by Lori Wilde
I put you through.”
“You really thought Rose was me?”
“Of course. I would never have cheated on you. Espe-
cially with your own twin sister.” Kael’s hazel eyes glis-
tened with unshed tears. “I know there’s a lot for you to
forgive. I understand the anger you still carry around with
you, but Daisy, please, please, please know that I’d cut off
my right arm if it would change things.”
Daisy took a deep breath and laid her index finger against
his lips. “Shh,” she said. “No matter what happened, we
can’t really regret it, otherwise we wouldn’t have Travis.”
“Sweetheart, you have no idea how much it cheers me
to hear you say that.”
“I did a lot of thinking today, Kael. You’ve made a huge
effort these past few weeks to prove to me you’d be a good
father. Today when you threw Travis in the pond and let
the bees come after you, I knew you were serious.”
“Dead serious, Daisy. I want us to be a real family and
have a real marriage. Can you do that?”
As if the glacier inside Daisy’s heart had collided head-
on with a flame thrower, the part of herself she’d frozen
away for so long began, at last, to melt. She felt closer to
Kael than ever before, not just physically, but emotionally,
as well.
Anger and betrayal vanished in the perfect cocoon of
their love. Recrimination and reproach disappeared into the
past. She had a choice to make. Forgive or forever hold on
to her sorrow.
Daisy followed her heart and relinquished herself to the
urges surging through her body. Tentatively she scooted
across the cotton sheets getting as close to Kael as possible
before resting her lips upon his.
His response was hungry and immediate. He inhaled her
like a scuba diver seeking life-saving oxygen from his aux-
iliary tank. His mouth took hers with a gentle force. Ten-
derly his tongue begged entry into her warm recesses and
Daisy happily accommodated him.
Throwing back her head, she moaned low and throatily,
surprising even herself with her enthusiastic rejoinder.
Threading her fingers through his hair, she pulled him down
closer, deeper into the bed.
She wanted Kael Carmody. Here. Now. This minute.
Without further ado.
Arching her back, Daisy pressed herself into his body.
She trembled with anticipation as a simmering heat, unlike
anything she’d even known, warmed her in a soft cozy
glow.
“Kael, Kael, Kael,” she chanted.
“My darling Daisy,” he murmured, breaking their con-
nection long enough to drop kisses onto her closed eyelids.
“We’ve waited so long for this. I don’t want to rush you.
Are you sure you’re ready?”
She answered by kissing him again, then looking straight
into his eyes. “Make love to me, Kael,” she pleaded.
“Consummate our marriage and claim me as your wife.”
“At last.” He sighed. “At long last.” And all pain van-
ished as he held her in his arms.
Chapter Nine
Kael woke with a smile on his face. His arm was numb
from the weight of Daisy’s head resting on his shoulder,
but he didn’t care. He stared at her red hair spilling across
the pillow like sun-bumished silk, and his heart filled with
wonder.
Last night they’d made love for the first time. Soft, slow
and gentle. She’d opened up to him like a new flower
reaching for the sun.
She was truly his wife now, in every sense of the word.
Somehow he’d managed to sneak past the stone barriers
she’d erected. Kael wasn’t even sure how he’d convinced
Daisy he was sincere in his efforts to become a good father
and husband. But it didn’t matter. All that counted were
the results.
Only one more obstacle remained. Getting her to agree
to tell Travis that he was the boy’s father. Until they cleared
that hurdle they couldn’t get down to the business of merg-
ing into a family.
Daisy’s eyelashes fluttered open.
“Good morning,” Kael greeted, his smile widening. He
propped himself on one elbow and studied her intently. The
cheerful glow streaming through the curtains accentuated
the freckles that dusted the bridge of her nose and high-
lighted her determined chin.
Daisy reached for the sheet and tugged the covers high
enough to hide her bare breasts. “Good morning,” she re-
plied shyly.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
She dropped her gaze, but couldn’t hide a knowing smile
of her own. “Pretty good.”
“Pretty good?” He feigned mock indignation. “That’s
it?”
“Okay,” she relented, pursing her lips slightly. “I feel
marvelous. Last night was wonderful.” She yawned and
stretched her body, bowing her back with catlike grace.
Watching her sent hot desire racing through Kael’s mas-
culine engines. She’d better stop it or he couldn’t be held
responsible for his actions.
“No regrets?” he asked, waiting warily for her answer.
Daisy hesitated, but for only a split second. That hesi-
tation, however small, cleaved his heart. Did she wish last
night had never happened? Had remorse snared her in the
wake of their unbridled lovemaking? Was she feeling as
nervous and shy as he was?
“None,” Daisy assured him.
“You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“’Cause if you’re still worried about something, we need
to talk it out.” Kael caught his bottom lip between his teeth
and waited expectantly.
Stubbornness, pride and miscommunication had been at
the root of their problems seven years ago, and he’d be
damned if he’d allow arrogance and lack of serious con-
versation separate them again. Not when they’d come this
far. Not when they were so close to recementing the shaky
foundation of the past.
She shook her head. “It’s okay.”
‘‘Something’s on your mind. I can see it in your face.”
‘‘I was just thinking about Travis.”
‘‘I woke up thinking about him, too,” Kael said. “I’m
ready to tell him that I’m his father.”
“Wait a minute.” Daisy secured the sheet under each
armpit, then raised her palms. “You’re moving too fast.
We’ve got to think this through. No harm is going to come
of waiting a while longer.”
Kael took a deep breath. He supposed she was right, but
dam it, he was ready to take his legitimate place in his
son’s life. “Okay,” he conceded, “when?”
“I can’t give you a definite time.”
Exasperated, Kael ran a hand through his hair. “Why
not?”
“Because,” Daisy hedged, “I’m just not sure.”
“You mean you still don’t trust me.” He bit the words
off and they fell brittlely into the air.
“That’s not what I meant
,” she denied, but they both
knew she was lying.
“Dammit, Daisy, are you telling me last night was all
for nothing?” He glared at her, incredulous.
“No.”
“I thought we had made a start at repairing what we’d
lost.”
“We did make a start. But that’s all it is, Kael, a start.
There’s seven years of bad blood between us, it’s not going
to evaporate with one night of lovemaking.”
“Not if you keep nursing a grudge like a sore tooth, it’s
not.” He raised his voice, upset with her, and upset with
himself for having placed too many expectations on the
meaning of their lovemaking. Kael had assumed her ac-
quiescence last night had signaled her forgiveness. Appar-
ently he was way off base.
“Lower your voice, please.” She spoke coldly, dispas-
sionately.
Kael clenched his jaw and forced himself to calm down.
“All right. We’ll do it your way. You let me know when
you trust me enough to tell my son who I really am. I
certainly hope it isn’t on our fiftieth wedding anniversary!”
Daisy peered at Kael. His anger titillated her. He looked
sumptuous propped up against the headboard, one arm
draped casually over his raised knee. His hair was mussed
in an endearing manner, and the bedcovers were tucked
around his narrow waist. His bare chest glinted invitingly
in the sun’s early-morning dazzle, and the red welts had
disappeared completely from his face.
If she reached out a few inches she could brush his skin
with her fingertips. That thought brought a lump of aware-
ness into her throat. A vision of last night’s passion flashed
in her mind, causing a heated flush to creep up her neck.
She never knew she could surrender herself with such
wild abandon. For years she’d hidden her sexuality away,
secretly hoping against hope and waiting for the time when
Kael Carmody came home. Their tender joining had been
everything she had always anticipated and more—so much
more that it terrified her. Now that she’d made love to him,
the stakes had intensified.
If he left her at this point, she’d be destroyed.
Daisy closed her eyes against the pain that sprang into
her chest. Perhaps she’d been foolish last night to give her-
self to him. Heated passion mixed with years of pent-up
emotions had conspired to weaken her resolve. She’d sur-
rendered to Kael without even a whimper. Worse, actually,
she’d been the one to initiate things.
But what was done was done, and she really couldn’t
regret the tenderness they’d shared.
What she could do, however, was protect Travis from
injury. She simply couldn’t allow him to tell the boy the
truth until she was one hundred percent certain Kael was
home for good.
The upcoming rodeo next week was Kael’s proving
ground. After taking Travis to the rodeo, they were sup-
posed to attend a party at Mickey Standish’s house. A party
filled with Kael’s adoring fans, all encouraging him to have
that experimental knee surgery and get back into the ring.
Could Kael resist the allure? Could he really turn away
from it? This time, could he choose love and family over
bull riding and proving his manhood? If he passed that test,
then Daisy would let him tell Travis the news.
“Daisy?”
She glanced up to find Kael observing her with a serious
expression on his face. Blinking, she met his stare, saw love
for her brimming in his hazel eyes.
“Yes.”
He cupped her chin in his palm. “Don’t you worry,
sweetheart,” he said, his voice thick. “I’m not going to let
you down again. I swear it.”
Despite Kael’s reassurances, quelling her anxiety proved
a monumental task as the rodeo drew closer. In the seven
years Kael had been gone, she’d done her best to ignore
all references to the biggest annual event in Rascal. But
over the course of the past week, no matter how hard she
threw herself into her work, she couldn’t avoid references
to the rodeo.
She went to the feed store to find Boss Martin and Jesse
Carpenter shooting the breeze about the local boys who
were competing in the bull riding event. While she was
getting a trim at Dorothy’s Curl-Up-and-Dye, the ladies
there quizzed her about Kael’s leg. She drove down Main
Street only to be confronted with red, white and blue rodeo
banners spanning the road.
It seemed as if a time bomb had been set in her brain
and Daisy was ticking off the minutes, just waiting for
Kael’s reaction. He’d promised her he had given up bull
riding for good and that he wasn’t going to have the sur-
gery, but for Daisy seeing was believing.
They’d planned on taking Travis to the rodeo, both
agreeing that avoiding the issue was not the answer. Kael
had to face the fact he was retired and deal with the im-
plications. Daisy couldn’t go on living with him not know-
ing if he’d gotten bull riding out of his system or if the old
longing still lurked within. In Daisy’s estimation it came
down to one thing. Which did he care about most? Her and
Travis or his career?
So she waited with bated breath, fingers crossed and her
heart on hold, for the man she loved to give himself to her
completely with no holds barred and no regrets for what he
was giving up in order to keep her.
Kael, too, felt the effects of the impending rodeo. The
excitement that skittered through the town plowed past him
in a rush. It had been seven months since his misbegotten
spill on the back of the Texas Tornado, seven months of
physical therapy, lots of pain and a very major decision
looming over his head.
Except, finding out that Travis Hightower was his son
had altered everything. From his relationship with Daisy
Anne to his own self-image, Kael was not the same man
he had been seven months earlier. Now he had a family to
consider. He no longer possessed the luxury of making de-
cisions based on his own wants and desires. For once,
something meant more to Kael than fame, adulation, ad-
venture and proving his masculinity.
The hell of it was, he embraced this wondrous new life
with an enthusiasm he would never have dreamed possible
in the days of his squandered youth.
Becoming a husband and father were the true tests of
manhood, not staying eight seconds on the back of some
angry, snorting beast. To provide a solid, stable environ-
ment for his child, to offer his wife the love and affection
she’d lost out on, to share with them both all the joy and
happiness family life could bring—now that was a goal
worth achieving.
Sure, Rascal’s preoccupation with the rodeo sent a
sweep of nostalgia through him, but that didn’t mean he
wanted to go backward in time. He’d been there. He’d p
ar-
ticipated. He’d been the star of the show, the golden boy.
He’d had his glory in the sun. It was time to look forward.
To turn the reins over to the kids who still had something
to prove.
“Hurry up, you guys,” Travis pleaded, hopping from
foot to foot several yards in front of Kael and Daisy.
He was a miniature of his father, decked out in cowboy
regalia, from his straw hat to his cowboy boots to his West-
ern-style shirt and sharply creased blue jeans. They’d all
three made a special trip into Corpus the evening before
just to get Travis the outfit, and Kael thought he looked
darned cute.
“All the good seats are gonna be taken by the time we
get there,” Travis complained.
They’d parked the pickup in the dirt lot behind the rodeo
arena and followed the stream of people to the ticket gate.
“Hold your horse there, cowboy, give your mom and me
a chance to catch up.”
Travis rolled his eyes. “Slowpokes,” he grumbled, but
smiled good-naturedly.
“He’s changed a lot,” Daisy said, gazing at her child
with a tender expression.
“He’s opened up,” Kael agreed. “Doesn’t seem so shy
since I’ve been taking him into town with me when I run
errands.”
“I kept him holed up on the farm too much. I know
that.”
“You did the best you could,” Kael soothed.
“You’ve been good for him.”
“Thank you for saying so,” Kael replied, slipping his
arm securely around her waist and keeping most of his
weight on his good leg so he wouldn’t limp.
The past week had been tentative between them. He
knew Daisy was secretly waiting for him to dash off after
the rodeo circuit again, but he wasn’t about to break his
promise to her. No amount of enticement could match the
joy he’d found in becoming a father, and nothing had pre-
pared him for the rank pride he felt when he looked upon
his son. He wouldn’t jeopardize that feeling for the largest
purse in the PRC.
They ambled through the entrance and around the cov-
ered bleachers. Travis wriggled with excitement, his eyes
growing round as half-dollars as he took in the sights and
sounds.
Cowboys perched on catwalks above the cattle pens.
