Page 56 of Love for a Lifetime

“Hey, man. How’s life?”

“Any better and I’d be you,” Dawson said as he stood to shake hands. “How are your folks?”

“Good as gold.” Asher jerked his head toward Lauren and leaned in to whisper, “You got any good news on the Wilsons?”

Lauren’s abduction had rattled the whole county. She was the hometown sweetheart–the last person anyone expected to be targeted by criminals. Unfortunately, her cousin owed the brothers money, and they’d seen her as their bartering tool.

“Trial coming up. I imagine they’ll be locked up for a while.”

Asher shook his head. “No sign of Rome?”

“Not yet, but I’m hoping Zach will talk.” Zach and Bobby Wilson had been tight-lipped about their brother’s whereabouts since the incident, but Asa and Dawson had made their own opinions about what had gone on that night.

Bobby would have shot Lauren had Zach not interfered. That gave plenty of room for questions. The brothers were partners in crime, but it seemed they weren’t on the same page when it came to murder.

“I’ll sleep better at night knowing they’re off the streets,” Asher said.

Olivia marched over to the table with a plate in one hand and a punch cup in the other. Her eyes were wide, and she avoided eye contact until she plopped down in a seat next to Dawson.

Mark was right behind her and took the seat next to Asher. The conversation about the Wilsons would have to wait for another time.

Olivia spread her napkin in her lap. The smile on her face was completely fake. Dawson had seen it plenty of times before.

“Olivia! This wedding is gorgeous,” Haley gushed. “Everly has been admiring your planning work all afternoon. You know she’s one of the wedding planners at Wolf Creek Ranch.”

“I heard about that.” Now Olivia was truly smiling.

The women talked about the beautiful decorations and Lyric’s dress, while the men tried to make baby Caleb laugh with ridiculous faces.

Well, that’s what Asher and Dawson were doing. Mark was doing everything he could to sneak into the ladies’ conversation. Dawson was focused on Caleb, but he kept one ear open for everything else happening around him. The guy was plain rude, and Olivia kept giving Lauren and Haley apologetic looks.

The guy hadn’t even said anything about how beautiful Olivia was. He could have mentioned something while in line getting food, but since they’d been at the table, he hadn’t said a word about anyone but himself.

Dawson glanced over at Olivia just as Mark reached his hand toward her under the table. Olivia kept her attention on Lauren, but her jaw tightened. Her arm slid toward him, clearly moving the guy’s hand back into his own lap.

Dawson’s neck heated as his hand fisted on the table. The guy definitely had a death wish. He had no idea how close he was to having that hand pinned behind his back.

Now, Dawson wasn’t paying enough attention to baby Caleb, who started to cry. Asher stood and picked up a light-green backpack. “Duty calls.”

Soon, everyone was milling around and dancing. Dawson took a few turns around the floor with some ladies, while keeping one eye on Olivia and Mark. The guy was definitely too touchy-feely.

After a few dances, Olivia stepped away from Mark and pointed toward the exit. Mark made a move to follow her, but she held up a hand, shooing him back with a plastered-on smile.

Dude, she’s trying to get away from you. Back off.

Dawson was about to saddle up to the peacock to give a stern but gentle warning when Beau intercepted Mark first. He’d probably noticed Olivia trying to shed her date for a while, and Beau’s warning wouldn’t be easily dismissed. If Dawson hadn’t known him since they were kids, he’d assume Beau was more bark than bite.

Perfect. Mark was getting spoon-fed the hint, Trey was brooding at a table in the corner while his date cha-cha’d a little too hard on the dance floor, and Dawson was overdue for some punch.

14

OLIVIA

Sweat beaded on the back of Olivia’s neck as she took her sweet, precious time washing her hands. Of all the ways she’d imagined the night going, hiding in the bathroom wasn’t one of them.

The nerve of that guy. She’d known him for two seconds–barely spoken to him before–and he was trying to lock lips and touch her sacred place before dessert.

No, thank you, Mr. Peacock.

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