A Little Dare (19 page)

Westmorelands
were
a
big
family
and
a
rather
close-knit
group.
“Dare,
about
your
suggestion
on
how
we
should
handle
things.”

“Yes?”

She
didn’t
say
anything
for
the
longest
time,
then
she
said.
“I’ll
go
along
with
your
plan
as
long
as
you
and
I
understand
something.”

“What?”

“That
it
will
be
strictly
for
show.
There’s
no
way
the
two
of
us
could
ever
get
back
together
for
any
reason.
The
only
thing
between
us
is
AJ.”

Dare
raised
a
brow
and
gave
her
a
deliberate
look.
He

wondered
why
she
was
so
damn
sure
of
that,
but
decided
to
let
it
go
for
now.
He
wanted
to
start
building
a

relationship
with
his
son
immediately,
and
he
refused
to
let
Shelly
put
stumbling
blocks
in
his
way.
“That’s
fine
with
me.”

He
leaned
back
in
his
chair.
“So
how
soon
will
you
tell
AJ
about
me?”

“I
plan
to
tell
him
tonight.”

Dare
nodded,
satisfied
with
her
answer.
That
meant
they
could
put
their
plans
into
action
as
early
as
tomorrow.
“I
think
we’re
doing
the
right
thing,
Shelly.”

She
felt
the
intensity
of
his
gaze,
and
the
force
of
it
touched
her
in
a
way
she
didn’t
want.
“I
hope
so,
Dare.
I
truly
hope
so,”
she
said
quietly.

Four

D
are
glanced
at
the
clock
again
and
sighed
deeply.
Where
was
AJ?
School
had
let
out
over
an
hour
ago
and
he
still

hadn’t
arrived.
According
to
what
Shelly
had
told
him
that

morning
at
breakfast,
AJ
had
ridden
his
bike
to
school
and
been
told
to
report
to
the
sheriff’s
office
as
soon
as
school
was
out.
Dare
wondered
if
AJ
had
blatantly
disobeyed
his
mother.

Although
Shelly
had
given
him
her
cell-phone
number—as
a
home
healthcare
nurse
she
would
be
making
various
house
calls
today—he
didn’t
want
to
call
and
get
her
worried
or

upset.
If
he
had
to,
he
would
go
looking
for
their
son
himself
and
when
he
found
him,
he
intended
to—”

The
sound
of
the
buzzer
interrupted
his
thoughts.
“Yes,
McKade,
what
is
it?”

“That
Brockman
kid
is
here.”

Dare
nodded
and
sighed
with
relief.
Then
he
recalled
what
McKade
had
said—that
Brockman
kid.
He
frowned.
The
first
thing
he
planned
to
do
when
everything
settled
was
to
give
his
son
his
last
name.
That
Westmoreland
kid

sounded
more
to
his
liking.
“Okay,
I’ll
be
right
out.”

Leaving
his
office,
Dare
walked
down
the
hall
toward
the

front
of
the
building
and
stopped
dead
in
his
tracks
when
he

saw
AJ.
His
frown
deepened.
The
kid
looked
as
though

he’d
had
a
day
with
a
tiger.
“What
happened
to
you?”
he

asked
him,
his
gaze
roaming
over
AJ’s
torn
shirt
and
soiled
jeans,
not
to
mention
his
bruised
lip
and
bloodied
nose.

“Nothing
happened.
I
fell
off
my
bike,”
AJ
snapped.

Dare
glanced
over
at
McKade.
They
both
recognized
a
lie
when
they
heard
one.
Dare
crossed
his
arms
over
his

chest.
“You
never
came
across
to
me
as
the
outright
clumsy
type.”

That
got
the
response
Dare
was
hoping
for.
The
anger

flaring
in
AJ’s
eyes
deepened.
“I
am
not
the
clumsy
type.
Anyone
can
fall
off
a
bike,”
he
said,
again
snapping
out
his
answer.

“Yes,
but
in
this
case
that’s
not
what
happened
and
you

know
it,”
Dare
said,
wanting
to
snap
back
but
didn’t.
It
was
apparent
that
AJ
had
been
in
a
fight,
and
Dare
decided
to
cut
the
crap.
“Tell
me
what
really
happened.”

“I’m
not
telling
you
anything.”

Wrong
answer,
Dare
thought
taking
a
step
forward
to
stand
in
front
of
AJ.
“Look,
kid,
we
can
stand
here
all
day
until
you
decide
to
talk,
but
you
will
tell
me
what
happened.”

AJ
stuck
his
hands
in
the
pockets
of
his
jeans
and
glanced
down
as
if
to
study
the
expensive
pair
of
Air
Jordans
on
his

feet.
When
seconds
ticked
into
minutes
and
he
saw
that

Dare
would
not
move
an
inch,
he
finally
raised
his
head,

met
Dare’s
gaze,
squared
his
shoulders
and
said.
“Caleb
Martin
doesn’t
like
me
and
today
after
school
he
decided
to
take
his
dislike
to
another
level.”

Dare
leaned
against
the
counter
and
raised
a
brow.
“And?”

AJ
paused,
squared
his
shoulders
again
and
said.
“And
I
decided
to
oblige
him.
He
pushed
me
down
and
when
I
got
up
I
made
sure
he
found
out
the
hard
way
that
I’m
not

someone
to
mess
with.”

Dare
inwardly
smiled.
He
hated
admitting
it
but
what
his

son
had
said
had
been
spoken
like
a
true
Westmoreland.
He
didn’t
want
to
remember
the
number
of
times
one
of
the
Westmoreland
boys
came
home
with
something
bloodied
or
broken.
Word
had
soon
gotten
around
school
that
those
Westmorelands
weren’t
anyone
to
tangle
with.
They
never
went
looking
for
trouble,
but
they
knew
how
to
handle
it

when
it
came
their
way.

“Fighting
doesn’t
accomplish
anything.”

His
son
shrugged.
“Maybe
not,
but
I
bet
Caleb
Martin
won’t
be
calling
me
bad
names
and
pushing
me
around
again.
I
had
put
up
with
it
long
enough.

Dare
placed
his
hand
on
his
hips.
“If
this
has
been
going
on
for
a
while,
why
didn’t
you
say
something
about
it
to
your