A Little Dare (7 page)

his.

Dare
slowly
walked
over
to
the
window
and
looked
out,

suddenly
seeing
the
kid
through
different
eyes—a
father’s
eyes,
and
his
heart
and
soul
yearned
for
a
place
in
his

son’s
life;
a
place
he
rightly
deserved.
And
from
the
way
the
kid
had
behaved
earlier
it
was
a
place
Dare
felt
he
needed
to
be.
It
seemed
that
Alisdare
Julian
Brockman
was
a

typical
Westmoreland
male—headstrong
and
stubborn
as
hell.
As
Dare
studied
him
through
the
windowpane,
he

could
see
Westmoreland
written
all
over
him
and
was

surprised
he
hadn’t
seen
it
earlier.

He
turned
when
the
buzzer
sounded
on
his
desk.
He
took
the
few
steps
to
answer
it.
“Yes,
Holly?”

“Ms.
Brockman
is
ready
to
leave,
sir.
Have
you
completed
the
paperwork?”

Dare
frowned
as
he
glanced
down
at
the
half-completed
form
on
his
desk.
“No,
I
haven’t.”

“What
do
you
want
me
to
tell
her,
Sheriff?”

Dare
sighed.
If
Shelly
for
one
minute
thought
she
could
just
walk
out
of
here
and
take
their
son,
she
had
another
thought
coming.
There
was
definitely
unfinished
business
between
them.
“Tell
Ms.
Brockman
there’re
a
few
things
I
need
to

take
care
of.
After
which,
I’ll
speak
with
her
again
in
my

office.
In
the
meantime,
she’s
not
to
see
her
son.”

There
was
a
slight
pause
before
Holly
replied.
“Yes,
sir.”

After
hanging
up
the
phone
Dare
picked
up
the
form
that

contained
all
the
standard
questions,
however,
he
didn’t

know
any
answers
about
his
son.
He
wondered
if
he
could
ever
forgive
Shelly
for
doing
that
to
him.
No
matter
what
she
said,
she
had
no
right
to
have
kept
him
in
the
dark
about
his
son
for
ten
years.

After
the
elder
Brockmans
had
retired
and
moved
away,

there
had
been
no
way
to
stay
in
touch
except
for
Ms.
Kate,
the
owner
of
Kate’s
Diner
who’d
been
close
friends
with

Shelly’s
mother.
But
no
matter
how
many
times
he
had

asked
Kate
about
the
Brockmans,
specifically
Shelly,
she
had
kept
a
stiff
lip
and
a
closed
mouth.

A
number
of
the
older
residents
in
town
who
had
kept
an
eye
on
his
and
Shelly’s
budding
romance
during
those
six
years
had
been
pretty
damn
disappointed
with
the
way
he
had
ended
things
between
them.
Even
his
family,
who’d
thought
the
world
of
Shelly,
had
decided
he’d
had
a
few
screws
loose
for
breaking
up
with
her.

He
sighed
deeply.
As
sheriff,
he
of
all
people
should
have
known
she
had
returned
to
College
Park;
he
made
it
his
business
to
keep
up
with
all
the
happenings
around
town.
She
must
have
come
back
during
the
time
he
had
been
busy
apprehending
those
two
fugitives
who’d
been
hiding

out
in
the
area.

With
the
form
in
one
hand
he
picked
up
the
phone
with
the
other.
His
cousin,
Jared
Westmoreland,
was
the
attorney
in
the
family
and
Dare
felt
the
need
for
legal
advice.

“The
sheriff
needs
to
take
care
of
few
things
and
would
like
to
see
you
again
in
his
office
when
he’s
finished.”

Shelly
nodded
but
none
to
happily.
“Is
there
anyway
I
can
see
my
son?”

The
older
woman
shook
her
head.
“I’m
sorry
but
you
can’t

see
or
talk
to
him
until
the
sheriff
completes
the
paperwork.”

When
the
woman
walked
off
Shelly
shook
her
head.
What
had
taken
place
in
Dare’s
office
had
certainly
not
been
the
way
she’d
envisioned
telling
him
about
AJ.
She
walked

over
to
a
chair
and
sat
down,
wondering
how
long
would
it
be
before
she
could
get
AJ
and
leave.
Dare
was
calling
the
shots
and
there
wasn’t
anything
she
could
do
about
it
but

wait.
She
knew
him
well
enough
to
know
that
anger
was

driving
him
to
strike
back
at
her
for
what
she’d
done,
what
she’d
kept
from
him.
A
part
of
her
wondered
if
he
would

ever
forgive
her
for
doing
what
she’d
done,
although
at
the
time
she’d
thought
it
was
for
the
best.

“Ms.
Brockman?”