Kael (Texas Rascals, #6)

by Lori Wilde

  ried and probably heaping a pile of guilt upon his own

  head. When she should have been comforting her husband,

  she’d fallen back into her old ways of behaving and had

  lashed out at him, blaming him for something that wasn’t

  his fault.

  It had been easy to accuse Kael. He accepted her acri-

  mony as his due. Following old patterns, she’d taken the

  path of least resistance when she should have been looking

  to him for comfort. That’s the way married people handled

  things. Together, as a team, not walling themselves off in

  their separate misery. Love could heal. Reproach would

  not.

  It was hard for her. For years she’d had no one to depend

  on. She’d been strong for so long that she didn’t know how

  to rely on anyone. Even when sheltering arms had been

  extended to her with no demands made, no strings attached,

  she’d been unable to accept Kael’s unconditional accep-

  tance. To embrace his love meant she’d have to relinquish

  her arrogant pride, and until this moment she’d been un-

  willing to loosen her grip on the one thing that had kept

  her going through life’s tragedies.

  Where was Kael? She had so much to say to him, to let

  him know the time had come to tell Travis he was his

  father.

  “Ready?” Susan Kams popped through the door,

  Travis’s chart in her hand, a cheerful smile on her lips.

  Daisy nodded. “If you do happen to see my husband

  down here, please send him up to our room.”

  “Will do. Ready for a ride, young man?” Susan grinned

  at Travis.

  “Not on a bull!” he exclaimed.

  “Good answer,” Susan replied, kicking off the brake on

  the stretcher and wheeling it through the door.

  A few minutes later, after they’d settled into the room

  and Travis had drifted off to sleep, Daisy called the oper-

  ator and asked her to page Kael. Due to the late hour, the

  operator was reluctant, but Daisy finally persuaded her and

  she paged Kael three times.

  Daisy sat in a rocking chair next to Travis’s bed, the

  night-light against the floorboard the only illumination in

  the room. Nervously she consulted her watch. Ten minutes

  passed. Then fifteen, then twenty. If Kael was in the hos-

  pital he would have responded by now.

  Maybe he was tired, maybe he went home, she surmised.

  Then Daisy shook her head in the darkness. Without let-

  ting me know? Without seeing Travis first? She could un-

  derstand if Kael was upset with her and didn’t wish to

  speak to her, but she couldn’t imagine him leaving without

  saying good-night to his son.

  The rocking chair creaked when she got to her feet. Pick-

  ing up the phone, she carried it into the bathroom and shut

  the door so she wouldn’t disturb Travis.

  Her stomach felt queasy. Pressing a hand to her abdomen

  to stifle the butterflies, she punched in her home phone

  number.

  Aunt Peavy answered on the seventh ring. “Hello?” she

  mumbled. Clearly she’d been asleep.

  “Auntie, it’s me, Daisy.”

  “Where you at, sweetie?”

  “I’m at the hospital. Did you hear about Travis?”

  “Yes, Kael told me. How is he?”

  “Doin’ well. He’s asleep right now. They took X rays.

  No damage. The doctor just wants to keep him overnight

  to be on the safe side. We’U be home in the morning.”

  “That’s good.”

  Her aunt’s voice sounded concerned, guarded. Oddly,

  chills raced up Daisy’s spine.

  “Auntie, by any chance is Kael there?”

  Aunt Peavy hesitated.

  “What’s wrong?” Daisy demanded.

  “Sweetie, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news.”

  Daisy sank down on the side of the bathtub, her heart

  fluttering in despair. Had something happened to Kael?

  “What is it?” she whispered, bracing herself for bad

  news.

  “Kael left.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Kael came home, told me what happened, said Travis’s

  accident was all his fault and you’d both be better off with-

  out him.”

  Pushing her fingers through her hair, she sat there, trying

  to make sense of Aunt Peavy’s words. “What do you

  mean?”

  “He packed his clothes, cleared out his things. He’s

  gone, Daisy. Says he’s going to give you a divorce, have

  that knee surgery and go back to bull riding.”

  Stunned, Daisy hung up the receiver without even saying

  goodbye. The place where her heart had once resided was

  now a gaping chasm. She felt as if she were tumbling into

  a black hole of endless isolation.

  Then the strong, hard-edged voice that had gotten her

  through so many woes resonated firm and clear in her head.

  Well, fine. If he wanted to leave, then good riddance.

  She’d known all along it was foolish to place stock in

  Kael Carmody’s longevity as a husband.

  It’s gonna be okay, she coached herself. You and Travis

  got along without him for seven years. You can get along

  without him for seventy. Who needs the likes of Kael Car-

  mo dy, anyway?

  Me, that’s who.

  A sorrow more profound than anything she’d experi-

  enced since her twin sister’s untimely death wrapped an icy

  grip around Daisy’s midsection. She tried to shrug it off,

  to deny the pain worming its way deep inside her, piling

  on top of all that other pain and hardening into something

  solid and ugly, but she couldn’t. Just when she’d been stu-

  pid enough to believe Kael Carmody had changed, that they

  had a good chance of building a real life together, he aban-

  doned her again.

  Tears overtook her. Daisy sank down into the bathtub

  and curled into a ball, her head resting on the cool porce-

  lain. She felt sick. Sick and weak and so lonely.

  “Kael,” she whimpered. “Why, why?”

  Kael drove straight through the night. Dawn’s pink fin-

  gers streaked the sky by the time he reached Oklahoma

  City. Randy Howard had given him the name of Tug Jen-

  nings’s knee specialist in Kansas City, and Kael had taken

  off with that destination in mind and no other plans.

  For the past seventeen hours he’d done nothing but drive

  and think of Daisy. Beautiful, hardheaded, obstinate Daisy.

  His wife.

  He didn’t deserve her. He never had. That’s why it was

  best to forget her. Let her get on with her life and stay out

  of her way.

  Except he couldn’t get her off his mind. She was so

  tough, so strong, so passionate. Just when he thought he

  might never make headway with her, she’d let down her

  guard and started to trust him. Trusted him enough to let

  him make love to her.

  Ah, Daisy.

  The pain that shot through Kael’s gut almost brought

  tears to his eyes. He’d betrayed that tentative trust.

  He pulled into the parking lot of a donut shop, intending

  to get out and fetch him
self some breakfast, instead he re-

  mained welded to the seat. He stared unseeingly through

  the plate-glass window at the waitress pouring coffee for

  two policemen perched on bar stools. The yeasty scent of

  donuts permeated the surrounding air, but did not entice his

  appetite. He felt as if he might never eat again.

  Taking a deep breath Kael leaned his forehead against

  the steering wheel and stared down at his left leg. Covered

  in blue jeans it looked normal. Gingerly he fingered his

  kneecap.

  Did he really want to go through surgery, rehab, and

  recovery just so he could climb on bulls and risk hurting

  himself even more severely the next time around? Was he

  brave enough to take the gamble, knowing as he went into

  the deal that the miracle surgery could backfire, leaving him

  with a permanent limp? What would it prove if he did win

  another PRC? His manhood?

  Kael snorted. Bull riding had always been about proving

  his manhood. He’d thought if he could tame one of those

  wild critters it meant he could conquer anything. He was

  wrong. Dead wrong. Bull riding proved nothing except that

  he was dumb enough to climb on the back of a wild animal

  and hang on tight.

  Now that he had arrived at this juncture, the whole busi-

  ness seemed mighty stupid. Truth being, he didn’t really

  want to have the surgery. What he wanted was to be back

  in Refugio County Hospital with Daisy and Travis.

  But he didn’t belong there. He had no business being a

  husband and father. He’d put himself to the test and failed

  miserably. Because of his irresponsible influence, Travis

  had been hurt, and he’d caused Daisy needless suffering.

  Daisy was right. He wasn’t a real man at all, simply an

  irresponsible kid playing cowboy.

  Kael raised his head and stared at himself in the rearview

  mirror. What he saw reflected there was not a pretty sight.

  “This is your life, Kael Carmody. What’s it gonna be?

  You gonna keep running and hiding or embrace it?”

  Hazel eyes stared back at him. Eyes that looked exactly

  like his son’s. In that instant he knew what he had to do.

  There was only one answer.

  Taking a deep breath, Kael keyed the engine and headed

  for his destiny.

  “Look, Mama,” Travis called out, pointing a finger to-

  ward the road. “Car’s coming.”

  Daisy looked up. She and Travis were in the field next

  to the Carmody Ranch licking honey from their fingers.

  She’d been tending the hives, taking comfort in the one

  thing that remained constant in her life no matter what hap-

  pened. Bees. Steady, hardworking creatures that they were,

  the new colonies were doing well. Although it was too late

  in the year to harvest honey, next year’s crop promised to

  be a good one. Thanks to Kael’s intervention and the

  money he’d left her.

  Travis had joined her just as she was completing her

  work for the day and asked for a honeycomb to chew on.

  Daisy had extracted a chunk of the sweet, waxy treat and

  indulged herself, as well. The succulent taste of raw honey

  invaded her mouth as she chewed.

  The doctor had released Travis from the hospital the day

  before, and it seemed he’d suffered no ill effects in his

  tumble from Ferdinand’s back. The boy had asked about

  Kael a dozen times, and Daisy hadn’t yet had the heart to

  tell him he wasn’t coming back. Instead she’d said Kael

  had gone away to have knee surgery. That much was true

  enough. What she’d tell her son in a week or two or ten,

  she didn’t know. In actuality Daisy herself hadn’t recovered

  from the shock of Kael’s leave-taking. Even though she’d

  anticipated such an event, she’d really begun to believe that

  he had changed, that he had become a responsible adult.

  The fact that everything had blown up in her face told

  Daisy she’d been a fool to trust him again.

  “Looks like a pickup,” Travis commented, scrambling

  up on the wooden split rail fence for a better vantage point.

  “Be careful,” Daisy cautioned, reaching out a hand to

  stabilize him. “Don’t fall.”

  “Mom,” Travis chided with a long-suffering sigh. “I’m

  okay.”

  It took a supreme effort, but she backed away and left

  him alone. If nothing else, this painful episode with Kael

  had shown her she needed to loosen the apron strings where

  Travis was concerned.

  “It’s Dad!” Travis exclaimed, his eyes lighting like bea-

  cons.

  “It can’t be.” Daisy shook her head.

  “It is! It is!”

  “Sweetie, Kael’s in Kansas City having knee surgery.”

  “No, he’s not,” Travis interrupted. “He’s driving up our

  driveway.” Lickety-split, Travis climbed down from the

  fence and tore out across the pasture running at full throttle.

  Daisy stood rooted to the ground.

  It can’t be.

  But it was.

  The truck door slammed and Kael got out. He walked

  straight toward Travis, caught the boy in his arms and

  swung him high into the air. Sheer delight graced the faces

  of both father and son.

  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’s 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 de-

  termined, his chin set, but his eyes were kind, friendly and

  encouraging.

  “Daisy,” he said softly.

  “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 some-

  thing to tell you,” he said.

  Travis looked at his father expectantly. “You decided

  not to have surgery.”

  “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’s 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.”

  Kael held the boy enthralled. Daisy lifted a hand to her

  throat, uncertain what he was about to say.

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

  “I know.” Travis beamed.

  “How do you know that?” Kael frowned and looked at

  Daisy. Had she told him? Daisy shrugged.

  “I just know.”

  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, her voice

  cold.

  Kael stood up and met her hard glare. “Yes, Daisy.”

  “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 started to whine.

  “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

  agony 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.”

  “What ever gave you that silly idea, Kael Carmody?”

  “If I hadn’t been here, Travis would never have been

  brave enough to crawl up on that bull by himself. My glam-

  orous image is what spurred him to do that.”

  “Bit egotistical, aren’t you?”

  “It’s true. Under my influence your quiet son has be-

  come an unruly youngster.”

  “Under your influence, Kael Carmody, 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 no-

  ticed?”

  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 fife 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