Page 61 of Tough as Steele

She looked at Nate. “Welcome, and I hope to see you after today, young man.”

She spun and hurried from the foyer.

“She’s a dynamo,” Nate said.

“She really is.” Londyn’s eyes were filled with a love, the kind he’d often seen in his mother’s eyes when she’d looked at him. “She’s always been very adventurous. She and my granddad are both pilots. Granddad even flew in the war. My great grandfather too. He had a crop dusting plane for our farms, and she used to ride on the wing when my granddad flew.”

“On the wing? Seriously.”

She nodded. “I think she’d still do it today if any of us would let her.”

“You look a lot like her. It seems like you get your drive from her.”

“From her or my dad. She’s his mother, and he’s as driven as she is.” She smiled. “C’mon. Let’s get started and get something to eat. Whatever she made is guaranteed to be excellent.”

Londyn led him to the dining room, where her cousins and sister, Peyton, were seated at the table with an older man Nate pegged as their grandfather. His hair color matched his wife’s, and he was also slender. He wore glasses and had a wide smile. His face was long, his chin pointed. Londyn and her siblings didn’t resemble him, but her cousins did.

He stood and ran an appraising eye over Nate, who tried not to wilt under the intensity. The man had flown planes in combat and been a law enforcement officer, and all of that experience lived in his evaluating stare.

Nate stepped forward, introduced himself, and held out his hand as Bristol rushed in.

“Artie Steele.” He pumped Nate’s hand with a strong grip. “The girls have been telling me about you.”

“Grandad,” Teagan said. “That was supposed to be between us.”

“Right. Guess I don’t get the subtleties at my age.” He grinned.

“Hah!” Bristol dropped into a chair. “You get it. You just use your age to ignore it.”

“Shh.” He winked at Bristol. “Don’t let your gran hear that.”

Bristol shook her head. “She knows, Grandad. She just ignores it to humor you.”

A devious grin lit his face, and his eyes gleamed with happiness. “You know that reminds me of a fishing trip in Canada that I took your gran on in the seventies.”

All the women groaned.

“Have I told that one before?” He mocked innocence. “In any event, Nate hasn’t heard it.”

“And I’d be glad to, sir,” Nate said. “I loved fishing with my dad when he was alive.” Fond memories assaulted Nate’s brain. “I still have his fishing gear. I don’t ever find the time to go, but I’ll never give up that gear.”

“Then I’ll take you after you bring Mimi safely home.”

Nate was about to say he would love to go when the door to the kitchen swung open. Artie turned to look.

Eloise entered, carrying a large cast iron pot. “Sit, Artie. You can share your generous fishing knowledge while you eat. And don’t tell me you weren’t bending this young man’s ear about fishing. I know you too well for you to get away with that.”

He gave Eloise a kiss on her cheek. “Whatever would I do without you to help me decide what to do?”

“Tell fishing stories nonstop.” Eloise cast him a fond smile, and he sat.

She placed the pot in the middle of the table already holding dishes and silverware. She lifted the lid, and a savory garlic smell sent his stomach rumbling.

She smiled at him. “I thought you could use some stick-to-your-ribs kind of food for the work you all have ahead of you. That means my beef roast with carrots, potatoes, and onions.”

“Yum,” Artie said. “Please say I’m smelling your famous crusty bread to go with it.”

“Coming right up.” She waved at empty chairs and looked at Nate. “Don’t be shy. Take a seat or you won’t get any food. I know these girls are fit, but they can put it away like a football team after a hard scrimmage.”

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