AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ben guessed that meant she didn’t want him to follow. He walked in the opposite direction, got his guitar out of the back of his truck, and went out on the deck.
The view was spectacular from the deck that wrapped all the way around the back of her house. In one direction were the big trees that made up the Black Forest, in the other direction, prairie. On a clear day, Ben would bet you could see all the way to Kansas, and most days in Colorado were clear.
He sat down and strummed his guitar. This is what he wanted to do when he was alone. Liv was probably used to quiet mornings taking care of her horses. He’d give her space, he understood her need for it.
Besides her daughter, Liv had lived alone since her mother died. Ben hadn’t found out how long ago that had been yet, but decided that today he’d stop asking her questions and start telling her more about himself. For now, he’d play his guitar. There was a song inside him, itching to get out.
A while later, maybe as long as an hour, he heard her moving around in the kitchen. As tempted as he was to go in and wrap himself around her, he stayed put. He’d let her come to him when she was ready. His yellow pad was full of lyrics and notes. The song he was working on was coming together.
“Whatcha’ doin’?” Liv sat down on the arm of the Adirondack chair next to him.
“There’s my girl.” Ben put his hand around the back of her neck, and pulled her closer. His lips covered hers. What he intended to be a chaste and simple kiss, turned into something much hotter.
He pulled back. “I’m sorry. I do that a lot, don’t I?”
“Do what? Kiss me? Don’t be sorry, I like it.”
“I’m an affectionate guy. My mom and dad were. Still are. They never held back showin’ each other how much they cared. They never held back with me or my brothers, either. Not everybody is used to that, I guess.”
“It’s okay. I like it,” she said again.
“But you’re not used to it.”
“Ben, I’ve been alone a long time. I’ve been alone a lot more than I’ve been with somebody. My husband died before I had a chance to learn how to live with somebody that way. My mom and dad loved each other, and me, but you’re right, they weren’t as openly affectionate as even Dottie and Bill are.”
“I like being here with you, Liv.”
“I like having you here. I’m sorry about earlier.”
Ben set his guitar down, and patted his lap. “Come here.” He pulled her down on this lap and snuggled her into him.
“This isn’t a normal way of going about courtin’ you, I admit that. I should be callin’ you up, askin’ you out on a date, givin’ you a few days in between to decide whether you like me or not. But it hasn’t been that way between us, has it? Here I am, invadin’ your space, not givin’ you much choice about it.”
Liv didn’t answer. She ran her finger up and down the back of his hand, lost in thought.
“Do you want me to leave?” He hated to ask, he was so afraid she’d say she did. He got here on Monday and dug his heels in, telling her he was staying rather than waiting for her to ask him to stay. He held his breath, waiting for her to answer.
“No, I want you to stay.”
He let the breath out, so relieved he started to laugh. “God—what you do to me, girl.”
“I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never done anything like this. I’ve never had a man come and stay with me. Ben—wow, this is harder to say than I thought it would be. I should tell you…” She looked as though she wanted to jump up, run into the house, and lock the door.
“I haven’t been with another man since Renie’s father, and that was a long, long time ago.”
Ben tightened his arm around her shoulder, keeping her close to him. Her muscles strained, but he wouldn’t let her go. How did he say this? “I know.”
“You do?” She tried to pull away from him again, and he held her tighter.
“It wasn’t anything you did, or didn’t do. Don’t go getting all insecure on me. It was a feeling. I can’t explain it.”
“It’s the re-virgin thing.”
“The what?” When she smiled he knew he hadn’t hurt her.
“I told Paige it had been so long since I had sex I was a re-virgin.”
His leaned his head back and laughed. He felt her muscles relax as she rested against him.
