Day's End by Colleen Vanderlinden

mother of your future great grandbabies, don’t you?” Ryan groaned and I knew my face was bright red.
    “Gran… ”
    “I’m not saying right this second, boy,” Tina said to Ryan, and he shook his head. “But, you know, we’re not getting any younger.”
    “No pressure though, right?” Ryan said. He opened the back door and winked at me as his grandmother walked past him, into the kitchen.
    “I’m just saying. It would be nice. It’s been years since we’ve had any babies around here.”
    “Good Lord, woman, are you already on the boy about babies?” I heard a deep voice call from the other room. A moment later, Ryan’s grandfather walked into the room. He was just a smidge shorter than Ryan, same strong jaw, same dark brown complexion. “Nice to meet you, Jolene,” he said to me.
    “Nice to meet you, too, sir,” I said. He shook my hand and looked at Ryan.
    “Got a girl with nice manners, too? Now your Gran’s never going to let up about babies.”
    “They’ll be raised right, obviously,” Tina called from the kitchen as Ronald led us into the living room. I stopped and turned around.
    “Is there anything I can help you with?” I asked Ryan’s grandmother. She smiled and waved me back into the kitchen. I watched as she pulled food out of the oven, giant pans of scalloped potatoes, some kind of chicken in a cream sauce, rolls, and some kind of broccoli dish.
    “I hope you’re here to eat,” Tina said when she saw me surveying the food.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    Tina laughed a little, shook her head. “I have to admit, I did not know what to expect from you.”
    “Ma’am?”
    “He hasn’t said it, but I know my boy. He’s a workaholic, so I always knew that if he ever found someone to settle down with, it would probably be someone he met through work.”
    She handed me the basket she’d filled with rolls, and I placed it on the dining room table.
    “So this new hero, a
girl
hero,” she added, “joins StrikeForce, and eventually becomes partners with him, all of a sudden, boom, Ryan has himself a girlfriend.” She crossed her arms and studied me. “I’ve heard all about you on the news, miss Daystar.”
    I nodded. “I’m not as bad as they say I am. But I’m not going to be winning any congeniality awards, either.”
    “You’re belligerent, quick-tempered, rash, and often disrespectful.”
    Conversation had come to a halt in the living room, and I knew Ryan could hear, probably waiting to see if I needed a referee.
    “Yes, ma’am,” I said to her.
    Tina nodded. “And yet, you’re also the kind of woman who flies repeatedly into a raging inferno to rescue people. The kind of woman who put the man who hurt my grandson into the hospital. The kind of woman who takes a beating that would destroy most of us mere mortals, and comes back ready to fight again.”
    I didn’t answer.
    “Your mother raised you right, Jolene,” she said quietly, taking my hand. “And I’m sorry for your loss. Ryan told us about it back when it happened.”
    “Thank you.” I wasn’t sure exactly how well my behavior reflected on Mama, but Tina was putting it all in a good light, so I’d take it. It was a nice change of pace.
    We finished setting the rest of the food out. Ryan and his grandfather’s deep voices started up again from the living room.
    “This all looks so good,” I said to Tina.
    “It should be. Ryan’s grandpa does his level best to keep meat on my bones,” she said with a laugh.
    “He cooked all this?”
    “Everything except the broccoli. The man cooks vegetables to within an inch of their life.”
    “Ryan’s a good cook, too.”
    She nodded. “Some of that he learned from me. I’m not half bad in that department. But Ronald’s the one around here always watching those cooking shows. He subscribes to food magazines and even took a class or two. He loves to eat, but I’m pretty sure he loves to cook even more.”
    I smiled. This was more fun than I’d dared to hope. I