Page 41 of Finding Forever

The answer came almost immediately.

All of it?

All of it, Dave texted back to Rick. And don’t put my name on the delivery slip.

Dave slid his phone into his pocket. When he looked up, Hank had stopped working. “What?” Dave asked.

Hank rested one hand on the stepladder. “I’m wondering how long you think you can keep doing that before Beth finds out.”

“Doing what?”

“Paying for things.”

Dave picked up a piece of trim. “The center needs the panels.”

“The center needs a lot of things.” Hank started counting on his fingers. “You’ve already paid for the extra insulation in the music room.”

“It needed it.”

“The better hinges on the storage cupboards.”

“They’ll last longer.”

“And those faucets Beth liked.”

Dave shrugged. “They were on sale.”

Hank folded his arms. “This stopped being about the building somewhere around the time you realized you like Beth.”

Dave frowned. That wasn’t fair. Mostly because it was true. The arts center mattered. He believed in what Beth was creating. But if she wasn’t here, would he have spent his own money on acoustic panels? Probably not.

Hank snorted.

Dave glanced at him. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to.”

Dave picked up a screw. “Beth would say no if I asked her.”

“Of course she would.”

“So, I’m not asking.”

Hank shook his head. “That ought to work out well when she discovers what you’ve done.”

Dave frowned. “She won’t.”

Hank shook his head. “You really haven’t learned much about women, have you?”

“I was married for over thirty years,” Dave reminded his friend.

“And Carol still had to teach you the same lesson more than once.”

Dave smiled despite himself. That was true. Carol had hated being managed almost as much as Beth did.

“Just keep it to yourself,” Dave told him.

Hank nodded solemnly. “Absolutely.”