Page 83 of Taken By Storm

She blinked back the tears, but it was hard. So hard. She hadn’t cried in front of anyone since Mama’s death, holding the emotions at bay because her father and brother needed her to be strong. It had felt like a way of honoring her mother’s memory because Kasi had never, not once, seen her mom cry.

Daddy placed his hand on her shoulder. “You make this house a home too.”

Kasi felt those words like a punch to the stomach, especially as the smell of tonight’s pot roast—her father’s favorite—drifted from the kitchen.

She was losing their home.

She looked away from Daddy, turning her face toward the foyer, hating that Scottie had been a silent witness to all of this. It wasn’t like him to remain quiet for so long, the blowhard always interjecting his unwanted thoughts and opinions into most conversations. God only knew what he was thinking.

“You’re a good daughter. I think I’ll take dinner in my room tonight.” Daddy turned away from her, heading back up the stairs, unaware of the nuclear explosion he’d set off inside her.

She’d been so wrapped up in Levi, and so stressed about money, that she’d forgotten her mother’s birthday.

How could she forget?

She’dneverforgotten.

Kasi watched her father climb the stairs, noticing how much he’d aged in the last eight months. He wasn’t an elderly man, but his stooped shoulders and slow gait made him seem like he was thirty years older than he was.

“Youarea good daughter,” Scottie said from the couch.

Kasi took a moment to try to pull herself together, but it was pointless. She was devastated, destroyed, done in.

Just…done.

She forced herself to turn and face him, wishing she could tell him to get the hell out. All she could think about was locking herself into her room and crying her heart out for the next three lifetimes.

“Scottie,” she said, gesturing to where her father just stood. “This isn’t a good time. Can you come back?—”

“It would be a shame for your father to leave his home. He was born here, wasn’t he?” Scottie asked as he rose, joining her in the doorway.

Kasi nodded. The mayor had done his homework.

“Scottie—” she started again. She couldn’t do this. Not now.

“Marry me, Kasi, and he can live out his days here. He’ll never lose the memories of your mother. It’s clear he’s still impacted by her death. How hard will it be on him when he has to leave this place? I think it would be a lot like losing her all over again.”

Kasi’s chest tightened. Suddenly, the idea of packing and leaving here felt impossible. For months, she’d lived with a shell of the man who’d been her father. And with the exception of today, there had been a glimmer of hope that he was returning to them, finding his way out of his grief.

If they lost the house…

There was no way Daddy would come back from that. She’d lose him forever. The same way she’d lost Mama.

“Plus, I can help Keith, hire him the best lawyer to make sure he doesn’t go to jail.”

“I…” Kasi’s throat was constricted, the walls closing in on her. “I can’t do this right now,” she whispered, turning her head away because she refused to cry in front of Scottie.

Scottie patted her shoulder in a way he probably thought was comforting but made her want to throw up. “My offer is the best one you’re going to get. I’m the only man who can help you through this. Get some rest, sweetheart. I’ll be in touch very soon.”

Scottie’s face transformed, not with a smile but with a smirk. Probably because he believed he was on the cusp of getting exactly what he wanted, something that happened more often than not in the spoiled asshole’s life. The only time she’d ever heard of him not getting his way was when Lucy turned down his proposal, and Levi had punched his lights out.

Her surroundings started to go gray as Kasi gave in to the numbness that had become her coping technique since Mama’s death. When things became too painful, she pushed all the feelings deep inside, shutting them away, closing her thoughts down. It was that or fall apart, and part of her had always feared that if she gave in to the emotions, she wouldn’t be able to pull herself back together.

She barely noticed when Scottie pulled an engagement ring out of his pocket.

“Scottie,” she said, shaking her head.

“I know you’re not ready to officially accept. Just take this as a reminder. I can make all the bad things go away, Kasi.” He forced the ring into the palm of her hand.

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