Page 76 of Love in the Storm

Lyric looked up at him with a genuine smile. Apparently, she’d gotten the memo that Olivia was just overly friendly and not catty.

“Hey, Lyric!” Dawson plopped down in a seat beside Olivia and turned to face them.

“You two are just alike,” Asa said.

Dawson looked Olivia up and down. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

She waved a hand in the air and told Dawson, “I’m getting the scoop.”

“Well, let me in on it.” He extended his hand to Lyric.

Lyric shook it. “It’s nice to see you again.”

She’d barely gotten the last word out before Asa’s phone vibrated in his pocket. No one would call him on a Sunday morning except work.

Sure enough, the telltale name showed on the screen. He looked at Dawson, who seemed to understand what was going on, then turned to Lyric.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“It’s work. I need to check in.” Standing, he snaked a path through the people talking in the aisles and headed for the side hallway. Once he was out of the crowd, he answered the call. “Hey, boss.”

“We’ve got a twelve-car pile-up on the highway. I need all hands on deck.”

“I’m on my way. I’m with Dawson. Want me to tell him?”

“Yes. Bring him with you,” Chief said.

“Got it.” Asa ended the call and wove back into the sanctuary. Olivia chatted with Lyric, but Dawson looked up as soon as Asa was in sight.

Jerking his chin toward the door to let Dawson know they needed to head out, he slid back into the seat beside Lyric. “Sorry about this, but I just got called into work.”

Dawson stood. “You riding with me?”

“Yeah, I need to leave my truck for them.” He pointed toward his family on the row.

“Go,” Lyric said as she pushed at his shoulder. “Don’t worry about us.”

Asa hesitated. Leaving Lyric when she’d been so nervous didn’t sit right with him.

But he’d never backed away from his duty.

Lyric pushed his shoulder again. “Go.”

“Seriously, I’ll take care of your girl,” Olivia said as she stood. “I’ll even sit by her.”

Asa handed his truck keys to Lyric. “Can you get Mom and Jacob home?”

“Of course. Now, please go. They need your help.”

He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before following Dawson out the door and into the parking lot.

“What’s the word?” he asked.

“Twelve-vehicle incident.”

“Yikes. We better push the limit.”

The two slid into Dawson’s truck and pulled out of the parking lot. They were in for a long day and an even longer night of paperwork.

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