Chapter 24
Dave knew he was in trouble when he realized he was watching Beth drive away. He should have been finishing the trim. Instead, he was thinking about the way Beth had smiled when she’d introduced him to her daughter.
It wasn’t her usual smile, either. Dave had become something of an expert on Beth Kowalski’s smiles over the last couple of months.
There was the polite one she gave people she didn’t know well. The distracted one when she was thinking about three things at once. The relieved one when something she’d worried about finally went right. And lately, there was the smile she gave him when she forgot to be careful.
He liked that one the best.
“Are you planning on using that drill?” Hank asked.
Dave turned. His friend was standing beside the ladder, watching him.
“I’m thinking.”
“That what we’re calling it?” Hank asked with a grin.
Dave ignored him and crossed the room.
Hank picked up another length of trim. “Kayla seems nice.”
“She does.”
“Looks like Beth.”
Dave glanced at his friend and sighed. “You’re about to say something I don’t want to hear.”
Hank laughed. “Not just yet. I’ll let you figure it out first.”
Dave’s phone buzzed on the workbench. He picked it up and saw a message from Rick at the building supply store.
Your order’s ready. Added the acoustic panels and extra trim. Total is $1,442.73. Want me to put it on the arts center account?
Dave stared at the message. He’d added the panels yesterday after Beth mentioned wanting somewhere teenagers could practice music without disturbing the classes next door. She’d said it casually, then immediately followed it with, “Maybe next year. We can’t afford them now.”
Dave knew exactly how much was left in the renovation budget.
Not enough.
There were still sinks to install, shelving for the pottery room, paint to buy, and dozens of small things that somehow became expensive when there were enough of them.
He typed a reply. No. Put it on my account.
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.”
Dave narrowed his eyes. “That sounded suspicious.”
Hank grinned. “If you want Beth to think this place came in under budget by magic, that’s your business.”
They worked for another half hour before Hank packed away his tools. “You coming over Friday?” he asked Dave as he shrugged into his jacket.
“For dinner?”
“No, to clean my gutters.”
Dave smiled. “I’ll be there.”
Hank sent him a steady look. “Bring Beth.”
Dave stared at him. “No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Beth and I aren’t dating.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“You were thinking it.”
Hank opened the door. “Rosa says I should keep most of the things I think inside my head.”
Dave smiled. “For once, listen to your wife.”
Hank laughed as he left. The door closed behind him, but his suggestion stayed.
Bring Beth.
Dave measured the last piece of trim, then realized he’d already measured it.
Meeting Kayla shouldn’t have mattered as much as it did. He’d known about her almost from the beginning. But knowing someone existed and meeting them were different things.
Kayla had Beth’s warmth and sense of humor. Dave had liked Kayla immediately. That was the problem. He’d liked watching her tease Beth. He’d liked the affection between them and the little jokes he didn’t understand.
For a few minutes, he’d glimpsed a part of Beth’s life that had nothing to do with council meetings or construction schedules.
And he wanted more times like that. A lot more.