Free Build Me Up by Lili Grouse

said, feeling a challenge lurking beneath the surface.
    “All right then,” he said and locked his door.
    They walked down the gravel path that led onto the beach walk. It wasn’t paved, but it wasn’t impossible to walk on, either. The wind coming in from the sea tugged at the hair that wasn’t tucked inside the jacket and she could almost taste the salt in the spray.
    “Have you always lived in Greenport?” she asked when it became clear Ford was the strong, silent type even when he wasn’t being surly.
    “Yup.”
    “Did you ever consider moving somewhere else?”
    “Once or twice.”
    “Where would you have moved then?”
    “Somewhere else.”
    “Wow… you’re just a fountain of information,” Kristen muttered.
    “Sorry?”
    “Never mind. So do you have family here?”
    “Not exactly.”
    “Sorry?” What kind of an answer was that?
    “My parents and grandparents are buried here, up at the cemetery.”
    “Oh. I’m sorry.”
    “Thank you. When you get to be my age, it’s to be expected, I guess.”
    “Your age? What are you, mid-30s?”
    “I’m 38.”
    “Oh, yeah, you’re right – you are old. Have you considered getting a walker?”
    “I would look for one, but I don’t know how to work a computer. Such newfangled machines,” he played along.
    “Aww, well, I’ll help you,” she patted his arm.
    “Thank you, young lady,” he answered, covering her hand with his own. Kristen pulled away before she could take note of how big and warm it felt against her skin. Well, maybe a split second too late.
    “Oh, I’m not that young,” Kristen shook her head and turned her face towards the shore. The cool winds felt good on her heated face.
    “My mother always told me never to ask a woman’s age or clothes size. So I won’t.”
    Kristen smiled and turned her head towards him again. “Very early 30s. And somewhere between a four and a six.”
    “Wow. Not at the numbers,” he added hastily, his hands up to ward off any clawing that she might attempt, “but at actually hearing a woman saying those things.”
    “You must meet a lot of boring women,” Kristen clicked her tongue in mock reproach.
    “I spend my days on construction sites. I don’t see a lot of women, period.”
    “Hm. Well, what about Hallie at the Sea Shack? She seems like she would be interested in letting you measure her?”
    He laughed. “Wow. Where’d you pick that up?”
    “Oh, come on. It’s pretty obvious.”
    “Hallie’s my friend’s little sister, not to mention about 15 years younger than I am. Not happening.”
    “Okay. But…”
    “Enough with the third degree,” he cut her off. “My turn. Tell me about your family.”
    “Well, there’s Dad, the business man, and Mom, his former trophy wife. No siblings.”
    “They’re divorced?”
    “Yeah. Mom’s on husband number three now. Dad’s on wife number four.”
    “How old were you when they got divorced?”
    “I was in college. So, in my early 20s, I guess. They were separated first, so I can’t remember the exact day.”
    “Were you upset?”
    Kristen pondered that. She hadn’t really grown up with her parents being lovey-dovey with each other, so she didn’t really see the difference once they separated. If they had an ugly divorce, she only saw the glossy parts – the parties, the trips, the clothes. She got everything she wanted and more.
    “I guess I didn’t care too much either way.”
    “Are you close with them now?”
    “Closer than before, I think. But no, we’re not a close-knit family, if that’s what you’re asking.”
    “What made you accept the job with Bankhead?”
    “Prestige. The challenge of it. Adventure.”
    “Adventure? Spending a year in Greenport?”
    “You said it yourself – a California girl stranded in a small East Coast town for a year. Now what part of that isn’t a challenge and an adventure?”
    “How are you finding this adventure so far?”
    “Well, every day I wake up I don’t know if