Build Me Up (20 page)

“Make it two,” Ford said and tossed her the keys.

“Gross, Dad,” she mock-cringed and hurried out of the cottage, happy as a clam.

“So lenient with your daughter…” Kristen smiled, winding her arms around Ford’s neck. “Who are you and what have you done with Ford Hamm?”

“I was hoping to win that argument…”

“And you couldn’t do that with an audience?”

“Not the way I was planning on doing it, no,” he smirked and picked her up. Kristen laughed as he carried her into one of the bedrooms, which surprisingly housed a freshly made bed with little rose petals sprinkled on the covers.

“Is this how you propose we settle every argument, Mr. Hamm?” Kristen teased as he undid her top.

“We can put that in our contract, if you like,” he grinned.

“Mm… I’ll have to talk to my lawyer about that…”

“You do that,” Ford said and pulled his own shirt over his head. “For now, I say we start negotiating terms. I should warn you, I drive a hard bargain.”

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” Kristen matched his mischievous grin and pulled him down on the bed. Maybe they could have a successful merger, after all.

EPILOGUE

One year later

Kristen took a step back and admired her latest project’s completion. The bathroom was perfect. Not only did it have plumbing – which it lacked a year ago – but it also housed a claw foot tub
and
a rain shower. The tiles were a pale gray, the floor slate and heated. There was a small, rectangular window above the tub, and an assortment of bath products lined the window sill.

She was back in Greenport after completing a short-term project on a house up in Vermont – one that just so happened to need the expert touch of a heritage licensed contractor. Ford was still up there, negotiating a second deal, but he was due back in town any day now. In the meantime, she’d put the finishing touches on their summer home’s bathroom.

They’d only been to her beach house in L.A. for a short vacation last winter, but it had been enough to catch up with old friends and spend some time with Annabelle. Annabelle, who was now 17 and dating a high school senior. Ford was worried, of course, but Kristen had the scoop on the young athlete slash serious student and tried to reassure him without betraying Annabelle’s trust.

She’d enlisted Annabelle as house sitter for her beach home, knowing perfectly well that her best friend and her family would drop by unannounced from time to time to check on the place – and Annabelle. Annabelle’s mother had married the car dealership man, and the family was doing well in a small home in Woodland Hills.

Annabelle was all set to come out to Greenport for the summer, and this year she was bringing her boyfriend Clay with her. Ford wasn’t ecstatic about the idea, but Kristen had negotiated with him on Annabelle’s behalf.

Annabelle wasn’t getting here for another week, though, and Kristen hoped that Ford would finish up in Vermont before then. Being apart for just over a week felt like an eternity, and she had a hard time believing she could have walked away from him a year ago if he hadn’t made her a business proposal she couldn’t refuse.

Kristen sighed in content and arched her back. She’d been working non-stop since she got here, and she was proud of her work, but she was ready to sink into a hot bath and relieve some of the tension that had built up in her neck, shoulders and back.

Maybe… no. She shouldn’t. If Ford did come back to Greenport tonight, as he suggested he might, she wanted to have some kind of dinner ready for him. But the tub looked so great… Maybe just one quick dip…

Twenty minutes later, Kristen was soaking in a hot bath, more candles lit in the bathroom than she could count, and a nice foam covering her nude body. She leaned her head back against the edge of the tub and closed her eyes.

No sooner had she done so when she heard the sound of an engine and crunching gravel. Someone was coming. She immediately tensed and made to grab a towel, then realized the door was locked. If it was Ford coming home, he had a key. If it were anyone else… well, they’d just have to wait, wouldn’t they?

Kristen returned to her previous position, determined to relax. She kept one ear open for the sound of keys in the lock, though. When she heard the lock turn in the door and Ford call out for her, she smiled.

“In here!”

“Hey, sorry I’m late, traffic was…” Ford started, then trailed off as he walked into the bathroom. “You’re in the tub.”

“I am.”

“Did we have a tub before?” he asked after a moment of plain staring at her.

“Perceptive,” she grinned.

“Sorry, I was a bit distracted by the naked woman in the bathroom,” Ford teased and shrugged out of his jacket. “Looks great, by the way.”

“You’re only looking at
me
,” Kristen remarked.

“Best view ever.”

She splashed him and he jumped back instinctively. “Look around.”

After shooting her a look that said he’d rather chew off his own arm than take his eyes off of her, Ford dutifully inspected the tiles and flooring, and the little decorative bottles and stones littering the window sill. Then his gaze returned to her. “Sorry, I can’t concentrate on anything else at the moment. I’m feeling pretty sweaty and grimy.”

“Well, there’s a shower, too,” Kristen said, gesturing to the shower space.

“Without a curtain,” he noted. “I like it.”

“I’ve ordered frosted glass. It hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Well, you’re already wet, mind if I grab a shower while you watch?” he said, grinning as he pulled his T-shirt over his head and unzipped his jeans.

“Go right ahead,” she waved dismissively. “I might join you in a bit. Water’s getting cold, fast.”

Ford made a show of getting in the shower, making her stifle more than a few giggles before she couldn’t take it any longer and climbed out of the tub to let him wash her.

“I missed you,” she said as he soaped her up. “I’ve missed taking hot showers, too.”

“Yeah, we should get a shower for the trailer,” he agreed.

“How did the negotiations go? Did we get the next job?”

“As it turns out, our last client has a business partner looking for a renovation crew for his vacation home.”

“Oh? Where?”

“Malibu.”

“Really? For how long?”

“Six to eight months, give or take.”

“Oh. Yeah, that could work…”

“What’s wrong?” Ford frowned, studying her face.

“Nothing. Just… calculating.”

“I thought you’d be happy to spend the winter and spring in California. I know you’ve asked Annabelle to housesit, but I’m sure she won’t mind staying there with us.”

“It’s just… I don’t know if I’ll be able to see it through…”

“What? What are you talking about? I thought we were doing well, I-”

“We are,” Kristen cut him off, cupping his face in her hands. “We’re doing really well.”

“Then what makes you say…?”

“You know, I’d planned to make us dinner, set the table real nice, but then I got so tired and achy that I decided to get in the tub and then you came home… I guess what I’m saying is that I planned this differently, but sometimes things don’t work out the way we planned them. And sometimes it can be a good thing, but also scary…”

“Kristen, you’re not making much sense here,” Ford said softly. “Come on, let’s get you dried off.” He turned off the shower spray and got them each a towel from the newly installed towel rack. He wrapped the towel around her and rubbed her arms, causing friction and making her skin heat up. It was a warm summer’s night and she really didn’t need to get any warmer, but she let him take care of her. After all, it was kind of nice to be taken care of once in awhile.

“Coffee?” he offered.

“No, thanks. I’ll just have some herbal tea.”

“Okay, I’ll get the water boiling,” he said and left her.

The house was still a work in progress, but it was habitable. Ford had managed to sell the old house faster than she had expected, and at a profit. He’d insisted on putting all the money that wasn’t going into Annabelle’s college fund into their joint business venture, as she’d refused to let him pay her back for the cottage. They’d drawn up papers giving them both an equal share in the business, despite him being the sole investor.

Kristen sat down on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chin. No, this was definitely not how she’d imagined their evening to go, but there was no turning back now. When Ford walked over with a cup of tea for her, she took a cautious sip and then put it down.

“Did you talk to Annabelle today?” she asked, making easy conversation.

“Yeah. She said she’s flying in on Saturday next week. With Clay.”

Kristen chuckled. “You’re such a dad.”

“He’s staying in the trailer. I brought it here with me from the site.”

“Ford.”

“What? You’re not seriously suggesting that I let them share a room, are you? She’s 17.”

“I’m not. I’m suggesting you show some hospitality and let him sleep on the couch. If you give him a whole trailer to himself, you can be sure she’ll be sneaking out there once we’re asleep.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because that’s exactly what I would do,” Kristen smiled.

“And you think he won’t be sneaking into
her
room if he’s sleeping on the couch?”

“With that creaky step just outside her door? We’ll wake up, for sure.”

“Then why wouldn’t we wake up if he slept in the trailer?” he said, sounding triumphant that he’d managed to poke a hole in her argument.

“Because then she’d be climbing out the window,” Kristen said matter-of-factly. “The hinges have just been oiled.”

“It really bugs me when you know things that I don’t,” Ford muttered.

“I know. That’s what makes it so much fun,” Kristen smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten that little moment in the bathroom, by the way. I’m still waiting for the full story.”

“There’s no fooling you, is there?” Kristen mock-sighed.

“Kristen… tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong. But I’m worried there’s another project in the works that will compete with the new job.”

“What project? How come I haven’t heard about this?” he frowned.

“Well, because I only got final confirmation the other day. I didn’t want to say anything in case it was a false start.”

“So where is it? Will we be able to handle both projects simultaneously?”

“I hope so…”

“Well, come on, tell me,” he urged her on. “What’s gotten you so stressed?”

“Well, the timing could be better, of course… and I’m afraid it’s going to take a pretty big investment to see it through…”

“What kind of time frame are we talking about here?”

“Well, the building phase should take less than a year, but the maintenance… it could last for almost two decades.”

“What?” Ford frowned. “What kind of project takes-“

Kristen watched as the puzzle pieces fell into place, were hammered out and built into a full-scale model.

“You’re pregnant?”

“Like I said, I don’t know if I’ll be able to see the secondary project through seven or eight months from now, as the primary project will be due for inspection then, and-“

He cut her off with a kiss. A deep, bone-jarring kiss that poured all of his emotions into her. He was onboard, it said. He was all in. She clung to his broad shoulders and reciprocated. When they had to come up for air, his first words were ‘I love you so much’. It felt like the most natural thing in the world to say it right back – over and over again.

Everything she needed was right here. She couldn’t imagine life any other way. Well, maybe they’d get some cats one day. Or not.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Growing up on a farm, Lili Grouse discovered her love of storytelling early on, making up bedtime stories for the calves, who were probably happier for the attention than the actual storytelling. In school, she was given a notebook to be used solely for writing stories in. She filled it up and asked for another - she was working on an epic, darn it. Of course, writing time in school wasn't enough, so she took to writing - and illustrating - stories at home on printer paper her father happily provided.

Cut to twenty years later, give or take, and Lili Grouse is still at it. These days, her stories have less to do with strawberries going on adventures and searching for hidden treasures, and more to do with finding that elusive happy-ever-after. It is her dream to one day write for a living, but in the meantime, every minute not spent working, sleeping, or reading is dedicated to working on her passion.