and let this whole damn town know AJ’s mine.”
“I know, Dare, but remember we decided to let him be the one to determine when that would be. Personally, I think it’ll be sooner than you think, because he’s slowly coming
around.”
Dare raised a questioning brow. “You think so?”
“Yes. The two of you are interacting together a lot better. That’s obvious. I can tell, and I know your brothers picked up on it tonight as well.”
“Yes, but for some reason he still holds himself back from me,” Dare said in a frustrated tone. “I sense it, Shelly, and it bothers the heck out of me. I don’t know why he’s doing it.”
Shelly smiled slightly. “I think I do.”
Dare met her gaze. “Then tell me—why?”
She sighed. “I think AJ is beginning to wonder if he’s good enough to be your son.”
Dare frowned. “Why would he wonder about a thing like that?”
“Because basically he’s beginning to see you through a
new set of eyes, the same eyes Morris and Cornelius see you with, and AJ’s concerned about the way the two of you
met. He knows it wasn’t a good start and that you were disappointed with him. Now he’s afraid that he won’t be able to wipe the slate clean with you.”
Dare rubbed a hand down his face. “There’ll never be a time that I wouldn’t want my son, Shelly.”
She wrapped her arms around his waist upon hearing the frustration in his voice. She heard the love there as well. “I know that and you know that, but he has to know that, too. Now that you’ve broken the ice with him, it’s time for you to get to know him and for him to get to know you. Then he’ll see that no matter what, you’ll always be there for him.”
Dare let out a deep sigh. “And I thought winning him over would be easy.”
She smiled. “In a way, it has been. To be honest with you, I really didn’t expect him to come around this soon. Like you, he has somewhat of a stubborn streak about certain things. Him coming around the way he has just goes to show that you evidently have a way with people.”
Dare smiled and brought her closer to him. “And do I have a way with you, Shelly?” The only reason he wasn’t making love to her again tonight was that he was well aware of the fact that her body was sore. He couldn’t help noticing how stiff her movements were when she’d dropped AJ off that morning and again this evening at dinner.
“After last night how can you even ask that, Dare? You
know I was putty in your hands,” she said, recapturing his attention.
“Then that makes us even, because I was definitely putty in yours as well.” He leaned down and kissed her, thinking of just how right she felt in his arms.
Just like always.
Eleven
S helly stretched out in her bed with a sensuous sigh.
Almost two weeks had passed since she and Dare had
spent the night together on a blanket in her backyard. Since then, nightly meetings in the backyard on a blanket had
become almost a ritual. He had become almost a fixture in her home, dropping by for dinner, and inviting her and AJ to a movie or some other function in town.
AJ was beginning to let his guard down around Dare, but as yet he had not acknowledged him as his father. Shelly knew Dare’s patience was wearing thin; he was eager to claim his son, but as she had explained to Dare weeks
ago, AJ had to believe in his heart that his father wanted him for a son before he could give Dare his complete love and trust.
She then thought about her own feelings for Dare. She had to fight hard to keep from falling in love with Dare all over again. She had to remember they were playacting for AJ’s sake. To anyone observing them, it seemed that he was
wooing her. He was giving the towns people something to talk about with the different flower arrangements that he
sent her each week.
A couple of people had taken her aside and warned her not to be setting herself up for heartbreak all over again, since
everyone knew Dare Westmoreland was a staunch
bachelor. But there were others who truly felt he was worthy of another chance, and they tried convincing her that if
anyone could change Dare’s bachelor status, she could.
What she couldn’t tell them was that she was not interested in changing Dare’s bachelor status. Although she had
detected some changes in him, she could not forget that at one time he had been a man driven to reach out for dreams that had not included her. And she could never let herself
become vulnerable to that type of pain again. For six years she had believed she was the most important thing in
Dare’s life, and to find out that she hadn’t been had nearly destroyed her. She had enough common sense to know
that what she and Dare were sharing in the backyard at
night was not based on emotional but on physical needs,
and as long as she was able to continue to know the
difference, she would be all right.
She pulled herself up in bed when she heard the knock on her bedroom door. “Come in, AJ.”
It was early still, an hour before daybreak, but she knew he was excited. Today was the day that Dare’s sister Delaney and her family were arriving from the Middle East. The
Westmoreland brothers were ecstatic and had talked about their one and only sister so much over the past two weeks that AJ had gotten caught up in their excitement; after all,
the woman was his aunt, although he assumed Delaney
didn’t know it.
He opened the door and stood just within the shadows of the light coming in from the hallway. Again, Shelly couldn’t help but notice just how much he looked like Dare. No
wonder the town was buzzing. “What is it, AJ?”
He shrugged. “I wanted to talk to you about something, Mom.”
She nodded and scooted over in bed, but he went and sat in the chair. Evidently, he thought he was past the age to get into his mother’s bed. Shelly’s heart caught. Her son was becoming a young man and with his budding maturity came a lot of issues that Dare would be there to help her with. Not only Dare but the entire Westmoreland family.
He remained silent for a few minutes, then he spoke. “I’ve decided to tell the sheriff I’m his son.”
Shelly’s heart did a flip, and she swallowed slowly. “When did you decide that?”
“Yesterday.”
“And what made you change your mind?”
“I’ve been watching him, Mom. I was in Kate’s Diner one morning last week when he came in, but he didn’t see me at first. When he walked in, all the people there acted like
they were glad to see him, and he knew all their names and asked them how they were doing. Then it hit me that he
really wasn’t a bad cop or a mean cop at all. No one would like him if he was, and everybody likes him, Mom.”
Shelly blinked away the tears from her eyes. AJ was right. Everyone liked Dare and thought well of him. AJ had had to discover that on his own, and it seemed that he had. “Yes, everyone likes Dare. He’s a good sheriff and he’s fair, AJ.”
“Most of the kids at school thinks he’s the bomb and feel that I’m lucky because you’re his girlfriend.”
Shelly made a surprised face. “The kids at your school think I’m his girlfriend?”
AJ nodded. “Well, aren’t you?”
Shelly smiled slightly. She didn’t want to give him hope that things would work out between her and Dare, and that once he admitted to being Dare’s son they would miraculously
become a loving family. “No, AJ, although we’re close,
Dare and I are nothing more than good friends. We always have been and always will be.”
“But he wants you for his girlfriend, I can tell. Everyone can tell and they’re all talking about it, as well as the fact they think I’m his son, although they don’t want me to hear that part, but I do. The sheriff spends a lot of time with us and takes us places with him. The kids at school say their
parents think it’s time for him to settle down and marry, and I can tell that he really likes you, Mom. He always treats you special and I like that.”
Shelly inhaled deeply. She liked it, too, but she knew a lot
more about why Dare was spending time with her than AJ did. It was all part of his plan to gain his son’s love and trust. She refused to put too much stock into anything else, not
even the many times they had slept together. She knew it
had to do with their raging hormones and nothing more.
“So, when are you going to tell him?” she asked quietly.
AJ shrugged. “I still don’t know that yet. But I wanted to let you know that I would be telling him.”
She nodded. “Don’t take too long. Like I said, Dare won’t be a happy camper knowing we kept it from him, but I
believe he’ll be so happy about you that he’ll quickly come around.”
AJ’s eyes lit up. “You think so?”
“Yes, sweetheart, I do.”
He nodded. “Then I might tell him today. He asked if I’d like to go with him to meet his sister and her family at the
airport. I might tell him then.”
Shelly nodded again, knowing that if he did, it would certainly make Dare’s day.
AJ thought Dare’s truck was really cool. He had ridden in it a couple of times before, and just like the other times, he