Page 28 of Finding Forever

And yet, lately, she seemed to notice everything about him.

They were twenty minutes from Cedar Ridge when the first snowflake struck the windshield.

“It’s beautiful.” Beth watched the snow gather along the edge of the road. It wasn’t heavy enough to cause problems. Just a soft scattering of white floating through the air. “The best thing about winter is driving through the snow, but only when it’s as light as this. Any heavier and it’s a nightmare.”

Dave turned on the wipers. “I know what you mean. Some of the construction sites I’ve worked on have had terrible access. Driving through the snow to reach them can be horrendous.”

Beth looked at him. “Do you know what Jessie used to do whenever it snowed?” The words came out before she’d decided to say them. For a second, something inside her tightened. But Dave didn’t look uncomfortable and he didn’t go quiet.

He simply asked, “What did he do?”

“He’d insist we go for a walk,” Beth told Dave. “It didn’t matter how cold it was or what we were doing. The first decent snowfall of the year, we’d have to go outside.”

“Even at night?” Dave asked.

“Especially at night.” She smiled at the memory. “One year we walked halfway across town at eleven o’clock because he wanted to see the Christmas lights in the snow. It was so peaceful that we could have been on a different planet.”

“He sounds like a nice person.”

Beth studied Dave’s strong jaw, the curl of his hair along the collar of his shirt, and the way he kept his gaze firmly on the road. Jessie would have liked Dave. They both had the same work ethic, the same sense of compassion and kindness.

“He was a lovely man,” Beth said quietly. “He liked eating chocolate chip ice cream on a cold day, swimming in Flathead Lake each morning, rain or shine, and fishing. Although the stories he told me about the one that got away became more creative the longer we were married.”

Dave’s hands shifted slightly on the steering wheel. “Carol liked strawberry cheesecake. The real kind made from cream cheese. And if it had a gingerbread base, she was in heaven. But she didn’t like fishing or swimming in the lake.” He glanced across the cab. “I’m surprised we didn’t meet before you started working at the arts center.”

Beth looked back at the snow. “I guess we were never in the same place at the same time.”

For the next few miles, they listened to Dave’s music. Neither of them spoke, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.

That surprised Beth most of all.

Chapter 18

When they stopped in front of the Cedar Ridge Elementary School, Beth studied the single-story building. Its sand-colored stones glowed softly even under an overcast sky. With its neat rows of square windows and inviting gabled entrance, the school held the timeless, comforting charm of what made small towns special.

The principal was waiting for them inside the entryway. The donated furniture turned out to be even better than they’d hoped.

The two maple worktables were scarred and stained with paint, but solid. The storage cabinets needed new handles, and one of the shelving units had a crack down the side, but Dave examined it and said it could be repaired.

The boxes of art supplies were a treasure trove of paintbrushes, paper, clay tools, aprons, drying racks, and half a dozen things Beth couldn’t identify.

With the principal’s help, they loaded everything into the trailer and pulled out of the parking lot just as the snow began to fall more steadily.

Within a few miles the flakes had thickened. The hills on either side of the highway were turning white, and snow clung to the branches of the pines, softening the landscape until everything seemed quieter.

Dave slowed the truck.

Beth watched the wipers sweep steadily back and forth. She liked being warm inside while the world beyond the glass grew colder and whiter. There was something unexpectedly peaceful about it.

“We should eat before we go much farther,” Dave said.

Beth checked the time. It was almost mid-day. “The principal said there’s a diner a few miles from here.”

Dave glanced at her. “Do we need to use the navigation system?”

Beth shook her head. “Just stay on this road. It can’t be too far away.”

The diner appeared through the snow ten minutes later, a low brick building tucked beside a gas station. A red neon “Open” sign glowed in the window, and several pickup trucks were parked outside beneath a growing layer of white.