A Little Dare (62 page)

But
then
why
would
she
think
otherwise?
He
sucked
in
a
breath,
thinking
that
he
sure
had
missed
the
mark.

“Is
that
true,
Dad?
Will
you
marry
someone
else
and
give
me
a
second
mother?”

Dare
shook
his
head.
“No,
son.
Your
mother
is
the
only

mother
you’ll
have,
and
she’s
the
only
woman
I
ever
plan
to
marry.”

Mimicking
his
father,
AJ
placed
his
arms
across
his
chest
and
leaned
against
the
sink.
“Well,
I
don’t
think
she
knows
that.”

Dare
smiled.
“Then
I
guess
I’m
just
the
person
to
convince
her.”
He
leaned
closer
to
his
son
and
with
a
conspiratorial
tone,
he
said.
“Listen
up.
I
have
a
plan.”

Fourteen

T
he
first
thing
Shelly
noticed
as
she
entered
the

subdivision
where
Dare’s
home
was
located
was
that
all

the
houses
were
stately
and
huge
and
sat
on
beautiful

acreages.
This
was
a
newly
developed
section
of
town
that
had
several
shopping
outlets
and
grocery
stores.
She
could
vividly
remember
it
being
a
thickly
wooded
area
when
she
had
left
town
ten
years
ago.

She
glanced
at
her
watch.
Dare
had
called
and
said
that
he
and
AJ
had
decided
to
return
a
day
early
and
asked
that

she
come
over
to
his
place
and
pick
up
AJ
because
Dare
needed
to
stay
at
home
and
wait
for
the
arrival
of
some

important
package.
All
of
it
sounded
rather
secretive,
and
the
only
thing
she
could
come
up
with
was
that
it
pertained
to
some
police
business.

After
reading
the
number
posted
on
the
front
of
the
mailbox,
she
knew
the
regal-looking
house
that
sat
on
a
hill
with
a

long,
circular
driveway
belonged
to
Dare.
She
and
Delaney
had
spent
the
day
shopping
yesterday
and
one
of
the
things
Delaney
had
mentioned
was
that
Dare
had
banked
most
of
his
salary
while
working
as
a
federal
agent,
and
when
he

moved
back
home
he
had
built
a
beautiful
home.

Moments
later,
after
parking
her
car
Shelly
strolled
up
the
walkway
and
rang
the
doorbell.
It
didn’t
take
long
for
Dare

to
answer.

“Hi,
Shelly.”

“Hi,
Dare.”
Her
heart
began
beating
rapidly,
thinking
she

would
never
tire
of
seeing
him
dressed
casually
in
a
pair
of
jeans
and
a
chambray
shirt.
As
she
met
his
gaze,
she

thought
that
she
had
definitely
missed
him
during
the
two
days
he
and
AJ
had
gone
to
North
Carolina.

“Come
on
in,”
he
invited,
stepping
aside.

“Thanks.”
She
glanced
around
Dare’s
home
when
he

closed
the
door
behind
her.
Nice,
she
thought.
The
layout
was
open
and
she
couldn’t
help
noticing
how
chic
and

expensive
everything
looked.
“Your
home
is
beautiful,

Dare.”

“Thanks,
and
I’m
glad
you
like
it.”

Shelly
saw
that
he
was
leaning
against
the
closed
door
staring
at
her.
She
cleared
her
throat.
“You
mentioned
AJ
finally
got
around
to
admitting
that
you’re
his
father.”

Dare
shook
his
head.
“Yes.”

Shelly
nodded.
“I’m
happy
about
that,
Dare.
I
know
how
much
you
wanted
that
to
happen.”

“Yes,
I
did.”

A
long
silence
followed,
and,
with
nothing
else
to
say,
Shelly
cleared
her
throat
again,
suddenly
feeling
nervous
in
Dare’s
presence,
mainly
because
he
was
still
leaning
against
the
door
staring
at
her
with
those
dark
penetrating
eyes
of
his.
Breaking
eye
contact,
she
glanced
at
her
watch
and

decided
to
end
the
silence.
“Speaking
of
AJ,
where
is
he?”

Dare
didn’t
say
anything
for
a
moment,
then
he
spoke.
“He
isn’t
here.”

Shelly
raised
a
brow.
“Oh?
Where
is
he?”

“Over
at
my
parents.
They
dropped
by
and
asked
if
he
could
visit
with
them
for
a
while.
I
didn’t
think
you
would
mind,
so
I
told
them
he
could.”

Shelly
nodded.
“Of
course
I
don’t
mind.”
After
a
few
minutes
she
cleared
her
throat
for
the
third
time
and
said,
“Well,
I’m
sure
you
have
things
to
do
so
I’ll—”

“No,
I
don’t
have
anything
to
do,
since
the
important
package
I
was
waiting
for
arrived
already.”

“Oh.”

“In
fact,
I
was
hoping
that
you
and
I
could
take
in
a
movie
and
have
dinner
later.”

Her
dark
gaze
sank
into
his.
“Dinner?
A
movie?”