Build Me Up (NaNoWriMo)

Day 30 (4,294 words)

Author's Note: Well, here we are. It's the last day of November, and NaNoWriMo is officially over. I ended up with 59,660 words (59,946 according to the NaNoMeter) in total, and a right roller-coaster ride when it came to my characters. Sometimes, it felt like they were never going to sort themselves out, and stay stubborn forever, but in the end... well, you'll have to read and find out, won't you? Thank you to everyone who's been with me on this journey and read, voted and commented. I hope you've enjoyed the ride. Thank you and good night!

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Summer

“I’m nervous.” Kristen couldn’t believe she was telling Ford that. She was supposed to be the cool, level-headed one. The big city girl who never let anything faze her. Yeah, right. She was standing in the pastel colored arrival hall, grinding her teeth because a teenage kid was going to get off a plane any second now.

She had no reason to be nervous. She’d Skyped with Annabelle several times over the past months and gotten her approval for the changes she was making to their house. Theirs, as in Annabelle’s and Ford’s. Even though she was living there full time and had decorated the place herself, Kristen still felt rootless. In a few months, her contract with Quinlan Bankhead was up, and she was to deliver a finished home. She wasn’t worried about the building inspection, or even about hearing Mr. Bankhead’s final ruling on the project, but about having to make a decision on her future.

She hadn’t promised Ford forever, and she was getting restless, but she wasn’t so sure she wanted to leave Greenport. Not just yet. Maybe she would in a few months.

“Hey,” Ford squeezed her hand and Kristen returned to the here and now, “it’s going to be fine. The house looks great. She’ll love it.”

“Like you love your new wallpaper?” Kristen looked up at him with a teasing smile on her lips. “Or the walk-in closet?”

“I like the stuff you keep in that closet,” he smirked in return.

“My spanking new one-piece from the Save n’ Smart is to die for, don’t you think?”

“Huh? Was that the one I used to keep the furnace going this winter?”

“No… I think those were my flannel pajamas…”

“Right. They burned well, I seem to recall.”

Kristen stuck her tongue out. A very mature move that suited the situation. Her closet these days consisted mostly of jeans and T-shirts and sweaters, with her more high-end apparel securely packed up. The one luxury she still allowed herself clothing-wise was lingerie. Ford seemed to appreciate that, too.

She’d actually come to appreciate not having to worry about what to wear in the mornings. Back home, she wouldn’t be caught dead in leisure clothes unless they were designer and she was on her way to the gym or spa, especially since image was everything in her line of business, but here, no-one cared if her jeans were frayed or her shirt had paint on it. In fact, it was a preferred look if you asked Ford.

“There she is,” Ford said and Kristen looked over to see Annabelle rolling a suitcase that probably weighed more than her, her softly curled hair bobbing. She’d put in highlights, too, making her look like she’d come right off the beach.

“Dad!” Annabelle broke out in a smile and hurried over to fling her arms around Ford’s neck.

Over the past months, father and daughter had grown closer, and when her mother had asked what she wanted for her Sweet Sixteen, she’d told her she wanted to spend the summer in Greenport – after the big party back in L.A., of course.