Page 6 of Love for a Lifetime

He walked back toward his cruiser, and all of her stability left with him. Her moment of bravery was crushing like a paper castle. The urge to cry built again.

Her phone dinged with a text, and she reached for it before getting back on the road.

Karen: Hey, I know this is short notice, but can you work in the morning? Someone called in sick.

Olivia typed out a quick yes and rested her phone in the cupholder. Work was just what she needed to keep her thoughts on the straight and narrow. It also helped to remind her that some people had bigger problems than hers. Working at a senior care facility kept her grateful her disease only rendered her unable to function a couple of times a month.

Her life would go on, at least for now, and she couldn’t let the fear keep her from living. The doctor had high hopes for her treatment and recovery, and she had to hold onto that hope. The best thing she could do would be to throw herself into work.

2

DAWSON

Dawson pulled up at the address given by dispatch and shifted the cruiser into park. The basic, two-story house was nestled in the woods just inside the Blackwater town limits.

The call was starting to make sense now. Apparently, a six-year-old boy had climbed out of his upstairs bedroom window, and his mom couldn’t get to him. The roof had a steep slant with dormer windows on both sides.

There wasn’t a kid in sight, but a woman with dark hair was hanging her top half out of one of the windows.

Dawson radioed to dispatch, “401 on the scene,” and stepped out of the vehicle.

As soon as the woman spotted him, she shouted, “Over here!”

Another cruiser pulled into the drive just as Officer Freeman associated herself with the call.

Dawson walked around the side of the house where the woman was still frantically shouting, “He’s over there!”

Following where she pointed, Dawson spotted the little boy in a nearby tree.

A nearby tree, not the tree nearest the house. The kid had some pretty impressive skills if he’d maneuvered his way from the house to his current location.

Dawson cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled to the woman in the window, “I’m Officer Keller. Do you have a ladder?”

The woman pushed hair from her face and took a series of quick breaths. “I think so.”

“Don’t panic. We’ll help him,” Dawson assured her.

Jennifer appeared at Dawson’s side, standing half a foot shorter. Officer Freeman had a sweet look about her, but it didn’t take long before people saw through her disguise. She was as determined as they came, and no one ever accused her of pulling punches. He had no complaints about handling calls with her. “Where is he?”

Dawson pointed to the tree. “Hanging around.”

Jennifer spotted the boy in the tree who was starting to look scared. “We’ll be right there. Don’t move. We’re going to help you.”

The woman hanging out of the window seemed to calm slightly when she saw Jennifer. “I–I think my husband might have a ladder in the shed, but I’m not sure.”

“Can I have your permission to check?” Dawson asked.

The woman nodded wildly.

“I need a verbal confirmation, ma’am.”

“Yes, please,” she said before turning her attention back to her son. “Braxton, stay where you are. They’re coming, sweetie!”

Dawson jogged toward the shed, scanning the backyard that housed a climbing dome, a fire pit surrounded by chairs, and a tire swing.

No sign of a pet–thankfully.

The rotting wood of the shed door creaked as he opened it. He pulled his flashlight out of his belt and scanned the dark room.

---