Chapter 13
A/N: Reuniting
Lots of cuteness overload in this chapter.
I forgot that I uploaded this before I left for Alaska. I hope everyone likes it. I will get back on a regular posting schedule once I get home. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Benjamin was unloading his luggage from his car when he was suddenly ambushed from behind by a body lunging onto his back and holding on like a koala. He chuckled to himself, he knew exactly who it was and a huge smile broke out on his face.
He moved her arms and turned to face her after she put her feet down. He gathered her into his welcoming arms and inhaled her scent. He had missed it more than he wanted to admit. He lowered his head and took her lips in his and joined them for a long awaited kiss. He kissed her like a thirsty man longing for a drink of water. She was back in his arms right where she was supposed to be. They finally broke apart and he looked down into her smiling face.
"Suzanne, I have missed you so much, I am so glad to be back. I thought you were not coming back until tomorrow?" he asked.
"After you told me your plans to arrive today, I could not wait another day to see you. I left this morning and brought all my stuff back from the farm. I have been sitting in the coffee shop across the street for the last three hours waiting for you to get her," she said, ducking her head sheepishly.
He smiled at her and said, "I may have broken a few speed limits getting here. I was going to unload and then drive out to the farm to surprise you. I talked to you brother and he gave me directions to the farm. Guess he will get a laugh when he realizes you left to come here to meet me."
She smiled and placed her arms around his neck pulling him into her. She had missed him so much and the sporadic phone calls just were not cutting it anymore. She was so glad to be back in his arms.
He stepped out of her arms and grabbed some bags from his car. She stepped up and took one in each hand and they headed into his apartment.
Once the door was shut, they each dropped the bags they were carrying and lunged into each other.
Benjamin locked their lips together and walked them back to the couch laying her down under him. She moaned into his lips when he reached under her shirt and stroked her stomach. Their need and desire for each other is very evident in their bodies. Soon clothes were discarded and they were joined in the most intimate way.
Benjamin shifted off her and pulled her into his side as they recovered from their extra curricular activity. A smile on both their faces and she laughed as she turned her head into his shoulder.
"Guess we missed each other a lot," she said.
"Most definitely, do you want to go get something to eat?" he asked.
"Yes, just let me clean up a bit and find my clothes. You tend to throw them everywhere in your haste to get me naked," she grinned at him.
Dinner was a quick event and they were soon back at his apartment curled up on his couch. Him propped on the arm and her laying between his legs, back to his chest. He had his arms around her and was content with her back in his arms. They were so happy to be back together.
Classes were due to start in another week, Benjamin had a meeting with the professor he would be TAing for and Suzanne had a meeting with her advisor. They met up afterwards and were heading to her study room in the library.
They wanted to get a jump on papers that they both knew they would have to write. Suzanne had a huge design project that would be due at the end of the semester and she wanted to get some ideas on what she would design. Benjamin would need to get a head start so that he didn't fall behind with his TA duties taking up a big portion of his time.
Labor day weekend was next week and Suzanne wanted to surprise Benjamin by taking him to her family home. He had shared his home with her and now she wanted to return the favor. It was also the end of the summer foaling season and she knew that several mares were due to have their foals and she loved that part of the horse farm. Seeing the new foals and getting to name them were her favorite thing. Since she was a small girl her Dad always let her name the new foals born on the farm and she didn't want to miss it. She was going to ask Benjamin when they met up after her last class of the day. She talked to her Mom last night and asked their permission.
She was walking out of her lecture hall when two strong arms encircled her waist pulling her back against his chest. She didn't even need to turn around, she knew those arms too well and his unique scent that was only Benjamin.
"Hello my love, how has your day been?" he asked as he moved around and slung his arm over her shoulder.
"So much better now. There is something that I wanted to ask you and feel free to say no if you don't want to. Next weekend I would like for you to come out to the farm with me for the long weekend," she said as she ducked her head.
Benjamin stopped walking and turned to her. He took her hand and placed a gentle kiss on it and said, "There is no place I would rather spend my time than with you. I would be honored to accompany you to your family home."
Suzanne looked up with a bright smile and wrapped her arms around his neck. On the walk to Benjamin's apartment she told him all about the foaling and how she got to name them. Benjamin smiled, enjoying how she was so animated and babbling non stop about the horses. He had not gotten to see her around the horses, but he had noticed her change in her voice and body language when she talked about them.
Friday at 10 am, Benjamin picked her up outside her apartment and they set off for her family home an hour outside of Charlottesville.
Benjamin turned off the main road onto a long paved drive that was tree lined and had horse pastures on both sides. He was not sure what he was expecting of the farm, but the massive home that stood at the end of the drive was definitely not it. He pulled up and stopped, she jumped out of the car before he put it in park. A huge smile on her face and telling him to hurry as she set off for the huge barn.
He laughed and jogged to catch up with her. She was standing at the stall of a beautiful animal that had its head out over the half stall door. She was talking to the horse in a calm voice and petting its nose. She waved him over and said, "This is my first love, Benjamin meet Blaze."
He raised his hand to run where her hand was and the horse raised its head and stepped back and snorted at him. He jumped back and she laughed at both of them. Benjamin had never spent any time around horses except the ones that pulled the carriages around Central Park and was not quite sure how to act or what to do around them.
"Blaze be nice she scolded the horse, he is showing out for you. He feels your nervousness and is playing off it. He is truly a very gentle and sweet horse," she told him as she reached for his hand pulling him back over to the stall.
She pulled a sugar cube from her pocket and held his hand flat open and Blaze stepped forward and took it. Benjamin giggled due to the horse's whiskers tickling his hand. She gave him a complete tour of the barn and he was thoroughly impressed with the operation and the organization of everything.
"That is my Dad, he is very detail oriented and adamant that everything has a proper place and it be as efficient as possible. He always says one step is better than two and working smarter not harder," she said.
"I see now where you get your organizational skills and need to get all the details correct. All the T's crossed and I's dotted," he laughed at her.
She just shrugged at him and led him out of the barn to the house. They entered through the backdoor and she motioned for him to remove his shoes. Her Mom did not allow shoes to be worn in the house. There was a shoe rack beside the door for guests or muddy boots.
They walked through to the kitchen where she knew her Mom would be preparing lunch. Ellen turned when she heard them and walked over and gave both a warm hug. Benjamin really liked Ellen and she was becoming a second Mom to him. He knew that Suzanne talked to her Mom at least 1-2 times a week and often called her from his place when they were there.
"Benjamin, did you meet the four legged part of the family?" she laughed as she asked.
"Yes Ma'am I did. Blaze even ate a sugar cube from my hand after he tried to knock me off my feet," he told her.
They all laughed. Suzanne took his hand and gave him a tour of the house. She wasn't sure where her Dad and brother were but assumed they were in the pastures somewhere. They would be back at the house soon for lunch. She walked him into the main entry that led to the formal dining room and living area. He was so impressed with the architecture of the house and was completely speechless at the impressive design of it.
"My grandfather Isiah designed the house. He is where I get my love of architecture from. All of the wood right down to the studs was cut and milled on the property. He lives on the other side of the hill. He will probably be here in a few minutes to eat lunch with us. I am so excited to introduce you to him," she said.
As if on cue, the front door opened and he walked in. Suzanne walked over and gave him a big hug. Isiah was looking past her and sizing up the young man she was holding hands with when he walked in.
"Benjamin, this is my Grandpop, Isiah James. Grandpop, this is Benjamin Adams, my boyfriend," she said.
Benjamin stepped forward to shake his hand. Isiah was not sure of the young man, but he did have a good solid handshake. He would wait to make his mind up about him once he spent more time with him.
"It is a pleasure to meet you sir, Suzanne has told me so many wonderful stories about you," Benjamin told him.
"Well I am glad to finally meet the man that Suzanne and Ellen talked about all summer," Isiah said, dropping his hand.
"Let's go see if lunch is ready, I think I heard the boys come in the back door," Suzanne said.
After lunch, Benjamin retrieved his bag from the car and Suzanne showed him to the guest room. It had a very ornate older bed in it and some very impressive antique furnishings. Suzanne ran her hand over the top of an old desk in the room. She had used the desk many times during her younger years when she wanted to escape her own room. There was even a drawing of a barn that she had drawn on the top of it.
Benjamin smiled at her and pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "Your home is amazing and it was wonderful meeting more of your family," he said between kisses.
"Want to break in the bed?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
She pushed him away and told him, "That will definitely not be happening this weekend, my parents room share a wall with this room."
He looked at her with a pout on his face. She laughed at him and took his hand. She wanted to show him her room, which was at the very end of the hall and away from the others.
She opened the door and waved her hand. "Welcome to the childhood bedroom of yours truly."
He walked around and was looking at all the ribbons and trophies. He knew she was a good horsewoman, but had no idea she had competed and won quite a bit by the looks of it. He was drawn to some pictures on the bookshelf. One contained a very young Suzanne, perhaps 5 or 6 atop a large horse with a huge smile on her face. He took it down to get a better look. Her smile was huge and she looked very happy.
"That was taken the day I won my first ribbon, I was 5 and Blaze was about 4. We were an unstoppable pair back in the day. I stopped competing in high school to concentrate on my studies. I knew horses were not my future, so I needed to give them up to get to where I am now. I will never truly give them up, just put them on the back burner for my architecture career."
He continued to walk around and survey the room. He chuckled when he realized she had horses on her bedspread and sheets. She saw what he was looking at and ducked her head in embarrassment.
"Those were my Mom's idea, she made them for me and they are just so comfortable I can't give them up."
She wanted to try and get him up on a horse and see if he would take to it. She rode every chance she got when she came home and had to see if the "City Boy" had it in him. She told him to change into some jeans and a comfortable shirt while she changed into her riding clothes. She said they could meet down at the end of the staircase.
They headed to the barn. She explained to him what each piece of tack was as she was saddling Blaze. Once she was done, she retrieved Moses, an older horse that was very gentle and perfect for new riders.
Once he was all tacked up, she led them to the round pen outside the barn. She started out telling him to step up on the mounting block as she stepped into her stirrup and mounted Blaze. He looked at her and wondered why he was using steps.
"You can try to mount on your own the first time if you want, but I will laugh at you if you fall on your butt," she told him.
He decided he didn't want to make a fool of himself and stepped up on the block. She showed him how to hold the reins and put his left foot in the stirrup and swing his right leg over. He took instruction very well and was soon sitting atop a very large animal unknown to him. Not wanting to appear nervous he looked at her for direction.
She told him that animals can sense nervousness. She dismounted Blaze and walked over to him to adjust his stirrups to the right height. She took the reins and walked him around the pen to get him used to the feel of the Moses in motion.
The first step was a shock to him and he fell back slightly grabbing on the saddle horn for support. She told him to relax and just feel the horse's stride and gait. About 30 minutes in and he was starting to feel more comfortable. She gave him the reins back and told him to hold on to them while she mounted Blaze and got the outer gate.
She wanted him to walk around a little outside the pen to get a feel of different ground and how it felt. She told him to tap him in the quarters with his heels to make him move and go faster and pull back on the reins to make him slow or stop.
Benjamin was unsure of going too fast, but she assured him he would do fine. He tapped the horse and Moses walked out of the pen. They were only going to ride around the barn area today. She didn't want to overwhelm him too much on his first day.
Benjamin was actually enjoying the ride and encouraged her to let them ride more. She smirked because she knew the longer he was in the saddle today the sorer he would become in the morning. They rode for about 30 more minutes and turned into the barn to put the horses up.
They removed the tack and wiped it down and she showed him how to brush the horses down after a ride.
They returned to the house to clean up for dinner. It would just be the 5 of them since her Grandpop would be working in his home office preparing for a meeting next week.
Five am came very early, when an excited Suzanne knocked on his door. All she heard was a deep moan and giggled because she knew what that moan meant. She opened his door and jumped on him. She told him to get dressed. One of the mares was about to foal and she didn't want him to miss it.
They ran into the barn very slowly due to Benjamin's sore legs and butt, just as the foal was born. Suzanne was misty eyed and Benjamin was in awe. He had never witnessed a live animal birth before. Suzanne had been running names around in her head all day trying to decide what to name the first colt. Once she saw him she knew right away.
"Well Suzanne what is his name going to be?" her Dad asked.
"Benjy," she said, turning to look at Benjamin with a smile on her face.
Everyone turned to look at him and his neck and face turned red. He looked back at his name sake and smiled a huge smile. This was a wonderful gesture and not one he would soon forget. As they all looked on and the vet examined the colt and the mare, he stood up on wobbly legs.
"Well he has some spirit that one, he was up faster than I have seen in a while," the vet said.
Benjamin beamed with pride and looked over to Suzanne who was also smiling back at him.
They all left the barn and headed for the house. Ellen was up and had breakfast made.
"Well Benjamin, I hear you have a name sake now?" Ellen asked him.
He was still a little shell shocked and Suzanne had to bump him to get him to listen to her Mom.
"Sorry, I guess I was a little lost there. Yes he is a gorgeous colt and I am honored he will have my name," he answered her.
She and Benjamin decided to get a morning ride in. She wanted to show him more of the farm and knew the farm in the morning was the most beautiful.
They saddled up and left for the trails that led up the hills. There was a certain spot she wanted to show him that was her favorite spot on the farm. They rode for about an hour and she was really impressed with how he had taken to riding. He covered it well, but she could tell being in the saddle was aggravating his sore legs and butt. She smirked at him trying to get a more comfortable seat. They topped a hill and the view was amazing. They could see for miles and ended with the mountains in the background. They dismounted and tied the horses to a tree. She untied a blanket from her saddle and took his hand and they walked down a short path.
The path closed into a small grove of trees and she spread out the blanket. She sat down and pulled him down to sit beside her. The weather was perfect and not a cloud in the sky. They were hidden from the rest of the farm by some bushes that were shaped in a horseshoe. Her Dad had planted them years ago when they first moved to the farm. She and Eric often played hide and seek in them when they were kids.
"This place is beautiful, so quiet and serene. You can see for miles. I had no idea what beauty there was just an hour out of the busyness of Charlottesville," he told her.
"This is my special place where I go to recenter myself and to bring joy to my heart. I wanted to bring you here so it would be our special place now," she said.
Benjamin took off his jacket and rolled it up and laid down pulling her into his side. They laid in the quiet just enjoying being together. He rolled her over and kissed her.
"Thank you for sharing this with me, this has been an amazing weekend and I will never forget this time," he told her.
We better head back before Dad sends Eric looking for us.
Four more foals were born on Saturday and Sunday bringing the total to five new additions to the farm. Suzanne had given each a special name: Kennedy, Secret, Sundance, and Memory. She picked the last one for memorial day and to have a lasting memory of the weekend.
At supper that night Joe had a gift for Benjamin. He walked over to him and handed him an official looking piece of paper.
Benjamin examined it with a quizzical look on his face not knowing what he was looking at.
"It is the official Pedigree paperwork for Benji. His official name is Benjamin Adams James and he is now your horse. He will live here on the farm and you can come out anytime you want to visit him," Joe told him with a smile on his face.
Benjamin did not know what to think and told him, "This is a wonderful thing and so unexpected. Thank you Sir," as he extended his hand to him.
"The man that makes my daughter so incredibly happy deserves it and more, you are very welcome," Joe replied.
Suzanne was standing by his side with tears in her eyes at her Dad's gesture. She took it to mean that he had accepted Benjamin as part of the family now. Her heart was overflowing with love for them all.
The next day Benjamin was putting his bag in the car for them to leave, when Isiah approached him
"Son, I have never seen my Suzanne with a bigger smile on her face than I have this weekend. I expect it to stay there. You have brought her great joy and I want to thank you for that," he said, extending his hand to him.
"Sir, it is my profound joy to bring that smile to her face anytime I can. I will spend my lifetime making her happy and to feel loved. She is a special woman and deserves only the best that I can give her," he told him, shaking his hand back.
Lots of hugs and goodbyes were exchanged and they were soon on the road back to school.
"Benjamin, thank you for coming with me and being a sport about riding and my family. It means so much to me that they love you as much as I do."
"Sweetheart, it is I that should be thanking you. I had a wonderful time with your family. The riding I thoroughly enjoyed, though not the sore legs and butt so much," he laughed at her.
Classes resumed and both had a hefty workload. Benjamin wanted to do something special for their one year anniversary that was coming up. He wanted it to be something she would always remember. He had a month to plan it and make it come together.