Page 109 of Love for a Lifetime

“Would she care? I mean, does she still have feelings for him?”

“Not a chance. He was dead to her as soon as he walked out, but I bet it would still hurt. He didn’t want the family he had, but I guess the second time was the charm.”

She reached out and grabbed his hand. “Dawson, you have to know it’s not your fault. Or your mom’s. If he left you, he missed out. You’re a great man, and… I can’t understand why he left you, but I’m proud of the man you’ve become.”

Dawson twisted his fingers around hers, keeping their bond moving and fluid as the secrets poured out. “We held things together without him. Mom is a rock star, and she made sure we had everything we needed. I don’t regret any of that. That’s not the bad part.”

He looked up at her and prepared for the disappointment he knew was coming. “He wanted to get to know me. He asked for a chance.”

Olivia didn’t say anything. She just kept her hold on his hand and his heart.

“I told him there wasn’t anything in Silver Falls I cared about. Which is a total lie because some of my friends live there, but I wanted him to hurt. I wanted to stick just one knife underneath his armor and twist.”

“That’s kind of understandable, considering what he put you through,” Olivia whispered.

“Yeah, but we both know it wasn’t the right thing to do. I know I could have said worse things, but he actually looked hurt. Why do I even care if he’s upset? I shouldn’t.”

“It’s because you’re a good person.”

Dawson groaned. “Are you throwing my own words back at me? What is this about us caring too much about what other people think?”

“Life would be easier if we didn’t care,” she said.

Dawson leaned in and touched his forehead to hers, breathing her in like new rain on a summer’s day. “Whatever you have to say, I care. It matters to me, and you don’t have to be nervous.”

“Okay,” she whispered.

He raised his head but brushed a thumb over her cheek. She was brave. He’d known that for a long time. Would she trust him to stand by her?

“Start with the good,” he reminded her.

She looked around as if she were searching the room for the answer, tapping her fingertip against her chin. “A good secret.”

“Good luck finding something I don’t already know about you.”

A soft chuckle reminded him that no matter what good she told him now, something bad that he truly didn’t know was waiting to throw their carefully-held peace into chaos.

Olivia shifted in her seat. “Okay. Do you remember when we were little and used to ride bikes at North Park?”

“Yeah, that was only half of our childhood. Mom took us there every Friday after school.”

“You and Beau hated that Jeremy and I had to tag along.”

Dawson held up a finger. “Not true. I liked it when you were around. Jeremy, on the other hand–”

“Jeremy got you into so much trouble,” she finished.

“I got blamed for all kinds of things I didn’t even do!”

Olivia rolled her eyes, but a smile played on her lips. “He was just trying to get his big brother’s attention.”

“He succeeded. I couldn’t relax around him my entire childhood.”

“But you love him.”

“Well, yeah. He’s a twerp, but he’s family.”

“Exactly. Well, back to my secret. I think I was about five when this started. I just remember that I still had training wheels.”

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