A Little Dare (46 page)

meet
others,
right
now
I
feel
comfortable
associating
with
people
I
already
know,
like
Dare
and
his
brothers.”

“But
it’s
the
sheriff
who
wants
you
as
his
girlfriend.
He
likes
you.”

She
smiled.
Dare
must
have
laid
it
on
rather
thick.
“You
think
so?”

“Yes.
He
said
you
used
to
be
his
special
girl.
His
brothers
and
parents
said
so,
too.
And
I’ve
got
a
feeling
he
wants
you
to
be
his
special
girl
again.
But
if
you
let
him,
he’ll
find
out
about
me.”

“And
you
still
see
that
as
a
bad
thing,
AJ?”

He
remained
silent
for
a
long
time,
then
he
hunched
his
shoulders.
“I’m
still
not
sure
he
would
want
me.”

Shelly
felt
a
knot
forming
in
her
stomach.
She
wondered
if
he
was
using
his
supposed
dislike
of
Dare
as
an
excuse
to
shield
himself
from
getting
hurt.
“And
why
wouldn’t
he
want
you?”

“I
told
you
that
he
didn’t
like
me.”

And
you
also
said
you
didn’t
like
him,
she
wanted
to
remind
him,
but
decided
to
keep
quiet
about
that.
“Well,
I
know

Dare,
and
I
know
that
he
likes
you.
He
wouldn’t
have
invited
you
to
dinner
with
him
and
his
family
if
he
didn’t.
He
would

have
taken
you
straight
to
Ms.
Kate’s
house
knowing
she
would
have
fed
you.”

She
watched
AJ’s
shoulders
relax.
“You
think
so?”

If
you
only
knew,
she
thought.
“Yes,
I
think
so.
I
believe
you
remind
Dare
of
himself
when
he
was
your
age.
I
heard
he
was
a
handful
for
his
parents.
All
the
brothers
were.”

AJ
nodded.
“Yes,
he
said
that
once.
He
has
a
nice
family.”

She
smiled.
“Yes,
he
has.”

AJ
stuck
his
hands
inside
his
pockets.
“So,
he’s
back
now?”

“Who?”

“The
sheriff.
He
left
town
to
help
another
sheriff
catch
a
guy
who
escaped
from
jail.
Deputy
McKade
said
so.”

“Oh.”
Shelly
had
wondered
why
she
hadn’t
heard
from
him
since
the
luncheon
on
Thursday.
Not
that
she
had
been

looking
for
him,
mind
you.
“Well,
in
that
case,
yes,
I
would
say
that
he’s
back,
since
he
ordered
these
flowers.”

“Then
our
lessons
for
tomorrow
morning
are
still
on.”

“Your
lessons?”

“Yeah,
remember,
I
told
you
he
had
said
he
would
teach
me,
Morris
and
Cornelius
how
to
protect
ourselves
at
the
police
station
in
the
morning.”

“Oh,
I’d
almost
forgotten
about
that.”
She
wanted
to
meet
her
son’s
new
playmates
and
ask
Dare
about
them.
“Will
they
need
a
ride
or
will
their
parents
bring
them?”

“Their
parents
will
be
bringing
them.
They
have
to
go
to
the
barbershop
in
the
morning.”

Shelly
nodded,
looking
at
the
long
hair
on
her
son’s
head.
She’d
allowed
him
to
wear
it
in
twists,
as
long
as
they
were
neat-looking.
Maybe
in
time
she
would
suggest
that
he
pay
a
visit
to
the
barbershop
as
well.

“And
after
our
class
they
have
to
go
to
church
for
choir
practice.”

AJ’s
words
recaptured
Shelly’s
attention.
Morris
and

Cornelius
were
active
in
church?
The
two
were
sounding
better
and
better
every
minute.
“All
right
then.
Go
get

cleaned
up
for
dinner.”

He
nodded.
“Do
you
think
the
sheriff
will
call
tonight
or
come
by?”
AJ
asked
as
he
trotted
up
the
stairs.

I
wish.
“I’m
not
sure.
If
he
just
got
back
into
town
he’s
probably,
tired
so
I
doubt
it.”

“Oh.”

Although
she
was
sure
he
hadn’t
wanted
her
to,
she
had

heard
the
disappointment
in
his
voice
anyway.
He
sounded
just
how
she
felt.

Dare
couldn’t
sleep.
He
felt
restless.
Agitated.
Horny.

He
threw
back
the
covers
and
got
out
of
bed,
yanked
a
T-
shirt
over
his
head
and
pulled
on
his
jeans.
His
body
was
a
nagging
ache,
it
was
throbbing
relentlessly
and
his
arousal
strained
painfully
against
his
jeans.
He
knew
what
his

problems
was,
and
he
knew
just
how
he
could
fix
it.

He
sighed
deeply,
thinking
he
definitely
had
a
problem,
and
wondered
if
at
two
in
the
morning,
Shelly
was
willing
to
help
him
solve
it.

Shelly
couldn’t
sleep
and
heard
the
sound
of
a
pebble
the
moment
it
hit
her
window.
At
first
she’d
thought
she
was

hearing
things,
but
when
a
second
pebble
hit
the
window
she
knew
she
wasn’t.
She
also
knew
who
was
sending
her
the
signals
to
come
to
the
backyard.

That
had
always
been
Dare’s
secret
sign
to
let
her
know
he
was
back
in
town.
She
would
then
sneak
past
her
parents’