Page 26 of Love for a Lifetime

Olivia pointed at her chest. “Me?”

Lyric stopped walking and stared straight ahead. “Yeah. Sure. I’ll tell her. Where is he again?”

Olivia’s legs grew heavy, stopping her in her tracks. Bad news was coming, and she wasn’t ready for her good time to take a dark turn.

“Okay, we’re leaving now. I love you,” Lyric said as she ended the call. “Dawson is at the hospital in Cody.”

No, not Dawson. He was the one who kept everyone’s hopes up. He was the one who spread joy when things looked grim. “What happened?” Olivia asked as she matched pace with Lyric.

“Dog bite.”

“Again?” Olivia asked, a little too high-pitched. Dawson had a long list of dog attacks on his record. Well, one was a horse, and one was a squirrel.

Lyric huffed. “Again. What is that? Twenty-five?”

“Twenty-four by my count. I only remember because the last one was funny, not scary.”

Lyric chuckled as they walked toward the check-out counter. “Was that one the pug that got his ankle?”

“I have never in my life heard of a pug attack, but Dawson must have a target on his back for dogs.”

Betty started taking things out of Olivia’s hands. “You two go on. I’ll get this stuff.”

“Let me give you some money,” Lyric said as she reached for her purse.

Betty waved a hand in the air. “Oh no. It’s one of my contributions to the wedding.”

Lyric threw her arms around Betty’s neck. “You’re the best.”

“I love you, sweetie,” Betty whispered. “And I love you too, Olivia.”

“Love you more,” Olivia said as she took a step back toward the door. “Thanks for hanging out with us today.”

Hopefully, Dawson’s condition wasn’t critical, but her body hummed with anticipation. She wanted to see for herself that he was okay.

Lyric set a quick pace for the door. “Let’s go see your man.”

Olivia opened her mouth to protest Lyric’s choice of words, but her friend was already marching toward the car.

The sterile air hit Olivia first as she stepped into the hospital, and it made her stomach roll every time. It wasn’t the smell that was terrible. It was the awful times she associated with it. You take enough blows in a doctor’s office, and even the little things remind you of the times when the world was falling apart.

Lyric pointed to the right. “Asa said take these elevators. Third floor.”

Olivia walked straight to the far wall of the small elevator and propped her backside against the rails. Hopefully, Dawson was fine. She tried to convince herself the overabundance of care she had for him was backed by selfishness. Who would feed the goats?

She would. As much as she tried to avoid the goat pens, she’d do all of the chores until he was better.

Who was she kidding? She cared about him, and it had nothing to do with the goats. Worry and fear overcame her every time Dawson was injured. It didn’t help that he often found himself prone on a stretcher. It was a part of the job.

One she did not like one single bit, even if she loved him for getting back up after every hit and going back to work.

Olivia’s knees buckled, and she slid down the wall a few inches. She loved him. She’d loved him for years. Aside from losing him to an on-the-job injury, her worst fear was Dawson finding out she was ridiculously and hopelessly in love with him.

“Liv, are you okay?” Lyric asked.

Olivia opened her eyes and nodded. “Yep. Just ready to throttle him if we drove all the way over here for a scratch.”

Lyric stood beside her. “That’ll be fun to watch. Glad I came.”

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