Page 11 of Taken By Storm

Levi didn’t like the picture forming in his mind. Suddenly, he understood the unplanted fields. “Your brother helping out?”

Kasi shrugged. “He’s taking Mama’s death hard too. Only not in a take-to-bed way.”

Levi crossed his arms. “What’s his way?”

“Escaping the house, which is actually preferable to when he’s home because when heishere, he’s a gigantic pain in the ass.”

“Pain in the ass how?”

Kasi rubbed her eyes tiredly. “He’s been getting into a little bit of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Vandalism, speeding on that motorcycle of his. Last week, he got caught drinking underage with a couple of his friends. Luckily, Sheriff Anderson and my father have been friends since high school. So far, he’s been bringing Keith home and letting him off with a warning, although he did have to pay for the damages from the vandalism. I’m just afraid Keith is going to abuse the sheriff’s compassion one time too many.”

Kasi covered her mouth, trying to hide her yawn. The comfort food was obviously working its way through her system, making her full and sleepily.

As much as Levi wanted to stay with her, he knew she needed sleep. A lot of it.

He stepped next to her, leaning against the counter beside her. “If I leave, are you going to go to bed?”

Kasi didn’t respond right away, which told him her answer wasn’t going to be honest.

“Don’t lie to me, Kasi.”

Her gaze flew to his, and he wasn’t sure what he saw in those pretty eyes of hers. Confusion? Annoyance? Arousal? Any or all of those looked about right.

“No. I’m not going to bed. I need to start prepping the baked goods to sell at the stand tomorrow.”

“Prepping what?” he asked.

“I put the pie crust and bread together. Refrigerate the crust overnight and leave the bread to rise. Then I bake the cakes.”

He frowned. It was nearly eight o’clock. What she was talking about would take hours.

“Give me the cake recipe.”

Kasi blinked, startled. “What?No.”

Levi stepped in front of her, cupping her cheeks in his hands. God, her skin was soft. She flushed slightly, and the innocence of it caught him off guard. He started playing over what he knew about Kasi, trying to recall if she’d ever had any boyfriends. Sadly, he’d been a blind fucking fool for too long.

“What did I tell you about arguing with me, little bear?”

He felt the way her pulse accelerated, saw her eyelids grow heavy. That adorable pink tongue appeared, swiping her full bottom lip and sending his thoughts to a whole bunch of places he couldn’t go tonight. She was dead on her feet…and apparently, still several hours away from bedtime.

Levi released her and stepped back, Kasi visibly shaking her head as if to wake herself up.

“Fine. I’m nothing if not a quick learner, and the past hour has shown me nothing I say will matter anyway,” she relented, turning her back on him to reach for a recipe box on the counter. She pulled a card out and handed it to him. “I triple it. The mixer is over there. The ingredients are in the pantry and fridge.”

Levi nodded once. “I used to bake with my mom when I was a kid. She insisted me and my brothers learn our way around a kitchen so we could feed ourselves and any future wives who might come our way. I can figure it out. You get started on your crust and bread.”

The two of them worked together in companionable silence. Well, relative silence. Kasi turned on the radio, country music playing softly in the background.

Once his cakes were in the oven, he helped her knead the bread dough.

“That it?” Levi was worried she might rattle off twelve more things she needed to do before bedtime.

Kasi nodded, her gaze landing on the clock on the stove. “Oh wow. It’s only ten thirty.”

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