Page 8 of Finding Forever

Beth was grateful for everyone’s support. Her friends had their own busy lives, yet they kept finding ways to be there when she needed them. It meant more to her than she knew how to say.

“What about Dave, the person in charge of the remodel?” Maria asked. “Have you met him?”

Beth ignored the sparkle in Maria’s eyes. “Dave was there when Natalie showed me around. He seems like a nice person.”

Rachel grinned. “Nice is how my grilled fish tacos taste.”

Beth reached for her glass of water, more to have something to do with her hands than because she was thirsty. Dave’s easy smile and quiet, sweet charm had made her feel oddly steady, the one part of the walkthrough that hadn’t left her doubting herself.

He hadn’t needed three contingency plans for a wall. He’d just looked at it, decided, and moved on. There was something to be said for a person like that.

“He listened when Natalie talked about the project and didn’t try to talk her out of anything,” Beth told her friends. “And he never made me feel as though I was in his way.”

Rachel smiled. “That’s a long way of saying nice.”

Beth shrugged. What she’d said was true, and there wasn’t more to it than that.

Maria grinned. “I agree with Beth. There’s something to be said for a man who’s polite and respectful. And who knows where it might lead. Look at what happened to Julie and Cole.”

Beth blushed. She was happy that Julie had met Cole, but she wasn’t looking for romance of any kind.

Rachel sighed. “I’d like to meet someone special. It would be fun to go on movie nights with someone who isn’t us, or enjoy a cup of coffee with a gorgeous man when the rest of the world is sleeping.”

Beth turned her water glass a quarter turn on the table, watching the light catch the rim. “I had that for thirty-one years,” she said. “Jessie and I would go for lots of long walks, talking about everything and nothing. We’d drive to shows and sing our hearts out at concerts. We had a good marriage. A really good one.”

Rachel squeezed her hand. “I know it was. But if you could spend the rest of your life with another man, would you?”

Beth looked around the table at each of her friends. There was a gentle understanding in their expressions, a sense of shared experiences that shaped the people they were today.

“I’m not closed off to another relationship, but I had my person. I’m not looking for another one. I like my life the way it is.”

Maria picked up her wine glass. “In that case, I’d like to propose a toast. To good friends and unconditional happiness,” she said. “And to Beth, who can count on us to help her make the arts center an incredible space.”

Beth’s throat tightened, but she managed a smile and touched her glass to each of her friends’. With the help of these amazing women, the next three months would feel less like a deadline and more like an adventure.

Chapter 6

The following morning, Dave arrived at the old hardware building at eight o’clock.

He’d been at the Finley Point resort since six, walking the foundation forms with Hank ahead of the next pour. By the time he’d handed things over and made the drive into town, more time had passed than he realized.

The lights were on inside the building, and that surprised him. He hadn’t expected anyone to be here yet.

He walked through the doors and saw Beth standing in front of an old table. Three folders were fanned out in front of her, with a thermos at her elbow and a roll of paper pinned under a block of wood.

“Morning,” he said.

She looked up, startled. “Oh, hi Dave. I didn’t hear you come in.”

“The concrete trucks were later than I expected at Finley Point. Otherwise, I would have been here sooner.” He nodded at the folders. “You look busy.”

“I wanted to get a better understanding of what you’re doing before the other builders get here.” Beth placed her hand on the top folder. “I sorted the rooms by priority and cross-referenced them against the construction schedule. If anything gets delayed, I’ll know which classes are at risk first.”

“That’s a good idea,” he said, and meant it. He could see what the folders were for, and it wasn’t only for the rooms. It was Beth’s first week of being part of a remodel of this size, and she wanted everything to run smoothly.

Dave set down his tools and crossed to the wall he’d been keeping half an eye on since Tuesday.

The plaster above one of the old service counters had a hairline crack. Somebody, decades ago, had cut a doorway through a load point without thinking about what held up the roof.