A Little Dare (13 page)

“Overnight.
That’s
all
the
time
I
can
give
you,
Shelly.”

“But,
I
need
more
time.”

Dare
stood.
“I
can’t
give
you
any
more
time
than
that.
I’ve
lost
ten
years
already
and
can’t
afford
to
lose
any
more.

And
just
so
you’ll
know,
I’ve
made
plans
to
meet
with
Jared
for
lunch
tomorrow.
I’ll
ask
him
to
act
as
my
attorney
so
that
I’ll
know
my
rights
as
AJ’s
father.”

Shelly
shook
her
head
sadly.
“There’s
no
need
for
you
to
do
that,
Dare.
I
don’t
intend
to
keep
you
and
AJ
apart.
As
I

said,
you’re
the
reason
I
returned.”

Dare
nodded.
“Will
you
meet
me
for
breakfast
at
Kate’s

Diner
in
the
morning
so
we
can
decide
what
we’re
going
to
do?”

Shelly
felt
she
needed
more
time
but
knew
there
was
no
way
Dare
would
give
it
to
her.
“All
right.
I’ll
meet
you
in
the
morning.”

Three

D
are
reached
across
his
desk
and
hit
the
buzzer.

“Yes,
sheriff?”

“McKade,
please
bring
in
John
Doe.”

Shelly
frowned
when
she
glanced
over
at
Dare.
“John
Doe?”

Dare
shrugged.
“That’s
the
usual
name
for
any
unidentified
person
we
get
in
here,
and
since
he
refused
to
give
us
his
name,
we
had
no
choice.”

She
nodded.
“Oh.”

Before
Dare
could
say
anything
else,
McKade
walked
in
with
AJ.
The
boy
frowned
when
he
saw
his
mother.
“I

wondered
if
you
were
ever
going
to
come,
Mom.”

Shelly
smiled
wryly.
“Of
course
I
was
going
to
come.
Had
you
given
them
your
name
they
would
have
called
me

sooner.
You
have
a
lot
of
explaining
to
do
as
to
why
you
weren’t
in
school
today.
It’s
a
good
thing
Sheriff

Westmoreland
stopped
you
before
you
could
cause
harm
to
anyone.”

AJ
turned
and
glared
at
Dare.
“Yeah,
but
I
still
don’t
like

cops.”

Dare
crossed
his
arms
on
his
chest.
“And
I
don’t
like
boys
with
bad
attitudes.
To
be
frank,
it
doesn’t
matter
whether
or
not
you
like
cops,
but
you’d
sure
better
learn
to
respect

them
and
what
they
stand
for.”
This
might
be
his
son,
Dare
thought,
but
he
intended
to
teach
him
a
lesson
in
respect,
starting
now.

AJ
turned
to
his
mother.
“I’m
ready
to
go.”

Shelly
nodded.
“All
right.”

“Not
yet,”
Dare
said,
not
liking
the
tone
AJ
had
used
with

Shelly,
or
how
easily
she
had
given
in
to
him.
“What
you
did
today
was
a
serious
matter,
and
as
part
of
your

punishment,
I
expect
you
to
come
back
every
day
this
week
after
school
to
do
certain
chores
I’ll
have
lined
up
for
you.”

“And
if
I
don’t
show
up?”

“AJ!”

Dare
held
up
his
hand,
cutting
off
anything
Shelly
was
about
to
say.
This
was
between
him
and
his
son.
“And
if
you
don’t
show
up,
I’ll
know
where
to
find
you
and
when
I
do
it
will
only
make
things
a
lot
worse
for
you.
Trust
me.”

Dare’s
gaze
shifted
to
Shelly.
This
was
not
the
way
he

wanted
to
start
things
off
with
his
son,
but
he’d
been
left
with

little
choice.
AJ
had
to
respect
him
as
the
sheriff
as
well
as
accept
him
as
his
father.
From
the
look
on
Shelly’s
face
he
knew
she
understood
that
as
well.

“Sheriff
Westmoreland
is
right,”
she
said
firmly,
giving
Dare
her
support.
“And
you
will
show
up
after
school
to
do

whatever
he
has
for
you
to
do.
Is
that
understood?”

“Yeah,
yeah,
I
understand,”
the
boy
all
but
snapped.
“Can
we
go
now?”

Dare
nodded
and
handed
her
the
completed
form.
“I’ll
walk
the
two
of
you
out
to
the
car
since
I
was
about
to
leave

anyway.”

Once
Shelly
and
AJ
were
in
the
car
and
had
buckled
up
their
seat
belts,
Dare
glanced
into
the
car
and
said
to
the
boy,
“I’ll
see
you
tomorrow
when
you
get
out
of
school.”

Ignoring
AJ’s
glare,
he
then
turned
and
the
look
he
gave

Shelly
said
that
he
expected
to
see
her
tomorrow
as
well,
at
Kate’s
Diner
in
the
morning.
“Good
night
and
drive
safely.”

He
then
walked
away.

An
hour
later,
Dare
walked
into
a
room
where
four
men
sat
at
a
table
engaged
in
a
card
game.
The
four
looked
up
and
his
brother
Stone
spoke.
“You’re
late.”