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Chapter 98: Benji

Author: Sidney Bristol
last update Last Updated: 2022-11-24 14:09:48
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
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  • The Love Barn   Chapter 99: Benji

    Benji enjoyed teaching Dixie and the inside view it gave him into the woman. Which was why halfway through running through the second chord addition he realized she wasn't humming. Dixie hummed when she played. She wasn't ready to sing along with the songs but she had a good enough ear that once she had the chords down she hummed. Was she not entirely tuned into the lesson either? Had she suggested eating because she wasn't up for today?They finished the progression without the usual thrill of accomplishment lighting her face."Good." Yeah, they were done. He lowered his guitar to the ground and leaned it up against the sofa.Dixie continued frowning at the sheets.He grasped the guitar in her lap and pulled it away."Hey," she protested."We're done." He laid the instrument across the coffee table."But-"Benji stretched his left arm across the back of the sofa and leaned toward her. "Are you into it today?"Dixie bit her lower lip. The same lip he wanted to kiss.

    Last Updated : 2022-11-24

  • The Love Barn   Chapter 100: Benji

    Benji kissed her mouth and eased his hand away from hers. She fumbled with the material separating them, but her hold on him grew less tentative. And fuck if that wasn't a turn on."Yeah, just like that," he whispered against her mouth. "Thinking about you gets me hard."He grasped her by the hips and lifted, boosting her up the wall until she had no choice but to release him and wrap her legs around his waist. He cradled her ass in his hands and devoured her mouth, savoring this lust infused moment.There wasn't much point in narrating what else the characters in her book had done once they stumbled into the fictional house and the guy swept the woman off her feet. It would be far more fun to simply do their own version.Dixie's legs tightened around him and she dug a hand into his hair. She yanked him toward her. He was too surprised and eager to care if she pulled his hair out. Her eager lips devoured his, the kiss taking on a desperate edge he wanted to soothe.Benji shov

    Last Updated : 2022-11-24

  • The Love Barn   Chapter 101: Dixie

    "EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE," Dixie mumbled at her reflection.She was just going to her former best friend's house with that same friend's cousin. What could possibly go wrong?Wait. Hadn't Benji said Scarlett had asked about them and he'd told her to butt out? Was this invitation a way to fish out more information? If it was, could Dixie blame Scarlett?Dixie might as well be branded with a warning label, all things considered."You ready, Dix?" Benji called out from the bedroom.She glanced down at herself still wearing her fuzzy robe and winced."Not yet. When do we need to be there? How much time do I have?" And what did she wear to dinner with his family? Certainly not what she'd been required to wear to her in-law's dinners. The Livelys weren't formal on their own time."However much time you need, sweet pea." The slow strum of an acoustic guitar followed his words."Are you playing that thing now?" She leaned through the open door and froze.Benji sat perched on

    Last Updated : 2022-11-24

  • The Love Barn   Chapter 102: Benji

    THE SET-UP WAS done. The wedding planners were taking over. If everything went according to plan, there wasn't anything else for Benji to do.God, he loved couples who knew how to hire good people.He took a few steps back and admired the way the team had decorated the walk leading up to the barn. Flowers and electric candles lined the way giving it a whimsical look. They'd thought about every aspect.Everything about this late Friday ceremony had been organized and outlined to within an inch of its life, leaving nothing to chance or figure out last minute. And everyone had a hat to wear, which was great because his only role was that of the site manager. All questions or concerns went to the team of planners.He turned and caught sight of Garth wearing black slacks, a white shirt and a sport coat hovering near the entrance to the barn office off the side of the building. There wasn't anything for either of them to do so there was no need to get frustrated with Garth.Benji g

    Last Updated : 2022-11-24

  • The Love Barn   Chapter 103: Benji

    "Doc said you needed time off." Benji kept staring at his brother. "I know not being involved is driving you nuts. If you promise to take the next week off and not be a complete pain in the ass, I'll talk to Scarlett about dividing up duties between the three of us again.""I can work," Garth said."Yeah, but do you know how to relax? Have fun?" Benji watched his brother shake his head, his upper lip curling. Relax was a four letter word to a work-a-holic. "Garth, you're my brother and I love you, but you're missing the point. We know you can work, we know you can take care of us, but what matters is that all of this could have been avoided. Why didn't you ever go to those appointments? Those tests?" Benji leaned forward, elbows on his knees.Garth had his head turned sideways, looking anywhere but at Benji.Yeah, this wasn't a fun conversation, but they needed to have this out so they could move on already.The silence dragged on, broken only by the tapping of Garth's toe.

    Last Updated : 2022-11-24

  • The Love Barn   Chapter 104: Dixie

    DIXIE WATCHED HARRISON STORM across the apartment with a sinking heart. That was not the same kid she'd met two years ago.The bedroom door slammed shut. Dixie winced and glanced at Elisabeth."I'm going to hear about that from the neighbors." She sighed and dropped her head back on the sofa."When did he get so angry?" Dixie glanced at her friend."I wish I knew." Elisabeth picked up the remote. "Should we movie without him?""Do you want to talk about this?" Dixie curled her leg under her and turned to face her friend.Music began to pulse from the teenager's room. Loud music.They both glanced at the door.When she'd crossed paths with Elisabeth, Harrison had been a fairly average teenager. A bit soft-spoken, but a nice kid. All of that was gone now and neither Elisabeth or Dixie knew why. No one seemed to."One minute." Elisabeth sighed and hoisted herself to her feet.Dixie's heart hurt for what her friend was going through. None of this was easy."Harrison?"

    Last Updated : 2022-11-24

  • The Love Barn   Chapter 105: Benji

    BENJI NEEDED TO ESCAPE. Four back-to-back days of events and he was drained in a way that went deeper than a physical exhaustion. It was as if some well inside of him was dry.Thursday he'd worn the hat of photographer and site manager.Friday he'd gotten to just be the site manager.Saturday and today he'd had to help with the decorations for different reasons. Saturday he'd photographed the whole wedding, leaving Scarlett to act as site manager and wedding planner. He'd been both fill-in bartender and DJ today on top of dealing with incorrect delivery times on crucial ceremony pieces.The last truck rolled out of the driveway, taking with it the linens that had arrived half an hour before go-time. They'd barely gotten them on tables before guests arrived."At least it's over before dinner?" Scarlett leaned her head on his shoulder. She sounded as tired as he felt."I don't think I can eat." He glanced at the house.Garth had stayed out of sight since Friday. He was easi

    Last Updated : 2022-11-24

  • The Love Barn   Chapter 106: Benji

    "Here." Benji passed Dixie one of his smaller digital cameras. It was more forgiving than the large, professional one he used for weddings and prints. "Just point and click what you like."She asked a few questions, and he showed her the necessary buttons and features she'd need, then turned her lose.He stood there, the sky painted a myriad of colors from orange to red and purple, watching Dixie tiptoe among the flowers, so gentle as she lost herself in the act of capturing the moment.Benji lifted his camera and focused on Dixie's outstretched hand caressing flower. He could just see the corner of her mouth. A bit of hair had fallen from her ponytail to dance in the breeze.She was allowing him on this journey and he knew he was a lucky bastard. They needed to enjoy this time more. Find other things to explore together, make the most of what she'd give him.Benji turned his attention to the rest of the pasture and moved off toward the other side where he could capture both

    Last Updated : 2022-11-24

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  • The Love Barn   Chapter 166: Noemi

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  • The Love Barn   Chapter 165: Garth

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  • The Love Barn   Chapter 164: Noemi

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  • The Love Barn   Chapter 163: Garth

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  • 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

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