of thinking today, and after talking to Aunt Peavy, she was
weakening in her resolve not to consummate their marriage.
Despite every effort she made to deny the attraction, Kael
Carmody pushed all her buttons. It had become increasingly
difficult to be around him and not have an overwhelming
desire to be kissed.
“The effects of beestings only last a few hours, you
know.” Aunt Peavy winked as if reading her mind. “Kael
should be right as rain once he sleeps off those antihista-
mines.”
Yes and that’s what I’m worried about, Daisy thought.
A car horn tooted outside.
“That must be Jenny Louise,” Aunt Peavy said, hustling
her girth through the kitchen with surprising speed. “See
you tomorrow, sweetie.” She gave Daisy a little wave and
disappeared out the door.
Instantly the house fell quiet. The grandfather clock in
the hallway ticked loudly as if counting down the moments
to some unknown destiny.
Don’t be melodramatic, she chided herself, but Daisy
couldn’t shake the feeling that something monumental was
about to take place.
Inexplicably she felt herself drawn toward the stairs.
Without consciously acknowledging her destination, Daisy
moved in that direction, straightening odds and ends about
the room as she went. She plumped pillows that didn’t need
plumping, stacked magazines that were already even,
brushed nonexistent lint from the furniture upholstery. Until
at last she stood breathlessly at the bottom of the stairs.
Taking the steps one at a time, she experienced a strange
tightening in her chest. The floorboards creaked beneath her
feet. Blood whooshed in her head. Her fingers tingled in
odd anticipation.
Inch by inch she walked across the carpet. Finally she
rested her hand on the doorknob leading to Kael’s room.
Come on, Daisy, you’re just checking to make sure
Kael’s okay. That’s all. Don't read anything else into this,
her sensible side urged.
Squaring her shoulders, she eased open the bedroom door
and slowly stuck her head inside.
Kael lay on his left side, his face to the wall. The covers
had been kicked off and were trailing the floor. The ice
pack she fashioned for him had ridden down his leg and
now dangled from his ankle at an incongruous angle. A
faint slash of waning sunlight seeped through the curtains,
and fell across his face revealing that the swelling and red-
ness had almost completely dissipated.
The door groaned as she pushed it wider, but Kael didn’t
move. Daisy stepped closer, her breath coming in rapid
spurts.
An odd sensation swept over her, as if she were standing
outside her body, watching herself in action. She saw her-
self walk to the bed and oh, so carefully perch on the edge.
Kael mumbled something and hugged his pillow to his
chest. Daisy sat frozen to the sheets, her gaze transfixed on
Kael’s sleeping features.
A lock of hair drooped over his forehead, giving him a
boyish appearance. His wide lips were slightly parted. His
jaw was square, his nose straight and proud.
And his bare chest! He must have taken off his shirt after
she’d left him, for it lay in a tangle on the floor. His stom-
ach was washboard flat, his chest free from hair.
There was no mistaking the body of an athlete. Firm.
Strong. Muscled.
Heat swamped her body. She gulped past the bump of
desire blocking her throat.
What a man! So handsome. So masculine. So desirable.
And he was hers. That was her gold band encircling his
left ring finger. The mate to the one adorning her own fin-
ger. After these many years of hoping, praying, wishing
and dreaming, Kael was finally her husband, and she was
entitled to the pleasures marriage could bring.
All she had to do was reach out and take him.
Daisy clutched her hands together to keep herself from
touching him. No. She could not. She wasn’t ready. Not in
her mind, anyway. Her body, however, was a different
story. She ached for him deep down inside, hungry and
savage, in a way she feared might never be sated.
a better look. A sheaf of her hair swung from her shoulder,
grazing his cheek. Daisy held her breath. Was he awake?
He didn’t flinch. Convinced he was still sleeping, she
flipped her hair back over her shoulder and continued her
uninhibited perusal.
She noticed a network of scars marring his pristine body.
Scars gained bull riding. Scars garnered in the reckless pur-
suit of thoughtless fun. Scars gathered like trophies.
There was a pale, puckered line on his right shoulder and
another silvery slash under his neck, while yet a third jag-
ged wound disappeared into the waistband of his jeans.
Tight, faded, unsnapped blue jeans.
Daisy gritted her teeth, appalled at her jumble of feelings.
On the one hand those scars irritated her. He’d chosen to
purposely chase those scars on the rodeo circuit instead of
staying in Rascal with her. But on the other hand she
found his flaws extraordinarily alluring. They were badges,
emblems, symbols of a fearless man.
To top it all off the scars made her jealous. He’d obtained
these wicked marks living life while she’d been forced to
stay home and take care of her responsibilities. Unlike
Kael, she’d never been free to see the world, seek her for-
tune or discover the real Daisy Hightower.
Tentatively she reached out a finger and lightly, deli-
cately explored the one-inch scar just above his breast bone.
Her skin quivered where she touched him, and Daisy
braced herself against the furnace blast melting her insides.
Kael. She’d loved him most of her life.
Was Aunt Peavy correct? Did Kael Carmody love her in
return? If so, why didn’t he say the words? Even when he
was trying to convince her to marry him, he’d never once
mentioned love.
But, the tiny voice in the back of her mind argued. Hasn’t
he shown you that he loves you?
He helped with the bees and picked up in the house. He
occasionally brought her simple presents, a rose from the
garden, a candy bar from the grocery store, a full tank of
gasoline in the car. Little things that added up to something
pretty special. Things that spoke more than all the words
in the world could say. Plus, he’d honored her wishes to
sleep in separate beds. Most men would have forced the
issue. At the very least, Kael had demonstrated that he was
willing to work at this marriage.
Then today he’d shown himself to be a true hero. He’d
sacrificed himself so Travis wouldn’t get stung. Seven years
ago she wouldn’t have thought him capable of such an
unselfish act, but becoming a father had changed Kael.
Changed him in ways that thrille
d and terrified Daisy.
What if? Her thoughts wandered. She wanted her own
children so badly. Even entertaining the idea brought a
twinge of longing to her womb. From the time she was
sixteen years old, she’d fantasized Kael Carmody as the
father of her children. They would have her work ethic and
his fearlessness. His easygoing ways and her dedication to
family. His hazel eyes and her auburn hair.
Now here he was, her husband. Lying almost naked in
her bed.
What if they made love and produced a child?
From a biological standpoint, her body cried, yes, yes,
yes, but mentally Daisy knew better. She still was uncertain
of Kael, not knowing if she could trust him to stay. He’d
left her once before. Much better that he go before they
had a baby together.
What if he really has changed?
Her thoughts seesawed back and forth, pulling her first
one way and then the other. Truth was, only time could tell
whether these changes in Kael were real or not.
She continued to lightly strum his skin, savoring the de-
licious sensation, toying with dangerous notions, tempting
fate.
Suddenly his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist.
Shocked, Daisy’s mouth flew open, and she immediately
looked into his eyes.
He was staring. Intently. His gaze lust filled and hot.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Daisy tried to scramble off the bed, but he ensnared her
around the waist with his other hand.
“Let me go,” she cried, pulling against him. Her voice
was high, her words desperate even to her own ears.
“It’s okay, Daisy, if you want to admire my body. But
when you start touching me, you better be prepared to back
up your invitation.” He tugged her closer still, until she
was pressed flat against him, chest to chest, their faces mere
millimeters apart.
“Don’t tease me.” His expression was deadly serious.
“I mean what I say.”
“Please,” she whispered, trembling with pent-up sexual
tension.
“Please what?” he asked.
Her mouth opened but no words came out. She was
transfixed by the gaze in those hazel eyes.
“Do you want me to make love to you, Daisy?”
Yes! But, oh, how she wanted Kael to tell her that he
loved her, because, no matter how badly she might yearn
for physical release with him, she needed to hear those
words.
“How are the beestings?” she asked quickly changing
the subject as if the man beneath her wasn’t this potent
package of raw sexual energy just waiting to explode.
“The beestings are fine. They won’t inhibit my ability
to make love if that’s what you mean.”
“I wasn’t asking for that reason.”
“Then why are you blushing?”
“Listen here, Kael Carmody,” she began, rearing her
head back in an attempt to break his hypnotic spell. Her
hair trailed like a bright orange flame over his chest.
“No, you listen to me, Daisy Hightower. You crawled
into my bed, stroked my bare chest. You started this—are
you prepared to finish it?”
Daisy whimpered. “I don’t know.”
He stared at her a moment, their eyes locked. Her lower
abdomen squeezed in excited anticipation.
“That’s a start,” he whispered.
“I’m so confused.”
“I know.” Tenderly he traced a circle on her bare arm
and she shivered.
“Kael, I—”
“No need to explain. How’s Travis? Did he get stung?”
“No, you saved him. He’s spending the night with your
folks.”
“He is?” Kael mused, the gleam in his eyes glowing
brighter. “Where’s Aunt Peavy?”
“Sleeping over at her friend Jenny Louise’s.”
“So we’re alone?”
Daisy nodded.
“Just you and me for the whole night?”
“Yes, but Kael, I can’t, I don’t.” Daisy didn’t even
know how to explain the crazy-mixed-up feeling jumping
around inside her.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I understand.” He pushed her
hair from her face, his callused fingers grazing her cheek.
“You do?”
“You need more time.”
No, Daisy thought, I need for you to tell me that you
love me.
“You need to be ready,” he continued. “You’re inquis-
itive, exploring, but I can see it in your eyes, you’re still
holding back. You’re still wondering if I’ll betray you
again.”
“Kael...”
“Shh.” He placed his index finger over her lips. “Let
me just hold you,” he invited, nestling into the pillow.
Tears dusted her eyelashes, and she didn’t even know
why. She settled into the crook of Kael’s arm and breathed
in his heavenly scent. She could hear his heart thudding,
so strong, so reassuring.
Kael curled himself around her, tucking his thighs under
her bottom so that they spooned in the middle of that big
bed.
It felt wonderful, having him here like this, in exactly
the way she’d imagined a million times over the years.
“You don’t know how I’ve longed for this moment,”
Kael whispered as if reading her mind. His warm breathing
tickled the hairs on the back of her neck, causing Daisy to
catch her breath. “Me and you, snuggling together as hus-
band and wife.”
Husband and wife.
The phrase, spoke in such a reverent tone, sent a multi-
tude of tiny shivers skipping down Daisy’s spine.
Kael’s grip tightened and he tugged her closer. Every
place their bare skin touched, Daisy’s nerve endings sizzled
and caught fire like two sticks rubbed rapidly together. She
closed her eyes and drifted on the heavenly sensation, too
weary to fight the attraction any longer. She loved Kael
Carmody. He was her husband, why shouldn’t she savor
this incredible feeling?
“Many a day, when I was on the road, only the dream
of holding you in my arms again kept me going,” he said,
his voice resonating in the room’s small confines. “It was
pretty darned lonely.”
Daisy swallowed hard against the tide of emotions push-
ing her this way and that. “Then why didn’t you come
home?”
Kael was silent for a moment. Then he sighed. “I guess
I was trying to prove something.”
“What?” she asked, her stomach tensing as she waited
for his answer. She’d never been able to understand why
he’d chosen the rodeo circuit over a life with her. Perhaps
now that they were older Kael could explain things in a
way that made sense to her.
“I suppose I was looking for my purpose in life.”
“Wasn’t being Kael Carmody enough of a purpose?”
she asked quietly, still mystified why he had felt the need
to leave her in order to find himself.
“You know this is why we broke up, because you di
dn’t
understand this facet of my personality.”
“I know. I never comprehended the appeal of risking
your life for the thrill of staying on the back of a bucking
bull for eight seconds.”
‘‘That’s because you’ve always had a purpose, Daisy.
First it was running the farm after your parents died, then
it was looking after Aunt Peavy and Rose. Now, it’s raising
Travis.” He stopped talking and drew in a heavy sigh.
‘‘You assumed responsibility like a trouper. You knew
what had to be done and you did it.”
‘‘Go on,” Daisy replied, “I’m listening.”
“Me, I had nothing to show I was a man. I was raised
in the lap of luxury, my parents so wealthy I never needed
to work. I was an only child without any brothers or sisters
to challenge me. I had everything on a silver platter, Daisy.
Except for you.”
“You could have had me, too.”
“Not under your conditions, sweetheart. You wanted me
to give up the one thing that gave me an identity separate
from my father.”
“I never knew,” she said, squeezing his hand.
“I wanted to marry you more than anything on earth,
but I felt that I had nothing to offer until I’d made a name
for myself. That’s the real reason I decided to follow the
rodeo circuit, not because I didn’t love you.”
“You love me?” she whispered, her throat constricting
against the warm rush rising inside her.
“Daisy, I’ve loved you since you were sixteen years old.
Haven’t you figured that out by now?”
She turned over in his arms, her eyes hungrily searching
his face in the faint light barely seeping through the win-
dow. Fingers trembling, she reached out to touch his lips.
“Is it true?”
“Nothing has ever been truer.”
Daisy’s heart thudded against her chest. She needed to
believe him, more than she needed to breathe.
“Oh, Kael, why did you wait so long to tell me?”
“Because I knew I wasn’t prepared to marry you. Not
seven years ago. But I should have. I think we could have
worked things out, come to an understanding and had a
long engagement if it hadn’t been for what happened be-
tween me and Rose.”
Ah, there was that. The old familiar pang of betrayal rose
in her.
Kael stared deeply into her eyes. “I’m so sorry for what