Kael (Texas Rascals, #6) Read online

  Kael

  Texas Rascals, Volume 6

  Lori Wilde

  Published by Lori Wilde, 2019.

  This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

  KAEL

  First edition. April 30, 2019.

  Copyright © 2019 Lori Wilde.

  Written by Lori Wilde.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  8®.

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

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  Further Reading: Tucker

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Kael Carmody was back and everybody in Rascal knew

  the minute he breezed into town. His name set off sparks

  from Mildred’s Diner to the all-night Laundromat on First

  Street to Dorothy’s Curl-Up-and-Dye. Nothing in Rascal

  had changed in the seven years he’d been away. Kael Car-

  mody still set matrons’ tongues to wagging and young girls’

  hearts to swooning.

  Everyone, that is, except Daisy Hightower. Daisy was

  twenty-six, independent, hard working and stubborn as

  Boss Martin’s old mule. She could also carry a grudge

  longer than anyone in South Texas. Kael Carmody had

  found that out the hard way.

  But Kael Carmody had other things on his mind besides

  Daisy Hightower when he strolled into Mickey’s Bar off

  Highway 183, looking for liquid refreshment and a dozen

  raw oysters.

  “I don’t believe my eyes!” Mickey Standish exclaimed

  as Kael strolled inside, the old wooden door slamming

  closed behind him. “Kael Carmody, as I live and breathe.”

  “Hey, Mickey.” The grin that had charmed a thousand

  women lit Kael’s face. Taking care to minimize his limp,

  he hitched himself up to the red vinyl bar stool, doffed his

  straw Stetson and clasped Mickey’s hearty handshake.

  “How’s the leg?” Mickey asked, casting a glance down-

  ward.

  “Healin’.”

  Kael wasn’t ready to talk about the accident or his shaky

  prognosis. Less said, the better. But avoiding the topic in

  Rascal posed a real challenge. Thankfully, the tavern was

  empty at one-thirty in the afternoon except for the two guys

  shooting pool in the comer, and Kael didn’t know either of

  them.

  “You gonna be able to ride again?” Concern knotted

  Mickey’s mouth.

  “Sure.” Kael pulled a confident face that was complete

  bluster. “Just home recouping for a couple of months.”

  “Must be tough.” Mickey nodded.

  “Yeah.” Kael desperately wanted to change the subject.

  “How ’bout a long-neck and a dozen oysters on the half

  shell? I’m starved for your food. There’s nothing like it.”

  Mickey beamed at the compliment and pulled a beer

  from the ice. Twisting the top, he slid it across the bar to

  Kael. “Be right back with your oysters.”

  Kael swiveled on the bar stool, sipping his beer. He

  swung his gaze around the bar. Not much had changed in

  seven years. There was still a tear in the screen door. The

  same posters graced the rough-hewn walls. An oscillating

  fan rotated at the back of the bar. The windows were open.

  Gulf breezes lifted the curtains, bringing the scent of sea,

  sand and long-buried memories.

  Memories he’d rather forget. Memories that had kept him

  away from Rascal for so long. Memories of Daisy High-

  tower.

  If he closed his eyes, he could still see her firm, tanned

  figure in that purple bikini, still smell the coconut aroma

  of her sunscreen, still taste those frosty Italian ices they’d

  shared on the beach while sifting their toes in the sand.

  Damn! Why was he thinking about that hardheaded crea-

  ture? He’d gotten over her years ago. Just because he’d

  come back home to recover from his accident didn’t mean

  he was entertaining any ideas about getting together with

  her for old time’s sake. Knowing Daisy, if he dared show

  up on her front porch, she’d promptly tell him to eat worms

  and die. What man needed that kind of grief?

  “Here we go,” Mickey said, proudly plopping oysters

  on an iced platter in front of Kael. “Bet you haven’t had

  oysters like these since you left Rascal.”

  “You’d bet right,” Kael said, letting the Gulf Coast del-

  icacy slide down his throat.

  “Hmm,” Mickey said. “Just you wait. I’m having a

  blow-out barbecue party at my place for the Rodeo Days

  celebration in June and you’re invited. Hell, I’m gonna

  make you the guest of honor. You know you’re the only

  famous person ever to come out of this town.”

  “I’m not that famous.”

  “B.S.!” Mickey snorted. “How many people have won

  the PRC bull riding championship two years in a row?”

  And, Kael wondered, how many of those people got so

  badly wounded doing it, they lost their career?

  “Only folks who follow rodeo have ever heard of me,”

  Kael said. “Besides, fame and a buck will buy you a cup

  of coffee.”

  “Like you have to worry about money.” Mickey shook

  his head. “You’re the only child of the wealthiest family

  in town. You’re destined to inherit a two-thousand-acre cat-

  tle ranch. What’s the problem?”

  The problem was Kael didn’t know what would happen

  to him if his leg didn’t heal. A half dozen doctors had been

  consulted and they’d all come away with the same conclu-

  sion. Slim chance he’d ever ride again without agreeing to

  a radical new surgical procedure. But the surgery was no

  panacea. Even though his manager, Randy Howard, was

  pushing for the operation, Kael hesitated. If something went

  wrong with the procedure, he might never be able to use

  the leg again.

  Kael winced. What was he going to do? Bull riding was

  his life, his identity since he was twelve years old. Sure,

  he could follow in his father’s footsteps and become a

  rancher, but Kael had such a restless nature, possessed such

  a strong case of wanderlust he couldn’t envision himself

  settling down in any one place for long. Especially a dried-

  up, go-nowhere town like Rascal.

  That very nomadic characteristic was what had destroyed

  his budding relationship with Daisy Hightower.

  One of the men playing pool dropped a quarter in the

  jukebox. Dolly Parton’s voice filled the room. Grateful for

  the distraction, Kael finished his oysters and pushed the

  platter across the bar.

  “So how are things in Rascal?�
�� Kael asked. “You

  know my folks spend most of their time in Corpus Christi

  now, and they just aren’t looped in to the local gossip.”

  “Well,” Mickey said, steepling his fingers. “The

  drought’s been rough on everyone.”

  “I saw.”

  On the drive in he’d noticed parched pastures, scrawny

  cows and the low water level in the area lakes and ponds.

  The lack of color in the normally lush landscape told the

  ugly story. No rain, no crops. No crops, no economy. His

  concern for the decreased rainfall extended to his parents

  ranch, even though the Carmodys were so well invested

  that a few lean years would do them little harm.

  “A couple of farmers have gone bankrupt.”

  Kael clicked his tongue. “Shame.”

  “Cattle prices are the lowest they’ve been in sixteen

  years.”

  “That’s what my dad’s been telling me.” Kael knew

  about the drought and the farmers’ problems. What he hun-

  gered for were details on the townspeople, and one special

  person in particular.

  “Guess who I saw yesterday?” Mickey asked as if read-

  ing his stray thoughts.

  Kael shook his head, took another swallow of beer. The

  outside of the bottle was sweaty, the coolness already dis-

  sipating in the humidity.

  “Daisy Hightower.”

  “Yeah?”

  “She’s just as fine as she was in high school. Maybe

  more so.” Mickey swiped a damp towel across the counter.

  “Good for her. She always was a beautiful woman.”

  “Waste if you ask me.”

  “What’s a waste?” Kael quirked an eyebrow. Despite

  his best intentions, he couldn’t deny the curiosity zipping

  through him. He’d love to see Daisy again.

  “The girl never dates. Stays home, works those beehives

  and looks after her sister’s Itid. She’s turned into a regular

  hermit.”

  “Rose has a child?” Kael frowned.

  “Had.”

  “You mean Rose is dead?”

  Mickey nodded solemnly.

  “So what happened?”

  Mickey made a face. “She abandoned the boy right after

  he was bom. Left him for Daisy to raise. Couple of years

  back we found out Rose overdosed on sleeping pills and

  whiskey in some New Orleans flophouse. Apparently it was

  a real sordid affair.”

  “No kidding?” An icy blast chased down Kael’s spine.

  The news left him shaky, the oysters resting uneasily in his

  stomach.

  “You remember how wild Rose was, partying con-

  stantly, a different boyfriend for every night of the week.

  Hell, I’ll admit it. I kept company with her a time or two

  myself. Who didn’t?”

  I wish to hell I hadn’t, Kael thought to himself, the old

  self-loathing returning with a vengeance.

  “Daisy’s had a hard time of it.”

  “I image she has, raising a kid on her own.” Kael

  mused.

  “Uh-huh. She legally adopted Travis.”

  “Well, nobody could ever accuse Daisy Hightower of

  shirking her responsibilities.” Kael peeled the label off his

  beer bottle and avoided Mickey’s eye.

  “You ain’t got no interest in rekindling old flames?”

  Mickey settled his elbows on the bar and leaned forward

  to cup his chin in his palms.

  “With that fiery redhead? You gotta be kiddin’. I’d just

  as soon stick my hand in one of her beehives. It’d be a lot

  less painful.” Kael snorted, but inside himself dormant

  feelings stirred. Feelings he didn’t care to examine too

  closely.

  “Want another beer?”

  “Nah.” Kael shook his head. “I better be getting back

  home. Mom’s cooking up a big dinner and inviting all the

  relatives over.” The truth was, he’d heard enough about

  Daisy Hightower for one afternoon.

  “Don’t be a stranger,” Mickey said, “anytime you

  wanna talk rodeo you got an audience.”

  “Thanks.”

  He didn’t need to be reminded of that, either. Why tor-

  ture himself? Until he made a decision one way or the other

  about the surgery, he didn’t want to discuss bull riding.

  Kael could just see himself whiling away the days, hanging

  out in Mickey’s Bar and gabbing about what used to be or

  what might have been.

  Daisy Hightower and bull riding. The two things he’d

  loved most. The very two things that had caused him the

  greatest heartache in life.

  Snagging his Stetson off the bar, Kael smoothed the

  brim, then settled it on his head. He took money from his

  pocket, but Mickey held up his palms in protest.

  “This one’s on me, good buddy.”

  “Come on, Mickey, take the cash.” Kael pushed the

  twenty at him.

  “You tryin’ to insult me?”

  “All right, have it your way.”

  Kael folded the twenty and stuck it back in his pocket.

  He wasn’t about to let Mickey get away with this. They’d

  been friends since high school, and although Mickey earned

  a fair living running the bar, he had a wife and three kids

  to support. The guy just might wake up one morning to

  find a new freezer sitting on his front porch waiting to take

  the place of the one wheezing in the back room.

  “You oughta go see her,” Mickey said, as Kael reached

  the door.

  Kael turned to look at his friend. “Who?”

  “Daisy Hightower. You never know. She might have

  changed her mind about you.”

  “Are we talking about the same Daisy Hightower?”

  Proud, obstinate, sexy Daisy Hightower.

  “Motherhood might have mellowed her.”

  “Like it mellows grizzly bears.” Kael lifted his shoul-

  ders. “No, thanks.”

  “Your caU.”

  “Yeah,” Kael said, and stepped out into the oppressive

  heat. Honey bees floated near the horsemint outside the

  door. Not a single tree stirred. Absentmindedly, he rubbed

  his aching leg and crossed the asphalt to his pickup.

  Those danged bees brought back lots of memories. Mem-

  ories of clear spring mornings and sweet amber honey.

  Memories of colorful flowers and buzzing hives. Memories

  of stealing a honey-sweetened kiss from the most regal of

  queen bees—Daisy Anne Hightower.

  “Forget her,” Kael muttered, slamming his pickup truck

  into reverse and backing out of Mickey’s parking lot. “You

  got enough problems to contend with. What’s over is over,

  and Daisy Hightower will never be yours again.”

  Shifting into overdrive, he bit down on his lip and reeled

  from the hardest slap of loneliness he’d felt in seven years.

  “Did you see Kael Carmody?”

  “Oh my gosh, hasn’t he got a body to die for?”

  “And those eyes of his, so blue they’re almost silver.”

  “I was too busy scoping out his backside to pay much

  attention to his eyes.”

  Overhearing the checkout girls’ conversation, Daisy

  Hightower’s hand froze around the jar of pimentos she was

&nb
sp; about to drop into her shopping cart. Her pulse gathered

  speed and her legs went wobbly. She took a deep breath to

  steady herself.

  Please, Lord, she prayed. Say it isn’t so. Tell me Kael

  Carmody isn’t back in Rascal.

  “Do you think he’d go out with me?” one girl asked.

  She was a plump but pretty blonde, who wore her hair

  pulled back off her face. The girl wasn’t much more than

  nineteen. The same age Daisy had been when Kael Car-

  mody had broken her heart and shattered her world.

  “Don’t be silly, Deedee. You’re way too young for him.

  Besides, Kael Carmody could have his pick of any woman

  in Rascal,” the other girl, a willowy brunette replied.

  Not me! Daisy thought, straining to eavesdrop. Not if he

  were the last man on earth. She’d learned the hard way

  there should be much more to a man than good looks and

  a penchant for having fun. And if her own lessons hadn’t

  been enough, all she needed to do was remember Rose and

  her mistakes.

  “Still.” The one named Deedee sighed. “He’s too fine

  for words. Sorta puts me in mind of Brad Pitt.”

  “Everybody puts you in mind of Brad Pitt,” her friend

  teased.

  “You can hardly tell he limps.”

  “They say his bull riding career is over.”

  “Guess that’s why he’s back home.”

  “I hope he pops in here often. It’ll certainly make com-

  ing to work a lot more exciting.”

  Kael’s career at an end? Daisy’s mouth twitched as

  mixed emotion rocketed through her. She would love to be

  able to say she was totally and completely over Kael Car-

  mody, but she couldn’t he to herself. She did harbor feel-

  ings for the man, despite what had happened between them,

  and she cursed herself daily for that weakness.

  She knew how upset he’d be if he could never rodeo

  again. Daisy had heard about Kael’s accident, of course.

  Even someone as much of a recluse as she could not have

  missed hearing about that. Kael Carmody’s tragic spill at

  the PRC in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day had been big

  news, overshadowed only by the Dallas Cowboys’ winning

  another Superbowl Championship. But Daisy had no idea

  Kael’s injury had been so serious, and that news grieved

  her.

  Worry knots formed in her stomach. How many times