Page 1 of Finding Forever

Chapter 1

Beth Kowalski slid the tray of brownies from the oven and set it on the cooling rack, and for one quiet moment she forgot about the letter in her pocket.

The Welcome Center’s kitchen was warm against the dark January afternoon. Outside, snow had been falling since morning. Inside, there was butter, chocolate, and the happy chatter of women who enjoyed baking and loved each other’s company.

“Now those,” Susan said, leaning over to breathe in the smell, “are a crime against everyone trying to be sensible this winter.”

“I’ve baked them for the Church’s food boxes,” Beth said.

Maria straightened, her gray hair catching the overhead light. “And the ones cooling on the other two racks?”

“They’re for the food boxes, too.”

“You’ve never made that many before. Are you sure you aren’t stress-baking?”

Beth wiped her hands on her apron. “I’ve just got a few things on my mind.”

“If there’s anything we can do to help, let us know.”

“I will.” Beth looked around the kitchen. The women in the baking class had become her good friends. They were the people she turned to when she needed advice, encouragement, or simply someone to listen. She told them almost everything.

Just not about the letter in her pocket.

“How are you getting on with Kayla’s wedding cake?” Julie asked as she slid onto a stool. “The last time I asked, you were sketching different designs.”

“I still don’t know what will look the best.” Beth could talk about her daughter’s wedding for hours. “Kayla sent me some photos of different sugar flowers she wants cascading down the side of the cake. I’ve never done anything so intricate. What if the flowers fall off or the cake is a flop?”

“I can help with the decorations,” Susan told her.

“And your daughter will love her wedding cake because you baked it,” Julie added.

Maria licked some leftover batter off a spoon. “Speaking of weddings, have you made any plans for your own, Julie?”

Julie and Cole’s Christmas engagement was still fresh enough that the words landed like a small gift in the room.

Julie leaned against the counter. “Cole keeps asking me when I want to get married. I keep telling him there’s no rush. Then he gives me that look, and I start rethinking it.”

“Cole has waited sixty-four years to find you,” Maria said. “I don’t blame him for wanting to get married soon.”

Julie smiled and Beth went back to packing the brownies. She told herself the letter could wait until she’d thought it through properly.

Maria stood beside Beth. “You’re very quiet today, and I don’t think it’s because you’re worried about Kayla’s cake.”

“I’m okay.”

“What aren’t you telling us?”

Beth fussed with a lid that didn’t need adjusting. “It’s nothing.”

“It must be something,” Maria said. “You’ve baked an awful lot of brownies.”

Beth held out a moment longer. Then she sighed and took the piece of paper out of her pocket. It was soft at the folds from being opened, read, and folded too many times. “Natalie Lanigan gave me this letter. She’s creating a community arts center in the old hardware building. She’s asked me to manage the center and help her oversee the remodel.”

For a heartbeat nobody spoke, and then everyone spoke at once.

“That’s fantastic,” Susan told her.

“That’s the best news I’ve heard all week,” Maria added. “We’ve needed something like this for years, and you’d be perfect for the job.”