Page 17 of Love for a Lifetime

Anna shifted her weight from side to side and pushed her hair behind her ear. “Um, we were talking about Lincoln North. The guy who works at Wolf Creek Ranch.”

Dawson bit the inside of his cheek and made his way over to the milking machine. Lincoln hadn’t caused any trouble since coming to town, but Dawson got a good look at his rap sheet when he pulled him over to let him know about a busted taillight last month. Lincoln North had a colorful history that was longer than the Snake River.

“What’s wrong with it?” Dawson asked, bending to peer over the side where Olivia worked. Her dark hair was pulled back, leaving the lightly tanned skin on her neck on full display.

Don’t look at the pretty woman. Focus on the mechanics.

“Just a leak, but I think I fixed it.”

“We were just trying to figure out who Olivia could take to Asa and Lyric’s wedding,” Anna said.

Dawson grinned, staring at Olivia, who still hadn’t looked up from the machine. “Oh, really.” Maybe asking her to be his date would be easier than he thought.

“Yeah. Her ex will probably be there, and she needs a hot date.”

Dawson stood and turned to Anna. “Troy?”

Genella clucked in Dawson’s arms. The hen was right there with him, ready to defend Olivia’s honor.

“Trey,” Olivia and Anna said at the same time.

“That loser is gonna be there?”

Olivia really picked a winner with her last boyfriend. What guy in their right mind would cheat on Olivia? Or break up with her, for that matter? One who didn’t have a clue who Olivia Lawrence really was. She was the total package–smart, funny, confident, and drop-dead gorgeous.

There were some things in this world Dawson would never understand.

“Unfortunately,” Anna said. “So, Olivia needs a date. Not just any date. A good one.”

Dawson squatted back down beside Olivia. “I’ll be your date.”

Olivia stood and wiped her greasy hands down her jeans and kept her attention on the dirt floor. “Thanks, but I really don’t need a date.”

Dawson stood, trying to stay on the same page as Olivia while she kept jumping just out of his grasp. Genella was about to get motion sickness if they kept doing the up-down thing. “Really. I don’t have a date either. We could help each other out.”

Smooth move. No part of the speech he’d planned mentioned how “convenient” it would be. And the chicken was unexpected too. Olivia should say yes because she wanted to be with him, not because it would make her look good in front of her cheating ex.

Olivia looked up with her lips pressed together. She turned to Anna, and the crease between her brows softened. “Actually, Anna needs a date more than I do.”

Dawson swallowed a groan. He didn’t want to take Anna to the wedding. He wanted Olivia beside him, but he couldn’t say that with Anna standing two feet away.

Anna let out a nervous chuckle, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from Olivia. She hadn’t looked up at him yet.

“I do need a date,” Anna said.

Dawson focused on Olivia. That was one way for her to say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Why was she pushing him off on Anna?

So much for moving out of the friend zone. He’d come up against half a dozen rejections from Olivia in his life, and they never got easier.

Dawson reluctantly turned to Anna. “You want to go together?”

Anna clasped her hands to her chest. “I’d love to!”

Cold dread washed down his neck and back. Being on a date with anyone besides Olivia felt wrong. It was the reason he’d stopped dating over a year ago. His heart was loyal to one woman, even if she didn’t know it.

Olivia clapped her hands. “Good. That’s settled.”

No, nothing felt settled, including Dawson’s stomach.

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