Page 10 of Love for a Lifetime

What could Jacob have to show him? It probably had something to do with the classic car Dawson had basically given him for his eleventh birthday. They’d been fixing it up together for months now, and things were starting to come together.

He pulled up at Blackwater Automotive and parked next to Asa and Beau’s trucks. Jacob’s excited chatter floated out of the open bay door, but Dawson needed to have a chat with Beau first.

The offices and waiting area were small but surprisingly cozy for a mechanic shop. Olivia deserved a gold medal for all the work she did at her brother’s garage. Dawson would bet his last paycheck Beau hadn’t asked Olivia to do a single thing around here. She saw a need and took it upon herself to fix it.

He rapped his knuckles on the metal office door before letting himself in. “Hey, boss.”

Beau stood next to a filing cabinet rummaging through folders. He didn’t look up at the intrusion. “What’s up?”

Dawson propped his arm on top of the filing cabinet. “Have you talked to Olivia lately?”

Subtlety was for the weak.

It wasn’t anything new that she was first and foremost in his thoughts, but after seeing her cry, she’d basically bought real estate in his head and settled in for the long haul.

Beau looked up from the files. “I talked to her this morning. Why?”

Olivia was Beau’s sister, and she looked after him like a mother hen. Since their mom died a few years ago, Olivia made it her mission in life to make sure Beau stayed on the straight and narrow.

“Did she sound okay?” Dawson asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

Beau was about as observant as a stump, but he cared about his sister, whether he acknowledged it or not.

“I ran into her yesterday. Well, I pulled her over.”

“Smooth move, Casanova,” Beau said. “Was she really speeding, or were you pestering her?”

Dawson held up a finger. “I’ll have you know that I do not pester her. I don’t know why you’d think that.”

“You do. All the time,” Beau confirmed. “All. The. Time.”

“For your information, she was speeding. In a school zone.”

Beau shut the cabinet and finally gave his attention to the topic. “That doesn’t sound like her.”

“I know! But the worst part is she started crying while we were talking.”

No part of the interaction he had with Olivia yesterday was normal. His usually cool, calm, and collected queen was on edge from the moment he showed up at her window.

Beau tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes. “She cried? That doesn’t sound like her either. I don’t think I’ve seen her cry since…”

Beau didn’t finish the sentence, but Dawson knew. She hadn’t cried since their mom died. At least not publicly.

He’d never forget that awful time. Martha Lawrence had always been a pillar of strength in the Blackwater community. Her sudden death shook the whole county.

“Yeah. But she didn’t tell me why she was upset. Just that she had a bad day.”

“Maybe she really just had a bad day. She’s tough, but she’s not a robot,” Beau said.

“She cried, dude. She never cries.” How could her brother not see the urgency here?

Beau settled into a chair at the desk and stared at the computer screen. The dirty mechanic looked out of place in an office, even if the desk was just as stained as he was. “She’s a big girl, but I’ve heard women have feelings. Tears are normal. And let’s be honest, she has a million friends, but Mom was her rock. She doesn’t have that anymore.”

Martha’s death had hit Dawson’s life like a brick through a window. She’d been like a second mother to him, and Olivia’s relationship with her mom was the stuff of legends. They were cut from the same cloth. As much as he missed Martha, Olivia probably hadn’t gotten over the loss, even after all these years.

Could that really be the reason Olivia was upset? Granted, he’d had plenty of nightmares after Martha died where Olivia was distraught and he couldn’t get to her.

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