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Chapter 36: Cole
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2022-11-24 14:09:48Related chapters
The Love Barn Chapter 37: Scarlett
Scarlett closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see him. "I hadn't realized it then. I was too caught up in...this. Us. I was overwhelmed.""What do you want, Scarlett? Do you want to work on this, or are you done?" Given what she'd been through with her ex, he couldn't fault her for wanting to protect herself."I want this to work out, but I'm scared it won't. I'm scared of how much it could hurt if it doesn't." She chuckled. "I've got that curse to watch out for and all.""But how good would it be if this does work?" The tight fist that had clenched on his insides relaxed a little and he sucked down a breath. He wasn't ready to commit to the idea of kids. It was too soon for that talk, but his eyes were open to the possibility."I think I'm scared of that, too. I'm just-scared. It's stupid. I'm sorry. I-""Baby. Sh."He gathered her to him, all the anger and fear gone out of him. He was asking her for everything she could give him. She was right to be afraid. He didn't h
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 38: Scarlett
Scarlett let go of Cole and frowned at the screen, then glanced at the window before answering it."What?" She stared out the window toward her cousin's house.Cole followed her gaze and saw Benji waving at them."Goodnight," Scarlett said, then ended the call."Ever heard of curtains?" It wasn't the first time Cole had noted the lack of window coverings."I like the sunlight in the morning." She turned toward him, hand on her hip. More of her hair had fallen down and her dress sliding off that shoulder was giving him all kinds of ideas."Come here." Cole held out his hand."Benji and Garth are right there." Scarlett held up her hands."If they don't want to see they shouldn't watch."He grasped her by the wrist and pulled her toward him. She came willingly, a sparkle in her eye. He kissed her again and ignored his phone vibrating."I brought you home. Now what?" she whispered. The smile on her face was happy. He liked the flush in her cheeks, the way she looked at
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 39: Scarlett
Scarlett REACHED ACROSS the car and squeezed Cole's hand. This morning had taken a surprising turn when Cole's brother called to ask if they wanted to do breakfast. After some back and forth, Cal and Eve were driving up to attend the high school's fall pancake breakfast charity to benefit the local firehouse. Given that half the town had been burned down in '68, the fire department was one thing no one skimped on."You want to get out, or wait on them?" Scarlett asked."Let's get out." Cole squeezed her hand back. "Thanks for making time to do this.""Thanks for letting me tag along."Cole leaned across and kissed her cheek. It was a sweet gesture after a night of intense heat. She wasn't looking forward to seeing Garth later. He'd been cool about Cole showing up, but she was dreading his real reaction later. Garth couldn't stop being Garth even if he wanted to."Come on." Cole opened his door.They got out and walked hand in hand across the grass toward the small parking l
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 40: Cole
Cole FLIPPED CHANNELS on the TV without much consideration for what was on. Sunday nights were now about quality time with Scarlett. With their schedules they didn't get a lot of it, but they were finding a rhythm. Not to mention over the last week his world was taking a dramatic shift what with introducing his blood family to the woman who had taken up residence in his heart.He was ready for Scarlett to be there.Whenever she wasn't there, he wanted her to be. It was a silly wish. They both had jobs they loved, lives, friends and family besides each other, and yet he wanted to do all of those things with Scarlett.He'd never wanted to be with someone as much as he wanted to be with her.Which was one of the two reasons why his butt was still on the sofa and not in the car headed up to her house.The other reason was the five pounds of fluff currently snoring on his thigh. They'd learned the hard way since last Saturday that Pip, the little Terrier-Chihuahua long haired mutt
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 41: Scarlett
Scarlett TURNED INTO Cole's driveway.She'd been positive one of the guys would want to stop and talk to her on her way out, or she'd get pulled over for something silly and someone would ask questions about her long, winter coat. It might be October, but it wasn't yet cold. Hell, her air conditioner was still running. If it weren't for her need to cover up the super sexy, barely there number she'd bought while shopping with the girls.Never in Scarlett's life had she done something like this. She wasn't really the lingerie and sexy stuff girl. Awkward and opportunistic were more her speed, but with Cole she wanted to make an effort.She killed the Jeep, grabbed her bag then carefully slid out of the driver's seat. She could already hear Pip barking away inside. The newly installed blinds meant nosy neighbors couldn't see inside. She'd never hung curtains or anything because she liked the sunshine but after this week she was ready to measure and place her own order.Her heels c
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 42: Scarlett
Scarlett turned to face Cole and let the coat slide down her arms. It fell to the floor, leaving her in the cherry red heels, a pair of pink panties made out of lace so sheer she might as well not be wearing anything, and a long camisole style top. It was made out of the same pink lace, only it had red flowers embroidered across each cup and down over her stomach in such a way that it hid her nipples from view."Hot damn," Cole muttered. His cheeks had sunk in and his eyes were dark with lust."I wasn't sure you'd like it."She lifted a hand to her stomach and touched the embroidery.This was where her plan ended. From here on she was winging it."You shouldn't doubt yourself." His gaze traveled up and back down her body. "You better come here if you want me to keep sitting on this couch."She laughed at that, a mix of nerves and need. One step and he reached out, grabbing her wrist and pulled her closer so she stood between his knees."Your turn." She grasped his soft T-
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 43: Scarlett
ONE THING Scarlett wasn't sure if she'd get used to were alarms on Mondays. She groaned and cracked one eye open in time to watch Cole's tight ass bound out of bed. Pip leapt onto the floor to follow his human into the bathroom.It was still dark outside. Cole liked to get to the clinic a half hour before they opened at seven. If he hadn't promised her breakfast she'd roll over, go back to sleep and let herself out later, but her stomach protested loud enough Pip scampered back onto the bed to check on her."I'm up," she muttered at the dog.To prove her point, she levered up into a sitting position and patted Pip's head.She pulled on clean clothes and tied her hair up in a messy bun. At this hour the only people who'd be at the diner were male counterparts of the L.O.L.s and a few cops. She didn't need to dress up for anyone."Are you taking Pip to work with you today?" she asked when Cole stepped out clothed in teal scrubs."I was thinking I'd try leaving him here today.
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 44: Scarlett
Scarlett gathered her laundry, let herself into the house and released Pip from the kennel. She went through the motions of getting her laundry going then settled on the sofa with Pip to stare at nothing.Cole had never given her the indication he wanted to get back together with Allie-Kate. In fact, the way he spoke, it sounded like there'd never been any love there at all. But what if AK's appearance made Cole realize he wanted something else? What if he decided to move? What if-what? What was Scarlett afraid of?Losing Cole.Against her better judgment she'd fallen in love with him and now all of the power was in his hands. He could hurt her. No, he could destroy her. She'd fallen for a man she knew wasn't sure of what he wanted. That meant she had to accept that she could lose it all, and there was nothing she could do about it.Three hours later Scarlett had started in on Cole's laundry. The towels and sheets were next. She'd scrubbed the kitchen, did the dishes and a quic
Last Updated : 2022-11-24
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The Love Barn Chapter 167: Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER...SCARLETT SAT STRETCHED OUT on the old, wooden swing content to watch the circus going on over in the flower garden.Mom threw her hands up and said something Scarlett couldn't hear. She chuckled and knew the others were likely beside themselves trying to figure out how to make Mom happy.They all called Noemi's mother Mom now. It just felt right. Garth stood next to Mom, shaking his head at the others. Noemi bent, fussing no doubt over the way the blankets lay or how the bow sat.Benji and Dixie had the whole light kit out and three cameras.All the attention was focused on the bundle of joy currently sleeping soundly in the cradle Garth had carefully restored. It was one of a handful of old things he'd found in the barn and kept. Judging by the initials on the bottom of the old crib, generations of Livelys had slept in that thing.And now so would her baby.Scarlett smiled and sank further into the cushions Cole had set up for her. She was still ex
The Love Barn Chapter 166: Noemi
Noemi WHIPPED HER CAR into the driveway. With it being so early and since everyone had family visiting the street was packed with cars. Garth's truck barely fit in the one open spot.Where the hell was he?What was he doing?Why was he talking to Ángel?A Jeep pulled across the drive behind her, Cole and Scarlett getting out."Why can't you answer your phone?" Scarlett demanded.Noemi threw up her hand as she caught the sound of a deep, rumbling voice."Benji? Hey, we're already here." Scarlett's voice faded as Noemi crept toward the fence and the gate her mother always left open between the two properties.Ángel sat in the swiveling chair at the head of the table on his parent's patio.Garth had a tight grip on one of the other chairs, his back toward her. He was leaning forward, his entire focus on Ángel, who was staring back at Garth like he'd just sprouted a second head or something."You're only going to get one shot at this. If she's decided to give you anothe
The Love Barn Chapter 165: Garth
Garth HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT the hardest thing he'd ever done was bury his parents and accept responsibility for Benji and Scarlett.That had been easy. A simple process and an obvious life altering decision.Neither of those moments had anything on what he was about to do.Garth stood on the front porch of the brick house and glanced to his left, where Noemi was likely sleeping. He hoped that she was getting rest. She never took off except for holidays and if he remembered correctly, she had events this weekend. With any luck, she'd have someone in her corner that would look after her properly.He turned his attention back to the door. There was one of the new, electronic doorbells. He pressed it, listened to the chime and waited.It was early still, but he hadn't been able to make himself wait any longer.After a few moments the locks clanked and the door swung open.Ángel stood on the welcome mat in sweatpants, a T-shirt and a hoodie draped over his shoulders. His hair was
The Love Barn Chapter 164: Noemi
Noemi HADN'T SLEPT ALL night. Most of the time when she wasn't sleeping it was because she was up at all hours trying to pull the last bits of a wedding together. There was purpose to the sleepless nights.All she'd done since getting home around two was sit in the guest chair at her desk and stare at the clear surface. She couldn't claim to have done a lot of thinking in those hours. Mostly she'd sat, stared and let her mind wander. She'd poked at corners she normally ignored, examining her feelings, her thoughts and all the other uncomfortable bits of her life.She excelled at leaving relationships.There were only two men in her life who had ever left her.Her father.And Ángel.Noemi had left every other man before he could get tired of her. She'd known she had the habit, but she hadn't paused to think it through like this until tonight. It was easy to pretend that she didn't have time for men and relationships that weren't going somewhere. She could spin all the excuse
The Love Barn Chapter 163: Garth
Garth GRIPPED THE WHEEL of his truck and drew in a deep breath. He knew it was his imagination. Noemi's perfume wasn't really lingering, he just wished it were.Another car rolled up to the stop sign at the bottom of the hill. Garth waved and pressed the accelerator, heading into town.It was tradition for the guys to meet up at The Hole in town for beers on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Benji had already texted, wondering where he was. Scarlett and the girls were up to something. All the normal things were underway. Except for him.Garth felt stuck. Like he couldn't move.He rolled the problem around in his head as The Hole came into view.The little parking lot was full and people had taken to finding spots along the street. It would no doubt be loud in there, full of people ready to start talking about the Christmas tours, when they were bringing the tractors to Main Street to help decorate and so forth.He just wasn't in the mood.Garth turned the wheel away from the
The Love Barn Chapter 162: Noemi
Noemi KNEW TODAY WASN'T her best work. She'd gone through the whole day in a fog that had nothing to do with the large, Thanksgiving meal she'd eaten yesterday or the Black Friday shopping she'd done that morning.Once again she had to wonder at a bride choosing to have her wedding the day after Thanksgiving. If Noemi was going to have a wedding-No.Not going there.She shook her head and turned her attention back to packing up the arch and removing the flowers. She had about an hour to get the rental pieces ready to go while the wedding party ate dinner. There were still a few things to make sure went off without a hitch. The cake needed cutting and the bride wanted Noemi to keep the speeches short, but there was time before that got started.It felt like she'd lived in a daze the last forty-eight hours.Wednesday night she'd chosen to not go to the annual meal her family had with Ángel's. She couldn't be in the same room with him and act like she wanted to be there. Not
The Love Barn Chapter 161: Garth
Both Garth and Noemi glanced at the door.Benji laughed loudly and a single pair of heavy footsteps came creaking up the stairs mixed with Dixie's softer voice.Noemi covered her mouth with her hand and glanced at Garth. Her eyebrows were almost at her hairline.He just shook his head as something-probably one of the pictures on the landing-clattered to the ground. Another burst of laughter followed by hurried footsteps into Benji's room and the slam of a door."Well, I guess no one knows we're in here," Noemi said dryly."No they do not." Garth put thoughts of his brother out of his mind. It wasn't the first time he'd ignored his brother's antics. "What's really going on, No-No?"She blew out a breath and let go of his hand. For a moment she fussed with her boots, unzipping them and getting more comfortable, sitting cross legged in the middle of his bed. He didn't say anything, just watched her face, how lines developed and went away as she thought through what was botheri
The Love Barn Chapter 160: Garth
Garth STARED DOWN AT where he'd thought he'd seen Noemi.Except Noemi didn't wear flannel. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen her wearing jeans and have fingers leftover. But he was fairly certain that had been her."Garth?" Adeline's voice brought him back to the moment.He blinked down at this funny, sweet woman, but she didn't stir anything in him. Not like Noemi."Adeline?" He took her hand in his. "It was a pleasure meeting you and I hope we see you around. Scarlett's intentions introducing us were good, but..."She smiled a knowing smile and turned her hand in his so she could give it a friendly shake. "I can tell. She's a special woman. I appreciate the history lesson.""Thanks, Adeline."If he'd met her at another point in his life, he'd have been interested. But it wasn't the burning connection he'd had with Noemi. Nothing could compare to that.Garth headed for the stairs, taking them two and three at a time. He skirted the tables between
The Love Barn Chapter 159: Noemi
Noemi PARKED HER CAR out on the grass along with all the other cars.She could do this.Hopefully Garth wasn't angry with her. Well, he could be a little angry. She'd deserve that much. She just hoped he'd hear her.Noemi began walking with the crowd, toward the festival clustered around the barn. Her heart gave a twinge as she got closer to the houses.She hadn't told anyone she was showing up, partly because she was nervous and feared she'd chicken out. Through all the jumble of thoughts, the one thing she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt was that she loved Garth.As the crowd folded her into their midst, Noemi realized there were a lot more people there than she anticipated. How was she going to find Garth in all this?"Noemi?" a familiar voice called out.She turned and saw Scarlett standing with a basket of something hanging from one arm and a toddler perched on her hip looking at Noemi with wide eyes."Hey." Noemi fidgeted with the hem of her T-shirt.Scarlett gr
