Page 48 of Taken By Storm

Chapter Eight

Levi pushed back from the table, grabbing his and Kasi’s plates before she could.

“I can get that, Levi,” she said, rising as well.

“You cook. I clean.” He’d made the same offer every night for the last four nights, and now, as every time before, Kasi ignored it, working beside him as they cleared away the dinner dishes.

“Let me go get Daddy’s tray, and then we can start the dishwasher.” Kasi headed upstairs, while Levi grabbed a washcloth to wipe the dinner table.

Ever since dining with his brothers, Kasi’s father had joined them at the table for dinner. However, tonight he’d turned down their invitation, remaining in his bedroom. He claimed he had a headache, but neither Kasi nor Levi believed that. It appeared there was no rhyme or reason to his down days.

Kasi returned downstairs, looking troubled.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

She shrugged, gesturing to the tray of food, which was basically untouched, but she didn’t say anything.

While Levi remained hopeful that they were turning a corner, not a lot of progress had been made in the last four days. Mr. Mills hadn’t joined him and Keith as they tackled their choreson the farm, and he still spent far too much time in his room. Even though he’d eaten dinner with them at the table, he didn’t contribute much to the conversation, only replying when asked a direct question.

Levi walked over to her, giving her a playful hip bump. “It’s my turn to cook tomorrow for my brothers. I’m making a pile of pork barbeque, and Mom’s making us her homemade coleslaw to go with it. I’d like you, your dad, and Keith to join us again.”

Kasi hesitated. “I’m not sure…”

“Baby steps, Kasi. Remember? We’re not packing it in at the first sign of defeat. We’re going to keep trying.”

She considered that for a second, then smiled. “You’re right. We’re not.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “Now you’ve got me changing pronouns. Still not sure how me,” Kasi pointed to herself, “became we.” Her finger waggled between the two of them.

He caught her finger with his, linking them together, giving her a kiss that let her know exactly how they became awe.

When they parted, her eyelids were heavy with desire, and he understood just how overrated words were. From now on, every time she questioned this thing between them, he was going to show her just how right it was.

Grasping her hand, Levi led her out of the kitchen. “Come on. Let’s go to the living room. We’ll be more comfortable there.”

For the past four days, Levi had split his time, working mornings on Lucky Penny Farm before returning to Stormy Weather after lunch, tackling things there while Kasi ran the stand. Then, each day, he made his way back down the mountain in time to help her close. He continued to help her prep the baked goods after dinner, but with two of them working, they were able to double their output, making enough pie crust, bread dough, and cakes to last for two days.

Tonight was their off night, meaning, they had time to snuggle on the couch before he headed home.

He’d made some serious headway on her list, managing to make a lot of the repairs needed to the outbuildings, house, and some of the farm equipment. Keith had finished fixing the fence, a major job that had taken him the better part of the last four days. He was still caring for the animals as well. His attitude hadn’t improved, but as long as he was working and not being outwardly rude to Kasi, Levi decided to leave it alone.

Unfortunately, tonight, Levi had hit the end of the line as far as helping her because harvest time was upon them, since the majority of the grapes had ripened. That meant, he needed to be on Stormy Weather Farm full-time starting tomorrow until they all were picked. This was the time of the year when nearly everyone in the family, as well as a dozen seasonal workers, converged on the vineyard to begin the backbreaking work of picking the grapes by hand.

Levi hated the idea of not being able to see Kasi as much during the day, and he worried about her returning to bad habits, working too hard, staying up too late, taking too much onto her slim shoulders.

He sank down on the couch, pulling Kasi onto his lap as she laughed.

“There’s plenty of room for me to sit on my own cushion,” she said, though he noticed her sinking down more comfortably as she spoke.

“You’re right where you’re supposed to be.” Levi backed that proclamation up with a kiss.

Every night for five nights, they’d sat together on this couch, kissing each other senseless until he was forced to slowly disentangle them before he took her right here, no matterwhowas in the house. Nowadays, he’d added an extra item to his list of pre-bedtime routines. Because in addition to showering andbrushing his teeth, he had to jerk off in an attempt to avoid blue balls. His nightly showers involved his hand, body wash, and the memory of Kasi’s sweet kisses and tempting touches. It was the only way he could manage to go to sleep.

At this rate, the callouses on his hands weren’t just going to be the result of a hard day’s work, but thanks to a relentless hard-on constantly in need of relief.

Until Kasi accepted that this thing between them was forever, Levi held back from taking them to the next level. He’d approached her with all the subtlety of a tornado, so she was still struggling to see this as a genuine relationship, viewing it instead as what he could only assume she thought was him scratching an itch.

It didn’t help that Levi hadn’t had any long-term relationships in the past, and Kasi knew it. No doubt she was using his track record against him, probably convinced he’d move on before long because he could sense her holding back from him emotionally.

Which made sense, he supposed. She’d just lost someone she loved deeply, her heart still bruised from the pain of her mother’s passing. And on top of that grief, she was stressed out about the farm. He had hoped she would talk to him about the things causing her anxiety, but so far, she’d been stubbornly tight-lipped, determined—despite his assurances he was there for her—to deal with a lot of things on her own.

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