Nate came back with the refilled glass and handed it to her. “Don’t let him fool you, he’s an excellent cook. Taught all of us to cook too. Said we needed to be able to take care of ourselves because we most likely would be living on our own at some time. He was right—we all did or are.”

“And you do the displays at the library, Loren?” Rich asked.

“I do and sometimes at the jewelry store down the street. I kind of fell into it.”

“Really? Your degree isn’t in design?”

“Library science, because I love books. They asked me to do a bulletin board one day and it turned out pretty good. Our woman in charge of that was moving away so I kind of stepped into her position. I learned a lot about old books and displays when I volunteered out at the YMCA camp during the summers.”

“Old books.” Nate nodded. “We have interesting history in this region. I donated some of the things passed down in our family, and when they did that book, Dad’s family is mentioned several times. They came here in the late 1800s.”

“From where?”

“England via Massachusetts.”

Roxie smiled. “My mother’s side came from Norway and my father’s from Ireland. He always said the Irish are part Norwegian, thanks to the Vikings.”

Rich got a faraway look. “Now there were some real wood carvers and furniture makers. Dad and Mom went to Norway, and while she wanted to see the country, he wanted to spend all his time with the craftsmen. He even helped to restore a boat they were working on. Thrill of his life.”

“What about you, Nate?” Roxie asked. “You have the desire to build and craft things too?”

He nodded. “I think we all inherited it. I minored in design at college, majored in business. Would have been more fun to do the other way around, but I figured I have a lifetime to do both.”

Rich looked around at them. “Anybody getting hungry?”

“I am.”

“Son, you are always hungry. I’ll fire up the grill and get the steaks on. I can put on chicken too if anyone would rather?”

“He’s been marinating the steaks since yesterday.” Nate reached for another chip and a scoop of guacamole. “Don’t know how I can be hungry after all these.”

Rich pushed back his chair and stood to turn on the grill built into a brickwork wall, with a mini refrigerator, sink, and cabinet also built in. A fire pit surrounded by built-in seating took up the next level of the deck.

“Did he do the brickwork too?” Roxie asked Nate.