Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
K asi had to hand it to Levi. He’d known exactly the right thing to do last night when he dropped her off and told her to sleep. Yesterday, she’d been an emotional wreck, too shattered inside to piece together a single thought.
This morning, she’d woken up surprisingly refreshed, despite the fact she had zero answers to…well…anything. For some reason, that didn’t feel as overwhelming today as it had yesterday.
Probably because she knew Levi was coming over tonight and she’d decided to talk to him about all of it. If there was one thing she had figured out after her shockingly restful sleep, it was that she couldn’t do this alone, and while she worried about leaning on him too much, she wasn’t going to let that hold her back anymore because she was drowning and she needed help.
Kasi leaned down, drawing a towel over the pie she’d held back special for him. Her baked good selection was painfully small this morning, limited to the few things she’d managed to make this morning. Regardless, she was determined that Levi was going to get his pie.
When she stood and turned back toward the counter, she was startled to discover someone standing on the other side of it.
“Oh. Mrs. Grover,” Kasi said. “I didn’t hear you come in.”
Mrs. Grover didn’t reply. Or smile. Or even say hello.
She’d had too much time to consider all the shitty things that would accompany marrying Scottie Grover. So many, Kasi’s list could fill a notebook, but number one would be his mother.
Because she was a bitch with a capital B.
Remi had dubbed her Mrs. Cuntcake, a name that was securely stuck in Kasi’s mind. So stuck, she was terrified she might let it slip one day, saying it to the nasty woman.
Mrs. Grover’s gaze slid down Kasi, taking in her cutoff shorts and faded T-shirt, then back up again. When her eyes landed on the hand Kasi was resting on her iPad—and narrowed—Kasi knew exactly what she saw. Or didn’t see.
“Where’s the ring my son gave you?”
It was sitting on her nightstand. She’d considered calling Scottie to swing by and get it today, but she’d put it off, not in a hurry to see the asshole so soon again. She wasn’t a hundred percent sure she wouldn’t punch him in the throat for lying about Levi’s family pressing charges against Keith. “I didn’t accept his proposal.”
“Yet.” Mrs. Grover’s chin tilted, and she sniffed with clear disapproval. “That was my mother’s ring. Don’t lose it.” The woman glanced around the stand, and it occurred to Kasi this was the first time Scottie’s mother had ever stopped in. She’d never visited the original stand, either.
“Is there something you’re looking for?” Kasi asked. “Today’s pie special is pecan. I only have a couple left, and we also have?—”
“I’m not here to buy anything,” Mrs. Grover interjected, as if the idea of buying something from Kasi was completely preposterous. “I came to invite you to tea next Saturday. I have a few ideas about the wedding to discuss with you.”
“Again,” Kasi muttered. “I didn’t accept the proposal.” Nor did she plan to. But that was a conversation she needed to have with Scottie, not his bitch of a mother.
Mrs. Grover talked over Kasi, ignoring everything she said. Kasi was starting to see where Scottie got his arrogance and his inability to hear the word, “no.”
“As you know, Scottie is running for mayor again in a few months and we felt it would increase his chances of being reelected if he had a wife.”
“Isn’t he running unopposed again?” Kasi asked, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
Mrs. Grover glared at her. “Since the wedding will take place at our home, we can hold the ceremony as soon as we want. I’ve been in touch with a caterer and?—”
“A caterer?” Kasi said, shocked by Mrs. Grover’s tenaciousness.
“Don’t interrupt me.”
Kasi wanted to point out that Mrs. Cuntcake had interrupted her first. “When did you talk to a caterer?”
Mrs. Grover sighed heavily. “Last week.”
“He only proposed the night before last.”
“I know that Scottie has raised the idea of marriage prior to this week, and given your family’s unfortunate situation, it’s clear to me that the wedding was imminent.”
Kasi’s temper flared, pissed that Scottie had shared her family’s private information with his mother. Sadly, it didn’t shock her, but that still didn’t calm her fury.
“You’re a very lucky girl, Kassandra.”
Kasi gritted her teeth, hating the way this nasty woman used her full name, saying it like it was an insult.
“I tried to talk my son out of this proposal, considering the wide disparity in our…” Mrs. Grover paused, either for effect or to add some punch to the next affront. “Social standings.”
“You know, it seems to me that your family has just as much if not more to gain from a marriage between us.” Kasi refused to let Mrs. Grover intimidate her.
Fuck this bitch.
Mrs. Grover tittered. “Don’t be ridiculous. We were going to get your family’s land regardless. Once the farm was foreclosed on, we would have bought it. However, if my son has one flaw, it’s that his heart is too generous.”
It took everything Kasi had not to mimic one of Remi’s fake “bullshit” sneezes.
“He couldn’t stand the thought of your family losing their home, especially now.”
“Now?” Kasi asked.
“Scottie told me about your father’s breakdown, his failing mental health, and the issues with your brother’s imminent arrest.” Mrs. Grover attempted—and failed—to give her a sympathetic look. Primarily because the woman looked very much like a shark who’d smelled blood in the water. No doubt, Mrs. Grover was busy spreading those vicious rumors all over town as well as the false ones about her and Scottie getting married.
Kasi had tried to shield her father from the general public because it was none of the town’s business if he was dealing with crippling grief. Obviously, Daddy’s close friends knew, but they hadn’t spread it around, respecting her father’s privacy.
“My father is fine,” Kasi said, recalling last night’s conversation and the way her father had been up and waiting for her in the kitchen this morning, grinning and asking for his honey-do list. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with his mental health. And Keith isn’t getting arrested. The Storms aren’t pressing charges.”
Mrs. Grover smirked, and Kasi got the sense the woman knew Scottie had lied about that. “So about tea. I’ll need you to come to my house at three next Saturday.”
Kasi shook her head. “I didn’t accept his proposal.” Kasi was starting to feel like a broken record.
“But you will. You have no other options. So…Saturday.”
This entire conversation was exhausting. Since Mrs. Grover refused to hear what she didn’t want to hear, Kasi decided to just brush her off. “Can’t make it. I’ll be working here, in the stand.”
“Get your brother to run the stand. Or just don’t open. You’re going to close it down once you and Scottie are married anyway because there will be no need for you to work. Your duties as the mayor’s wife, as well as the raising of your children, will keep you too busy.”
“It’s Gracemont, Mrs. Cu—Grover,” Kasi said, unable to temper her tone or guard her words. “The mayor’s wife has no duties.”
“Your job will be to raise your children. But don’t worry. I’ll be there to help you, since your mother is deceased.”
Hell would freeze over before she spent her days trapped with this horrible woman.
“Besides,” Mrs. Grover continued, “once we expand Grover’s Farm and open the training facility on your family’s land, you won’t have much left to sell.” She looked around with obvious disdain. “It will be nice to finally tear down this eyesore. I hate being forced to drive by it every day on my way home.”
“The stand will not be torn down, and I will continue to work here,” Kasi said through gritted teeth. “Because I am NOT marrying your son.”
Mrs. Grover scowled. “Hmpf. We’ll see about that.” Kasi harbored no illusions about who wore the pants in the Grover household. Mr. Grover and Scottie lived to serve the high queen.
Mrs. Grover shot Kasi one last dirty look before walking toward the door to leave. “I’ll expect you next Saturday at three so that we can make plans for your wedding to my son. It would be in your best interest to be there.”
Kasi started to follow, intent on setting the record straight once and for all, but pulled up short when someone else walked in, just as Mrs. Grover exited.
“What the fuck was that?” Remi asked, storming into the stand.
“Um…”
“There’s no way in hell Mrs. Cuntcake just invited you over to plan your wedding to Scottie Douchebag Grover.”
“Actually, she was, but?—”
“No,” Remi said, shaking her head. “No fucking way.”
“He proposed the night before last. His ring is sitting on my nightstand.”
Remi’s eyes widened. “You took the ring? Is this a joke? This is a joke.”
“No. It’s not a joke, but I’m also not marrying Scottie.”
Remi stared at her, confused. “Then why did you take the ring?”
Kasi sighed. “Because when he first asked…I was considering it.”
Remi frowned. “Were you drunk? No, scratch that question because there’s not enough alcohol in the world to make any sane woman marry Scottie.”
“You’re not wrong about that. It’s just…” Kasi pursed her lips, fighting back tears. For eight months, she’d hadn’t shed a single one, keeping it together after her mother passed because Daddy and Keith were falling apart and they needed her to be strong. That strength had abandoned her now.
Since the night of her mother’s birthday, she was helpless to hold back the waterworks.
Remi reached for her, tugging her into her arms. “Oh God, Kasi. What is it? Whatever it is, we’ll fix it. I’ll help you and so will Levi.”
Those words opened the gate, and Kasi cried on her best friend’s shoulder, hating herself for not reaching out sooner. She’d stupidly thought she could handle all of this on her own, pushing away her support system because of an abundance of pride and embarrassment over failing her family so spectacularly.
Somewhere in the midst of her breakdown, she heard Remi call out to someone that the stand was closed. Whoever it was had clearly left.
“I’m sorry,” Kasi said, when she finally pulled herself together. She’d left a huge wet spot on the shoulder of Remi’s T-shirt.
Remi grinned. “No worries. It’s laundry day. You just helped me get a jump on it with this one.”
Kasi laughed through the last remnants of her tears. Remi always knew how to lighten a dark moment.
“Why would you even consider marrying Scottie?” Remi asked.
“Because I’m out of options.” At that, Kasi let it all out, explaining about the mounting debt, her father’s unstable mental state, her missteps when it came to running the farm. She explained that Scottie hadn’t just been asking her out since her mother’s death, but that he’d been hinting about marriage as a way to get their land. She even told Remi about the break-in and Scottie’s lie about Levi pressing charges.
“Levi would never hurt your family like that.”
Kasi thought she’d shed every tear she had, but hearing Remi say what Kasi should have known found a few more. “I know that. I think I hurt him, Remi.”
“How?”
“By believing he would press those charges even for a second.”
“Levi’s a big boy. He’ll bounce. Why did you believe it?”
“The night Scottie proposed, I realized… I forgot my mother’s birthday.”
“Oh, Kass.” Remi pulled her back into her arms. “Is it any wonder you forgot? You’re carrying around the weight of the world right now. I wish you’d told me all of this sooner.”
“So do I,” Kasi admitted, her voice wobbling. “I’m sorry I didn’t.”
Remi pulled back, drying Kasi’s cheeks, wiping away the tears with her thumbs. “Well, I know now. I’m guessing from the fact you just fell apart in my arms, you haven’t told Levi any of this.”
The guilt Kasi felt over believing Levi would press charges against Keith was now compounded by the fact she hadn’t confided in him, had her lowering her head in shame. “I haven’t.”
“Don’t you think you should?”
Leave it to Remi to hit her with the hard truths. “I should and I am.”
“Good.”
Kasi gave her best friend a grateful smile, grabbing her for another hug. “I love you.”
“I love you too. So give Scottie that stupid ring back, make things right with Levi, then have some of that smoking-hot sex that you are NOT going to tell me about.”
Kasi laughed. “Okay. I will.”
Kasi stood at the counter, glancing out the kitchen window, grinning when she saw Dad and Keith feeding the goats together, the two of them talking and laughing. When Mama was alive, they would return to the house after closing to start making supper together. Dinners were always a special time when their little family of four sat down at the kitchen table and ate together. She didn’t realize just how much she’d missed that until right this moment.
Glancing around the room, she let the memories of her mother that she usually kept locked away, flow through her mind. Rather than reliving the sad stuff, she smiled, recalling all the fun times they’d shared in this room.
Before she knew it, she was standing at the counter, her hands coated in flour as she kneaded bread dough, allowing herself to simply enjoy the soothing motion, the smell of the yeast, the peacefulness of the moment, as she heard her mother’s voice talking her through the process.
Really dig in there with the heel of your hand, Cat. Now lift and stretch. That’s it, my clever girl.
She got so lost in the memories she didn’t realize she wasn’t alone until she heard Levi’s voice in the doorway.
“Sure do like that smell.”
Kasi turned to face him.
Levi tilted his head toward the front door. “Keith was outside. Told me to head on in, that you were in the kitchen.”
She hated that Levi thought he needed an invitation to enter the house. During those glorious, too-few days when he was working on the farm, marking things off her honey-do list, he’d started coming and going without knocking.
When she glanced at the clock, she was surprised to discover she’d been working for nearly two hours. In addition to the bread, she’d made a Texas sheet cake, the chocolate confection baking in the oven.
“Levi,” she started, searching for a way to explain her behavior and to apologize for the things she’d done and said.
Levi held his hand up. “Let me talk first.”
Kasi bit her lower lip, then went to the sink to wash the flour from her hands. Grabbing a towel, she dried them off as she walked to the table to sit. She nodded at the chair across from her. “Okay.”
After the way she’d hurt him, he deserved a chance to speak his peace.
Levi sank down, then reached into his back pocket to pull out several folded pieces of paper. He opened them up, laying them flat on the table in front of her.
Kasi scanned the top page, trying to understand what she was looking at. It looked like some sort of rental agreement, but before she could read more than a few words, Levi placed something else on top of it.
A blank check.
Kasi’s gaze lifted to his. “I don’t underst—” She stopped mid-word. “You know.”
Levi nodded. “Keith showed me the bills and I figured it out. But before you accept Scottie’s marriage proposal, I think you should know all of your options.”
“I’m not accept—” She paused. “What options?”
Levi tapped his finger on the contract again. “Stormy Weather Farm would like to lease the farmland you’re currently not using. We’ve wanted to become more self-sustaining for years, but nearly all of our farmable land is used for the vineyard. Now that we’re operating the brewery as well, we’ve been looking into growing our own ingredients rather than outsourcing. I have a small plot where I’ve been growing hops. The yield has been good—really good—and while it’s enough for Rain or Shine Brewery, I’ve been approached by other breweries in the area about selling hops to them. I don’t have enough land. Just like I don’t have enough for the barley, the apple orchard, or berries I’d like to plant. Sam has all sorts of ideas for new brews, and we’re both excited about the idea of growing our own ingredients. You can fill in the blank on what you think is a fair amount in terms of rent and I can write you a check right now.”
Kasi skimmed the document in front of her. It was a good idea. “Who would farm the land? You’re busy with the vineyard.”
“We’re going to hire someone to manage the vineyards,” Levi said. “That’s why I had to leave yesterday morning. I was interviewing someone to take over my job as vineyard manager. I’m ready for a new challenge, so I would be working the land here. I know you had to let Jeb and Cal go. I was thinking of hiring them to help me.”
One of the hardest things Kasi had done since her mother’s death was fire Jeb and Cal. Like the Riley twins, the other farmhands had become an extension of their family, and she knew both men had struggled to find work since. “They’re great workers.”
Levi nodded. “I know. We hired them to help us with the harvest this year. They’ve been invaluable.”
Kasi was relieved to hear the men had found work, even if it was temporary. Because she’d been eaten alive by guilt over messing up their livelihood. “That’s good.”
She looked down at the lease, then recalled something else he’d said. “You said I had other options?”
“Yeah. If you want to go ahead with your plans to plant a fall crop and sell it, you can do that too.”
She shook her head. “It’s too late for that. The tax bill is due in full.”
Levi scowled. “No, it’s not. If you call Herb Cline at his office, he’ll work with you to set up a payment plan. Same as he does for everyone else in town.”
Kasi frowned, confused. “But Scottie said…” She sighed. “He lied about that too. I really am the dumbest person on the planet.”
Levi’s expression turned dark. “No, you’re not. He saw a way to get you and your land.”
“And I almost fell for it.” Kasi hated that she’d been so easily duped, but even she could see she’d been low-hanging fruit, ripe for picking, given her fears of failing her family and her lingering grief over Mama.
“You never told me Scottie had been asking you out.”
Kasi sighed again. “I didn’t think it mattered. I always turned him down.” Then her temper spiked. “What a fucking lying asshole. God, I can’t wait to shove that stupid ring of his right up his ass.”
“You took the ring?”
“He pushed it into my hand. It’s never been on my finger, and it never will be.”
“Good girl. But you’re going to have to get behind me when it comes to Scottie’s comeuppance. And considering Remi’s anger right now, you might be after her too.”
Kasi narrowed her eyes. “You’re not doing anything to Scottie. That prick is all mine.”
“Agree to disagree, little bear. He hurt my girl, and that won’t go unpunished.”
“Your girl,” she murmured, loving the sound of that way too much. She pressed her forehead against his, breathing in his fresh, masculine scent, so grateful he was giving her not only a second chance but choices. Good choices of ways to save her family’s farm.
Levi leaned back, giving her a wicked grin. “While you consider those options I just laid out for you, I think it only fair to point out that if you accept my family’s offer, I’ll be here all day, every day.”
She laughed, the weight that had been pressing on her chest for months lifting completely. “Is that supposed to be a selling point?”
Levi reached out, grasping her wrist and tugging until she had no chance but to stand and step toward him. The second she did, he pulled her down onto his lap, wrapping his arm around her middle. “Damn right, it’s a selling point. Sign the lease, Kasi, and we can work on this farm together.”
“It’s not my decision to make,” she said. “It’s my dad’s.”
“You’re wrong, Kasi,” Daddy said from the back door.
Kasi looked up as he and Keith walked in together.
“It’s your decision,” Daddy continued. “Yours and Keith’s. You’re the ones who’ve been keeping this farm afloat, same as your mother did in the years before.”
Keith shook his head. “No. It’s been all Kasi. She’s done it all, so she should decide. So long as she doesn’t pick Scottie.”
Levi growled as Kasi giggled. “That option is way off the table.”
“Thank God,” Keith muttered before giving her a sad grin. “I’m sorry, Kasi. For the way I treated you. The stuff I said. All of it. I’m just so sorry.”
Kasi blinked rapidly. How she still had tears left was beyond her. “No apology necessary.”
He grimaced. “That’s not true at all. Maybe we could talk later?”
Kasi nodded, as she smiled. “I’d like that.” Then she realized she was still sitting on Levi’s lap. She squirmed and tried to stand, but Levi tightened his grip, keeping her in place.
“Stay still,” he admonished.
“Levi,” she muttered. “My dad?—”
“Stay where you are, Kasi,” Daddy said, grinning. “Nothing wrong with a man holding on to his woman.” Daddy walked to the table to pick up the lease. He scanned it the same way Kasi had. “This is a good idea,” he said to her. Then he glanced at Levi. “You know, it doesn’t make much sense for you to commute to work every day, Levi.”
Kasi laughed. “His farmhouse is a fifteen-minute drive, tops. And it’s not like there’s traffic.”
“I think your father is right,” Levi chimed in, resting his chin on her shoulder as she rolled her eyes. “Commuting sucks.”
“Are you two ganging up on me?” she asked.
“Nope. The three of us are,” Keith said.
“I want to thank you for all the work you’ve been doing around here lately, Levi. And for putting that pretty smile on my daughter’s face,” Daddy said.
Levi gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “It’s been my pleasure.”
Daddy glanced toward the hallway. “You know, there’s an empty room just down that hall.”
Kasi gasped. “Daddy, that’s your?—”
“I’m never moving back into that room,” he interjected. “It was built for two people. A couple,” he added, putting his hand on Levi’s shoulder. “A married couple.”
Kasi’s eyes widened at her father’s way-less-than-subtle hint, but Levi just laughed.
“I plan on putting a ring on that finger immediately.” Levi lifted her hand, rubbing his thumb over her ring finger.
“I like the sound of that,” Daddy said, brushing beneath her chin with his knuckle. “Keith, what do you say we head to the store and pick up some fried chicken for dinner. I’ve got a craving.”
Keith, grinning from ear to ear, nodded enthusiastically. Her brother was as delighted as Kasi to have their father back.
Daddy and Keith said their goodbyes, leaving her alone with Levi.
“Would you like something to eat?”
Levi shook his head. “Nope. We need to head out.”
“We do?”
He placed Kasi on her feet then stood up. Before Kasi knew his intentions, Levi tossed her over his shoulder.
“What are you doing?” she asked, giggling as he headed for the front door.
“Taking you to our cabin. You and I have some making up to do.”