Page 36 of Finding Forever

Rosa arrived partway through. As far as Dave could tell, it was only to disagree with her husband, which she did with visible relish.

In the end, Dave and Colton dismantled the doorframe, and with a lot of maneuvering, they managed to get the piano through without destroying too much of the wall. When the piano was finally in its temporary resting place, the volunteers let out a cheer that Dave suspected could be heard at the diner.

He caught Beth’s eye across the room. The noise of the crowd fell away, and it was just the two of them, seeing the same ridiculous thing and finding it funny at the same time. It felt, for that one moment, like something closer than friendship, closer than colleagues. It was the kind of recognition he hadn’t let himself feel with anyone in nine years.

Beth looked away first and Dave moved on to the next job he wanted to tackle, but Beth was never far from his thoughts.

By dusk, the arts center was transformed. The walls were primed, the piano was in place, and the piles of scrap lumber, sawdust, and other leftover building materials were gone.

Dave stood at the door as the last of the volunteers filtered out into the dark. Hank locked the main doors behind them, and Dave looked back once more at what they’d done.

Beth was still inside, walking a slow circle through it alone, taking in everything.

Dave didn’t go back in. Some moments, he thought, a person needed to have on their own. But before he got into his truck he looked back at the center.

He could see Beth through one of the windows. She was talking to Hank. The stripes on their high-vis vests gleamed under the fluorescent lights as they stared at the ceiling.

Someday soon, he’d ask her where she saw their friendship heading. But for today, it was enough to know they’d done a solid day’s work with people who cared about the arts center.

Chapter 22

The following Friday, Kayla’s car pulled into Beth’s driveway with the same honking tune she’d been using since she was sixteen.

Beth was out the door before her daughter had fully stopped. As soon as she could, Beth pulled her into a big hug. “You cut your hair.”

Kayla pulled back with a grin. “The hairdresser took off three inches. I’m not a whole new person, Mom.”

“It looks cute,” Beth told her. Without the extra weight, the wave in Kayla’s red hair had bounced into soft curls. It reminded Beth of when her baby girl had been much younger. “Are you ready for a busy weekend?”

Reaching into the back seat, Kayla took out her duffel bag. “I can’t wait. We have forty-eight hours to get through a list that’s longer than my arm. Are we still doing the cake testing tomorrow?”

Beth led the way inside. “Of course, but we’ll do that after lunch. We have to visit The Flower Cottage in the morning. Paris has some bouquets she’s made for another wedding that she wants you to see.”

“As long as we’ve got time over the weekend to see the famous arts center, I’ll be happy,” Kayla said.

Beth smiled. “It’s not famous.”

Kayla walked straight into the spare bedroom. “It is, judging by Aunt Rachel’s Facebook and Instagram posts.”

Kayla wasn’t the only person who’d been impressed with the photos and information Rachel had shared online. She’d regularly visited the arts center, taking photos and talking to the construction crew. Even Beverly, from the historical society, had asked for copies of the images so she could add them to the local archives.

Beth waited for her daughter to unpack, then took her by the arm. “I baked some of your favorite cookies.”

Kayla grinned. “I was hoping you’d have some. While you’re getting them out of the cookie jar, I’ll make some coffee.”

By the time they’d had a drink and something to eat, Kayla was talking non-stop about Tyler’s suit fitting the previous day. Beth smiled as she imagined the tartan vest and cummerbund Tyler wanted to rent.

Their late snack led into an early dinner. They had soup at the kitchen table with the cake sketches spread out between them. After they’d organized a few last-minute additions to the weekend, Kayla condensed two months of gossip from her culinary program with the breathless speed of someone who’d been saving it up.

It was well past ten before either of them thought to look at the clock. Beth was grateful that she had a daughter who still wanted to sit at her kitchen table and tell her everything.

For the next two days, they’d race around Sapphire Bay and Polson, jamming as much wedding preparation as possible into the time they had.

And in between everything else, Beth would make the most of each and every second she had with her daughter.

Chapter 23

The Flower Cottage smelled like spring, despite the snow piled along the sidewalk.