Page 35 of Made of Steele
She looked at her watch. “Almost time to eat so we need to hammer out my lunch date for tomorrow.”
Right.She had to bringthatback up.“If we do this, and I’m not saying I approve yet, you’ll be wired, and I’ll be watching.”
She frowned. “I’m good with that as long as you’re sure he doesn’t see you.”
He sat forward. “Give me some credit for being undercover for nearly a year and not being made.”
“Sorry. You’re right. I just want this to work.” She set the mug down. “I hate that the Contis have been playing us. Using our company to provide security for stolen goods is not okay with me and wouldn’t be okay with my family if they knew.”
He couldn’t fault her for wanting to protect her family. He would do the same for his mother. “Fine. You meet Oliver tomorrow. We’ll need a code word to tell me you’re in trouble and to come in.”
She tapped her chin. “I’ve got the perfect word. Sweat.”
“Sweat? Odd choice.”
“In cooking, it means to gently heat vegetables in a little oil. You stir and turn them frequently to ensure liquid evaporates.” She paused and took a breath. “And in real life, if I have to use the codeword, sweating is what I’ll be doing. Profusely. So it won’t be easy to forget the word even if Iamstressed to the max.”
10
Teagan’s family sat around the table studying Drew like he was some criminal they were planning to arrest. Teagan wasn’t surprised. Not at all. So she jumped in to introduce everyone, starting with her cousins. Londyn, Peyton, and Bristol sat together on the far side of the table. They’d taken chairs in the oldest to youngest order as they’d done since childhood.
Both Bristol and Londyn had chocolatey brown hair, but Peyton took after their gran with flaming red hair. On the other side of the table, Teagan’s sister, Ryleigh had skipped two chairs where Teagan and Mackenzie would normally sit, but Mackenzie was missing—an absence she would have to answer to their mom for.
Their mom stood on one end of the long table, dishing out the hearty beef stew filling the air with the savory scent of garlic fighting to win over the tantalizing aroma of the freshly baked bread. Her mother had arrived hours earlier today to let the dough mixed by Teagan’s gran rise for the final time and bake. Her mom had tried baking bread from scratch. Many times. Each time she’d said she couldn’t make the same quality of dough as Gran made.
Teagan’s dad got up from his seat at the other end of the table and held out his hand to Drew. “Hugh Steele. Father and uncle to this fine group of young ladies.”
Teagan’s mom was the force that kept the family moving forward. Her dad was the strong one in the business, but a real softie when it came to the girls. Teagan always marveled at how he could be two different men. But then, all of them put on a tough exterior when they worked in law enforcement. That had carried over to Steele Guardians too.
Drew clasped her dad’s hand and looked him in the eye. “Dylan Crane.”
“Ruby says you and Teagan went on a date last night.” Her dad carefully watched Dylan as if he were a suspect under detention.
“Yes, sir. We went to dinner.” Drew extracted his hand. “We were supposed to go to the game, but we got to talking and lost track of time.”
Her dad pulled out the chair nearest to his. “Go ahead and sit here. We can get to know each other during dinner.”
“I’d rather he sit next to me.” Teagan clutched Drew’s forearm and led him away. “Since Mac isn’t here, he can take her seat.”
Her father flashed an irritated look but nodded. “Guess I can ask questions with him sitting down the way too. Did it often enough when you girls were up to no good.”
“I’m not up to no good, sir.” Drew met her father’s gaze head on. “Just dating your daughter.”
Drew pulled out Teagan’s chair for her, earning huge brownie points with her and likely with her parents too, as they respected good manners.
A grumpy harrumph escaped from her dad’s mouth as he sat to pass a large salad bowl to Drew. “Dig into the healthy things Ruby insists we eat while she dishes out the good stuff.”
Drew laughed, and it sounded sincere. He mounded a huge helping of salad in the chilled bowl and took several pieces of the crusty bread when her dad passed that too. Drew sure wasn’t shy in serving himself, and Teagan liked that about him. He seemed as if he fit right in and wasn’t at all intimidated by her dad’s evil eye, which he kept casting at Drew. No guy she’d ever brought home had escaped the third-degree, so she didn’t consider it a negative.
Or maybe Drew was the kind of guy who didn’t care what a woman’s father thought of him. She’d caught the vibe that after a year undercover he had a bit of the bad boy in him—lived on the edge, was street smart and potentially volatile. And she liked that about him too.
Her mother set a bowl of stew in front of Drew and one in front of Teagan’s dad. “Eat Hugh, it’ll make you less grumpy, and you’ll give Dylan a chance.”
Her dad grabbed her hand and lifted it to his mouth to kiss the back. “What would I do without such a fine woman at my side?”
Her mother rolled her eyes and laughed. “No need to flatter me when I call you out.”
Her dad smiled then cast a pointed look at Drew. “We’ll pray as soon as my lovely wife finishes dishing out the stew.”
