34. Dawson

Dawson strolled around the sanctuary nervously fisting and flexing his hands. The Wednesday night church service had just ended, but most of the attendees were still in their seats.

Just waiting on the guest of honor.

His plan could go one of two ways.

Olivia would either be thrilled and thankful or disappointed and embarrassed.

The latter scenario made Dawson want to hurl. Hopefully, she'd see his good intentions.

You know what they say about good intentions.

Asa walked into the sanctuary followed by Lyric and his son, Jacob. Lyric gave Dawson a thumbs-up and mouthed, "She's coming."

Asa flipped to a blank page in the notebook Dawson had asked him to bring and clicked his pen. "Ready to get this party rollin'?"

"Did you bring the directory?" Dawson asked.

Asa held up the packet of papers stapled together on the left side. "Got it. Not sure how updated it is."

"Let's not mention that to Olivia or she'll put it on her to-do list."

"If her to-do list is as long as you say, she can't add a single thing to it. There might be a riot at the end of the evening."

"Nah. Many hands make light work, right?" At least that was the philosophy Dawson was banking this entire meeting on tonight.

The double doors at the church entrance opened, and two kids ran inside giggling, followed by a laughing and heaving Olivia. Her dark hair was down and flowing around her heart-shaped face.

But those eyes. Those beautiful eyes captured him, body and soul. They drew him to her, over and over, like a moth to a flame.

He'd known her for the better part of his life and loved her for almost as long. How many more years would he get to love her?

It would never be enough, but he'd settle for whatever the Lord allowed. He would cherish every moment and hold onto every second of happiness, storing them up like a kid collecting seashells on the beach.

When the kids ran into the waiting arms of their parents, Olivia spotted him at the front. Her head tilted slightly in confusion, but she gave him a small wave and took a seat beside Lauren.

In that moment, every jittery nerve in Dawson's body calmed, responding to her presence like water rolling over hot coals–she cooled the fire inside him. He took his place behind the small podium from one of the classrooms while Asa stepped behind the pulpit.

Dawson clapped his hands and said, "Thanks for coming tonight. I know you're all ready to start decorating the church for fall, and we'll do that after this quick meeting."

No one in the congregation batted an eye except Olivia, who was now looking around and whispering to Lauren.

"You all know that Olivia Lawrence does more work for this church and our community than one person should do alone. In case you haven't heard the news this week, Olivia needs to have surgery soon. It's supposed to be a minor surgery, but she will need to take some time to rest and recover for a few days after."

Wow. Avoiding eye contact with Olivia in a room full of people was tougher than Dawson had expected.

"I think we all want Olivia to take all the time she needs to get well, but she's a little stubborn and likes to help out a lot. I'm hoping that between us, we can lift some of those responsibilities off her plate so she doesn't try to do something crazy, like work at the soup kitchen the day after her surgery."

A chorus of "Amen" and "Of course" spread throughout the crowd.

Dawson made the long-awaited eye contact with Olivia and raised his hand to beckon her. "Liv, can you come up here, please?"

Olivia stood and stepped out into the aisle. She kept her chin tucked a little, but her eyes darted around the room, greeting friends and neighbors as she walked to the front.

When she was by Dawson's side, he reached for her hand and squeezed it before bending to whisper in her ear. "Are you mad?"

"The jury's still out. What are you doing?" she whispered back.

"Helping. I hope." It was the plain, honest truth. Olivia needed help if she was going to do all of the wonderful things she wanted done in their church and community, and what better place to ask for help than from the church.

Dawson lifted his chin to the expectant faces. A humming of anticipation had everyone slightly squirming in their seats.

"Love is an action, and Olivia Lawrence knows what she's doing. We could all learn a lot from her. This is our chance to step out of our comfort zones and give some of our time and efforts where they're needed."

"Amen!" Anita Harding shouted. Her hearty acceptance was followed by a dozen more agreements.

Dawson guided Olivia to stand by the pulpit where Asa waited with his pen and paper.

"Olivia is the only one who knows about all the things she does, so I'd like for her to tell us where she needs help. As she mentions tasks and dates, feel free to raise your hand and volunteer wherever you can. We'll also be checking your contact information against the latest directory so I can keep in touch with everyone about details. No need to call Olivia while she's recovering."

A low chatter spread throughout the room as Dawson pulled a microphone off its stand and handed it to Olivia. She stared up at him with a wide-eyed look of wonder that he couldn't quite read.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I think so. This is…a surprise."

"Hopefully a good one."

She blinked rapidly as she looked out at the sea of people waiting to help her and others in Blackwater. "A really good one."

He covered the microphone with his hand and whispered, "You don't have to stop doing what you love, but it's okay to ask for help. Now, all you have to do is delegate."

She nodded, stepped up beside Asa, and lifted the microphone. "Thank you all for being willing to help. To be honest, I was a little nervous about how I was going to do all the things I had committed to without letting anyone down. Sometimes, my brain forgets what's already on my to-do list."

There were a few chuckles as Olivia wiped her eyes. "I guess we can start with the monthly tasks."

Dawson watched and prayed as Olivia explained the causes and hands shot into the air. Most people were excited about some of the things they'd volunteered to do, and Olivia spoke quicker as her own excitement built.

By the time Olivia stepped down from the pulpit, joy radiated from her smile. A bunch of people flocked to her side to chat about things they'd been assigned and offer prayers for her surgery. She glowed when she talked about her passion for service.

When the crowd thinned and groups moved off to gather decorations from the attic or storage shed, Olivia turned to him and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Feeling better about things now?" Dawson asked as he reached for her.

"I can't believe you did this. It's amazing!" she exclaimed as she barreled into his arms.

"I can't believe all the things you have your hand in. In case you haven't figured it out yet, you've been doing the work of an entire community."

Olivia pushed her hair behind her ear and grinned. "You're kinda right. I didn't realize how much it is until we went through the list tonight."

Dawson wrapped his arm around her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "It's okay to rely on others sometimes and trust that the Lord will provide."

"That's certainly the truth tonight."

Jerry Lawrence walked in carrying a tote that read "Harvest" on the front in big black marker. He rested the tote on the front pew and walked up beside Dawson and Olivia.

"You two seem to have everything figured out," he said with a wink at his daughter.

Olivia wrapped her arm around Dawson's back and rested her head on his shoulder. "Not everything, but at least some."

This was where she belonged. This was where Dawson belonged–standing beside Olivia, helping her accomplish her dreams for the rest of their lives.

Jerry extended a hand to Dawson, and they shook. Olivia's dad had always been the father figure he'd never had in his own home, and making sure Jerry liked him was in his top five things to do for the rest of his life.

"Looks like you're taking care of my baby girl," Jerry said.

"Every minute, sir."

Every minute. Every second. Every breath for the rest of his life. All of it was in service to the Lord, then Olivia.

Jerry looked at his daughter who released her hold on Dawson to hug her dad.

"Love you, Dad."

"Love looks good on you, sweetie."

Yeah, it did. And Dawson intended to keep it that way forever.