Page 78 of Taken By Storm

Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to think about it because right now, there was another Mills sibling to worry about. He walked over to the window Keith and Archie had pried open with a crowbar. He bent over to pick it up, and Keith’s shoulders sagged with shame.

“I’ll pay to replace the window,” Keith said.

“You’re right. You will. But not with money. It’s harvest time, and we can always use a couple extra strong backs. Don’t make any plans for Saturday, and tell Archie to do the same.”

Keith groaned, making it clear he’d rather just come up with the cash, but he didn’t refuse.

Levi tossed the crowbar aside, reaching down to pull a couple of beers out of the case Archie had abandoned when he’d tried to run. Popping the caps on them, he walked over to Keith and handed him one, the two of them leaning against the back of the building side by side.

“Theo will probably give Archie a ride home when he realizes you two have been drinking. You can hop in with them or crash on my couch,” Levi said, as he tapped his bottle against Keith’s. “By the way, we’re not telling your sister about this, either.”

Keith grinned, the two of them taking a drink.

“You going to marry Kasi?”

Levi nodded without a moment’s hesitation. Because that wasexactlywhat he was going to do. “I am. You okay with that?”

Keith’s response came just as quick. “Yeah. Better you than Scottie.”

Levi hated that answer as much as he liked it.

What the hell was going on between Kasi and the mayor?

Chapter Thirteen

Kasi stared at the bills, then turned her attention to the ledger her mother had always kept. Mama was old school when it came to keeping track of their finances, unwilling to embrace the concept of online banking, claiming crunching the numbers kept her brain sharp.

Kasi planned—at some point—to move them into this century by setting up online bill pay and inputting their financial information on a spreadsheet, but as with everything else, she simply hadn’t had the time to do it yet.

She scrolled through their bank account online. She’d taken the time to set that up, as it had driven her out of her mind to try to work with her mother’s—honest to God—handwritten checkbook register.

Now, just like yesterday, the numbers didn’t add up. Because the money they were taking in was nowhere near enough to cover this pile of bills. And given their current operation, it never would.

So, she was left with a chicken or egg situation. Drain their accounts to pay the tax bill and keep the farm—even though they wouldn’t be able to plant anything in the empty fields or keep theRileys on—or plant the fields to earn the money to pay the bills and keep the farm running.

The last one was the smart option. It was also the one that required time. Time she didn’t seem to have, according to Scottie. The town wanted their money now.

Of course, there was a third option, but the thought of accepting Scottie’s proposal made her sick to her stomach.

Which left her staring down the barrel of the last resort. Do nothing, lose the farm, and move the family to Nashville to live with her uncle.

She rubbed her forehead wearily. Something had to give, but she’d be damned if she could figure out what. When nothing came to her, she put her head down on her arms on the table and sighed.

She hadn’t seen Levi since the night before last, when she’d driven to his farmhouse for sex. She didn’t even try to sugarcoat her reason for needing to see him. They’d spoken on the phone, said their good nights, and ten minutes later, she and her hormones had been barreling down the road, headed for Stormy Weather Farm.

Levi had lit a fire in her, and the thing was blazing out of control. Not that she gave a shit. It was nice to actually feel something amazing and energizing. For too many months, she’d been running on fumes, exhaustion her permanent state.

All that had changed the past few weeks as Levi helped her organize her life in such a way that she could steal a couple hours of extra sleep each night. He’d done it by helping her around the farm, by streamlining her baking schedule, and by ensuring Keith did his fair share of the chores.

He’d brought fun back into her life and helped her find her laugh again. She’d hated how rusty it had sounded at first.

Of course, in the end, Levi’s help had really been for naught. Because Kasi was happily sacrificing those extra newfound hours of sleep for sex.

Sleep was for suckers, she thought, as she lifted her head, smiling to herself.

Last night, Levi had worked until nearly ten, and when she’d offered to come to him again, he refused, insisting she needed rest. She wanted to argue until he pointed out that he needed sleep too. That was when guilt kicked in. Harvest season was the busiest time of year for Levi, as his family and their crew of fifteen workers, plus some seasonal laborers, went through the back-breaking task of handpicking the grapes. Because their winery was perched on the side of a mountain, the use of a harvester wasn’t possible. Levi mentioned even if it had been, they couldn’t have afforded the extremely expensive piece of equipment.

The idea that he’d been working long hours and still making time for her warmed her all the way to the bones. Before Levi, she didn’t know how cold she’d been inside. Cold and lonely and depressed.

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