Page 64 of Love for a Lifetime

Chicken Tender: No! I’ve got it.

Dawson stopped walking as he read the message. Pressing the button, he called her instead. Something was up.

“Hey, I can take care of the goats today,” Olivia said in greeting.

What was up with her? “I need to see them. And you. It’s been a long day.”

There was scuffling on Olivia’s end of the line. “Um. Okay.”

Dawson lowered his voice to ask, “Are you in pain? Do I need to bring you something?”

“No. I’m fine. Promise,” she said hastily.

Something was up, and he wouldn’t be satisfied with a quick brush-off. At least until he’d seen her with his own two eyes. “I’ll be right there.”

16

OLIVIA

Olivia propped her back against the goat feed shed and stared at her new foster. The terrier mix lay on the blanket she’d used to dry it off after the second bath, snapping and biting at it like the piece of cloth would attack at any second.

“Dawson is going to flip when he sees you.” She threaded her hands into her hair and tugged. Pacing the small yard outside the goat barn, she tried to think of something to say to him when he showed up. She was running out of time to figure it out.

She didn’t plan to keep the dog, but when a friend called and asked if she could foster, she couldn’t say no.

Dawson would understand, right?

Probably not. You don’t get burned–or bitten–twenty-four times and still get excited about meeting another dog.

“This is only temporary,” Olivia told the dog. “But you have got to be nice to him. For the love of all things good, please don’t bite him.”

“Liv!” Dawson called from the other side of the barn.

Olivia tugged the blanket from the snipping dog and got down on her level. “Please. I’m begging you. I’ll give you all the treats you want. Just don’t bite him.”

Dawson’s footsteps rounded the corner…and halted. Olivia looked up to see him frozen, staring at her and the dog.

Busted. She might as well have “Traitor” stamped on her forehead.

“Cheese and crackers, Liv. What did I ever do to you?”

The dog hopped up and lunged at Dawson, but Olivia had expected the move. She grabbed the little beast out of the air and plastered it to her chest.

“What did we talk about, Betsy?” Olivia asked, infusing every ounce of calm she possessed into her words.

“Betsy?” Dawson asked, eyes wider than a saucer.

Olivia shrugged. “I thought it was cute.”

A low scoff escaped Dawson’s throat. “You can give it a cute name all you want, but she’ll still want to tear the skin off my bones.”

Olivia cuddled her new friend. Well, Betsy would be her new friend if she could learn how to get along with her other friend. “She just needs some love. For a little while. I’m fostering.”

Dawson crossed his arms over his chest, but the hardness in his eyes was melting away. “Twenty-four bites, Liv,” he reminded her.

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t say no. She needs a home. Just until the shelter finds someone else.”

Dawson’s jaw relaxed, and his eyes softened. “I know you wouldn’t turn her away. You’re right. She needs help, and you’re the best person for the job.”

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