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Chapter 51: Cole
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2022-11-24 14:09:48Related chapters
The Love Barn Chapter 52: Scarlett
Scarlett WISHED SHE was coming home after two weeks away with more pep in her step or some kind of new self awareness. What she had was an action plan to starting up a very small, wedding planner side business and a keen awareness that she was not cut out for snow. Noemi's invitation to join her for the week had been kind. A godsend even, but Scarlett was glad the whole thing was over.The time had come for ice cream and sad movies at home alone. The trip hadn't cured her of her broken heart; it had merely distracted her while her misery continued to wait patiently for her return to reality.Benji and Garth had been kind enough to stock her kitchen with a few essentials, but there was a distinct lack of both wine and ice cream. She was willing to bet that move was intentional.While Scarlett wasn't ready to face the residents of Ransom yet, the need for consumable emotional support won over.How many people could regale her of Cole's every waking moment for the last two weeks o
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 53: Cole
"I CAN'T DO this." Cole gripped the edge of the table and stared at his half-drank beer."I don't know why you're doing this." Will David shoved his hands through his hair. Cole could feel the other man's gaze on him. "What purpose does this serve?""We can't do anything differently right now," Benji said. "Look, Scarlett's gone straight to pissed. It wouldn't matter what you went up the hill to tell her, she'd tear you a new one. We stick to the plan.""Nothing good will come from talking to her now," Garth agreed."I don't know." Cal sighed and met Cole's gaze. "Whenever I screw up the longer I wait the worse it gets with Eve.""It's been two weeks," Garth said. "Even if you went up, there planning to ask her to marry you, she'd probably take your head off first."Cole swallowed and fought the urge to wipe imagined sweat from his brow.Did Garth know Cole had considered that solution? Cal had talked some sense into Cole, pointing out his recent engagement might tarnish
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 54: Scarlett
Scarlett FROWNED AT Jessica's truck in the parking lot of the bed-and-breakfast as Ingrid whipped into the drive. It was three on a Saturday. Not exactly prime time at The Hole, but Jessica always worked Saturdays."Oh, good, Jess is here." Ingrid parked her car next to Jess' truck."Do we know if she brought drinks?" Kasima asked."Guys." Scarlett groaned.She'd known this was planned from the moment Ingrid and Kasima showed up at her house with coffee and informed Scarlett she was going shopping with them. It was far too conspicuous a ploy considering that Cole and Allie-Kate's wedding was tonight."Come on, we've got so much to do," Ingrid said."What's Olivia going to say when she comes back to all these changes?" Scarlett popped her seatbelt."Probably, thank you," Kasima replied."You guys aren't even trying to pretend this is about decorating anymore." Scarlett folded her arms over her chest and watched Luna Jones get out of Jessica's truck. Her bright, friendly
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 55: Scarlett
Scarlett turned into the drive and eased all the way up near the house."Holy..." She stared out on the other side.Cars were in a line, their trunks facing her. Most were decorated. Almost everyone was in costume.Scarlett got out and peered around her in a daze.Ingrid's car pulled in behind her, the girls spilling out, all talking at once.Scarlett took a dozen or so steps and studied the cars.Trunk or treat.They were having trunk or treat in their field."Scarlett?" Benji called out. "What are you doing here?"She turned.Benji and Garth stood at the bottom stairs leading to their house. Someone had decorated both their porches in pumpkins, scarecrows and lights. Behind them kids darted around the trees, playing tag and dressed up.Where was the wedding?She set her gaze on the barn doors and all the light shining out and started to walk."You can't be here," Benji said as he fell into step with her."What the hell is going on?" Scarlett had been prepa
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 56: Cole
Cole'S LUNGS WERE going to burst from holding his breath. He'd had his apology planned out. The girls were going to scatter; he'd go to the house, beg her forgiveness with his grand speech then grovel until she accepted him back. Her showing up had thrown it all out of whack. He couldn't be certain he'd said everything he meant to or if he'd gone off track somewhere.Scarlett continued to stare at him, her eyes wide, full of so much emotion he could drown in them.She'd said she'd fallen for him, but he'd interpreted those words to their true meaning.She loved him.And he loved her.He could feel it. The chemistry had changed. It wasn't something he felt when she was around. No, now he had that Scarlett tingle all the time, even when she was hundreds of miles away.Cole loved Scarlett.It was unexpected and sudden, but it was also right.But just because he'd accepted that as truth and chosen to leap into this didn't mean she would, too. He'd abused her trust and hurt
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 57: Epilogue
GARTH LIVELY STOOD back and eyed the curtain rod. It looked even with the others, but these old houses were so crooked and unsteady that an even job might still not look right."Perfect," Scarlett proclaimed and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a squeeze."We'll see how they look once the curtains are up." He expected to need to redo a few of the rods."Thanks so much for doing this. Cole would have helped when he gets home." Scarlett offered him then Benji a mason jar of cold tea."I'm about sick of the window show," Benji growled.Garth didn't offer his thoughts, but he agreed with Benji. It was hard enough for Garth to back off and let Scarlett take on the wedding planner gig. Having a front row view to her living room and her unfolding romance was too much."Oh, stop it." Scarlett slapped Benji's shoulder. "His family is coming over tonight if you two want to join us for dinner?""Sure thing." Garth's phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket and the
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 58: Benji
Volume 2: Summer of LoveBENJI LIVELY POWERED OFF his phone, ignoring his brother's phone call, and kept his eyes on the road. The work day was over. There wasn't anything else to be done. It was time to let off a little steam and talking to Garth wasn't going to help. Hell, half Benji's problems lately were courtesy of his brother.What was it with Garth lately? Everything Benji did rubbed him the wrong way. Nothing was good enough. Benji didn't do anything right. The list went on.He needed to find his buddies, get a drink and forget about his family for a few hours.The Fort Worth Stockyards were a hopping place on any given Saturday. Tonight was no different. He found an out of the way spot to park on the street a block over from the strip of bars that drew in tourists and locals alike. Benji had a group of friends he hung out with fairly often who were plain old fun. Just what he needed.Who would have thought running a wedding venue would be tough work?It hadn't b
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 59:Dixie
DIXIE APPLEWHITE SLID ONTO the tall pub chair, her feet dangling, and sat very still. If she closed her eyes, she could still smell his cologne mixed with the subtle scent of peppermint. Had he been chewing gum? She couldn't remember. The moment he'd grabbed her hand her fuzzy brain had gone completely offline.A man hadn't hugged her in so long she'd forgotten how nice a pair of strong arms could feel, even in a platonic gesture."Holy crap, DeeDee, that was Benjamin Lively, right?" Elisabeth stared at Dixie."Is Benji that cutie you were hugging outside?" Shonda arched a brow at Dixie."It was." Dixie's cheeks flushed recalling the way he'd stared. Plenty of men had checked out her outfit tonight, but it was different when the man paying attention to her was her secret high school crush."You should have invited him in for a shot." Shonda pouted her perfect, glossy lips. The mother of three was happily married, but that didn't stop her from admiring the scenery, as she like
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
