweet making it just the right level of sweetness.

"Oh Lord, this is amazing!" Goldie said, and it was the first time Missy truly smiled.

"Well, I gotta go see a man about a reindeer," Bear said.

And Goldie giggled, "I don't think you're using that saying correctly."

"Sorry trying to stay festive but you're right that didn't sound right, but oddly enough neither does I gotta see a Boar about a house."

Missy laughed out loud. "You're right. Except for the fact that we all know they are the best builders in town."

He gave Goldie what he believed a proper kiss, unlike hers earlier, only to hear his sister complain from behind the counter. "Save it for the mistletoe, you two!"

--------

Missy was glad to finally get home. The day went well. Her inspired Almond rolls were a huge hit as well as her fruity cottage cheesecake bars.

The gutter guy said he'd be there somewhere between 1 and 3 pm. It was now 3:30 and Missy was trying not to feel miffed. She had the phone in her hand and was about to complain to the company when her doorbell rang. She looked through the peephole but could only make out a chest and uniform jacket with the embroidered name Webber.

She cautiously opened the door, and gazed up into the face of the most adorable man she'd ever seen. His appearance seemed a bit rag a muffin but his smile was down right captivating.

"Sorry, Miss..."

"Missy."

"Excuse me?" he asked bewildered.

"Missy Brown," she supplied.

"I'm so sorry Ms. Brown that I did not get here on time. It's been a brutal winter and we are seriously over booked. If it's all right with you I would like to get straight to work. Where seems to be the problem?"

"Most of my problems have been in the bedroom."

Tino Webber couldn't help the mischievous grin. "I'm not sure I'm the person to handle that Ms. Brown but perhaps after I look at your gutters..."

Missy blushed and wished nothing more then to run and hide. "I thought you meant the leak I had in my roof, " she stumbled.

"I know you did. It was my bad attempt at humor. The gutter?"

Missy grabbed her coat and gloves. "Follow me."

Tino thought he really ought to rein himself in. He was already in trouble for being late, he certainly didn't need to add sexually harassing a customer to the complaint, but Good Lord she was cute, and when she blushed she was even cuter."

"My room is in the back so I'm guessing that's the best place to start?"

Webber grabbed his ladder from the truck. It was hard getting a good footing with all this snow and ice. He thankfully had his ice cleats on which practically allowed him to climb walls and roofs as well as his favorite web hero. 

He found the downspout and set up the ladder making certain it wouldn't slide.

He got to the roof and it wasn't good news the ice was beginning to dam causing a severe blockage. The gutter would need to be removed for the duration of the winter and then replaced next spring.

He moved to another part of the roof, to take a look at the patch to be certain it would hold. The sun was right overhead and had been melting the snow and ice. When he turned to head back to his ladder, the glare of the sun blinded him for a moment, causing him to misplace his step. His usual sure footing hit a patch of wet ice and he immediately slid.

He could hear Missy scream as he was about to get launched off the roof but he managed to grab hold of the gutter at the last moment. He was safe but only for a fraction of time. The dam broke, causing an avalanche of icy water and snow to come pouring down on him and he was pretty sure Missy who was standing beneath him.

The gutter tore loose and he came crashing down, thankfully not on Missy who managed to get out of the way in time.

He laid on the wet snow-covered ground a moment feeling completely washed out, and then he felt two warm hands on his face.

"Webber?! Webber?! Talk to me!!! Are you okay?"

He slowly opened his eyes and stared into the radiant face of Missy Brown. She looked like an Angel with the sun beaming behind her head.

"Well..." he started out slowly, "the bad news is... your gutter has to come down until spring. The good news is the job is about half done already."

"How can you talk about gutters when you could have died. You scared me to death!"

"Long legs..."

"What?" Missy asked, wondering if she should try to help him move or call for an ambulance, worried he was talking nonsense.

"I've got long legs...means a shorter distance to fall then say someone like yourself. It's saved me on more than one occasion."

"Can you...can you move?" Missy asked, shivering slightly because of her wet clothes but knowing he took the brunt of it, she knew she needed to get him somewhere warm.

Tino did a mental survey of his body; he seemed to be intact. He wouldn't know for sure until he tried to stand.

He slowly raised himself up to a sitting position with Missy's help. His head spun a little but he shook it off. "I got this," he reassured her and got up the rest of the way.

They walked around to her front door. He did well on his own until he tried to take off his cleats. He did not want to scratch up Missy's floor and stumbled slightly.

Missy grabbed hold to steady him. "Whoa, there big fella! You okay?"

Tino just nodded, closing his eyes for a second, hoping it would stop the spinning.

"I got it," she said and bent down to help him remove his cleats before leading him through her door and back inside her warm house.