4. Dawson

Dawson pulled up at the Lawrence farm and turned the radio down. Anna's car was parked next to Olivia's.

He'd been hoping for an audience of one this afternoon. Anna was cool, but she wasn't the woman he was here to see. He'd have to hang around until Anna left to ask Olivia about the wedding.

Dawson parked beside Olivia's vehicle and pulled his goat boots out of the backseat.

Yes, goat boots were necessary.

With his boots changed and his speech prepared, he stepped out into Mr. Lawrence's driveway. The chickens were about twenty-five yards behind the house, and the goats were another twenty-five yards past that.

He'd spent more than half his life at the Lawrence house, and somehow he still found himself here every day, even though Beau and Olivia moved out years ago.

He used to come over because Beau was his best friend. Then high school came along, and Dawson's focus was drawn to another Lawrence family member. Olivia went from a little girl to the woman of his dreams. Things changed so gradually that Dawson hadn't known what was happening until he was fully wrapped around her finger.

Beau wasn't the "Stay away from my sister" kind, but he did occasionally remind Dawson to tread lightly. Who in the world knew why? Dawson would fall on his own sword before he'd hurt Olivia.

His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket and answered quickly once he saw the name on the caller ID. "Hey, man. How's it goin'?"

Aaron Harding chuckled. "Pretty good. You?"

"Right as rain." Dawson squatted down as Gertie the chicken waddled over. He reached out a hand to pet her, but she stopped, did a little hop, and ran off as soon as she got to him.

"I'm calling for a favor," Aaron said.

"Consider it done. Whatever you need."

A loud chuckle filtered through from Aaron's end of the line. "You'll want to hear what it is before you agree."

"Way to sell it. Just tell me what you need."

A baby's scream echoed in the background. "Jade and I want to take a trip. Just a couple of days in Colorado. We have plenty of family who can keep the kids while we're gone, but Levi asked if he could have some cool new babysitters one day."

"Are you saying I'm the cool new babysitter?" Dawson asked.

Aaron chuckled. "Well, you and Olivia. Levi says the two of you promised to take him to the Lawrence Farm."

"That's right," Dawson said. He loved hanging out with Levi, and getting to spend time with Levi, Olivia, the goats, and the chickens at the same time was a win on all fronts.

"Great. I'll text you the dates we'll be gone, and you and Olivia can decide which day works best for both of you."

"You got it. Thanks, man. Tell Levi I'm looking forward to it."

He ended the call, and Genella walked up to him. His chicken friend always greeted him on his way across the farm. She had either developed a true chicken-human connection with him, or she liked getting carted over to the goat pens to see her friends.

"Hey, lady. You keepin' everybody in line around here?"

As soon as he lowered his hands to the ground, Genella hopped in. The old hen was probably his favorite out of all the chickens on the Lawrence farm, but he'd never say the words out loud. The others would definitely be jealous, and the last thing they needed was an uprising when the birds outnumbered Olivia and him seventy to two.

Well, three if Anna was here.

Dawson checked Cluckingham Palace first, but there wasn't any sign of the women. The place was aptly named for the ridiculous amount of time Olivia had put into designing the luxury estate for her chickens. Dawson had built about seventy percent of it based on Olivia's instructions, and he had to admit, the place had class.

He headed for the goat barn and heard the women talking before he reached the entrance. Anna's high-pitched feminine voice carried over the warm August wind.

"Come on. He's got that bad boy vibe going on, and he probably won't be a clinger. Plus, he's handsome in that masculine-rugged way."

"Are you talking about me?" Dawson asked as he walked into the barn.

Anna jerked to face him with bulging eyes like she'd just been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but Olivia didn't look up from the milking machine.

He got a kick in the chest every time he saw her. No other person in the world did that to him.

"Way to toot your own horn, Keller," Olivia said over her shoulder.

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.

"Oh, no you don't," Anna said as she waved a finger in the air. "You still need a date. You're not getting out of it."

"I have a lot to do during and after the wedding. I don't need a date."

"And two-timing Trey will probably be there all cuddly with his flavor of the week," Anna said.

"Who cares?" Dawson and Olivia said at the same time.

Okay. Maybe Olivia really didn't need a date. She didn't need to have a man standing beside her to feel like she fit in. Anna was the one who thought the world revolved around romance.

Uh-oh. Was he giving Anna the wrong idea? How'd he get roped into being her date again?

Anna huffed and pulled out her phone. "I swear. If you ever get married, they'll have to wheel me down the aisle as your matron of honor."

"Hey!" Dawson drawled. "I'm only thirty and a quarter years old."

"Not you," Anna said, pointing a finger at Olivia without looking up from her phone. "Miss Independent over there. I think I've found someone."

Dawson was by Anna's side before Olivia even moved. "Who?"

Anna tilted her phone so Dawson could see the social media profile she'd pulled up. "Mark Billings. He's from a few counties over, and his profile says he's been a truck driver for five years. That's a long time to keep a job. Maybe that means he's dependable."

Dawson shook his head. "Nope. It says he's been a truck driver, but it doesn't say he's been with the same company."

"Fair enough, but he doesn't look like a crusty old man with tobacco in his lip," Anna said as she turned her phone around for Olivia to see.

"Way to generalize truckers," Olivia whispered as she grabbed the phone to take a better look.

Was she really considering this? How did she go from "I don't need a date" to checking out this guy's profile in sixty seconds flat?

"He's cute. I'll give him that," Olivia said.

Cute! The guy was cute now. Not only would Dawson not be going to the wedding with Olivia, but some cute guy in a big truck was going to get his girl.

"Do you even know this guy?" Dawson asked.

"No, but my brother commented on one of his photos last week. I'll ask him about Mark," Anna said.

"That's all?" Dawson asked. "Someone you know might know him, and now you're on a first name basis with the guy? We need a background check and his high school transcripts at the very least."

Anna laughed, and the bubbly sound did nothing to dampen his panic. "Don't get so worked up, Grandpa."

"Have you ever heard of stranger danger?"

Anna straightened her shoulders and propped a hand on her hip. "Have you ever heard of live a little?"

"Yeah, you live a little, and then Mark is texting you asking for–"

"Whoa there!" Olivia shouted. "There are little ears around."

Dawson cradled Genella to his chest, covering the little ears in question. "I was gonna say feet pics."

Olivia bit her bottom lip and tilted her head from side to side before letting out a huff. "Let me know what your brother says."

This was not happening. Olivia and Anna both wanted dates to the wedding, but somehow he got paired up with Anna.

Dawson's chest expanded with the building pressure, and Genella was starting to get antsy in his arms. All of the excitement from earlier was gone–flatter than a popped balloon. "Have you seen Herbert?"

Anna looked up from her phone with one raised brow. "Herbert?"

"The goat," Dawson added. He didn't feel like saying much else for the first time in his life.

Olivia looked up without making eye contact. "He's in the west pen."

"Thanks. Genella is ready to be united with her one true love." He held up the chicken and managed a grin at Anna. "Can't stand in the way when it's true love."

Anna smiled wide, showing off her pearly white teeth. "No, that would be a shame."

Dawson jerked his chin over his shoulder as he turned to leave. "Later, ladies."

Anna wasn't the one for him, but they might still have a good time at the wedding.

As long as he could forget about the stranger who just stole his girl.