Cowgirls in showy costumes trotted by on horseback. Ro-
deo clowns performed antics for the gathering crowd. Ev-
erywhere they looked there were cowboy hats and boots
and big belt buckles. Unable to resist joining in on some
level, Kael had broken out his lucky gold belt buckle for
the occasion.
Several people shouted a greeting to Kael, and he raised
his hand in response.
“Wow,” Travis said, clearly impressed. “You sure
know a lot of folks.”
Kael rested his hand on his son’s shoulder. “When you
ride the circuit for seven years you get to meet everybody.”
“I’m going to be a bull rider when I grow up!” Travis
declared.
His son’s announcement sent a mix of emotions charging
through Kael. On the one hand he’d be darned proud to
have his son carry on the tradition, but for the first time in
his life the dangers of his chosen profession stared him in
the face. Did he really want his child risking his life for
the sake of a sport?
Shooting Daisy a glance, he saw the comment hadn’t
been lost on her, either.
“You can get any ideas like that right out of your head,
young man,” Daisy said, moving away from Kael and glar-
ing at him with a look that said, I hold you responsible.
“Ah, Mom.” Travis kicked at the dirt with the toe of
his boot. “You never let me do anything.”
Daisy opened her mouth but snapped it shut before she
said anything. Kael leaned over to take her elbow and whis-
per in her ear. “Don’t worry. He’ll forget all about this.
Next week he’ll be proclaiming he wants to be a fireman.”
“Just don’t encourage him,” she whispered back. “You
know my feelings on bull riding.”
“Settle down, Mama Hen.” He stroked her hair and
thrilled to the sensation tumbling through his fingers.
“Come on, I see some good seats up ahead.”
They clambered over the wooden bleachers, and Kael
situated his family next to the bull shutes. “Okay,” he said.
“I’m taking orders. Who wants soft drinks?”
“I’ll have a ginger ale,” Daisy said, still giving him a
wary look.
“Root beer!” Travis said. “And cotton candy.”
“Be right back.”
Whistling to himself, Kael started toward the concession
stands. It felt great to be back in the rodeo arena, even if
it was as a spectator. Much as he loved his new life, he
couldn’t deny the pull of the rodeo.
The robust smell of sawdust, leather and manure filled
the air, teasing Kael’s nostrils and coaxing his memory. If
he weren’t injured, if he wasn’t with Daisy and Kael, he’d
be on the catwalk right now, surveying the bulls and com-
paring notes with his compadres.
“Let it go, Carmody,” he said to himself. He got in the
concession line but couldn’t stop his gaze from wandering
to the gates where cowboys milled, preparing themselves
for the upcoming events.
Suddenly a hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Will
you look what the cat dragged up.”
Kael turned to see his ex-manager, Randy Howard, grin-
ning at him. Randy was a tall man in his late forties with
a big belly and an even bigger smile.
“Hey, you old so-and-so.” Kael clasped Randy’s hand
in a hearty handshake. “How you doin’?”
“Pretty good,” Randy acknowledged, raring back on his
heels to get a better look at Kael. “Marriage must agree
with you.”
Kael glanced at Daisy in the stands. “Yeah. Marrying
Daisy is the best thing I ever did.”
“Must be hard, though, footloose cowboy like yourself
taking on a ready-made family. Tell the truth, you miss bull
riding, don’t you?” Randy swept his hand at the hustle and
bustle around them.
“Well, it is more than family life that retired me,” Kael
said, touching his knee.
“That knee doesn’t have to stop you,” Randy said.
“You know Tug Jennings came out of retirement last
month after having that same surgery you’re needin’.”
Kael hadn’t expected the news to hit him so forcefully.
His chief competition, Tug Jennings, had suffered a knee
injury identical to Kael’s three years earlier. To hear Tug
was back competing after the surgery left a strange hollow-
ness in Kael’s chest.
“Whenever you’re ready to have the surgery, just say
the word,” Randy said. “I’d love to have you back.”
“That’s not going to happen.” Kael smiled.
“So what are you doing to keep busy these days?”
“Beekeeping.”
“Bee what?”
“I’m helping Daisy run her bee farm.”
Randy hooted. “Never woulda fingered a wanderer like
you as a bee farmer. Got to hand it to you, man. I could
never go in for something so mundane.”
“Beekeeping’s not mundane,” Kael said, feeling himself
get defensive. He shouldn’t let Randy goad him or let
thoughts of Tug Jennings get the better of him. He’d made
his choice and he knew in his heart it was the right one.
“Well, listen, I gotta go. Got two cowboys ridin’ this
afternoon but neither one is as good as you were.”
As you were.
The words echoed in Kael’s ears. Words people said to
has-beens.
“Good luck with the beekeeping. Maybe you can send
me a gallon of honey for Christmas.” Chuckling to himself,
Randy headed off through the crowd.
Kael pulled the brim of his cowboy hat lower over his
eyes and pushed aside the rancor seething inside him at
Randy’s derision. Think of Daisy, he told himself. And
Travis. You know they’re worth the sacrifice. All Randy
Howard has got to show for his personal life is three ex-
wives and two kids that won’t even speak to him.
Retrieving the refreshments, Kael headed back to the
stands, the uneasy feeling generated by his encounter with
his ex-manager reverberating in his head.
After the rodeo, loaded with souvenirs, they headed for
Mickey Standish’s party. While Kael drove the few miles
out of town, Travis chattered nonstop in the back of the
extended cab. Daisy glanced at her husband. He’d been
strangely quiet ever since returning from the concession
stand.
“Is something wrong?” she asked him.
“Huh?” Kael jerked his head around to stare at her.
“What?”
Daisy’s lip trembled. It was just as she’d suspected. The
lure of the rodeo had tightened its grip on him. Still, it
wasn’t an issue they could avoid. She had to know the truth.
Could Kael really give it up?
‘ ‘I saw the way you were watching those bull riders. You
wanted to be out there, didn’t you?”
“Please, Daisy, let’s not get into this now.” He sighed.
“We’re almost at Mickey’s.”
She clamped her lips together in a tight line and folded
&nbs
p; her arms across her chest. Tears were dangerously close to
slipping down her cheeks, but she’d be damned if she’d let
Kael Carmody know exactly how much he affected her.
He reached over to pat her knee, and she closed her eyes.
I will not cry, I will not cry, I will not cry, she mentally
chanted.
Kael pulled into the driveway lined with vehicles and
killed the engine. Immediately guests poured from the
house, Mickey Standish in the lead.
“What’s going on?” Kael asked, climbing out of the
truck.
“Surprise!” everyone shouted in unison.
“It’s your retirement party, buddy.” Mickey jabbed him
playfully on the arm. “We’re glad to have you home.”
Kael cast a glance back over his shoulder at Daisy who
sat rigid in the front seat. “Hang on a minute.” He raised
his hand. Determined, he squared his shoulders and walked
around to the passenger side of the pickup.
Daisy watched him come toward her, his brows drawn
into a frown, his limp slowing him down not one whit. Her
heart throbbed like crazy; he looked like a man on a mis-
sion.
He wrenched open the door. “You cornin’ in?”
His eyes met hers, and despite the pain welling up inside
her, Daisy knew she wanted to be by his side more than
any place on the face of the earth.
“My friends are throwing me a retirement party. As in
‘You’re never gonna ride again, Kael.’ Understand? I’d be
honored if you’d share this moment with me, Daisy High-
tower Carmody.”
He held out his hand and she took it, how could she not?
Tamping back all her doubts and fears, Daisy allowed him
to lead her up the driveway, Travis scurrying along behind
them.
Mickey and the rest of the guests ushered them inside
the rambling ranch-style home. Mickey’s wife, Pam,
greeted Daisy, and she managed to smile and mumble a
reply. Parties had always made her nervous.
The smell of barbecue wafted on the breeze along with
the squeals and laughter of children at play. The screen
door slammed repeatedly as people flowed in and out of
the house.
Overwhelmed by the buzz of activity, Daisy nestled into
the curve of Kael’s body. She wasn’t accustomed to so
many people bunched together, and she suppressed the urge
to run right back to the truck.
Everyone was all talking at once, whizzing a million
questions at Kael. His face glowed as he fielded their in-
quiries concerning his knee, his retirement and his plans for
the future.
Daisy’s heart dropped. He loves this, she thought. The
attention, the admiration, the adulation. Even if he actually
had exorcised the bull riding demons, how could a man
like Kael ever be content with an ordinary life? She was
foolish and very selfish to even expect it of him.
He was a people person, extroverted and self-confident
in groups. She was an introvert, shy and uncertain, unless
she was dealing with folks one-on-one. They were so dif-
ferent. A myriad of contrasts lay between them. Black and
white, day and night, bitter and sweet. Why in heaven’s
name had she ever thought this marriage would work?
But the one thing that gave her hope, the one gesture
that had her reaching down inside herself to hold on to the
tenuous happiness she’d found that night Kael had made
love to her, was the fact that no matter where his attention
lay, no matter who he was talking to, he kept his arm
tucked firmly around her waist.
“Come on into the den,’’ Mickey said, ushering Kael,
Daisy and Travis into the overcrowded family room.
“We’ve got a video show prepared of your rodeo career.”
“What?” Kael looked stunned and pleased, his gaze
fixed on the big projection television set in the comer.
His image was splayed across the screen. Kael was
decked out in his riding gear, chaps, gloves, hat, boots, and
he was clinging to the back of a bucking Brahma, one hand
flailing high in the air, the other tucked under the rope.
Daisy sneaked a glance at her husband and saw he was
mesmerized.
“Sit,” Mickey commanded, pushing Kael down onto a
leather sofa, “and enjoy.”
Swallowing hard, Daisy stepped back against the paneled
wall and willed herself to fade away into the background.
Kael took Travis on his knee and, leaning his head down,
carefully explained everything unfolding on screen to his
son.
I never should have married him, Daisy thought. It’s like
caging a wild bird. Misery washed through her and she
sighed back her sorrow.
Thirty minutes passed. The show concluded at last, and
thankfully Mickey hadn’t included the clip of Kael’s last
ride when he’d gotten stomped by the Texas Tornado.
Daisy didn’t think she could have tolerated seeing the ag-
ony that had maimed her man and stolen from him the life
he loved.
Travis was beaming up at his father like he was a god
sent straight from the heavens. People clapped Kael on the
back, telling him that he was a credit to Rascal. Stunned,
Daisy realized he didn’t need her, had never needed her,
and that had been the root of their problem all along. From
the time she was a young girl, she had always been needed
by someone. First by her parents, then by Rose and Aunt
was that Kael Carmody had never needed anyone, and he
wasn’t likely to start now.
Daisy raised a hand to her forehead. She felt hot and
breathless. There was only one thing to do. Divorce the
man and set him free.
Mickey offered Kael a beer and Mickey’s wife came
around with a platter of hors d’oeuvres. Kael got swallowed
up in the crowd, and Daisy found herself pushed farther
and farther away from him until she was standing in the
kitchen.
“Mom?”
She looked down to see Travis standing in front of her.
“Yes, son?”
“Can I go outside and see baby calves with the other
kids?”
Instinct told her to say no, to protect him as she always
had, but Kael had taught her a valuable lesson when it came
to Travis. The boy needed to be around children his own
age. She couldn’t keep him tied to her apron strings forever.
“Go ahead, sweetie.” She patted Travis on the back,
then watched him slip through the tangle of adults and out
the back door.
They all leave me, she thought. Mom and Dad, Rose,
Kael and one day, Travis and Aunt Peavy.
Emptiness, sad and unrelenting, hammered at her. She’d
known better than to hope, and yet in spite of her best
efforts to thwart him, Kael had managed to resurrect her
belief in love. And oh, how it hurt! Just as sharp and painful
as she remembered.
“Here you are.”
From her p
osition in the comer of the kitchen where
she’d retreated from the noisy throng, Daisy lifted her chin
and met Kael’s gaze. Love, clear and certain, swam in his
eyes. He smiled and she managed to return it.
“I wondered where you’d gotten to.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “Go on and have
fun with your friends.”
“Daisy, nothing is any fun without you by my side.”
His tone was serious.
“Do you mean that, Kael? Truly?”
“May I be struck dead if I’m lying.”
She sucked in her breath, unable to wrench her gaze from
his.
Kael held out his arm. “Come on.”
Like a child seeking comfort, she placed her hand in his
and allowed him to lead her into the den where Mickey
was calling for a toast.
“Here’s to the guest of honor,” Mickey said, perching
himself on the hearth and raising his glass. “One hell of a
bull rider. Good luck in your new life, Kael Carmody!”
There was a hearty round of cheers and the clinking of
glasses. “Speech!” someone hollered.
“Yeah!” someone else chimed in.
There were whistles and catcalls egging him on.
It didn’t take much to convince him. Glowing with good-
natured sheepishness, Kael took Mickey’s place by the
mantel and thanked everyone for the wonderful party.
Standing there, watching her husband and his adoring
fans, sent a jolt of pride flashing through Daisy. It was easy
to love Kael Carmody, with his good looks and his agree-
able ways. He could have his pick of the women assembled
in this room. And yet he’d chosen her. Why? She wasn’t
the easiest person to get along with. She was hardworking,
stubborn and demanded as high a standard from her friends
and family as she did from herself.
Every doubt and fear she’d ever had about their rela-
tionship bubbled to the surface of her consciousness.
“And I just want you folks to know, that although a
chapter is closing in my life, a whole new book is waiting
to be written with my wife, Daisy, and my son, Travis.”
Kael looked over at her, love shining brightly in his eyes.
But Daisy couldn’t bear to gaze upon him. He might be-
lieve himself to be ready to settle down, but she knew bet-
ter. Kael should have that knee surgery and go back to bull
riding. It was what he loved most. It defined him. Without