Page 66 of Love for a Lifetime

“Any news I’ve missed? I feel like I’ve been hidden under a rock for three days.”

Olivia looked over her shoulder toward the goat barn. Betsy wasn’t following her, but she’d be fine as long as she played well with Hank. “I’m fostering a dog. Her name is Betsy.”

“Aww, that’s adorable. I can’t wait to see her. If I’m feeling better, can I come over tomorrow?”

Bending to turn on the hose, Olivia pressed the phone between her shoulder and ear. “Of course.”

“How is Dawson? I haven’t seen him since before the wedding.”

How was Dawson? Just being ridiculously hot and directing all of his flirtatious charm at Olivia, making him impossible to resist.

No biggie.

“He’s fine, I guess. Just hanging out with his four-legged friends.”

“Is he there? Shoot, Liv. You get to see him all the time. I’m so jealous.”

There was the guilt. Right on schedule. “He’s with the goats. I’m feeding the chickens. We’re not actually here together.”

“You know what I mean. You see him a lot more than I do.”

“We just run into each other at the farm a lot.” And at Beau’s garage. And at the station. And at church.

No sense in mentioning those things to Anna.

“Yeah. He did call yesterday to check on me. That was sweet.”

Olivia got a call or text from Dawson at least once a day. Sometimes, there were many in a twenty-four hour period. As far as she knew, he didn’t call Anna that much, and they didn’t make plans to hang out together the way he and Olivia did.

The comparisons were enough to both worry and excite her. Did Anna notice that Dawson called Olivia more? Did it bother her more than she was letting on?

Safely steering the conversation to Anna’s job at her dad’s law firm, Olivia fed the chickens, refilled their water stations, and gathered eggs.

Anna’s words started to get lower and lower until she huffed a deep breath. “Okay, I can’t talk anymore. I need a nap.”

“Get some rest. I’ll swing by Sticky Sweets later and grab you some chicken salad.”

Anna hummed. “You’re the best. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Olivia slipped the eggs into containers and looked around. She hadn’t heard a peep out of Betsy in a while. The pup was cute as a button now that she was clean, but they’d have to have a come to Jesus meeting if Betsy sank her teeth into Dawson.

The sun was starting to set as she trekked back to the goat barn. Only a few of the goats milled around outside, which meant Dawson was probably milking inside.

She raised her hand to rap her knuckles against the wooden door frame when she stopped. Dawson’s baritone voice reached her just in time, and she leaned to peek inside the barn.

Dawson was crouched in front of Betsy with a hand extended toward the dog. Betsy was crouched with her head low to the ground. Her teeth were bared at him with a soft, continuous growl.

“Come on, Betsy. We have to get along.”

Betsy’s growl died, but she didn’t change her stance. She stayed poised for battle as Olivia held her breath.

“Come on,” Dawson whispered. “I promise I’m a good guy. Olivia likes me. I think.”

Covering her mouth, Olivia waited to see how the meeting would go. She did like Dawson. A lot. Way more than she should.

Dawson left his hand hovering in the air. “Come on, girl. I promise I’ll be good to you too. Just give me a chance.”

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