They followed the shoreline along the bay, avoiding some small pools of salt water near the rocks left by the outgoing tide. The sands were soft underfoot, the walking easy.

‘And what do you do for a living, then?’ Emma asked. ‘I don’t think I ever found out last time?’ In fact, she hadn’t found out much at all.

‘I’m a builder, have a small business of my own. I employ four men, year round, and contract in help on the bigger jobs. We do house renovations, extensions, occasionally a new-build. That kind of work.’

‘So, have you always been in the building trade?’

‘Well, my parents wanted me to be an accountant, that was my original path. I’d always been good at maths at school, and it seemed a sensible job. But I hated all the paperwork, the equations, pushing figures around on a page, stuck in an office. I couldn’t see that being my life. It was never meant for me. So, I flunked out of uni after the first year, much to my parents’ disappointment. I didn’t want to be pushing a pen. I wanted to push a wheelbarrow, hold a drill, a saw. I was always tinkering with stuff at home, trying out DIY projects. Wonky shelves in my bedroom, that kind of stuff.’

Emma laughed, imagining him wielding hammers and saws as a teenager.

‘Anyway, I got myself an apprenticeship with a building firm. Started off lackeying – all the shit jobs to start, basically, then learnt how to lay bricks, plaster, plumb. I worked hard, learnt on the way, until I got made a supervisor, leading the team on site when the owner wasn’t around. Then Fred, the guy who owned the company, got ill, had to retire early. I got a loan and bought the business as a going concern. Never looked back. So, that’s me.’

‘Interesting. So you found your own way.’ She liked that – that he knew himself, what he wanted, and had worked hard to achieve it.

‘So, where’s the company based?’ She realised she was hoping it wasn’t miles away, maybe down south, and this wasn’t some kind of an annual trip.

‘Hexham way.’

‘Ah, okay.’ That was about an hour’s drive away.

‘I live in a village just outside the town. It’s small, friendly, suits me fine. We tend to do a lot of work in that area, as well as in Newcastle and Gateshead, so it’s an ideal location.’