Page 62 of Love for a Lifetime

He took a step toward her, but she kept her place. A fire burned in her middle as he lifted a hand and brushed a stray curl behind her ear.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “I should have been your date.”

Her small gasp was the only sound in the night. His words wound around her, tightening until she couldn’t breathe. What could she say? How could she even respond to that?

One response fought for attention. She would have loved nothing more than to have been by his side tonight.

But another reply dampened the fire. He was meant to be her friend’s date. Anna was already upset about missing her chance with Dawson. How could Olivia give in to the sweet hope Dawson offered her with a clear conscience?

She couldn’t.

Dawson leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. The connection was swift, but it seared her skin like a brand.

As if sensing the turmoil boiling inside her, he pulled back. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

The only thing she could do was nod. Words were so far away, she couldn’t even reach for them in the far recesses of her mind.

Olivia walked inside and closed the door as if she could keep out the ghost that was chasing her.

Her feelings weren’t ghosts. They were tangible. They were dangerous. They were irritatingly persistent and cruel.

She rested her back against the door and sucked in breath after breath, fighting off the panic that had followed her inside.

Her breaths started to hitch, and she closed her eyes, pushing the moisture out. “God, why? Why am I so confused?” She covered her face and tucked her chin to her chest. “I want to be happy where I am. Don’t tempt me with things I can’t have!”

But Dawson would always be there–in her life and begging her to give in to the happiness he offered.

So would Anna. Her friend wasn’t going anywhere, and neither were those feelings that were just as important as any Olivia had grown.

The phone in Olivia’s purse dinged, and she searched for it. Her friend’s name lit up the screen with a reply to her earlier message.

No, she couldn’t have Dawson, no matter how much she wanted him.

15

DAWSON

Dawson eyed Bobby Wilson from across the small courtroom. Blackwater didn’t have a formal courthouse like in TV shows. Judge Gentry’s chambers were set up as needed in the town municipal building. Her stand was a fold-out table with a rolling chair beside her for the witness. The jury sat in metal chairs against one wall, and rows of pop-up chairs made up the rest of the seating.

Half of the people in the room waited for their own hearing, while the other half were ready to see justice served to the Wilsons.

Lauren sat beside Jade with her hands clasped in her lap and hadn’t looked up since she arrived an hour ago.

And Bobby Wilson? He was staring a hole through the innocent woman he’d almost killed in cold blood. His greasy dark hair stuck to his forehead, and his fat nose scrunched every few seconds, twitching with his irritation.

Dawson knew evil existed. He saw the devil’s work every day, but even after eleven years on the Blackwater Police force, he still couldn’t understand it. The things people did were so twisted and dark that he couldn’t piece the messed-up puzzle together.

Lauren was innocent in all this. She’d been leaving work at the library when Bobby and Zach Wilson took her, holding her against her will and beating her when she hadn’t given them the information they wanted.

Dawson swallowed the acid rising up his throat. He’d been involved in his share of fights, in high school and on the clock, but he could say with all honesty that every move he made was in defense of himself or someone else.

On days like today, he wanted to change that. The Wilsons deserved more punishment than Dawson’s well-aimed punches could inflict.

Asa elbowed Dawson in the side and whispered, “Get it together. You look like you want to murder someone.”

Dawson turned his attention to front of the room and forced a deep breath. The judge better knock this one out of the park.

Judge Gentry entered, and everyone stood. As soon as she took her seat, everyone in the room did the same. She went through the case list, detailing the timeline she expected while asking any representation if they had any ideas about how long their case should take.

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