Page 77 of Let Me Love You (Excess All Areas 5)

Until Chaya looked over her shoulder at him. Her eyes soft, her cheeks pink, her mouth open as she came around him.

And he followed her right over the edge.

13

“What are we here for?” Chaya said as Ben drove his car along a dirt track leading to a farmhouse. She sipped the last of her coffee and placed it in the cupholder as they drove past the for sale sign.

“You’ll see,” he said.

When he pulled up alongside two other parked vehicles, a man not much older than Ben stepped out of the main building. He didn’t look like a farmer, dressed in suit pants and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The weather was unseasonably warm, and she was glad she’d made the decision to pack a simple sundress and denim jacket, as well as jeans and a hoodie.

“Ben. Hey. I’m Tim. Thanks for coming out.” His American accent seemed out of place in front of the old stone house surrounded by green fields.

“Hey,” Ben said. “This is my girlfriend, Chaya.”

The word made the deepest recesses of her heart happy. Girlfriend.

She hadn’t thought much about the terms they’d use for each other, so to hear the word roll so naturally off Ben’s tongue was as lovely as the other thing he’d done with his tongue in the shower earlier.

“Nice to meet you, Chaya,” Tim said. “What you’re here for is in the barn. It’s this way.”

They followed him across a cobbled pathway. “Are you buying livestock?” she guessed.

Ben laughed. “Yeah, because a couple of hundred sheep or herd of Friesian cows would fit perfectly in the back garden.”

Tim had walked ahead of them and already had the barn open when they got there. “Go ahead and take a look around. I’ll just follow your lead and answer any questions I can.”

Ben took her hand as they stepped inside, and her jaw dropped. The barn was filled with cars. Vintage cars layered with dust.

“Holy shit,” Ben said. “This is a treasure trove. What’s the story?”

Tim looked out over the sea of vehicles. “My grandfather fancied himself the curator of old cars. He was always talking about fixing them up. My dad moved to Dallas thirty-five years ago for work and never came back to live. He’s an only child. I guess farming got harder, or my grandfather had less time. Parts became harder to get. Maybe he just got overwhelmed. We talked on the phone, but we hadn’t made it back over in years. When he passed, he left the farm to Dad, but Dad asked me to oversee the sale of it. I think we’d both forgotten about the cars. But I’d like them to go to people who’d appreciate them. Fix ‘em up and such. Happy to do a deal if you want more than one. I’ll just wait over there while you look.”

“You’re going to fix up a car?” Chaya said. “What a perfect idea.”

Ben turned to face her. “I know this is going to sound really stupid, but I might be the only member of the band who actually misses their old job. I liked fixing cars. I loved the challenge of trying to figure out what was wrong. Not as much on the cars that are now stacked full of electronics, but the ones where it was pure mechanical willpower that got them moving and kept them on the road. My life has changed in so many ways, and yet, I haven’t. Everyone’s encouraging me to think about what I want, that I’m not growing. But the month we didn’t talk, I did a lot of thinking. And there are some parts of me I am more than happy with. I can’t think of anything better than getting a small workshop somewhere or moving into a place with garage space so I can tinker with cars when I’m not on the road. There’s a whole swath of the media dedicated to this idea that we should be in constant pursuit of being better. Of being more productive, of hustling. I guess, at times, I’ve been made to feel less because I’ve never had that drive. I’m just happy to go along for the ride if something seems like it will be fun.”

“Are you happy with being a musician?” Chaya asked.

“Yeah. Here’s the thing. I get to hang out with my family, who finally all trust each other. We’re going to try to write the next album as a group. I love being on stage, it’s such a fucking high. And I love the fans, even when they disrupt what I’m doing. Because, you know, I wouldn’t be where I am if not for them. But it’s my job, not my life. Musician is a part of me, just like doctor is only a part of you. So is being a mechanic. I want that again.”

“So, let’s pick you something to start working on. Did you come for a specific car?”

Ben shook his head. “I read about this barn discovery and realised there was probably something here I could start on.”

Chaya wrapped her hands around his bicep and pressed her cheek to his arm. “So, what are your criteria?”

“Something classic but won’t make me look like a prick when I drive it. Think I’d like to grab four. I want to fix one up for Alex, and I think I’d like to get one for Zoe for her graduation because she’s worked really hard.”

“That’s really sweet of you. Especially the one for Zoe. Is the fourth one for your mum?” she asked.

Ben wrapped his arms around her. “No, babe. It’s for you.”

Chaya’s eyes went wide. “You don’t need to buy me a car.”

“I know. That’s why I’m going to get all the pleasure and enjoyment of fixing one up, and then instead of selling it, give it to my girlfriend to have it and enjoy it.”

“That’s the second time you’ve called me your girlfriend.”

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