His eyes were puffy, his cheeks misshapen, his swollen lip
protruding.
“Two.”
He nodded his readiness.
“Three.”
They rose in unison, Kael grunting against the pain and
favoring his bad knee.
“There,” Daisy said matter-of-factly dusting him off
with her hands. Except, standing here with the man who’d
just sacrificed himself to prevent their son from receiving
a severe stinging, had her feeling anything but matter-of-
fact.
Kael squinted at her through the slits that were now his
eyes. “Where’s Travis? Is he okay?”
Daisy swiveled her head, saw Travis soaking wet and
trembling behind them.
“Mom?” he whispered tentatively, his shirt plastered
against his thin frame.
“Are you okay, son?”
He nodded. “Not even one sting, thanks to Dad.”
Dad.
She’d never heard Travis address Kael as his father be-
fore. Daisy gulped and swung her gaze back to Kael. Had
he gone against her wishes and told Travis the truth? She
bit down on her lip. Now was certainly not the time to ask
him.
Kael managed a smile in his son’s direction. “Anytime,
kiddo.”
Tears sprang into Travis’s eyes. “I’m sorry I knocked
over the hive.”
“Shh, could’ve happened to anyone,” Kael said.
“That’s right,” Daisy soothed, gently patting her son on
the shoulder. “Kael’s going to be fine.” Daisy turned her
attention to Kael. “We’ve got to get you back to the house.
The swelling’s getting worse. Can you walk?”
“Yeah,” Kael said, his throat dry and scratchy. “Let’s
»>
8®.
Gingerly, Daisy guided Kael toward the truck, while
Travis brought up the rear. Kael kept a firm grip on her
arm and Daisy realized for the first time ever in their re-
lationship, he truly needed her. In that sudden instant, she
was overwhelmed by a rush of blind love pumping furi-
ously inside her for this man who had somehow become
her husband.
Chapter Eight
L/aisy installed Kael in bed and dosed him with a round
of antihistamines and analgesics. She applied cool com-
presses to his face, neck and the back of his head. She had
also placed an ice pack on his ravaged knee.
“That feels good,” Kael murmured, lying back against
the pillows, his eyes shuttered closed.
Perching on the edge of the mattress beside him, Daisy
battled strong emotions. Emotions like forgiveness, remorse
and abiding love.
He’d rescued her child. Placing himself in harm’s way.
That selfless act went a long way in her estimation. Maybe
Kael’s bull riding accident had changed him much more
than she’d believed.
She resisted the urge to reach out and tenderly trace her
fingers along his distended mouth. The bud of desire she’d
suppressed for so long sprouted inside her like a fresh,
green shoot reaching hungrily for the sun. Oddly enough,
Kael’s vulnerability accelerated her passion and strummed
a resonant chord in her soul that had been silent for too
long.
“I’ll let you sleep,” Daisy said, cupping her hand to her
chest and inching backward from the room. “And check in
on you later.”
Kael barely nodded, the antihistamines already kicking
in.
Ignoring her thumping heart, Daisy turned and fled, pull-
ing the bedroom door closed behind her.
Aunt Peavy stood in the hallway, her arms folded over
her ample bosom, a concerned expression twisting her lips
downward. “How’s he doing?”
“Sore, but he’ll be okay in a few hours. Thank God,
he’s not allergic to beestings.”
Aunt Peavy made a hissing sound as she sucked air
around her dentures. “He sure looked terrible when you
dragged him in here.”
knowing from experience the pain of numerous stings.
“That’d take the starch out of anybody’s sail, even some-
one as tough as Kael.”
“You better go have a talk with Travis. He’s beside him-
self with worry. Thinks it’s all his fault. He even refused
my offer of chocolate chip cookies.”
“I’ll speak to him.” Daisy walked past Aunt Peavy to
find Travis in the kitchen, his face buried in his hands, his
head resting on the table, his shoulders moving silently as
he sobbed.
“Honey.” Daisy sat down beside her son and gently
patted his hair. He was still wet from the pond. “Kael’s
going to be all right.”
Travis raised his head. “I did it,” he hiccuped, tears
matting on his eyelashes. “It’s all my fault. Kael told me
to stay away from the hives, but I wasn’t payin’ no atten-
tion.”
“Shh.” She leaned over and cradled him to her chest.
“It’s okay. Kael doesn’t blame you. Accidents happen.”
Travis wiped at his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. Now give me a kiss.”
He gulped and kissed her on the cheek.
“That’s my boy.” She smiled. “Now get out of these
wet clothes and take a bath. I’ve got to go see about that
hive.”
“Okay, Mom.” He managed a wan grin. “And thanks.”
“What for?”
“For not getting mad at us for flying the kite and knock-
ing over the hive.”
“Sweetie, why would I get mad?”
Travis shrugged and avoided her. “I dunno. Ever since
you married Kael, you’ve been kinda gripey.”
His statement, painful but accurate, startled Daisy. Had
her marriage to Kael affected her personality so adversely?
She needed to do some serious soul searching. Perhaps
she’d been judging her husband too harshly.
“I’m sorry if I’ve been out of sorts lately. I guess I’m
just worried about the bees. Will you forgive me?”
“Sure.” His grin returned, brighter this time, and in that
split second he looked exactly like Kael.
“Run on upstairs and get that bath.” She gave him a
hug. “I’ll see you after a while.”
Daisy watched her son go, a myriad of emotions darting
through her. It was clear she had to change her attitude. If
not, the barrier she’d built around her heart would soon
extend to exclude her child. She couldn’t allow that to hap-
pen. Resolving to become a better person, Daisy gathered
up her beekeeping equipment and headed back to the field
to repair the damage done.
Daisy spent the rest of the afternoon restoring the over-
turned hive and dequeening the remaining colonies near the
pond. No matter how hard she worked, she couldn’t erase
Travis’s accusation from her mind.
You’ve been so gripey ever since you married Kael.
Apparently her behavior had been obvious enough for
even a seven-year-old to notice. S
he had to start acting
more positive around Kael. Just because she didn’t believe
he’d be able to commit himself long-term didn’t mean she
couldn’t be more pleasant.
By late afternoon, when she’d completed her chores,
Daisy’s mind was made up. She’d have a heart-to-heart talk
with Kael and tell him exactly what she was thinking.
“Get the bees situated?” Aunt Peavy asked when she
returned to the house.
“Yeah.” Daisy yawned and stretched.
“That’s good.”
“Where’s Travis?”
“Mrs. Carmody invited him next door for lemonade and
cookies.”
“The Carmodys are home?”
Daisy hadn’t seen Kael’s parents since the day the alfalfa
field had burned. She’d talked to them over the phone be-
fore the wedding but that was it. She felt a little anxious,
contemplating how their relationship had changed.
“They got in from New York this afternoon, and Neela
called wanting to see Travis. I thought it’d be okay to let
him go on over, considering they are his grandparents.”
Daisy stiffened. “They’re not planning on telling Travis
they’re his grandparents, are they?”
“Oh, no. Neela and Chet understand that you and Kael
want to break the news to Travis in your own time. Right
now they’re going along with the stepgrandparent story.”
“This is so strange having the Carmodys as my in-
laws.”
“Think how they feel,” Aunt Peavy said. “Living next
door for so long without knowing their only grandchild was
just a few yards away.”
Heaving a heavy sigh, Daisy plunked down in a chair
next to Aunt Peavy. “This whole thing has been a big
fiasco from the very start. Rose certainly messed up every-
one’s life.”
“Yes. Poor Rose.”
“Poor Rose?” Daisy frowned. “Why does she get all
the pity? She’s the one who caused it all.”
Aunt Peavy gave Daisy a serious look. “Rose is dead.”
“Like I don’t know that? She was my twin sister.” A
wave of old hostility, hot and bitter, washed through her,
surprising Daisy with its viciousness. ‘ ‘From the time Mom
and Dad were killed the only thing I ever heard was ‘Poor
Rose, she’s barely holding up.’ Or, ‘You’ve got to forgive
Rose, she isn’t handling her parents’ deaths very well.’
What about me, Auntie? Didn’t anybody ever think about
me?”
“Sweetie, you were always so strong. There was no need
to worry about you.”
“No need? I’ve become a bitter, unhappy woman, hiding
myself away on this bee farm, devoting myself to my way-
ward sister’s son. The child that she bore after stealing my
boyfriend from me,” Daisy howled. For the first time in
ten years she was speaking her mind, letting her true feel-
ings be known.
“Rose had a lot of problems, darlin’.”
“Don’t you think it affected me, too? I’m not a robot,
dammit! I got tired of being the reliable one, of making all
the decisions, of having to give up fun in favor of respon-
sibility. If someone had made Rose assume her share of the
burden, if she’d been held accountable for her actions, I
think she would be alive today!”
Suddenly the grief she’d been hanging on to since her
parents’ deaths, the suffering that had extended to losing
Kael, then later to Rose, burst from Daisy in an unstoppable
torrent.
“Oh, love, you’ve been such a brave little thing.” Aunt
Peavy got up from her chair and went over to draw Daisy
into her arms and cradle her against her bosom. “You’re
so right. I never had any children of my own, I didn’t know
how to raise two sixteen-year-old girls.”
“I’m not blaming you,” Daisy sobbed. “I’m blaming
myself and Rose. I guess I’m even blaming Mom and Dad
for dying.”
“Go ahead and cry, sweetie, it’s been a long time com-
ing.”
And Daisy did, relinquishing her emotions to the choking
sorrow that had dogged her for years.
They sat there for a time, Aunt Peavy gently rocking her
back and forth, soothing Daisy as she often soothed Travis.
“Everything’s okay now. Kael’s back.”
KaeVs back.
True enough, but was that reason for celebration or con-
sternation?
“You two have been gifted with a child and a chance to
make everything right,” Aunt Peavy continued. “Don’t
throw it away because you haven’t forgiven your sister.”
“What do you mean?”
“I see the way you’ve been treating Kael. Still punishing
him for the mistake he made over seven years ago. The
man’s aching for your approval, Daisy.”
“Ha.”
“Don’t sound so skeptical. He’s loved you for years.”
“He never told me that.”
“Some men find those are tough words to say.” Aunt
Peavy pulled a tissue from her pocket and passed it to
Daisy.
‘ ‘And some men don’t say them because they don’t mean
them.”
“Actions speak louder than words.”
“That’s right. And who ran off seven years ago?” Daisy
asked.
“A boy ran away. A man came home. A man who’s
been trying to show you what he’s become, but you seem
blind to his efforts. Kael willingly assumed his responsi-
bility once he knew Travis was his son. He married you,
Daisy. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”
‘‘It still doesn’t mean he loves me.” Daisy blotted her
face with the tissue. ‘‘And there’s no proof he won’t leave
again when the going gets tough or when the lure of the
road stirs his blood. I’m terrified he’ll get one whiff of that
rodeo next week and disappear on me again.”
‘‘There are no guarantees in life. I would have thought
you’d have learned that lesson by now.”
Daisy pondered her aunt’s words. True enough, life was
a precarious proposition. If only she could let go and trust
Kael. But the thought of abandoning control in favor of
going with the flow terrified her.
‘ ‘Feel better?’ ’ Aunt Peavy inclined her head.
Daisy nodded. “I’m sorry I dumped on you like that.”
“Posh.” She waved a hand. “What are aunts for?”
“You’re the best,” Daisy whispered, giving her a fierce
hug.
“I think I better stay home tonight. You might need to
talk some more.”
“Stay home?”
“Don’t you remember? I’m going to stay over at Jenny
Louise’s.”
“Oh, yeah. I forgot,” Daisy said. “Please don’t change
your plans on my account. I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.”
“If you’re sure, then, I better get my overnight bag
packed. Jenny Louise is coming by for me at six.” Aunt
Peavy got to her feet.
At that moment the phon
e rang.
“I’ll answer it, you get ready.” Daisy shooed Aunt
Peavy toward the stairs, then picked up the phone.
“Hello.”
“Daisy?”
“Mrs. Carmody.” Daisy recognized the older woman’s
cool, dulcet tones.
“Please,” she said. “You must call me Neela.”
“Neela,” Daisy amended.
“Now isn’t that much nicer. Feels more like family.”
“Yes,” Daisy agreed, an unexpected warmness heating
her heart.
“Listen, dear, Travis and Chet are having such a fabu-
lous time playing those video games on the computer, I
was wondering if it would be all right if Travis spent the
night.”
Daisy hesitated.
“I know you and Kael haven’t had a moment alone since
you got married. Why don’t you let Travis stay? We’ll take
him to church with us tomorrow then bring him home. You
can sleep in for once on a Sunday morning.”
Travis had never been away from home overnight. She
said as much to her mother-in-law.
“We’re just next door. If he gets homesick we’ll bring
him right home,” Neela assured her.
“I don’t know.”
“Please, Daisy. We’ve got so much catching up to do
with our grandson.” Her voice hitched, and Daisy realized
with a start the unflappable woman was fighting back tears.
“His pajamas,” she said lamely, tom between wanting
to share her son with his grandparents and needing to hold
on to her authority. For seven years Travis had belonged
to her exclusively. Suddenly she was forced to share him
not only with Kael but with his parents, as well.
“If you don’t mind, I have some of Kael’s old cowboy
pj’s Travis wants to wear.”
“Sure,” Daisy found herself saying.
“Thank you so much.” Gratitude filled Neela’s voice.
“You’re welcome.”
Daisy said goodbye, hung up the phone and turned to
see Aunt Peavy coming downstairs, her overnight bag
tucked under her arm.
“Was that Jenny Louise?”
“No. Neela. She wants Travis to spend the night.”
“That’s nice,” Aunt Peavy said, a twinkle in her eye.
“You and Kael will have the house all to yourselves.”
Good thing he’s in bed with beestings, Daisy thought.
Otherwise she might be in deep trouble. She’d done a lot