Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
K asi stared out the fruit stand, her vision not focused on anything as she played last night’s conversation with Scottie and this morning’s confrontation with Levi over in her mind. She couldn’t reconcile how she’d been floating on cloud nine, happier than she’d been in a long time, after waking up in Levi’s arms.
Then, today, it was as if the bottom had fallen out of her world.
Fortunately, it was Saturday, which meant a decent stream of people coming through. Staying busy helped but for the last twenty minutes or so, she’d been alone, and it was giving her too much time to think.
She glanced down at her cellphone, resting on the counter in front of her. She’d reached for it at least twenty times since opening the stand. Half of those times, she’d planned to call Levi to beg him to forgive her for doubting him, to tell him she loved him—because she did—and that she wanted to be with him. The other half, she’d been determined to call Scottie to tell him to pick up this godawful engagement ring.
Her hand never touched the cell.
Because despite the whirlwind of emotions ravaging her, there was a category five tornado that overtook all the rest.
The image of her father, standing in that doorway, missing her mother so much, the pain enveloping him was almost tangible. She couldn’t take anything else away from him. It simply wasn’t in her to do so.
Her father and Keith—and the farm—were all she had left.
That’s when she realized it wasn’t just her father’s feelings that were making this decision so hard. It was her feelings as well. Because their home meant so much to Kasi, as well. It held her entire lifetime of memories.
The farmhouse was the only home she’d ever known, where she’d grown up, where she’d gotten her first kiss—a peck on the back porch from Shane, her first “boyfriend” when she was just thirteen. He’d ridden his four-wheeler from his family’s farm nearly two miles away just to say hi. It had been a quick, awkward, no-tongue peck, but Kasi swore to Remi later that she’d seen actual fireworks. And when that eighth-grade romance had ended two weeks later, her mother had comforted her in the living room, holding her when she cried, promising her there would be other boys.
The farmhouse was where she and Remi had gotten ready for homecomings and proms together, blasting Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga while they did each other’s makeup and fussed with their hair for hours. Their senior prom dinner hadn’t been in a fancy restaurant but in her kitchen. Mama had pulled out a pretty tablecloth, tall candles, and served her, Remi, and their dates sparkling cider in champagne flutes and chicken alfredo on her wedding china.
The kitchen was where she’d spent hours with her mother, learning how to bake, the two of them singing along to Tricia Yearwood and Martina McBride, using wooden spoons as microphones. It was where she’d snuck down as a child to watch her parents slow dance, long after she should have been asleep.
And it was the place where her mother had died.
She’d always known she would leave home someday, but there was a big difference between moving a few miles away with a husband and seeing her childhood home foreclosed on. Whenever she’d been younger and looking ahead, Kasi had envisioned a future where she would continue to bake with her mother, still work in the stand, and visit her parents every Sunday for dinner.
Kasi was no more able to give up her home than her father was.
So the cell had remained on the counter, and she’d spent the last few hours fighting desperately trying to make the most difficult decision of her life.
Kasi wondered how differently she might have felt if Scottie’s proposal had come pre-Levi Storm. Would she have viewed it with a more open mind? Would she have even considered it a good thing?
Scottie wasn’t an unattractive man—physically—and while he was creepy and stuffy and arrogant and full of himself and…
Yeah.
No.
She would have hated the proposal even if Levi hadn’t been in the picture.
“Fuck,” she muttered, pushing her hair out of her face aggressively enough that it hurt. She winced, then recalled Levi pulling her hair whenever they had sex. God, that was ridiculously hot.
Everything he did was hot.
Even this morning when he’d dragged her into the pantry against her will.
She snorted to herself.
Suuuuuuure. It was against her will.
She’d never felt so brutally possessed and sweetly cherished. She wasn’t even sure how it was possible to feel those two things at the same time, but damn if Levi didn’t manage.
It was during the wee hours of last night, when sleep continued to elude her, that she was finally able to see just how deeply in love she’d fallen with Levi. True to his name, he’d stormed into her life and turned everything upside down and inside out.
She rubbed her neck wearily. She might have said the words, might have told him they couldn’t be together, but they weren’t broken up. Yet. At least not in Levi’s eyes.
Even after this morning.
She’d hurt Levi’s feelings when she had accused him of pressing charges against Keith. He’d been nothing but wonderful and supportive and…
Shit. Why the hell had she let Scottie, the weasel, plant that seed in her head? Why had she let it take root?
And why was she still considering the asshole’s proposal?
Rising from her stool, Kasi grabbed a broom to sweep the stand, her mother’s words whispering in her ear.
“Nothing like hard work to clear a troubled mind, Cat.”
Kasi smiled sadly as she recalled the silly nickname Mama used for her. Kasi was Cat, Keith was Kit. She’d never thought to ask her mother why, and suddenly she wished she had.
“Just sweep,” she muttered under her breath, fighting like the devil to shut her stupid head up. If her mind couldn’t find something—anything—fucking happy to think about, then she’d prefer to think of nothing at all.
Once she’d swept the small pile of dust, dirt, and leaves into a pile, she bent down to scoop it into a dustpan, then returned to her stool, sinking down heavily.
Kasi felt the first tear slide down her cheek. She didn’t bother to stem the tide, letting them fall. Mercifully, no one stopped by the stand because it took her close to a half an hour to pull herself back together.
Unfortunately, exhaustion had set in hard, so she closed the farm market.
Rather than load the truck and return to the farmhouse, she remained where she was. She couldn’t face her father or Keith or Levi or anyone yet.
Because, in the end, she’d let them all down.
So, instead, she put her head down on her arms on the counter and closed her eyes, shutting every miserable thought away, hiding out in the stand, refusing to acknowledge all the shit swirling around outside this shed.
Kasi gasped when a loud rumble of thunder cracked overhead.
She glanced around the dark shed wondering how long she’d slept. Given the sharp pain in her neck, she guessed she’d been out at least a few hours.
Rising, she opened the door, cursing her luck, as the sky opened, rain falling in large drops. Darkness had fallen as well, so it had to be late. Daddy and Keith must have assumed she’d gone to Levi’s, considering the two of them had been spending pretty much every single night together since they’d started seeing each other.
Returning to the counter, she looked at her phone. She was shocked to discover it was nine thirty at night. She found a couple texts from Keith, asking where she was, then a final one letting her know he and Daddy had fended for themselves for dinner, eating BLTs. He ended that text with “Say hey to Levi,” so she’d been right about why they hadn’t thrown up the alarm and looked for her.
In addition to Keith’s texts, there was one from Remi, who’d heard from Edith Millholland, who’d heard from Mrs. Grover, that she and Scottie were getting married. Remi’s text was followed by at least twenty crying-laughing emojis, indicating her best friend obviously didn’t believe the rumor. Scottie’s mother apparently shared his arrogance, certain there was no woman on earth who could refuse his proposal.
And then, there were nineteen texts from Levi as well as three missed calls. All of them said basically the same thing. That she was still his and this thing between them wasn’t over.
Every single one of the texts felt like a punch to the gut.
Tucking the phone in her back pocket, she grabbed a couple of the empty produce baskets and carried them outside.
One short trek to the truck and she was completely drenched, the rain coming down in a deluge.
“Fuck,” she muttered, returning to the stand to lock it. She’d get the rest of the stuff in the morning. Right now, all she wanted was to take a hot shower and crawl beneath her covers. The long nap she’d just taken hadn’t put a dent in her exhaustion.
Climbing in the cab of the truck, she pulled her phone from her back pocket, tossed it into the center console, then turned the key. Nothing. She tried again and again and again, but the engine was completely dead.
Of course it fucking was.
Tiredness gave way to temper as she flung the door open and stepped back out into the relentless rain. She slammed the door closed, then kicked the front tire for good measure, cussing a blue streak.
“Mother fucking piece of shit!” She beat her fists down on the hood, these new tears driven by anger rather than sadness. “Goddammit!”
Headlights cut through her tirade, and she let her fury take control as Levi parked his truck behind hers.
He climbed out and walked over to her.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped.
Levi frowned, clearly taken aback by her anger.
“Truck break down?” he asked.
“No, Levi. I always use it for a punching bag in the middle of fucking storms.” Her tone was dripping with sarcasm. Kasi wiped the rain out of her face, pulling the wet strands of hair stuck to her cheeks away with a quick swipe of her hands.
“You crying?”
Kasi blinked a few times before she realized she was. Her tears mixed with the rain, slipping down her face. She wiped her eyes again as she shook her head. “No. It’s the rain,” she lied. “Why are you here?”
“You know why? We have a conversation to finish.”
Kasi shook her head wearily because the idea of trying to have any sort of rational conversation was beyond her right now. She was fucking done in. Period. “I don’t want to talk. I don’t have anything to say.”
“You’ve got a lot to say. Get in the truck,” Levi said, gesturing to his vehicle. “I’ll take you home.”
“Why? So you can try to fuck some sense into me again?” Kasi taunted, unaware of the effect that challenge would have on her until her face flushed and her nipples beaded. She’d loved every single second of her time with Levi in the pantry. The only time her thoughts calmed was when she was with him. He brought a peace to her world that had been absent since the day her mother died.
Levi raked his wet hair out of his face as he stepped closer, studying her face with an intensity that told her he could see right through her. The rain hadn’t abated a bit. Actually, she thought it might be coming down harder.
“Is that what you need?”
She tilted her face as Levi moved into her personal space, less than a foot separating them. “What if it is?” Kasi’s heart refused to give up, refused to believe that things were over between them. She needed him.
Levi grasped her shoulders, pulling her breasts to his chest as he lowered his head and kissed her hard enough to bruise.
Kasi gripped Levi by the hair, closing her hands in it tightly. Then, she bit Levi’s lower lip, the taste of a metallic tang telling her she’d drawn blood.
Levi pulled away. “So it’s like that, is it?”
She nodded, her eyes narrowed.
“Fine. Run.”
“What?”
“You plan on running from this thing between us. I can see it in your eyes. But I think you need a lesson.”
Kasi’s heart raced, not with fear but desire. “Lesson?”
“You can run, little bear. But I’ll always chase you. And I will always catch you.”
Holy shit. Every horrible feeling evaporated as Kasi gave in. She wanted to be his prey, and sweet Jesus, she wanted him to catch her.
She twisted, darting away from the truck, running quickly. She expected Levi to pounce immediately, so she was surprised when she made it to the corner of the fruit stand, hiding on the far side behind a pile of old rotted baskets without being captured. He was toying with her, giving her a head start.
So. Fucking. Hot.
Kasi quickly weighed her options, not wanting the chase to end too quickly. Unfortunately, the area surrounding the stand was open farmland, no trees, nothing to offer a hiding spot except the stand and their vehicles.
Kasi considered that when she heard Levi’s heavy footsteps sloshing through the mud. He wasn’t even trying to be quiet.
She circled the shed, keeping far enough ahead of him that he couldn’t see her as she rounded another corner. Once she returned to where she’d started, she jogged around his big truck, bending down, studying her options from here. She could continue to play cat and mouse around the trucks and stand or turn this into a footrace. One she was certain to lose. She was a fast runner, but Levi—with his long legs—would be much faster.
Unfortunately, it was the only option that seemed to offer her even the slightest chance of escape.
She was just about to take off across the field when Levi stepped around the rear of his truck. Jesus, he’d gone into stealth mode and managed to surprise her.
Kasi squealed as she took off, ready to run, but as she suspected, Levi was on her in an instant. He caught the back of her shirt, his fist closing around the wet material as he yanked her toward him, her back slamming against his hard chest.
“Got you,” he taunted in a low, sexy voice, his lips brushing her ear. Her pussy clenched hungrily.
She struggled, attempting to break free, but his hold was relentless.
“Stop fighting,” he said sternly. “I caught you. Now you’re mine.”
Levi grabbed her upper arm, dragging her to the back of her truck before lowering the tailgate.
Within seconds, he’d peeled her wet T-shirt off her body, tossing it in the bed of the truck. He didn’t bother removing her bra, opting instead to pull the straps off her shoulders, tugging the cups beneath her breasts.
Levi cupped them in his large, calloused hands, squeezing them, pinching her nipples, and pulling until she rose on her tiptoes, the pain sending electrical jolts along her spine, straight to her pussy.
As he tormented her breasts, Kasi pulled his shirt loose from his jeans, unfastening the button, lowering the zipper, and shoving her hand inside the denim, their actions reminiscent of this morning in the pantry.
Levi hissed with pleasure when she wrapped her hand around his thick cock, stroking it firmly.
Releasing his grip on her breasts, Levi stripped her out of her shorts, dropping them and her panties to the ground. In addition to being soaking wet, now they were muddy, but she didn’t give a shit.
Levi pulled her hand away from his dick, twisting her until she faced the truck. With a strong hand between her shoulder blades, he pushed her forward until she was bent over the tailgate.
He wasted no time shoving his own pants to his knees before gripping her ass cheeks and pulling them apart.
“Levi,” she cried, loud enough to be heard over the driving rain.
He bent over her back. “Beg me, little bear. Beg me to fuck you. Beg me to claim you. Beg me to prove exactly who you belong to.”
“Please,” she whispered. She wanted everything he offered, even though she couldn’t have it.
“That’s not good enough, Kasi.” His voice was raw as he let her hear what she was doing to him, laying his pain bare. “I need more. I need it all.”
His words broke her. She had to stop this madness because even now…she was still hurting him and she hated herself for it.
“I’m sorry,” she said, trying to push up.
Levi’s hands lay flat on the truck bed, and his body draped over hers, holding her captive beneath him. “Didn’t ask for an apology. I told you to beg.”
“Levi.”
“ Beg .”
Kasi gave in…or perhaps she simply gave up. Either way, she couldn’t fight this, couldn’t fight him. She didn’t want to.
“Please,” she cried out. “Please fuck me, Levi. Fill me up, take me hard. Make me yours.”
In her mind, she finished that final plea with the words she couldn’t say aloud.
One last time.
He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Good girl.”
Words fell away, replaced by gasps and grunts as Levi thrust to the hilt, then took her exactly how she’d asked. He pounded inside her body, his pace relentless, powerful.
Kasi came within minutes, but Levi never paused, never let up.
The second orgasm flashed quicker but harder, Kasi’s bare breasts pressed against the now-warm metal of the truck.
“God,” she yelled, her pussy clenching tightly as Levi kept fucking her. Despite coming twice, Kasi’s need for him only grew.
It was as if her body knew this was it. The last time. And it refused to stop.
Until her third orgasm.
“Holy. Fucking. Shit,” she screamed. It felt as if a nuclear bomb had exploded inside her, and she quivered in the aftermath. One more of those and she would definitely die.
Levi slowed his pace, but he didn’t stop. She marveled over the fact he seemed even harder and bigger now.
“Can’t…take…” she gasped.
Levi sank his teeth into her shoulder, and she cried out.
“We’re not done until I say we are. You’re mine, little bear,” he grunted in her ear. “I’ll mark every fucking inch of you if I have to until you understand.” To prove that point, his thumb stroked her anus.
She stiffened, that territory completely uncharted. Levi didn’t do more than touch her there, taunting her with the idea.
Kasi shook her head, though it was less denial and more fear and panic. Because sweet Jesus, she really couldn’t take any more.
Or so she thought. Her body was still trembling from the previous orgasms, and her clit felt as if it had its own pulse.
Then Levi rose, standing behind her, buried deep. His fingers gripped her hips in a firm hold as he tugged her toward him a few inches. The distance was enough that he could reach around her and touch her clit.
Kasi jerked as if struck by lightning. “God. No.”
However, her body refused to say die as it came alive again, betrayed by her pussy and clit, which were overly sensitive to every touch, every stroke.
When the next orgasm hit, she gave herself up to it. Because she couldn’t think of a better way to die.
Levi came with her, spilling inside her as he growled every single one of her names.
“Kasi. Little bear. Mine.”
He fell forward once more, holding himself on bent arms above her, his tongue finding the spot he’d bitten, softly licking.
The rain had slowed to mere sprinkles at some point. Kasi pressed her forehead to the truck bed, her eyes closed as she let herself revel in these final moments of bliss.
They ended too soon when Levi kissed the back of her head. “Can’t you see? We’re perfect together.”
They were.
Absolutely perfect.
Reality crashed around her, and this time, when Kasi pushed up, Levi let her rise.
She bent down, tugging on her muddy shorts, not bothering with the panties. She pulled her bra up and then put on her wet shirt.
Levi dressed as well, though he had shed a lot less, only needing to pull his jeans back up.
Neither of them spoke as he walked her to his truck, opening the door and helping her inside. He looked at her for a second, and she braced herself for whatever he might say.
The shadows in his eyes told her that he was still leery, still confused.
Rather than speak, he closed her door, then crossed in front of the truck and climbed in. He started it, driving her to her house, the silence in the cab suffocating.
Once he pulled in front of her house, she turned to look at him. “I need you to let me go.”
“Never.”
“Scottie proposed and?—”
Levi barked out a laugh that was pure fury. “And you’re not accepting.”
“Please,” she begged. “Please…trust me when I say ending things here is for the best.”
“No.”
It was a simple response, two lousy letters, but it was laced with a power that told her Levi had no intention of ever letting her go.
How the hell could she combat that level of determination? Especially when she wanted the same thing he did. She hated sitting here, fighting for something she didn’t want at all.
Kasi bowed her head and closed her eyes, digging for something that would convince him. She had nothing, nothing but lies that would hurt him and she refused to do that. It simply wasn’t in her.
“Twenty-four hours.”
Kasi lifted her head, confused by his words. “What?”
“You’re running on fumes, little bear. I can see that. And something bad is going on inside that head of yours. I won’t press you or force you to tell me what it is because I want you to trust me enough to tell me on your own. So you have twenty-four hours to sleep and wrap your head around what comes next. I’ll be back tomorrow night at this same time, and I hope you’ll give me the real reason you’re pushing me away. Please, Kasi,” he started, the gentleness in his tone her undoing. “Trust me.”
She already did. But he was right. Her head was in a million different places right now and none of them were good.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Kasi got out of the car and turned away, walking toward her house, praying he didn’t change his mind and follow her, then hoping that he would.
When she reached the front door, she resisted the urge to turn and look at him. Instead, she opened the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind her, trudging wearily to the kitchen.
She should go to her bedroom and crawl into bed, exhaustion kicking her ass. However, her overwrought mind wouldn’t let her sleep.
An hour passed as Kasi sat at the kitchen table, staring at the wall in front of her, tears streaming down her face. She’d hit P!nk on her Spotify playlist, hoping the music would cheer her up or at least energize her enough that she could tackle the baking that still needed to be done.
What she hadn’t braced herself for was listening to P!nk’s “When I Get There,” the song the artist had recorded after her father passed away. Thanks to the beautiful melody and hauntingly painful yet familiar words, she had dissolved into a puddle of tears, and nothing short of a boat was going to save her from drowning in them.
Kasi swiped at her eyes, hating that she couldn’t stop crying. She’d managed to keep the tears at bay for months, but now that the dam had broken…
“Stop,” she murmured to herself, taking several deep breaths. “Stop.”
“That’s a pretty song.”
Kasi startled at the sound of her father’s voice behind her and quickly reached for her phone, intent on turning off the music.
Daddy stopped her. “Leave it. I want to listen to the rest.”
“I don’t think?—”
“It’s fine, Kasi,” Daddy said, sitting opposite her at the table.
They sat in silence as the song played out. Kasi grabbed a tissue, lowering her face, not wanting her father to see her like this. After too many hours of crying, she could just imagine how bad she looked with her blotchy face and swollen eyes.
When the song ended, Kasi tapped the pause button. She took a few moments, trying to compose herself until she felt comfortable enough lifting her eyes to face him.
Daddy remained quiet, but she felt the weight of his gaze on her.
“Daddy,” she started, uncertain what she planned to say after that.
“I’m…” Daddy cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Kasi.”
She frowned. “For what?”
“For everything.” This time, it was her father who sat with his head bowed. “I fell apart when you needed me.”
“That’s not true,” she countered.
He raised his head. “It is true. I never imagined… It never occurred to me that Trina would go first. I was ten years older than her, and she was larger than life, full of energy. I wasn’t prepared…”
“None of us were.”
“She completed me, Kasi. Before her, I was living, but I wasn’t alive. I worked all day, every day on this farm, but there didn’t seem to be a purpose to it until she walked into my world. She stepped in and took charge of the things I struggled with. She always said we were the perfect couple because I had the strong back and she had the strong mind.”
Kasi smiled sadly, recalling that. Her father was one of the hardest workers Kasi had ever known. He was always the first one out in the field in the morning and the last one home each night. He didn’t mind the backbreaking tasks associated with working on a farm. In fact, he seemed to thrive on them.
“You were the best couple,” Kasi said, her voice thick with tears.
“When we lost her, I felt like I’d lost the best part of me, and all I was left with was…” Daddy raised his hands. “This. A shell of a man. Without her, it felt like it had before we met. Like there wasn’t a point to anything. She was everything to me, my reason for getting up every day, for working so hard. She knew my shortcomings, my inability to make a plan, my messiness, my complete lack of organization, but she didn’t care. She simply took them off my plate, keeping the budget, paying the bills, plugging all the numbers into that little calculator of hers a million miles an hour. I don’t know how to function without her, and for too many months, I didn’t bother to try. I shut down.”
“You were grieving.”
He sighed. “Grieving is no excuse. Because today, I realized I was wrong about something.”
“What?” she asked.
“Trina was a huge part of my world, but she wasn’t all of it. I have you and Keith. And I’ve let you down. Both of you.”
Kasi rose from her chair, walking around the table to kneel in front of her father. She took his hands in hers. “No. You haven’t.”
Daddy looked at their linked hands. “I left you to do everything on your own. Then I let Levi step in, doing the things I should have been doing. Your mother…” Daddy lowered his head again. “She’d be so ashamed of me.”
“Stop, Daddy. Please.” Every word her father spoke slashed through her, cutting her into a million little pieces. “Don’t say that.”
Daddy looked at her, tilting his head. “You look like me.”
Kasi nodded. She did. She’d gotten her father’s coloring, hair, eyes, skin tone. Keith, with his dirty-blond hair and hazel eyes, took after Mama.
“But you are just like your mother. Strong. Smart. Caring. Brave. When you look at me, even after all the ways I failed you this year, I can see how much you love me.”
“I do love you,” Kasi said, not bothering to hide her tears from him now. “You’re kind and gentle and so good.”
Daddy gave her a sad smile. “Just like your mother,” he repeated. “Seein’ things that?—”
“ Are there,” she insisted.
“I love you, Kasi.”
The two of them rose, and she curled into her father’s arms, her cheek pressed tight to his chest as he slowly rocked her. They remained like that for several minutes, and Kasi felt the hope that tended to flicker, flare, then fade in regard to her father coming back to them, burst into flame. For the first time since she’d lost her mother, it felt like she’d gotten her father—her real father—back.
Daddy released her, looking down with sad eyes. “Keith heard a rumor today. About you and Scottie Grover.”
Mrs. Grover had definitely made the rounds.
“His mother is saying the two of you got engaged.”
Kasi sucked in a hard breath, her chest growing tight. “He proposed, but I haven’t given him an answer yet.”
“Say no,” he demanded. “Marry Levi. He loves you, Kasi. He looks at you the way your mother used to look at me. You deserve that. And nothing less.”
“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.