Love for a Lifetime: A Small Town Christian Romance (Love in Blackwater Book 2) by Mandi Blake

Author:Mandi Blake [Blake, Mandi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mandi Blake
Published: 2024-05-17T00:00:00+00:00

17

DAWSON

Dawson parked his truck next to Olivia’s car at Beau’s garage. Asa’s truck and another he didn’t recognize were parked in the side lot.

Twelve hours in his uniform was about all Dawson could stand, but when Olivia texted promising meatloaf at the garage, he couldn’t say no. No matter what Olivia was offering, his answer was always yes.

Pizza? Yes.

Spaghetti? Yes.

A lifetime of love? Absolutely.

Okay, he was getting ahead of himself, but he’d settle for meatloaf today.

He walked in and headed straight for the break room, the scent of spiced meat leading the way. Olivia, Asa, Lyric, and Jacob sat at the table with half-eaten plates of food in front of them.

Betsy stood from the dog bed by the wall. Of course, the newest crew member already had her own place at the garage.

Dawson crouched and held out a hand to Betsy. “Come on, girl.”

She trotted over and pressed her head to Dawson’s hand. She’d warmed up to him over the last few days, and he liked to think they were already thick as thieves.

“Miracles happen every day,” Asa said.

Dawson could make friends with a fence post. He could handle a dog the size of his left shin. “Betsy should hold a press conference and let her furry friends know how awesome I am,” Dawson joked. “Where’s Beau?”

Asa looked up at Lyric before turning his attention back to his food. Olivia hesitated before answering. “Interviewing someone in his office.”

“Good,” Dawson said as he pulled up a chair at the table. “He needs some better help around here. Business is booming.”

“They said you know him,” Jacob piped up. “It’s Gage Howard.”

Dawson stopped with his hand hanging in the air above the corn bread. “Gage? Are you kidding me?”

“Wish we were,” Asa said without looking up.

Gage Howard. Everyone in town knew the Howards, and there wasn’t a good one of them in the bunch. Dawson himself had arrested eighty percent of them at some point in time.

Gage? He wasn’t the worst one. In fact, he was the lesser of many evils, but that didn’t mean he was Dawson’s favorite person.

Dawson picked up a piece of cornbread. “Does Beau actually think he’d be a good hire?”

Asa shrugged. “He knows his way around a machine. He’s been working at his uncle’s shop for a decade or more.”

“Why does he want to work here then? Sounds like he’s getting a piece of the family pie.”

“He said business is slow over there,” Asa answered before stuffing his face with a bite of meatloaf.

Dawson scoffed. “That’s what happens when you overcharge and don’t have a clue what you’re doing under the hood of a vehicle.”

“Beau thinks Gage knows what he’s doing,” Olivia added.

Dawson looked around the room. “Whose side are you on?”

Lyric spoke up. “She’s right. People can change.”

He didn’t have a retort for that. Lyric was living proof that people were capable of change in a good way, but Gage Howard was a different story.

“Weren’t you hoping just last week that Zach would turn over a new leaf?” Asa asked.

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