All Chapters of The Love Barn: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

BENJI STOOD IN THE open barn doors gazing in at the bare floor.Half an hour ago it had been strewn with streamers, confetti and a billion napkins.He'd have to remember that whole throwing them in the air thing if they ever hosted another Greek wedding. They really hadn't been prepared for this group, but everything had gone off well enough. All of the attendees had appeared to have a good time. And the newlyweds had paused on their way out the door to gush about the event.It was a job well done.And Benji was ready to pass out.He glanced at the single light shining from inside his house. Garth had bailed earlier, leaving Benji with the last few things. That was highly unusual. Garthmicromanaged everything they did. Letting Benji turn the lights off was strange.His stomach growled.He turned his attention on the cheery light coming out from the open windows of Scarlett's house.What were the chances he could beg a plate there?The only thing to eat at his place wa

"I'm getting there." Dixie took a deep breath. "Talking to him is one reason why I want to be me again.""This is a lot deeper than I expected. I thought you were going to say he has a nice behind or something. We might need more wine for this kind of discussion." Shonda shook her head."His behind is very nice." Dixie fought the urge to fan herself. She was going to blush no matter what. "I like more than his physical attributes, you know?""He's fine and Dixie is too embarrassed to say it." Elisabeth snickered at her friend."I've known him most of my life. He's the older brother of one of my, well, former best friends. And speaking of, Scarlett wants to meet up and talk, so...it's complicated and too much.""But he treats you right, doesn't he?" Shonda asked."Of course.""He has a sexy voice.""You talking about me?" Shonda's husband stuck his head in through the arch and grinned."Your voice is sexy, but no. Dee-Dixie's new man. The one you talked to?" Shonda rea

DIXIE'S HANDS WOULDN'T STOP sweating.The room was comfortably cool. There was no reason for her perspiration, and yet every few minutes she was wiping her palms dry."From the top," Benjamin said and launched into singing again.Holy mother of...She tapped her toes and moved her hands, always a fraction of a second behind him. He'd dug out a song that had two simple chord changes.The rich sound of his singing seduced her senses. If she'd thought everyday Benjamin was hot, the singing, guitar playing one was hotter."Good, last bit," he said as they strummed between versus.It was easy for her to tell his playing from hers. His was clear, the sound pleasant. She was the opposite. It seemed she hit more dud notes than good ones.She arched her left hand a bit more, stretched her aching fingers and wielded the guitar pick up and down while her better sense continued to scatter. Somehow she made it through the last verse following along with Benjamin's lead."You did i

BENJI LEANED THE SHOVEL up against the tree and dragged the back of his hand across his brow. The landscaping they'd been cultivating was paying off, but that had a few unfortunate results. Namely, more brides wanted their ceremony outdoors with the ancient oaks overhead. The screen of sunflowers planted along the property line helped since the neighbor's old eyesore of a barn wasn't visible.Last year Scarlett had talked Garth into letting Benji lay some stone for a center aisle and paved space for the wedding party to stand, citing things about women's shoes. Garth had begrudgingly agreed and Benji organized the work. Now they were turning an eye to the area where guests sat.Controlling the undergrowth was the name of the game.They'd tried laying sod and encouraging a thick blanket of grass, but the tree canopy was too thick to support grass. Which left the area prone to weeds. And that was why Benji was currently smoothing out what felt like a metric ton of wood chip mulch o

DIXIE MADE IT THROUGH her workday by hiding. She'd had one well-timed sneeze, followed it up with a cough and when one of her co-workers asked if she was coming down with something Dixie had said yes.It was amazing how many people hadn't needed her today.The downside was that she'd had almost twenty-four hours to spin her wheels and freak out.Benjamin Lively had kissed her.And she'd kissed him back.Dixie slid down farther in her seat as she passed the Ransom city limit sign. No one had said a word when she ducked out just a little early.A few minutes later she pulled into the parking lot at the Ransom High School and parked into a visitor spot. At least once a year Dixie made a point of stopping in to see Elisabeth's classroom. Looked like this year was going to be a special case of two visits.Dixie grabbed her purse, locked the car and headed into the school. Classes were out, and the halls were empty. She didn't bother going to the front office. Instead she hooke