Kael Read online

  Curiously, Daisy’s pulse slowed, and the blood whooshed loudly in her ears. Kael lifted Travis over his head and settled him on his shoulders. Travis’ happy giggles filled the air and sent hope soaring in Daisy’s heart. She twisted her fingers in a knot and waited.

  The wind blew the scent of sun, hay, and honey across the field. Her gaze rested on Kael’s face. His jaw was determined, his chin set, but his eyes were kind, friendly, and encouraging.

  “Daisy,” he murmured.

  “Kael.”

  They stared at each other, both wanting to embrace, but each afraid to make the first move.

  Kael took Travis from his shoulders and set him on the ground. Then Kael squatted beside him. “I’ve got something to tell you,” he said.

  “You will not be having an operation?” Travis asked.

  “That’s right.” Kael slanted Daisy a look. “I decided I don’t want to be a bull rider anymore. It’s no fun getting hurt.”

  “That’s true!” Travis’ eyes widened, and he fingered his scalp. “My head still hurts where I fell off Ferdinand.”

  “Next time I hope you think before you do something foolish like that,” Kael chided.

  “Yes, sir.” Travis nodded.

  “Good boy. Now listen to me a minute.”

  Daisy lifted a hand to her throat, uncertain what he was about to say.

  Kael cleared his throat. “I’m your real father, Travis.”

  “I know.” Travis beamed.

  “How do you know?” Kael frowned and looked at Daisy. “Did you tell him?

  Daisy shook her head.

  “I just know.” Travis shrugged.

  Kael rocked back on his heels. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you when you were little. Truth is, I didn’t know you were my son until I came back to Rascal and your mother told me.”

  “It’s okay.” Travis gifted him with a smile. “You’re home for good now.”

  “You are home, aren’t you?” Daisy asked.

  Kael stood up. “Yes, Daisy. I’m home for good.”

  “Travis,” Daisy said. “Why don’t you go wash up for supper. Your father and I will be there in a minute.”

  “Do I have to?” Travis whined.

  “You heard your mother,” Kael said, never taking his eyes from Daisy’s face. “Go wash up.”

  Like a shot, the boy headed for the house.

  “Why did you leave?” Daisy asked, once Travis was out of hearing range. “Why did you put me through that again?”

  Tears misted his eyes. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you a second time. I just figured you and Travis were better off without me.”

  “Whatever gave you that silly idea, Kael?”

  “If I hadn’t been here, Travis would never have been brave enough to crawl up on that bull by himself. Me being a showoff is what spurred him to do that.”

  “Bit egotistical, aren’t you?”

  “It’s true. Because of me your quiet son became an unruly youngster.”

  “Under your influence, Kael, our son has come out of his shell. He talks. He laughs. He makes friends. He’s happy now where he wasn’t before.”

  “What are you saying, Daisy?”

  “I’m saying you’re good for him, or hadn’t you noticed?”

  A WARM, TINGLING SENSATION started in Kael’s belly and worked its way throughout his whole body. Was he hearing her correctly? Was she forgiving him?

  Kael doffed his cowboy hat, hooked it over the fence post, and ran his fingers through his hair. He had so much to tell her, so much to be forgiven for. “You were right all along. I behaved irresponsibly. Because of me, our son was injured. Daisy, it could have been severe.”

  “But it wasn’t.”

  “He could have been maimed for life like his old man.” Kael ruefully swept a hand at his own knee.

  “So, your answer to a tough problem was to pack up and run away?” She crossed her arms over her chest, staring at him in the way that a prosecuting attorney might stare down a perjuring witness.

  “That was my initial response,” Kael admitted. “I got scared. Terrified that if I stayed, I would unwittingly hurt you and Travis in a million other ways. But I made it as far as Oklahoma City before I realized I just couldn’t do it. I love you and Travis with all my heart and soul.”

  “Do you love us enough to stick out the rough times as well as the good? Are you in for the long haul, Kael, when things are just flat boring? Can you give up bull riding and settle down once and for all?”

  He stepped the few feet between them and caught her hands in his. He met her gaze and held it tight. “Yes, Daisy, I can. Over the course of the past few weeks, getting to know my son, falling in love with you all over again, I’ve learned there’s no bigger thrill, no greater challenge than being married and raising a child.”

  It killed him to think she might not take him back, but she would be well within her rights.

  “I love you, Daisy,” he said and doffed his Stetson. “Will you take me back?”

  “WHY SHOULD I TRUST you?” She pulled away from him and saw the hurt on his face.

  How she wanted to believe him! To know she could count on him now and forever. To know he’d be waiting for her no matter what happened. To wake up every morning in those strong arms and to go to sleep each night, wrapped in the glow of their love. The love that had remained unbroken despite mistakes, misunderstandings, and seven years’ separation.

  “I bought the ranch from my dad,” Kael said. “I’m taking over the business. I canceled my knee surgery. And I got this for you.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box and passed it to her. With trembling fingers, Daisy took the gift. Tentatively, she opened it, and her breath caught in

  her chest.

  A gorgeous one-carat diamond solitaire that eclipsed the gold band he’d bought her before, winked in the sunlight.

  Kael took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. “Will you marry me again, Daisy Hightower? This time for real. Not because you need money or because Travis needs a father but because I love you and I want to commit to you. In good times and bad, in sickness and in health,

  for the rest of my natural life.” His hazel eyes pleaded, and Daisy, washed away in the vortex of emotions, simply nodded.

  Kael pulled her into his arms and kissed her—sweetly, tenderly, hopefully.

  “From now on, we talk things out. No more running away from me and no more hiding behind your pride. Agreed?”

  “Okay.” She smiled at him, and a joy unlike anything she’d ever known rushed through her. At last. At long last, he was truly her husband.

  “I’ve loved you since that time I first kissed you in the honey house,” he said. “Remember?”

  “How could I forget?” Daisy blushed at the memory. She’d just shown him how to steal the comb without upsetting the bees. The honey house had been hot, his kiss even hotter.

  “You taste the same now as you did then—sweet, delicious, and tempting.” He gazed at her with desire in his eyes and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Know what I’m thinking?” he asked, inclining his head toward the honey house.

  Daisy giggled, and the sound filled the air. “What?”

  “We might recreate the scene for old times’ sake, except this time we might take things a little further.”

  “Kael!”

  “After all.” He grinned. “We are married.”

  “It’s not very practical,” she began, but before she could continue her protest, Kael swung her into his arms and started for the honey house.

  “That’s one thing that’s going to change around here,” he said. “You’ve got to start having more fun. You’ve got someone to share your burdens now, so lighten up.”

  “Oh, yeah?” She raised an eyebrow, and for the first time since her parents’ deaths, she felt young again.

  “Yeah.”

  And that’s when Daisy Hightower Carmody knew she had finally
hooked herself one honey of a husband.

  Don't miss out!

  Click the button below and you can sign up to receive emails whenever Lori Wilde publishes a new book. There's no charge and no obligation.

  https://books2read.com/r/B-A-BAEH-AUCY

  Connecting independent readers to independent writers.

  Did you love Kael? Then you should read Tucker by Lori Wilde!

  Stranger on her doorstep!

  Perpetual do-gooder July Johnson's latest cause was no straggly ally cat but six feet of pure male. And though the stranger was surely hiding secrets, something told July that beneath Tucker's gruff exterior was a soul longing to be loved.

  Undercover lawman Tucker Haynes had chosen July's apartment as his hideout. But cozying up with the exasperating July had the cool cop seeing stars. For his feisty housemate had him dreaming of a future that could never be.

  Tucker is the fifth installment in Lori Wilde's heartwarming series, Texas Rascals. Get your copy today.

  Read more at Lori Wilde’s site.

  About the Author

  Lori Wilde is the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers’ Weekly bestselling author of 85 works of romantic fiction. She’s a three time Romance Writers’ of America RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Readers’ Choice Award. She has won numerous other awards as well. Her books have been translated into 26 languages, with more than four million copies of her books sold worldwide. Her breakout novel, The First Love Cookie Club, has been optioned for a TV movie.

  Lori is a registered nurse with a BSN from Texas Christian University. She holds a certificate in forensics, and is also a certified yoga instructor.

  A fifth generation Texan, Lori lives with her husband, Bill, in the Cutting Horse Capital of the World; where they run Epiphany Orchards, a writing/creativity retreat for the care and enrichment of the artistic soul.

  Read more at Lori Wilde’s site.