Smoke & Steel

Wes Calder leaves the steelworks with the wrong-sized box and eleven years of work reduced to what he can carry. His father's battered barbecue trailer offers something to do with his hands. Making it pay is another matter.In nine weeks, Bracken Market will choose a food concession. Wes can cook, but a good brisket won't cover wages, fix unsafe equipment, or persuade a crew to trust a man who keeps reaching across their work. A commercial offer could ease the pressure-if he accepts what comes with it. And the local smoke-off is only the beginning of the contest he actually needs to win.As costs mount and old stories about his father stop fitting neatly together, Wes has to learn what belongs to him, what he owes other people, and how to build a business that doesn't consume everyone keeping it alive.Smoke & Steel is a contemporary novel of food, work, rivalry, and a hard-earned second start.