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Chapter 90: Dixie
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2022-11-24 14:09:48Related chapters
The Love Barn Chapter 91: Benji
BENJI WISHED HE WAS wearing his normal get-up of starched black jeans and a white button down. It worked when he was just another one of the help, moving things and pointing where things went. But not today. No.He was the ringmaster.And that meant dressing the part in a three piece gray suit paired with his nicest boots. The leather binder Dixie had given him yesterday fit in flawlessly and he clutched it like a lifeline.What would he have done without it?Last night he'd dumped his notes into the binder so they were easier to carry around. Scarlett had pounced on him late in the evening, hole punched everything and done a bit of organizational work to get him through the weekend.What time was it?Benji checked his watch, the nice one Garth had given him as a Christmas present a few years ago. Today's ceremony was black tie and tightly scheduled.They weren't even using the barn, just the property and three tents that had been erected on the flat surface of the hill.
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 92: Dixie
DIXIE STOOD IN THE kitchen, her lighter in hand.Should she light candles?If she lit them Benjamin would know-what? That she'd left The Love Barn and gone home to promptly shower, shave, the whole girl routine and light candles because tonight was their date for fun?A diesel engine rumbled down the street.Her nipples sat at attention and she shivered, watching for the headlights to turn into her driveway.All weekend Benjamin had taunted her with variations of how much fun he had planned. If she'd known he intended to tease her, she would not have offered to help out with Garth. At least that's what she tried to tell herself. Any time she thought about those teases, the gentle caresses, she smiled.Then there was his T-shirt.She'd found it in her car, which meant he'd stolen her keys long enough to stash an old, faded Ransom varsity football shirt on her passenger seat.It smelled of him and she wasn't too proud to admit that she'd slept in that shirt last night.
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 93: Dixie
The sensation was strange and sensual, his velvety tongue and stubble doing a number on her. Dixie let her eyes drift shut and ran her fingers through his hair.If she tugged him down to her chest, would he pay this kind of attention to her there?The idea of his mouth on her breasts, the gentle suction working on her nipples, had arousal dampening her panties."Dixie? You okay?" Benjamin whispered."Hm?" She blinked at him, suddenly aware of her aching fingers and the death grip she had on his hair. "Sorry.""It's okay. Where'd you go?" He kissed the corner of her mouth."I'm right here.""Yeah, but you were thinking about something. Tell me. Good? Bad?" He didn't stop moving, his nose tracing patterns on her skin, dropping kisses between words or to punctuate a question."Good." The word was more a suggestion said on an exhale than an answer."Want to tell me about it?"Her nerves clamored immediately. "No.""What if I promise not to do it?" He pulled away from
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 94: Dixie
Dixie swallowed.Time had been kind to him. He was built like a runner. Or a swimmer. Muscular, but light. Lean.He leaned forward, forcing her back onto the pillows."Looking at me like that gives me ideas," he whispered."Like?" Her mind was blanking, too overloaded with sensation as it was."First, this needs to go." He slid his hand under her and released the catch of her bra with an expert flick.Benjamin sat back, dragging the bra with him.She swallowed and fought the urge to cover herself. Her head buzzed. Her skin was too tight. Her body too warm. Her throat closing up.He clasped both of her hands in his, then eased down, his weight pressing her into the mattress. It went against reason, but the feel of him helped her find her ground again. She pulled in a deep breath."Dixie?" He drew something on her cheek with the tip of his nose. "Is this okay?"Did he realize her mind hand spiraled away from them?"Are you having fun yet?" His tone was gentle, but h
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 95: Dixie
Dixie wanted to burrow down deep in her bed, roll around in the smell of him on her sheets, but need drove her to her bathroom. There was no way she was going to sleep in her current state and she didn't want to redress the bed tonight. She used a washrag to rid herself of the worst of the icing sticky. By the time she was finished she heard the bed frame creak.Dixie smiled at her reflection and cupped her cheeks.Benji.That part of her that would always be a giddy teenager was thrilled with tonight. And who wouldn't be? That was book-level-good sex. The kind she'd been skeptical about. With him."You okay?" Benji called out."Yeah." She flipped off the light and stepped into the doorway.He lay on the bed, his head propped in his hand with the sheet pulled up to his waist. The bedside lamp shone a light on her fear currently unfolding in her bed.Benji had her latest book opened to somewhere in the middle. Her very hot, naughty book.It was the kind of book she used
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 96: Benji
BENJI SWIPED THE BANDANA over his face, getting the last bits of grass off his skin. He squinted up the hill as his truck chugged closer to home.Was there a car in the parking lot?Unless otherwise booked, Mondays were their day off. There shouldn't be an appointment or anyone parked out front of The Love Barn.He pressed the accelerator a little harder and zoomed the rest of the way to his driveway. It wasn't until he whipped into the driveway to park that he recognized the car from its usual spot in front of the antique shop.What was Bunny doing making a house call?Benji parked the truck and got out, leaving the lawnmower in the bed for now. He climbed the porch steps two at a time and darted into the house, more curious than alarmed about the visit.He stopped on the entry mat and blinked at the sight of his brother sitting in the armchair, hands clasped around a glass of what was likely sweet tea. Bunny and Sissy sat on the sofa. Both turned to glance at him, their e
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 97: Dixie
DIXIE PULLED THE PAN off the stove exactly two seconds before her doorbell pealed. She set the pan down and hustled across the house to whisk the door open.Elisabeth stood on the stoop, a book clutched between her hands."You are my angel." Dixie snatched the book and pressed it to her chest."I thought you had a copy?" Elisabeth stepped inside and shut the door."I did. Hungry?""You did?""Yup."Dixie whirled toward the kitchen and fled. Elisabeth was only a few steps behind her. Both purse and sunglasses were gone, replaced by a curious gaze."Did something happen?" Elisabeth asked after a moment."Hm?" Dixie passed the other woman a plate."You're acting weird." Elisabeth studied Dixie through narrowed eyes."Can we please eat first?" Her stomach had been in too many knots yesterday to eat much. She was starving and yet eating was a chore."Okay. Fine. But you're going to spill." Elisabeth wagged her finger at Dixie.They plated the food in easy silence a
Last Updated : 2022-11-24The Love Barn Chapter 98: Benji
BENJI HAD WAITED DAYS for this moment.The truck rolled to a stop, and he put it in park. Just a glance at her front door with that dated, seventies gold trim on the frosted glass made the stress slide off his shoulders.He'd gotten caught up in Garth's bad mood Monday after everyone left and hadn't wanted to share that with Dixie. They'd only texted a bit. Then she was busy Tuesday evening, which turned out to be a good thing because Benji wound up sucked into a strategy meeting about the barn events with Scarlett and her friend Noemi. At least he'd had a short chat with Dixie right before she went to bed.Benji was determined that today would be a good one, and he'd spend it with Dixie.For the rest of the afternoon and evening she was his.He grabbed his guitar and the folder of material they were working on. The planner she'd given him that now contained his life sat in the passenger seat. He leaned across and snagged that, too. With wedding season in full swing and the b
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
