Page 108 of Love for a Lifetime

“Do you trust me?” he asked.

“Of course I do.”

“Then humor me. Let’s tell secrets.”

Olivia huffed a small breath. The golden flecks in her hazel eyes blended with the brown and green as they turned glassy. “Yeah. I guess that’s what we’re doing anyway.”

Dawson rubbed lazy circles over the back of her hand. If he could convince her that he wasn’t worried, maybe she’d calm down too. “One good secret and one that’s…not so good. I’ll go first.”

She rested the side of her head against the back of the couch and grinned, but the expression was somber. “Okay.”

“First, I don’t know if you know this, but I’ve been thinking about applying for a job.”

That got her attention. She lifted her head and squeezed his hand. “What? What kind of job?”

“Sergeant.”

There. He said it. Now, what would she do with it? He’d been kicking the idea around for months, but actually telling someone was bigger than he’d expected.

“Sergeant? Really? That’s amazing. It’s exciting!”

Her joy lit him up from the inside out. Olivia sure knew how to supercharge his mood. “I’ve been talking to Chief about it. He thinks I’d be a good fit. I’ve been studying for the sergeant’s exam.”

Olivia slid her hand through her hair. Her mouth hung open for a few seconds before she clamped it closed. “I’m so excited for you. That’s huge.”

“For us.” Dawson held up their linked hands. “This is about us. The pay is better. I don’t need much, but if it’s going to be the two of us, I want you to know I’ll always provide for you. That means I intend to make sure you have all the money you need to volunteer and support all of the things you already do and more. I know how much it means to you.”

Olivia’s head tilted slightly, and a rogue wrinkle dipped between her brows. “You’d get a different job so I could…” She waved her hands in the air because she couldn’t think of the words to describe her thoughts.

“So you can give more. I know how much you love it.”

“I do, but I would never do more than we could afford. I mean… what are we even talking about? We’re not married. Our finances aren’t even combined yet.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. It’s not crazy to think about those things. That’s where this is headed for me. You have to know I want the long-haul with you. This is the love of a lifetime, Liv. I know what I want, and it’s this. You. Us.”

Olivia sniffed and pulled her hand from his to wipe her cheek. “Dawson, we need to talk–”

“Wait, please. That was my good secret. Now I have a bad one to tell you.”

She ducked her chin but gave him a small nod.

Putting it all on the line was his shot in the dark at making this whole game worth it. He had to prove to Olivia that they could share anything–the good and the bad. He had to show her that some things were tough, but since neither of them were perfect, they had to be a united front and face them together.

“I bumped into my dad a few months ago,” Dawson said, hating the way his chest tightened at the mention of the man who’d abandoned him.

Not just him. Jared Keller had disappeared without a trace, leaving Dawson, his mom, and Jeremy to fend for themselves. Hadn’t even looked back.

Years of resentment had clawed out a black hole in the deepest, darkest parts of Dawson’s heart, and he did a good job of keeping his feelings about the man under wraps.

“Dawson, why didn’t you tell me? What did he say? How did it go?”

Now, for the tricky part. The part that he didn’t want to confess.

“He asked me to look him up if I was ever in Silver Falls.”

Olivia covered her mouth, cutting off a gasp. “He’s in Silver Falls? That’s not far from here.”

“Yeah. I was picking up a part for the Porsche when I ran into him on the sidewalk outside the shop. He has a family there. Apparently, there are more Kellers running around that Mom doesn’t know about.”

---