Page 99 of Taken By Storm

“You don’t understand.” There was no way Kasi could tell her father about the tax debt. He was already beating himself up, and while she was thrilled to have him talking to her like this, she was terrified of pushing him back into that dark place.

Daddy cupped her cheek affectionately. “You don’t love Scottie Grover, and a marriage that doesn’t have that will be a miserable one. I know you think you have a reason for doing it, and maybe you even believe it’s a good one, but I promise you, it’s not good enough. Not if it means you’re going to live a life without love. Nothing matters more than that.”

“But we’ve already lost so much. I can’t let us…lose more.” She whispered the last two words. It was as much as she could say, but she could see it was enough when her father glanced around the kitchen.

“We have each other, Kasi. That’s all we need. The rest is just…stuff,” he said, shrugging.

Kasi let those words sink in, willing herself to believe them. The problem was, she loved this damn house and farm. In her mind, this place was family as well, and walking away from it felt like dumping a beloved cat off at the shelter after ten years of cuddling with it on the couch.

Daddy reached for her hand, holding it in his firm grip. “I’m done hiding, Kasi. Done letting you and your brother down.”

“You didn’t let?—”

He squeezed her hand. “I want you to make me one of those lists you made for Levi. Tell me what needs doing around here and I’m going do it.”

She nodded, even as she realized that offer was coming too late. “Okay. I will.”

Daddy released her hand. “I’m going to take a little walk to the barn, check on the animals. It’s time I got out of that bedroom and stretched my legs a bit.”

She smiled, wiping her eyes. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”

Daddy gently touched her shoulder as he walked by, leaving her alone in the kitchen once more.

She considered the baking she needed to do, then walked out of the kitchen, her father’s words playing over in her mind.

As she crawled into bed, she knew what she wanted, what she needed.

Love.

Levi’s love.

Chapter Sixteen

Levi sat on the front porch with a cup of coffee, watching the sun come up. In an hour or so, he’d have to move to the field to begin picking grapes for the day. Because of the smaller size of their winery, it wasn’t practical to purchase a very expensive harvester machine to expedite this part of the process. Of course, given the fact their winery was located on the side of the mountain, they couldn’t use the machine even if they owned one.

Which meant, he spent the end of each summer and the beginning of every fall picking grapes. When he was younger, he loved harvest time, loved being out amongst the vines with his brothers. With each passing year, the bloom on that rose was fading more and more. However, he hadn’t realized just how much until he’d spent time working on Kasi’s farm.

Levi leaned his head back and closed his eyes, praying he’d made the right decision in leaving Kasi alone last night.

Hell would freeze over before he let Kasi marry Scottie Grover. The guy was a self-absorbed, pompous prick, and there was no way he’d treat Kasi the way she deserved.

After dropping her off at her place last night, Levi had driven straight to the girls’ farmhouse. Remi shared the third house onStormy Weather Farm with her sisters, Mila and Nora. Lucy had lived there as well until this past fall, when she’d moved out to be with her boyfriends, Miles and Joey.

Remi had heard about Scottie and Kasi’s supposed engagement through the grapevine, but she considered it such a ridiculous rumor, she’d discounted it. Then Remi confirmed what Levi had suspected. Kasi didn’t love Scottie. In fact, Remi was certain Kasi despised the man as much as they did.

She went on to mention that after Lucy, Scottie had turned his attention toward Kasi, something Levi didn’t know. Apparently, the mayor had asked her out quite a few times, and Kasi had turned him down consistently.

That idea didn’t sit well with Levi because he recalled how badly Scottie had taken Lucy’s rejection, becoming physical with her, trying to force his attentions on her. Levi didn’t know how far the man would have gone if he hadn’t happened on the scene and literally pulled Scottie away from his cousin.

Levi wondered if Scottie was using some sort of intimidation on Kasi, given the fact she’d been absolutely wrecked yesterday morning when Levi had found her on the couch.

Knowing Kasi seemed to believe she had a valid reason to accept the proposal didn’t help much because without knowing what it was, he couldn’t plan how to proceed.

Right now, the best idea he could come up with was his original one. Go talk to her tonight, and if she persisted in keeping him in the dark and accepting Scottie’s proposal, he’d kidnap her and tie her to his bed until she came to her senses. And while that was a damn tempting plan, he didn’t think Kasi would take too kindly to it.

Levi was sure Kasi’s reason for this ridiculous marriage idea had something to do with her family. She was fiercely devoted to her father and brother. It was one of the things he loved best about her because it proved to him how fucking awesomea mother she would be. So while he tossed and turned most of last night, considering what might motivate Kasi, he knew it wouldn’t be a self-serving reason, but more likely her sacrificing her own happiness for her family.

It had taken all the strength Levi had to drive away from her last night, but he’d seen the exhaustion on her face and the desolation in her eyes, and he had refused to push her so hard when she was already suffering. He decided to give her space. Now, he just needed to figure out what the hell he could do to convince her to reject Scottie’s proposal.

---