Page 98 of Love for a Lifetime

“Look at you being a rule follower. I love it,” Olivia joked.

“I’m serious, Liv. We’ll get a lecture about vehicular safety. It could go on and on.”

“I forgot you married a goody-two-shoes.”

Lyric huffed and added another tray to the stack in Olivia’s lap. “Says the woman dating Barney Fife!”

“Okay, I think that’s enough for my lap. This is getting heavy.”

Lyric grabbed another tray and stacked it on top. “If we’re doing this, we’re going all the way.”

“That’s my girl!” Olivia said.

“One more. Do it for the kids.”

Olivia adjusted the stack on her lap. “Oof. I don’t need circulation in my legs. It’s fine.”

“That’s everything. I can’t believe we stuffed all of it into one car.”

A few churches in the area got together once a month to pack bags for the Fish and Loaves ministry. They delivered bags of food for some of the kids from low-income families to take home over the weekends.

Lyric’s packed car was only a portion of the food they’d distribute this month. Olivia’s stomach twisted every time she thought about what those kids would do if they didn’t get meals sent home from school with them every weekend.

Lyric slid into the driver’s seat and started the car. “You okay?”

Olivia wiggled beneath the stack of canned goods. “Five minutes. I can do this.”

“I’ll make it four,” Lyric said as she merged onto the main road.

Olivia pushed a breath out. The stack was close to crushing her legs, but she’d done enough complaining already. “So, how’s married life?”

Lyric’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree as she kept her attention on the road ahead. “Absolute perfection.”

“I’m so happy for you. Asa is an awesome guy.”

“I can’t believe this is my life. I married Asa, but I also got his whole family. Jacob is the best kid, and Betty is like…”

“The Mom you’ve been missing?” Olivia finished.

Lyric nodded. “But I’m glad my own parents are back in the picture. They’re head-over-heels for Jacob, and it’s just…I didn’t think I’d have all these people in my life.”

Olivia reached over and rubbed her friend’s arm. Lyric had made a ton of mistakes in her life, and she was living, breathing proof that God’s grace knew no bounds.

“Believe it, sister. It’s real.”

Lyric sniffed and placed a hand over Olivia’s. “I couldn’t be happier.”

“How’s it going at work?”

Lyric’s new job as a police dispatcher allowed her to work with her new husband sometimes, which also meant she saw a lot of Dawson.

Everything seemed to find its way around to him these days. Olivia couldn’t go to the grocery store without thinking about Dawson’s favorite foods. She couldn’t look at her chickens without seeing his goats. His Instagram videos always popped up first on her feed.

Not that she minded. She’d been running around like a cat on catnip since the camping trip, but her thoughts were always on Dawson.

“Work is great. I think I’ve got the hang of things now, and tomorrow is my first day on my own.”

“That’s awesome. Do you like what you’re doing?”

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