it’s not her fault so please don’t be mad at her about it. You have to promise that you won’t be mad at my mom.”
Dare nodded. At that moment he would promise almost
anything. “All right. I won’t be mad at your mom. Now tell me what you meant about being a Westmoreland.”
AJ put his hands into his pockets. “You may want to sit down for this.”
Dare watched AJ’s face and noticed how nervous he’d
become. He didn’t want to make him any more nervous
than he already was, so he sat at the kitchen table. “Now tell me,” he coaxed gently.
AJ hesitated, then met Dare’s gaze, and said. “Although my last name is Brockman, I’m really a Westmoreland…
because I’m your son.”
Dare’s breath got lodged in his throat. He blinked. Of
course, the news AJ was delivering to him didn’t surprise him, but the uncertainty and the caution he saw in his son’s gaze did. Shelly had been right. AJ wasn’t sure if he would accept him as his son, and Dare knew he had to tread
lightly here.
“You’re my son?” He asked quietly, as if for clarification.
“Yes. That’s why I’m ten and that’s why we have the same name.” He looked down at his sneakers again as he
added, “And that’s why I look like you a little, although you haven’t seem to notice but I’ll understand if you don’t want
me.”
Dare stood. He slowly crossed the room to AJ and placed what he hoped was a comforting hand, a reassuring hand, a loving hand on his shoulder. AJ looked up and met his
gaze, and Dare knew he had to do everything within his
power to make his son believe that he wanted him and that he loved him.
Choosing his words carefully and speaking straight from
his heart and his soul, he said, “Whether you know it or not, you have just said words that have made me the happiest man in the entire world. The very thought that Shelly gave me a son fills me with such joy that it’s overwhelming.”
AJ searched his father’s gaze. “Does that mean you want me?”
Dare chuckled, beside himself in happiness. “That means that not only do I want you, but I intend to keep you, and now that you’re in my life I don’t ever intend to let you out of it.”
A huge smile crept over AJ’s features. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“And will my name get changed to Westmoreland?”
Dare smiled. “Do you want your name changed to Westmoreland?”
AJ nodded his head excitedly. “Yes, I’d like that.”
“And I’d like that too. We’ll discuss it with your mother and see what her feelings are on the matter, all right?”
“All right.”
They stared at each other as the reality of what had taken place revolved around them. Then AJ asked quietly, “And may I call you Dad?”
Dare’s chest tightened, his throat thickened and he
became filled with emotions to overpowering capacity. He knew he would remember this moment for as long as he
lived. What AJ was asking, and so soon, was more than he could ever have hoped for. He had prayed for this. A smile dusted across his face as parental pride and all the love he felt for the child standing in front of him poured forth.
“Yes, you can call me Dad,” he said, as he reached out and pulled his son to him, needing the contact of father to son, parent to offspring, Westmoreland to Westmoreland. They shared a hug of acceptance, affirmation and
acknowledgement as Dare fought back the tears in his
eyes. “I’d be honored for you to call me that,” he said in a
strained voice.
Moments later, Dare sighed, thinking his mission should have been completed, but it wasn’t. Now that he had his
son, he realized more than ever just how much he wanted, loved and needed his son’s mother. His mission wouldn’t be accomplished until he had her permanently in his life as well.
Later that night Dare placed calls to his parents and
siblings and told them the good news. They took turns
talking with AJ, each welcoming him to the family. After
dinner Dare and AJ had talked while they cleaned up the kitchen. Already plans were made for them to return to the cabin in a few months, and Dare suggested that they invite Shelly to come with them.
“She won’t come,” AJ said, drying the dish his father had handed him.
Dare raised a brow. “Why wouldn’t she?”
“Because she’s not going to be your girlfriend,” he said softly. “Although now I wish that she would.”
Dare turned and folded his arms across his chest and
looked at his son. “And what makes you think your mother won’t be my girlfriend, AJ?” he asked, although the title of wife was more in line with what he was aiming for.
“She told me,” he said wryly. “That same night we had a
cookout at Grandma and Grandpa Westmoreland’s house.
“After we got home we talked for a long time, and I told her that I had come close to telling you that night that I was your son. I asked if the three of us would be a family after I told you and she said no.”
Dare remembered that night well. Shelly had been late
coming to the backyard and had mentioned she and AJ
had had a long talk. He sighed deeply as he tilted his head to the side to think about what AJ had said, then asked.
“Did she happen to say why?”
AJ shook his head. “Yes. She said that although the two of you had been in love when you made me, that now you
weren’t in love anymore and were just friends. She also
said that chances were that one day you would marry
someone nice and I’d have a second mother who would
treat me like her son.”
Dare frowned. He and Shelly not being in love was a crock. How could she fix her lips to say such a thing, let along think it? And what gave her the right to try and marry him off to
some other woman? Didn’t she know how he felt about
her? That he loved her?
Then it suddenly hit him, right in the gut that, no, Shelly had no idea how he felt, because at no time had he told her. For the past month they had spent most of their time alone
together, at night in her backyard under the stars making
love. Did she think all they’d been doing was having sex?
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