Kael (Texas Rascals, #6) Read online

between them remained strained at best.

  During the day they worked side by side reorganizing

  the depleted hives. But she rarely spoke to him, and the

  silence elongated, increasing tension and pushing Kael to

  the limit of his endurance. When he tried to make light

  conversation, she answered him in monosyllables, if at all.

  Eventually he gave up trying to get her attention and con-

  centrated on strengthening the bond between himself and

  Travis.

  She’ll come around, he assured himself, but deep down

  inside, he was beginning to wonder. Would their marriage

  go on like this for eternity? How long could he withstand

  her cold shoulder before he turned to warmer climates?

  In truth, he loved her more now than ever. Observing

  her in action brought him to understand exactly what she’d

  sacrificed for his son over the years. Too bad Daisy went

  at life with such serious resolve. If only there was some

  way to break through the barrier she’d erected around her-

  self and her emotions. For Kael knew that underneath that

  hard shell resided the most tender of hearts. A heart so

  vulnerable, so fragile she refused to allow anyone near for

  fear of getting hurt again.

  And he’d been the cause of so much of her pain.

  That knowledge was the one thing that kept him holding

  on, clinging to the hope that one day Daisy would give her

  love free rein, forgive him his sins and welcome him back

  home with open arms. Until then, he could do nothing but

  wait.

  At night Kael slept in the spare bedroom, fighting grow-

  ing thoughts of how things could be between them. Tor-

  turing himself with visions of Daisy, her dark red hair flow-

  ing freely down her back, her slender, well-built body

  encased in a thin white cotton nightgown, he imagined her

  slipping into his room at midnight, her pent-up passion, so

  hot and deep, spilling over him in erotic waves. He pictured

  them making love on the cool, crisp sheets, their bodies

  joined, their perspiration mingled as they raised each other

  to heretofore undiscovered heights of ecstasy.

  In the end, he was only driving himself crazy because

  Daisy showed no signs of giving in. He tried every tactic—

  kind words, thoughtful gifts, generous gestures. He ran her

  bathwater at night—she never thanked him. He cooked

  breakfast—she ate without a word. He washed dishes—she

  didn’t notice. Nothing worked.

  Kael racked his brain, striving for some way to crack her

  brick wall and make her take a second look at him. Finally,

  three weeks after their marriage, he simply decided to ig-

  nore her.

  “We need to recolonize the eight hives near the stock

  pond,” Daisy announced one Saturday morning while Kael

  and Travis sat on the couch, still in their pajamas, eating

  sugar-frosted com flakes and watching Saturday morning

  cartoons. “Boss Martin called to say the new queens have

  arrived. I’m going to the feed store to pick them up.” She

  stared at them, a gleam of envy in her eyes.

  She’s jealous, Kael thought, of how close Travis and I

  have become in such a short period of time.

  “I’ll be back in half an hour, and I expect you both to

  be dressed and off the couch.” She twirled the truck keys

  on her finger.

  “Aw, Mom,” Travis complained.

  “Don’t ‘aw, Mom’ me.” Her brows dipped in a frown.

  “Or I’ll turn the TV off this very minute.”

  “Daisy, don’t be such a grouch,” Kael coaxed. “Relax,

  it’s Saturday morning.”

  “The bees don’t know what day of the week it is,” she

  replied. “I’ve got a lot of work to do. Unlike some people,

  I don’t have time to fritter away the day watching car-

  toons.” She placed a heavy emphasis on the last word.

  She seemed sad and lonely to Kael. He ached to reach

  out to her and draw her into their circle of love, but the

  firm set to her shoulders warned him off. Oh, Daisy, if

  you ’d only let yourself, you could be curled up with us, too!

  Without a backward glance, she scooped up her purse

  from the wing chair and stalked from the room. Kael

  winced, put his empty cereal bowl on the coffee table and

  ran a hand down his face.

  Could Daisy’s heart ever be repaired? Had he ruined her

  loving spirit when he’d inadvertently slept with Rose?

  Daisy, Daisy, Daisy, how can I reach you? Kael fretted.

  The answer floated to him, simple and true.

  Tell her you love her.

  He hadn’t told her he loved her before now because he

  knew she wouldn’t believe him. For Daisy, words weren’t

  enough. She had to be shown. When she came to accept

  the fact he was never going to leave, then she’d come

  around.

  What if she never did?

  That idea, glaring in its possibility, wrenched his gut. No.

  He refused to give up. He’d keep at her until she under-

  stood the depth of his love.

  “Come on, sport,” Kael said, affectionately ruffling

  Travis’s hair. “Let’s make your mom happy.” He picked

  up the remote control and snapped off the television set.

  “Okay.” Travis sprang off the couch. “Maybe we can

  go outside and fly my new Batman kite before she gets

  home.”

  Kael glanced out the window. “I don’t know if it’s

  windy enough.”

  “Please?” Travis turned his hazel eyes on Kael and

  melted him instantly.

  “Okay, champ, we’ll give it a shot.” Kael clapped his

  hands. “Now, let’s get rolling.”

  Driving back from the feed store, a dozen boxes of caged

  queen bees wedged securely in the bed of Kael’s pickup

  truck, Daisy mentally castigated herself for her sour atti-

  tude. Since her so-called marriage to Kael Carmody, she’d

  been on edge, battling the nervousness that assailed her

  every time she came within ten feet of the man.

  She hated being this way. She wanted to laugh and smile

  and have a good time. But she was scared. Terrified that if

  she let down her guard Kael Carmody would invade her

  senses and take her emotions hostage just as he had seven

  years earlier.

  That would be a tragic mistake. She simply could not

  allow herself to fully experience the feelings surging deep

  inside her, waiting for the opportunity to emerge and send

  her life rocketing out of kilter. She could not, would not,

  let herself love Kael. When he abandoned her again, she

  wanted her heart free and clear of his imprint because Daisy

  knew she could not survive a second betrayal.

  And abandon her he would. She had no doubt. Even if

  Kael was kidding himself that he could be the perfect fa-

  ther, she knew better. Eventually he’d grow tired of the

  demands of family responsibilities. Eventually his old rest-

  lessness would rear its ugly head. Eventually the glamorous

  lure of the rodeo would have him shuffling on down the

  road.


  Oh sure, for now he was pulling out all the stops, making

  the grand gesture of playing proud papa, but Daisy knew

  that would not last. The picnics, the ball games, the horse-

  back rides would come to a screeching halt once the nov-

  elty of having a son wore off and the reality of parenthood

  set in. Wait until Kael discovered what it was like to nurse

  a sick kid through the night or get a call from the school

  principal concerning a discipline problem or spend tedious

  hours helping with homework. The man couldn’t handle it.

  He simply didn’t have what it took.

  What’s the matter, Daisy, jealous?

  The thought, like a sharp jolt from the devil’s pitchfork,

  prodded her mind.

  “That’s ridiculous,” Daisy muttered under her breath.

  “I’m not jealous of Kael Carmody.”

  But she had to admit it irked her that he’d needled his

  way into Travis’s heart so easily. They’d formed an instant

  rapport that sometimes left Daisy feeling like the bad guy

  when she had to enforce bedtime hours or deny Travis the

  sweet desserts Kael brought home. Sure, it was easy for

  Kael. He got to be the hero.

  Just wait, the voice in the back of her mind predicted

  gloomily. Just wait until the rodeo comes to town next

  week. Then you ’ll have your answer, and you ’ll know once

  and for all if Kael Carmody can indeed resist temptation.

  Sighing to herself, Daisy turned into the driveway. She

  killed the pickup’s engine, got out and went inside to find

  Aunt Peavy preparing canned soup and tossed green salad

  for lunch.

  “Hi,” Daisy greeted her. “How was choir practice?”

  “Not too bad. Though somebody should tell Myrtle Hig-

  gins flat-out she can’t sing. ’Course Reverend McMinn’s

  not about to say a word to the poor old soul.”

  Daisy cloaked a smile. Three-fourths of the ladies in the

  church choir, Aunt Peavy included, sang off-key.

  “Where’s Kael and Travis?” Daisy asked. “Not still in

  front of the television set, I hope.”

  Aunt Peavy shrugged. “Dunno. They were gone when

  Jenny Louise dropped me off.”

  “Great. Just when I need them, they disappear.”

  “Jenny Louise will be back for me around six. We’re

  rehearsing all evening for the passion play on Sunday, so

  Jenny just invited me to spend the night. Is that okay with

  you?”

  “Yes,” Daisy replied, spying a note stuck to the refrig-

  erator with a magnet shaped like a toaster. She plucked the

  piece of paper off the door and read: “Daisy—we’re al-

  ready at the pond—K and T.”

  Hmm. Daisy hoped this didn’t mean that Kael and Travis

  were attempting to handle the bees on their own without

  her around. Kael knew next to nothing about beekeeping

  and although Travis was familiar with the procedures he

  was still a boy and not mature enough for such a respon-

  sibility. Frowning, she fidgeted with her wedding ring. She

  still hadn’t grown accustomed to the weight of it on her

  finger. Just as she hadn’t yet gotten used to sharing her life

  and her son.

  Irritation with Kael clawed through her, but a moment

  later a calm, peaceful voice whispered in the back of her

  head.

  Don’t be so critical, Daisy.

  Willing herself to look at the world with a more positive

  frame of mind, Daisy went back outside, opened the gate

  to the back pasture then drove the truck through the field.

  The vehicle bumped and swayed over the rutted dirt road

  leading to the stock pond located at the farm’s back perim-

  eter.

  Something in the sky caught her attention, and she raised

  her eyes to the clouds. A red-and-black bat kite dipped and

  bobbed. Relief washed over her. Kael and Travis weren’t

  messing with the bees, they were flying a kite.

  She rounded a clump of oak trees flanking the stock pond

  on the left. To the right lay the eight beehives she’d posi-

  tioned near the wildflowers growing along the top of the

  pond. This time of year only sunflowers remained, the blue

  bonnets, black-eyed Susans and Indian paintbrushes had

  long since disappeared for the season.

  Daisy spied Travis running fast, trying to urge the kite

  higher. Kael stood a few yards away, hands on his hips and

  a silly smile on his face as he watched their son.

  Their son.

  Even though they had not conceived this boy together,

  Travis was their son, and they had joined themselves in

  matrimony in order to provide for him. Though Daisy

  didn’t believe for one minute that the marriage would last,

  she had to admit it had taken a lot of guts on Kael’s part

  to take such a life-changing step, even temporarily.

  Travis had turned and was running backward, his eyes

  glued to the kite rising in the sky.

  Kael’s voice rang out at the same time Daisy recognized

  impending calamity.

  “Travis! Watch where you’re going!” Kael shouted.

  But his warning came too late. Before Travis could react,

  the boy plowed headlong into a beehive.

  The hive teetered precariously on one leg, then tumbled

  over, bees rushing from the top in an angry horde.

  “Oh, no!” Daisy gasped out loud. She slammed on the

  brakes, threw the truck into park and frantically grabbed

  for the bee smoker resting on the floorboard.

  But Kael was closer and quicker. By the time she freed

  herself from the seat belt and stumbled from the truck, he’d

  darted across the ground, scooped Travis into his arm and

  fled for the stock pond, a thick swarm of black bees bearing

  down on them.

  Kael’s limp was evident as he ran but he didn’t let the

  injury slow him down. Daisy’s heart rumbled against her

  rib cage. Her mouth went dry at the same time her palms

  turned slick with instant sweat. Fear churned her stomach.

  “Run! Run!” she cried, fumbling in her pocket for a

  match and trying to strike it as she hurried toward the bees.

  Kael held Travis tight against his chest, bent his body

  low over the boy’s. The water’s salvation lay several feet

  away, the bees just inches from descending upon them. She

  could hear their enraged hum even at this distance. A chill

  chased up her spine, and she swallowed past the lump

  lodged in her throat.

  She was forced to stop long enough to light the news-

  paper in the smoker, her fingers bumbling with match after

  match, her eyes transfixed on the disastrous scene playing

  out before her.

  Kael stumbled against Travis’s weight and his boot hung

  on a protruding tree root. He floundered to keep his bal-

  ance.

  The bees swooped.

  Daisy shrieked.

  Gathering Travis into a ball, Kael hurled the boy forward

  to safety in the stock pond at the same time he came down

  on his bad leg, twisting it beneath him.

  Travis disappeared into the pond, water splashing in his

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  The bees converged upon the only remaining target.

  Kael.

  He covered his head with his hands but the bees were

  relentless. They descended upon him in a vicious attack.

  The smoker caught fire at last, and Daisy’s legs churned

  as she ran, but it felt as if she were slogging through mud.

  “Oh, Kael, oh, Kael, oh, Kael,” she chanted, mentally

  wincing against the pain she knew he was suffering.

  After what seemed like an eternity, she reached his side,

  pumping the bellow of the smoker over Kael’s inert body,

  desperately battling back the bees.

  With a sweeping gesture, she brushed at the bees, shov-

  ing them from his head and face with one hand while she

  pumped the bellows with the other. Smoke filled her nos-

  trils, and she coughed against the acrid taste burning her

  throat.

  Staring at Kael’s prostrate form, tears stung her eyes. She

  told herself it was the effects of the smoke, but that wasn’t

  the case. Truth was, she felt as if her own skin was alive

  with beestings.

  “Kael!” she cried, “can you speak?”

  He groaned.

  Tears ran down Daisy’s cheek and splashed on Kael’s

  hair. The back of his hands, still locked tight against his

  head, were covered in ugly red welts. The side of his face

  had also taken a bad hit. His flesh was brilliant pink and

  swelling rapidly.

  Daisy pumped the bellows around Kael, smothering him

  in smoke. His chest heaved. Daisy hissed in her breath at

  the sight. She had to get him to the house and poke some

  antihistamines down him before the reaction to the bee-

  stings worsened.

  Lulled and disoriented, the bees lost their thirst for re-

  venge and gradually flew back to circle the overturned hive.

  “Can you walk?” Daisy asked, pushing a bedraggled

  strand of hair from her face.

  Kael groaned again and struggled to sit up. Daisy’s heart

  lurched.

  “My knee,” he replied.

  “Here, brace yourself against me.” She squatted next to

  him and offered her shoulder for support.

  He reached out and draped his arms around her neck.

  “On the count of three we both stand up,” she in-

  structed. “One.”

  He positioned his foot in the dirt. Daisy looked down,

  unable to witness what the beestings had done to his skin.