A Little Dare (65 page)

the
woman’s
leg.
She
made
it
a
point
to
check
on
Ms.

Mamie
at
least
twice
a
week,
and
she
enjoyed
her
visits.

Even
with
only
one
good
leg,
the
older
woman
still

managed
to
get
around
in
her
kitchen
and
always
had
fresh
cookies
baked
when
Shelly
arrived.

“So,
how
are
things
going
with
you
and
the
sheriff?”

Shelly
looked
up.
“Excuse
me?”

“You
and
the
sheriff.
How
are
the
two
of
you
doing?
Everyone
is
talking
about
it.”

Shelly
frowned,
not
understanding.
“They
are
talking
about
Dare
and
AJ
or
about
me
and
Dare?”

“They
are
talking
about
you
and
Dare.
Dare
and
AJ
is
old
news.
Everyone
knew
that
boy
was
Dare’s
son
even
if
Dare
was
a
little
slow
in
coming
around
and
realizing
that
fact

Shelly’s
mind
immediately
took
in
what
Ms.
Mamie
had

said.
She’d
had
no
idea
that
she
and
Dare
were
now
the

focus
of
the
towns
peoples’
attention.
“Why
are
people

talking
about
me
and
Dare?”

“Because
everyone
knows
how
hard
he’s
trying
to
woo
you.”

Shelly
stilled
in
her
task
and
looked
at
Ms.
Mamie.
She
couldn’t
help
but
grin
at
something
so
ridiculous.
“Why
would
people
think
Dare
is
trying
to
woo
me?”

“Because
he
is,
dear.”

The
grin
was
immediately
wiped
from
Shelly’s
face.
Woo
her?
Dare?
She
shook
her
head.
“I
think
you’re
mistaken.”

“No,
I’m
not,”
Ms.
Mamie
answered
matter-of-factly.
“In
fact,
me
and
the
ladies
in
my
sewing
club
are
taking
bets.”

Shelly
raised
a
brow.
“Bets?”

“Yes,
bets
as
to
whether
or
not
you’re
going
to
give
him
a
second
chance.
All
of
us
know
how
much
he
hurt
you

before.”

Shelly’s
head
started
spinning.
“But
I
still
don’t
understand
why
you
all
would
think
he
was
wooing
me.”

Ms.
Mamie
smiled.
“Because
it’s
obvious,
Shelly.
Luanne
tells
us
each
time
he
sends
you
flowers,
which
I
understand
is
once,
sometimes
twice
a
week.
Then,
according
to

Clara,
who
lives
across
the
street
from
you,
he
comes
to

dinner
every
evening
and
he
takes
you
out
on
a
date

occasionally.”
The
woman’s
smile
widened.
“Clara
also

mentioned
that
he’s
protecting
your
reputation
by
leaving
your
house
at
a
reasonable
time
every
night
so
he
won’t

give
the
neighbors
something
to
talk
about.”

Shelly
shook
her
head.
“But
none
of
that
means
anything.”

Ms.
Mamie
gently
patted
her
hand.
“That’s
where
you’re

wrong,
Shelly.
It
means
everything,
especially
for
a
man
like
Dare.
The
ladies
and
I
have
watched
him
over
the
years

ignore
one
woman
after
another,
women
who
threw

themselves
at
him.
He
never
got
serious
about
any
of
them.
When
you
came
back
things
were
different.
Anyone
with

eyes
can
see
that
he
is
smitten
with
you.
That
boy
has

always
loved
you,
and
I’ll
be
the
first
to
say
he
made
a

mistake
ten
years
ago,
but
I
feel
good
knowing
he’s
trying
real
hard
to
win
you
back.”
She
then
grinned

conspiratorially.
“It
even
makes
me
feel
good
knowing
that
you’re
making
it
hard
for
him.

Making
it
hard
for
him?
She
hadn’t
even
picked
up
on
the
fact
that
he
was
trying
to
win
her
back.
Shelly
opened
her
mouth
to
say
something,
then
closed
it,
deciding
that
she
needed
to
think
about
what
Ms.
Mamie
had
said.
Was
it
true?
Was
Dare
actually
wooing
her?

That
question
was
still
on
her
mind
half
an
hour
later
when
she
pulled
out
of
Ms.
Mamie’s
driveway.
She
sighed

deeply.
The
only
person
who
could
answer
that
question
was
Dare,
and
she
decided
it
was
time
that
he
did.

Thunder
rumbled
in
the
distance
as
Dare
placed
a
lid
on

the
pot
of
chili
he’d
just
made.
He
had
tried
keeping
himself
busy
that
afternoon
since
thoughts
of
Shelly
weighed
so

heavily
on
his
mind.

He
knew
one
of
the
main
reasons
for
this
was
that
AJ
would
be
spending
the
weekend
with
Morris
and
Cornelius,
which
meant
Shelly
would
be
home
all
alone,
and
Shelly
all
alone
was
too
much
of
a
temptation
to
think
about.
He
sighed

deeply,
wondering
just
how
much
longer
he
could
hold
out
in
his
plan
to
prove
to
her
that
what
was
between
them
was
more
than
sex
and
that
he
cared
deeply
for
her.
For
the

past
three
weeks
he
had
been
the
ardent
suitor
as
he
tried
easing
his
way
back
into
her
heart.
The
only
thing
about
it
was
that
he
wasn’t
sure
whether
his
plan
was
working
and
exactly
where
he
stood
with
her.

He
paused
in
what
he
was
doing
when
he
heard
his

doorbell
ring
and
wondered
which
of
his
brothers
had

decided
to
pay
him
a
visit.
It
would
be
just
like
them
to
show
up
in
time
for
dinner.
Leaving
the
kitchen,
he
made
his
way
through
the
living
room
to
open
the
front
door.
His
chest

tightened
with
emotion
when
he
looked
through
his

peephole
and
saw
that
it
wasn’t
one
of
his
brothers

standing
outside
on
his
porch,
but
Shelly.

He
quickly
opened
the
door
and
recognized
her

nervousness.
A
man
in
his
profession
was
trained
to
detect
when
someone
was
fidgety
or
uneasy
about
something.

“Shelly,”
he
greeted
her,
wondering
what
had
brought
her
to
his
place.