A Little Dare (5 page)

Dare
of
all
people
being
so
critical.
“He’s
my
child.”

Dare
stared
at
her
wondering
if
she
really
expected
him
to
believe
that.
There
was
no
way
the
kid
could
be
hers,
since
in
his
estimation
of
the
kid’s
age,
she
was
a
student
in

college
and
his
steady
girl
about
the
same
time
the
boy

was
born.
“I
mean
who
does
he
really
belong
to
since
I

know
you
didn’t
have
a
baby
twelve
or
thirteen
years
ago,
Shelly.”

Her
gaze
turned
glacial.
“He
is
mine,
Dare.
I
gave
birth
to
him
ten
years
ago.
He
just
looks
older
than
he
really
is

because
of
his
height.”
Shelly
watched
Dare’s
gaze

sharpen
and
darken,
then
his
brows
pulled
together
in
a
deep,
furious
frown.

“What
the
hell
do
you
mean
you
gave
birth
to
him?”
he

asked,
a
shocked
look
on
his
face
and
a
tone
of
voice
that
bordered
on
anger
and
total
disbelief.

She
met
his
glare
with
one
of
her
own.
“I
meant
just
what
I
said.
Now
may
I
see
him?”
She
made
a
move
to
leave

Dare’s
office
but
he
caught
her
arm.

“Are
you
saying
that
he
was
born
after
you
left
here?”

“Yes.”

Dare
released
her.
His
features
had
suddenly
turned
to

stone,
and
the
gaze
that
focused
on
hers
was
filled
with
hurt

and
pain.
“It
didn’t
take
you
long
to
find
someone
in
California
to
take
my
place
after
we
broke
up,
did
it?”

His
words
were
like
a
sharp,
painful
slap
to
Shelly’s
face.
He
thought
that
she
had
given
birth
to
someone
else’s

child!
How
could
he
think
that
when
she
had
loved
him
so
much?
She
was
suddenly
filled
with
extreme
anger.
“Why
does
it
matter
to
you
what
I
did
after
I
left
here,
Dare,
when
you
decided
after
six
long
years
that
you
wanted
a
career
with
the
FBI
more
than
you
wanted
me?”

Dare
closed
his
eyes,
remembering
that
night
and
what
he
had
said
to
her,
words
he
had
later
come
to
regret.
He

slowly
reopened
his
eyes
and
looked
at
her.
She
appeared
just
as
stricken
now
as
she
had
then.
He
doubted
he
would
ever
forget
the
deep
look
of
hurt
on
her
face
that
night
he

had
told
her
that
he
wanted
to
break
up
with
her
to
pursue
a
career
with
the
FBI.

“Shelly,
I…”

“No,
Dare.
I
think
we’ve
said
enough,
too
much
in
fact.
Just
let
me
get
my
son
and
go
home.”

Dare
inhaled
deeply.
It
was
too
late
for
whatever
he
wanted
to
say
to
her.
Whatever
had
once
been
between
them
was
over
and
done
with.
Turning,
he
slowly
walked
back
over
to
his
desk.
“There’s
some
paperwork
that
needs
to
be

completed
before
you
can
take
him
with
you.
Since
he

refused
to
provide
us
with
any
information,
we
couldn’t
do
it
earlier.”

He
read
the
question
that
suddenly
flashed
in
her
gaze
and
said.
“And
no,
this
will
not
be
a
part
of
any
permanent

record,
although
I
think
it
won’t
be
such
a
bad
idea
for
him
to
come
back
every
day
this
week
after
school
for
an
hour
to
do
additional
chores,
especially
since
he
mentioned
he’s
not
into
any
after-school
activity.
The
light
tasks
I’ll
be

assigning
to
him
will
work
off
some
of
that
rebellious
energy
he
has.”

He
met
her
gaze.
“However,
if
this
happens
again,
Shelly,
he’ll
be
faced
with
having
to
perform
hours
of
community

service
as
well
as
getting
slapped
with
a
juvenile
delinquent
record.
Is
that
understood?”

She
nodded,
feeling
much
appreciative.
Had
he
wanted
to,
Dare
could
have
handled
things
a
lot
more
severely.
What
AJ
had
done
was
a
serious
offense.
“Yes,
I
understand,
and
I
want
to
thank
you.”

She
sighed
deeply.
It
seemed
fate
would
not
be
forcing
her
hand
today
after
all.
She
had
a
little
more
time
before

having
to
tell
Dare
the
truth.

Dare
sat
down
at
his
desk
with
a
form
in
front
of
him
and
a
pen
in
his
hand.
“Now
then,
what’s
his
name?”

Shelly
swallowed
deeply.
“AJ
Brockman.”