A Little Dare (11 page)

not
outgoing.”

Dare
nodded.
Of
the
five
Westmoreland
brothers,
he
was
the
least
outgoing,
if
you
didn’t
count
Thorn
who
was
known
to
be
a
pain
in
the
butt
at
times.
Growing
up,
Dare
had
felt
that
his
brothers
were
all
the
playmates
he
had
needed,

and
because
of
that,
he
never
worried
about
making
friends
or
being
accepted.
His
brothers
were
his
friends—his
best
friends—and
as
far
as
he’d
been
concerned
they
were

enough.
It
was
only
after
he
got
older
and
his
brothers

began
seeking
other
interests
that
he
began
getting
out

more,
playing
sports,
meeting
people
and
making
new

friends.

So
if
AJ
wasn’t
as
outgoing
as
most
ten-year-old
kids,
he
had
definitely
inherited
that
characteristic
from
him.
“So
how
do
you
think
I
should
handle
it?”

“I
suggest
that
we
don’t
tell
him
the
truth
about
you
just
yet,
and
that
you
take
the
initiative
to
form
a
bond
with
him,

share
his
life
and
get
to
know
him.”

Dare
raised
a
dark
brow.
“And
just
how
am
I
supposed
to
do
that?
Our
first
meeting
didn’t
exactly
get
off
to
a
great

start,
Shelly.
Technically,
I
arrested
him,
for
heaven’s
sake.
My
own
son!
A
kid
who
didn’t
bat
an
eye
when
he
informed
me
he
hated
cops—which
is
what
I
definitely
am.
Then

there’s
this
little
attitude
problem
of
his
that
I
feel
needs

adjusting.
So
come
on,
let’s
be
real
here.
How
am
I

supposed
to
develop
a
relationship
with
my
kid
when
he
dislikes
everything
I
stand
for?”

Shelly
shook
her
head.
“He
doesn’t
really
hate
cops,
Dare,
he
just
thinks
he
does
because
of
what
happened
as
we
were
driving
from
California
to
here.”

Dare
lifted
a
brow.
“What
happened?”

“I
got
pulled
over
in
some
small
Texas
town
and
the
officer
was
extremely
rude.
Needless
to
say
he
didn’t
make
a

good
impression
on
AJ.”

She
sighed
deeply.
“But
you
can
change
that,
Dare.
That’s
why
I
think
the
two
of
you
getting
together
and
developing
a
relationship
as
friends
first
would
be
the
ideal
thing.
Ms.

Kate
told
me
that
you
work
with
the
youth
in
the
community
and
about
the
Little
League
baseball
team
that
you
coach.
I
want
to
do
whatever
it
takes
to
get
AJ
involved
in

something
like
that.”

“And
he
can
become
involved
as
my
son.”

“I
think
we
should
go
the
friendship
route
first,
Dare.”

Dare
shook
his
head.
“Shelly,
you
haven’t
thought
this

through.
I
understand
what
you’re
saying
because
I
know
how
it
was
for
me
as
a
kid
growing
up.
At
least
I
had
my
brothers
who
were
my
constant
companions.
But
I
think
you’ve
forgotten
one
very
important
thing
here.”

Shelly
raised
her
brow.
“What?”

“Most
of
the
people
in
College
Park
know
you,
and
most
of
them
have
long
memories.
Once
they
hear
that
you
have
a
ten-year-old
son,
they’ll
start
counting
months,
and
once

they
see
him
they’ll
definitely
know
the
truth.
They
will
see

just
how
much
of
a
Westmoreland
he
is.
He
favors
my

brothers
and
me.
The
reason
I
didn’t
see
it
before
was

because
I
wasn’t
looking
for
it.
But
you
better
believe
the

good
people
of
this
town
will
be.
Once
you’re
seen
with
AJ
they’ll
be
looking
for
anything
to
link
me
to
him,
and
it
will
be
easy
for
them
to
put
two
and
two
together.
And
don’t
let

them
find
out
that
he
was
named
after
me.
That
will
be
the
icing
on
the
cake.”

Dare
gave
her
time
to
think
about
what
he’d
said
before

continuing.
“What’s
going
to
happen
if
AJ
learns
that
I’m
his
father
from
someone
other
than
us?
He’ll
resent
us
for

keeping
the
truth
from
him.”

Shelly
sighed
deeply,
knowing
Dare
was
right.
It
would
be
hard
to
keep
the
truth
hidden
in
a
close-knit
town
like

College
Park.

“But
there
is
another
solution
that
will
accomplish
the
same
purpose,
Shelly,”
he
said
softly.

She
met
his
gaze.
“What?”