Page 73 of Love for a Lifetime

“No. It’s not as bad as yesterday. This is the tail end of it.” She sat on the bed and fell back, letting the tension go as she closed her eyes.

“Just one more week, and this might be over,” Anna whispered.

Olivia laughed. “It’s never over. The surgery helps, but it’ll come right back. The only way to get rid of it is to get rid of half of my reproductive system.”

Anna froze, knowing the heartache that came with that thought. Sure, Olivia had said the words like they didn’t land like a round-house kick to the face, but it tore her up to consider the hysterectomy. She was young. She should be having babies, not heading into her golden years.

She squeezed Betsy, but Anna scooted across the bed and tucked herself against Olivia’s side. With an arm around both Olivia and Betsy, Anna whispered, “I’m always here for you. I wish I could make this go away without taking something so precious from you.”

Olivia inhaled a deep breath and squeezed her eyes closed. “I know,” she whispered. “But this is just the way it is for me. I’m not doing a very good job accepting it.”

“It’s not a lost cause. Don’t give up hope.”

Olivia rested her cheek against Anna’s head. “I know. Don’t stop praying,” she begged.

“Every day, my friend,” Anna said.

Olivia lifted Betsy from her chest. “I need to get home. Thanks for all the clothes.”

“You’re welcome to them anytime. My closet is your closet,” Anna said, sitting up and stretching her arms.

They said their goodbyes, and Betsy behaved, even giving Anna a few licks on her jaw. The ride home had Olivia’s nerves flaring up again. What did Dawson want to talk about? She thought she knew, but what was he really going to say? Was it really a love confession like she thought?

When she got home, she went straight to the bedroom and changed into the most comfortable and unflattering sleep pants and T-shirt she owned before taking her makeup off and tying her hair into a ponytail.

If Dawson had some big revelation of feelings to share, he needed to know exactly what he was getting into–flaws and all.

She started a load of laundry and sat on the couch with a book. She wasn’t a big reader, but she liked to dip into a wholesome romance every once in a while.

The knock on the door startled her, and Betsy jumped out of her lap. It hadn’t taken long for Olivia to get engrossed in the book. She hadn’t even heard Dawson’s truck.

“Coming!” She opened the door to find Dawson propping one arm against the frame, wearing a playful grin.

Oh no. That handsome grin that lifted one side of his mouth more than the other was her kryptonite. There wasn’t a chance in northern Wyoming she’d be able to withstand anything he said.

“Let’s go,” he said with a quirk of his brow.

Okay, there were limits to his charm. Olivia rested her hands on her pajama-clad hips and lifted her chin. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Dawson just chuckled. She had to admit, he made the spontaneous life look appealing.

“Why don’t we put the serious talk on hold and do something together instead?”

She was all in favor of putting the “Define-the-relationship” talk on hold, but at what cost? They’d have to address the elephant in the room at some point.

But running off into the night with Dawson was too tempting to resist. They could just be themselves for a little longer.

Olivia propped her shoulder against the other side of the door frame. “Where?”

“It’s a secret,” Dawson whispered.

Great. Any adventure she agreed to this afternoon would require full trust in him.

“Is this a secret that will require any energy? Because I’m not planning on doing anything for the rest of the day.”

Dawson let his head fall back and sighed. “I’ll do all the heavy lifting. I’ll even carry you if you don’t want to walk.”

“So I will have to burn more calories today. This doesn’t sound like fun.”

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