Page 68 of Love for a Lifetime

Betsy stood from the dog bed by the wall. Of course, the newest crew member already had her own place at the garage.

Dawson crouched and held out a hand to Betsy. “Come on, girl.”

She trotted over and pressed her head to Dawson’s hand. She’d warmed up to him over the last few days, and he liked to think they were already thick as thieves.

“Miracles happen every day,” Asa said.

Dawson could make friends with a fence post. He could handle a dog the size of his left shin. “Betsy should hold a press conference and let her furry friends know how awesome I am,” Dawson joked. “Where’s Beau?”

Asa looked up at Lyric before turning his attention back to his food. Olivia hesitated before answering. “Interviewing someone in his office.”

“Good,” Dawson said as he pulled up a chair at the table. “He needs some better help around here. Business is booming.”

“They said you know him,” Jacob piped up. “It’s Gage Howard.”

Dawson stopped with his hand hanging in the air above the corn bread. “Gage? Are you kidding me?”

“Wish we were,” Asa said without looking up.

Gage Howard. Everyone in town knew the Howards, and there wasn’t a good one of them in the bunch. Dawson himself had arrested eighty percent of them at some point in time.

Gage? He wasn’t the worst one. In fact, he was the lesser of many evils, but that didn’t mean he was Dawson’s favorite person.

Dawson picked up a piece of cornbread. “Does Beau actually think he’d be a good hire?”

Asa shrugged. “He knows his way around a machine. He’s been working at his uncle’s shop for a decade or more.”

“Why does he want to work here then? Sounds like he’s getting a piece of the family pie.”

“He said business is slow over there,” Asa answered before stuffing his face with a bite of meatloaf.

Dawson scoffed. “That’s what happens when you overcharge and don’t have a clue what you’re doing under the hood of a vehicle.”

“Beau thinks Gage knows what he’s doing,” Olivia added.

Dawson looked around the room. “Whose side are you on?”

Lyric spoke up. “She’s right. People can change.”

He didn’t have a retort for that. Lyric was living proof that people were capable of change in a good way, but Gage Howard was a different story.

“Weren’t you hoping just last week that Zach would turn over a new leaf?” Asa asked.

Dawson let his fork fall to the table. Nothing like getting taught a lesson over lunch.

Beau walked into the break room and picked up a plate. Everyone watched as he loaded up some meatloaf and green beans. He didn’t notice that all the attention was on him until he looked up.

“Um, everything okay?” Beau asked warily.

“What happened?” Jacob asked.

Beau narrowed his eyes. “When?”

“In the interview, genius,” Olivia quipped. “Are you hiring Gage?”

Beau shrugged and loaded his fork with meatloaf. “Probably.”

“What did he say about his criminal history?” Dawson asked.

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