Kael (Texas Rascals, #6) Read online

  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, 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.”

  “Why should I trust you?” She pulled away from him,

  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 morn-

  ing in those strong arms and to go to sleep each night,

  wrapped in the glow of their love. The love that had re-

  mained unbroken despite 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 her consent.

  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 for

  you. 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 up-

  setting the bees. The honey house had been hot, his kiss

  even hotter.

  “You taste the same now as you did then—sweet, deli-

  cious and so tempting.” He gazed at her with desire in his

  eyes and brushed a strand of hair from her face. “Know

  what I was thinking?” he asked, inclining his head toward

  the honey house.

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

  “We might re-create the scene for old time’s sake, ex-

  cept this time we might take things a little further.”

  “Kael Carmody!”

  “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 sternly. “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 hooked herself one honey of a husband.

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  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.