Page 78 of Love for a Lifetime

She jolted, looking up at him with her mouth gaping open. What did he say?

Oh, she was still holding onto him as if he could save her from herself.

Disentangling her arm from around him, she cleared her throat and stepped back. “Thanks for the lift.” She looked back at the trench. She couldn’t have crossed over it the way he had. Even a running jump might have sent her to the bottom.

“Anytime,” Dawson said as he bent to pick up their bags. When he hefted her backpack over his shoulder, she didn’t protest. Her knees were still quaking from the unexpected flight, and they didn’t have far left to walk.

Dawson grabbed her hand and led her up the incline to the clearing where their friends waited, and the contact seared her palm. She’d touched Dawson before. It was no big deal.

Except, the adrenaline coursing through her body hadn’t gotten the memo to stand down. Friends held hands sometimes, right?

When they reached the top of the hill, Dawson released her hand and stepped aside, letting her walk into the clearing first. A handful of people she knew were huddled around the fire pit.

“Miss Olivia!” Levi shouted. He jumped from the stump where he’d been sitting and darted toward her.

“Hold up,” Dawson said, extending a hand to stop Levi’s charge. “Betsy here gets scared easily.”

Levi’s mouth opened as he noticed the dog in Olivia’s arms. “Oh! You got a dog?”

“I’m fostering her.”

“What’s that?” Levi asked as he tiptoed toward her.

“I’m taking care of her until someone wants to make her part of their family.”

Levi held out a hand, letting Betsy sniff it. “Why don’t you keep her?”

Olivia glanced at Dawson. She’d agreed to only foster when she was afraid her friend wouldn’t like the new pet. Now that Dawson and Betsy were friends, there wasn’t a reason to cut her time with Betsy short. “I might.”

Some of the others made their way over, giving hugs to Olivia and slaps on the back to Dawson. Maddie Harding stood beside Levi and gushed over Betsy.

“She’s adorable,” Maddie said. “If she wasn’t so small, I’d say we could take her.”

Levi looked up at Maddie. “What does that matter?”

“We have Dixie, and she’s a big border collie. She can take care of herself most of the time. But this girl,” Maddie said, tentatively brushing a hand over Betsy’s side. “She’d probably have to stay inside. A predator might gobble her up.”

“Yeah. We wouldn’t want that,” Levi said with a scrunch of his nose.

Lauren worked her way into the circle of Betsy’s adoring fans. “I’m so glad you came. Now we have four ladies for our cabin.”

“Four? There are three,” Levi said. “You, Maddie, and Olivia.”

“And Betsy,” Lauren pointed out.

Levi’s shoulders sank. “Aww. I was hoping Betsy could sleep with me.”

The dog was already licking Levi’s hand. “We’ll see how she does before bedtime. She might want to sleep with you.”

A hand rested on her shoulder, and Dawson leaned in to whisper, “I’ll put your bags in your cabin.”

“Thanks.” It didn’t seem like she’d be able to get away from Betsy’s fans anytime soon.

Levi showed Olivia around, pointing out everything they’d been doing at the campsite that day. A grill was set up near the fire pit, logs were stacked by the cabins, and brush had been cleared from the area and put into piles around the tree line.

Lucas Harding was busy grilling hamburger patties, and his wife, Maddie, set out buns and condiments on a picnic table.

Sometime around twilight, everyone sat down to eat. Betsy roamed on a leash near the stump where Olivia sat. Everyone huddled around the fire for warmth and light. The conversation died for a bit as everyone scarfed down the food after a long workday, but Levi told everyone exactly how he and Lucas had built the picnic table.

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