Chapter 10
A/N: A long summer separation
Benjamin finally pulled into New York late in the evening. He had driven straight through only stopping for gas and snacks. He told his Mom he would be in a few hours ago, but traffic had been really thick. He was so glad to be home, but missed Suzanne already and he had only been away from her for a few hours. It was going to be a long three weeks.
He walked into his family home, "Hello, I am home anyone here," he called out.
His Mom, hearing him, immediately went to greet him. "How was your trip son?"
"It was long and traffic was terrible, I wish I would have decided to fly back and not drive. It is done now, but I am worn out. Did you make dinner?" he asked as his stomach rumbled.
"Yes, I saved you a plate. Let me warm it up for you while you put your things in your room," she told him.
He came back to the kitchen just as she placed his plate on the table.
"So, tell me what I need to know about Suzanne. I really enjoyed meeting her and her parents at dinner. You really kept that quiet, even though we talk almost weekly. You never mentioned her, tell me how you met," she told him.
He wiped his mouth and placed his napkin on the table. "We met in our business class in the fall. She was new to the department and her advisor had her take the class. We started talking and she told me how she was over her head in taking the class and struggling. I offered to help her and we started spending time together. We just made our relationship official after the holidays and have spent part of every day together since," he said.
"Well, it seems like you are really taken with her and her you. You seemed to gravitate towards each other all evening at dinner. She seems like she really has a good head on her shoulders," she said.
"Mom, she is the smartest, kindest, most impressive, and captivating person I have ever met. She makes me feel things I have never felt before. I fell for her within a few weeks of meeting her. I can't imagine my life without her," he told her.
"Sounds like you might be in love with her," she said.
"I definitely am, I do love her and she loves me too. I miss her so much already and it has only been a few hours. I don't know how I am going to survive all summer without seeing her everyday," he said longingly.
"I know separation is hard, as the old saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. You will have to call and write to her to make sure she doesn't forget you," she said.
"Oh trust me, I will spend my summer paychecks paying for long distance calls," he laughed.
"Maybe she can come up for the 4th of July celebration. We will be at the cabin in the Catskills and she will be welcome. She can invite her parents and it will give us a chance to really get to know each other," she said.
"Well I will tell her that, but speaking of her visiting, she will be in Middleburg in three weeks for a horse sale. I was hoping I could take the days off and spend with her the days she is there. I am not sure what Dad will say about that. I was hoping you would help me with that," he said sheepishly.
"You speak to him and see what he says, if I need to talk to him I will," she told him.
"Thanks Mom, I am going to bed, I am worn out and have to be at the office at noon tomorrow." He kissed her cheek and took his dishes and washed them. As he was standing at the sink, he was brought back to the memory of helping Suzanne do dishes and a smile came to his face.
He went into his room and reached into his bag and retrieved a picture of him and Suzanne. The picture was taken at a picnic for their business class and he had put it in a frame to sit on his bedside table. He kissed the picture and said "Goodnight sweetheart, Sweet dreams until I see you soon."
Suzanne arrived home and immediately went to put her bags away. She knew her Mom would be waiting to interrogate her about Benjamin. She knew she would want to know first how she had kept the relationship a secret.
She walked down the stairs to the kitchen, where she knew her Mom would be preparing lunch. She walked in and heard her Mom humming to herself, unaware of anyone being present.
"Looks like you are enjoying yourself," she said.
Ellen whirled around and quickly walked over to pull her daughter into a hug. She welcomed her Mom's embrace. "How was your drive in? Did you stop by the barn before you came in?"
"The drive was fine, some traffic as a lot of students are leaving town for the summer. No, I came straight to the house to unload my bags and see you. I knew you would have questions and better to get them out now than to wonder what they would entail," she told her.
"Well I do have questions, but you can tell me what you want me to know if that is what you want," Ellen said.
"Mom, I love Benjamin so much and he loves me. I can't believe it. He is the most wonderful person I have ever met. I thought I was in love with Brad in high school, but this does not compare. I miss him when I am not with him. He is my first thought when I wake up and the last thought before I go to sleep. My heart hurts knowing we will be separated this summer," she said, tears forming in her eyes.
Ellen gathered her back into her arms to soothe her tears. She rubbed her back as Suzanne cried her eyes out. She was aware of what it was like being separated from the love of your life. Joe had been drafted into WWII and had been gone for nearly a year. She remembers all the lonely nights and heartfelt letters she had written to him.
She pulled Suzanne back from her arms and said, "I know the difficulty of distance, at least he is not in a war zone like your Dad was when we were separate. As the old saying goes, Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I am sure that you will survive. You may not think you will and it will be hard, but time will fly by and you will see each other again soon."
"Speaking of that, I am going to talk to Dad about making the trip to Middleburg for the sale. Benjamin lives just an hour away and he said he would drive there to see me. Do you think Dad will be okay with it?" she asked.
"Talk to him and see what he says, be honest about why you want to go and I am sure he will say it is okay. I will talk to him on your behalf if he is stubborn about it. I know that Evelyn will be there so Eric will probably be distracted with her as well. Dad will just have to handle the business himself," she laughed.
"Why don't you come too and we can make it a family trip?" Suzanne said.
"I will see, I haven't been to a sale in years," Ellen said.
Suzanne dried her remaining tears and said, "I am going to change and head to the barn, I was hoping to get in a ride before lunch."
"Ok, you have two hours, so don't be late. I know you lose track of time when you and Blaze are out riding," Ellen said.
Suzanne quickly changed and headed to the barn. She stepped in and was surprised to see her Dad coming out of one of the stalls. She walked up and gave him a big hug.
"How is my baby girl?" he asked.
"I am good, glad classes are over for a while. I am going to take Blaze out for a ride. What are you up to, I am surprised to see you in the barn. I figured you would be in the pastures sizing up the new foals," she said.
"Eric is on that today, he wanted to get a jump on what would be going to Middleburg in three weeks," he told her.
"Speaking of Middleburg, I was wondering if I could go with you this year?" she asked.
He raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "Any particular reason you want to go this year, you haven't wanted to go in about five."
"Well, Benjamin lives an hour away and he said he would come and see me if it was okay with you that I go," she said.
Joe took a good hard look at his daughter and her pleading eyes. He never could say no to her when she looked at him a certain way. He figured it would give him a chance to size up Benjamin more and to determine if he was subtle for Suzanne. Not just any boy was going to take his baby girl away and especially one from New York City. That boy had better be as impressive as the vibe he gave off.
"I guess it will be okay for you to go, since Eric is going," he told her.
"I talked to Mom about it and floated the idea of her coming too and making it a family trip, what do you think of that?" she asked.
He contemplated her statement and thought yea that is a good idea. It had been a long time since they all made a sale together. The hands could handle the ranch while they were gone.
"Ok great, I am going riding. See you at lunch," she said. She quickly saddled Blaze and off they went. Riding was the best medicine for her heart and missing Benjamin. She could hardly wait to tell him her Dad agreed and she would be seeing him in three weeks. He promised to call her on Friday evening and she was so anxious to hear his voice.
She was sitting by the phone after dinner on Friday waiting on his call. As soon as it rang, she snatched it off the hook.
"James residence." she said.
Benjamin recognized her voice immediately, "Hello Beautiful, I have missed you so much."
"Oh Benjamin, I have missed you too. I do have good news, my Dad agreed to let me come to Middleburg so I will see you in a few weeks," she said excitedly.
On the other end of the line, Benjamin was beaming with joy. "Sweetheart that is excellent news, I can hardly wait. Tell me what you have been up to since you got home."
She told him about riding Blaze for hours on end and helping with the mares that were pregnant. She talked nonstop for a while until he laughed and she had to take a breath. He laughed at her and said," Sounds like you are having fun."
"I am trying to keep busy to keep my mind off missing you so much," she said.
"I know just how you feel. I have been working nonstop since I got here. Dad has me burning the candle at both ends. Mom has been on me about working so much, she says I am going to burn myself out. I laughed and told her I would be okay, classes had trained me well," he laughed.
"Oh Benjamin, please take care of yourself, you don't want to wear yourself thin and get sick," she said worriedly.
"Sweetheart, I am fine. I can't wait to see you in a few weeks. My heart has been so empty without you. I had a nice long talk with Mom when I got here. She wants me to invite you and your family to join us at the cabin for the 4th of July," he told her.
"Hmmmm, I am not sure if they will be able to come. That is right in the middle of summer foaling season and it is pretty busy around her. We will talk about it when I see you. Maybe I can just fly up and spend some time getting to know your family. I will talk to Mom about it and see how it goes. It might be iffy since it is just a few weeks after the Middleburg trip. I hope we can make it work. I miss and love you so much," she said.
The days turned into weeks and it was the day before the Middleburg trip. Suzanne was a bundle of nerves and could not sit still. Her Mom laughed at her when she picked up her book for the 3rd time to read and only read a couple of pages before she closed it and was up pacing the floor again.
"Why don't you take a walk out to the barn, maybe Blaze can settle you down. You are as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof," she said laughing at Suzanne.
Suzanne gave her Mom a half crooked smile as she headed to the door. She walked into the barn and straight to Blazes' stall. He stuck his head out the door and nuzzled her shoulder. She gave him some sugar cube treats as she rubbed his head and nose. "I will be so glad when tomorrow gets here and we get to Middleburg. I miss him so much, I can hardly wait to see him and have him wrap his arms around me. I can't stand this waiting. Want to go for a ride fella?" she asked and he shook his head. She laughed at his antics as she went to get tack.
Benjamin was trying to work on a spreadsheet at his desk, he had gotten a copy of the picture of him and Suzanne and put it on his desk. He leaned back in his chair and picked it up. "Sweetheart, I can hardly wait to see you tomorrow. I miss your smile and the way you fit so perfectly in my arms," he said, stroking her face in the photo.
He was so glad that he had worked so hard up to this point and his Dad had not put up a fight about him taking off to spend time with her. The hours were dwindling down, but not fast enough for him. He finally packed up his briefcase and headed for home. He knew he wouldn't get anything else accomplished tonight.
After a late start and an eight hour drive the convoy of horse trailers pulled into the stables in Middleburg. Suzanne had been restless most of the trip, but the last hour had her nerves on tight ropes. Eric even teased her about it.
"Man you got it bad for this guy, I have never seen you this jumpy and edgy on a trip," he said laughing at her.
"You should talk, you are not exactly calm yourself and I know it is because Evelyn will be at the barn when we get there," she said, giving him the side eye.
Suzanne jumped out of the truck before Eric put it in park. Benjamin was leaning on his car in the driveway to the stalls. She ran full speed and jumped into his embrace. He held her tight, just breathing in her scent. He was beginning to forget what it was like and having her in his arms again had his heart racing.
She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a very welcome kiss. He wanted to take it farther, but he knew her brother and Dad were watching and he didn't want to step over any lines.
She took his hand and walked him over to them. "Dad, you remember Benjamin, and this is my brother Eric, Eric, Benjamin," she said introducing them.
Benjamin stepped forward and shook both men's hands in a firm handshake. Suzanne had her hand firmly grasping his other and never let it go.
"Nice to meet the guy who has stolen my Sister's heart. I have been hearing about you nonstop for weeks now," Eric said grinning at them both.
"She had told me a lot about you also, says you are the 2nd best horse person in your family," he mocked her with his words.
"Oh really, who does she say is the best?" Eric asked.
"Well," he said, dragging out his response teasing Eric a bit. "Your Dad of course."
The group laughed and parted as Evelyn arrived and joined the group. More introductions were made. Eric and Joe excused themselves to go check in and start unloading the horses.
Evelyn left to go attend to hers also.
"What do you want to do?" Benjamin asked.
"We can take a tour of the barn and then drive to the bunkhouse they have us set up in for the next few days," she said, hoping he would get the hint she wanted to be alone with him so she could properly welcome him.
They could take the bags to the bunkhouse and start settling in. A public display of affection would not endear her father to Benjamin, so waiting until they were alone was best.
They arrived at the bunkhouse and she opened the door. As soon as he cleared the threshold, she kicked the door shut and launched herself into his arms. They joined their lips in a kiss, thirsty for the taste and touch of the other. Their kiss went on for a while and they eventually had to break apart for air.
Suzanne looped her arms around his neck and nestled into his shoulder. Benjamin used his arms to hold her tight.
"I missed you so much and I am so glad that you are here," she told him with tears in her eyes.
"Sweetheart, I missed you too. My arms have been so lonely without holding you. My lips have missed your touch and taste.
They continued to just hold each other lost in a world of just them. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent that was uniquely him and no other. She knew she had missed him, but didn't truly realize how much until she was back in his arms again. She missed everything about him from his 1000 watt smile, to his kisses to the feel of his arms around her.
Benjamin lowered his head to hers and relaxed for the first time since that last day in May when they said goodbye. His heart was complete with her in his arms. He too didn't truly know how much he missed her until she was back in his arms again.
She stepped back and took his hand guiding them to the couch in front of the big stone fireplace. The fireplace would not be needed, but it was such a beautiful piece of craftsmanship and it set off the mood of the whole room.
He sat down and pulled her onto his lap, circling her body with his arms. She lowered her head to his shoulder and snuggled deeper into his embrace. They remained like that for several minutes, neither of them uttering a word. Lost in the feeling of having the other close.
Suzanne raised her head to look him in the eyes, tears in hers she said, "Benjamin, being back in your arms is my favorite place to be." "Having you in my arms is my favorite place also," he said with tears in his eyes also.
She lowered her lips to his, capturing them in a deep and sensual kiss that took their breath away. They surfaced only momentarily for breath and then resumed their kissing. Lost in each other, they almost missed her Dad and brother pulling up out front.
Suzanne quickly jumped from his lap and stepped towards the fireplace. Joe and Eric came in and surveyed the room looking at the guilty looking young couple for nearly getting caught in their intimate moment.
"Did the horses' get settled in okay?" she asked Eric. "Yes, all settled in and waiting for the sale to start tomorrow," he said with a slight smirk on his face to indicate he was aware of what was going on before they walked in.
Eric was sympathetic to both of them as he too had been separated from Evelyn for several weeks. She had been traveling with her father looking at horses all over the East Coast. He would be glad when they would get to spend some quality time with each other.
Joe was milling around in the kitchen, not paying attention to the exchange between his children. In truth he was lost in thought of both of them. They were both starting or involved in what he was determining to be serious relationships and he was not sure he was ready for that yet with his children. Eric was younger and just beginning to thrive in his relationship with Evelyn. He was more exposed to it since he was living at the farm. Suzanne's relationship with Benjamin was out of the blue and still very new to him. He would make it a point to get to know him and question him on his intentions with his little girl. He laughed to himself, she was not little anymore but very much still his, baby girl, and would not tolerate some boy toying with her heart.
He was pulled out of his thoughts by her, "Dad, do you want to head into town and get supplies and dinner?" she asked.
Joe quickly gathered himself and said, "Yes, we will need food and such for the few days we are here. Mom sent some provisions, but not enough for the whole time. I wish it would have worked out for her to come with us, she always loved coming to this sale."
"Yes, I wish that too, she loves coming to New York sales. She doesn't leave the farm enough and spend time not being a wife and Mom," Suzanne said.
"I was going to talk to you about this later, but this seems like a good time. Benjamin's family has invited us to their cabin in the Catskills for the 4th of July. I know it is a busy time for you, and I know Mom would love it. Do you think you would be able to do it for her?" she asked.
"I think that even if myself and Eric can't make it , you and your Mom should definitely do it. Some mother, daughter time would be very welcome to her. It will also give her a chance to spend time with Benjamin and his parents. She seemed to hit it off with her when we were at the restaurant." he said.
Suzanne's stomach was doing somersaults, since she was so hoping that she would get to see Benjamin for the 4th. Her Dad was very receptive to the idea and her Mom coming along would be a plus. She smiled at Benjamin and he returned it. He too was elated that they would get to spend more time with each other over the summer.
The four of them loaded up in the truck to head into town. Benjamin was sitting in the back with Suzanne and snuck his hand over to hold hers. She interlaced their fingers and smiled at him. His heart leapt in his chest. Her smile had a way of moving him like no one else ever had.
They returned to the bunkhouse, and put away all the supplies. Joe and Eric decided to make it an early evening since they both had gotten up early and had driven all day.
Benjamin would be staying at the bunkhouse in one of the spare rooms, so he retrieved his bag from his car. Suzanne showed him to his room and invited him to join her on the big back porch when he was done
She gathered a bottle of wine and glasses and went to the porch to await him. The moon was a big sphere in the sky and the yard and porch were bathed in light.
He joined her and opened the wine, pouring them both a glass. They leaned into each other on the big swing and just enjoyed the quiet time together.
Benjamin leaned down to join their lips. He was feeling drunk on her kisses and he knew it was not just the wine. She had the ability to make him drown in her senses and her love for him. He was totally and completely in love with her and was looking forward to their future together.
Suzanne was drawn deeper into his kiss and also thinking about their future. They decided to turn in since tomorrow would be a long day.
The next day the group was sitting in the stands watching the sale. Eric and Evelyn were both totally engrossed in the sale and recording the sales that affected their farms. Joe was watching the sale intently to determine if the horses he was most interested in were really worth the amount being asked. Suzanne and Benjamin were in their own little world with eyes for only each other.
The next several days went by way too quickly and soon they had the new horses loaded and were loading all their belongings to return to their homes.
Joe had observed Benjamin with Suzanne over the last few days. He also had an opportunity to speak to him and determined that he was in fact the man for his baby girl. She was happier than he had ever seen her and the smile on her face when he was in the room was enough to bring joy to his heart for her happiness.
Suzanne had her arms wrapped around Benjamin leaning into him. They were trying to prolong their goodbye as long as possible. She didn't want him to leave, but she knew she must and so did he. She tiptoed up and kissed him. He returned the kiss with vigor and he too did not want to release her and let her go.
"I will see you in three weeks at the cabin. Leaving you is so hard, but knowing I will see you soon makes it easier," he told her, wiping her tears from her cheeks.
"Yes, three weeks, I love you Benjamin and I can't wait to be in your arms again. I will miss you so much," she told him through her tears.
She got in the truck with Eric and he in his car. They knew it would be a long three weeks and both knew missing each other would be hard.