pushed him back. “No, Dare,” she said firmly. “We shouldn’t have done that. This isn’t about you or me or our inability to control overzealous hormones. It’s about our son and doing what is best for him.”
And why can’t we simultaneously discover what is best for us, he wanted to ask but refrained from doing so. He
understood her need to put AJ first and foremost, but what she would soon realize was that there was unfinished
business between them as well. “I agree that AJ is our main concern, Shelly, but there’s something you need to realize and accept.”
“What?”
“Things aren’t over between us, and we shouldn’t deceive ourselves into thinking there won’t be a next time, so be prepared for it.”
He saw the frown that appeared in her eyes and the
defiance that tilted her lips reminded him of AJ yesterday and the day before. “No, Dare, there won’t be a next time because I won’t let there be. You’re AJ’s father, but what was between us is over and has been for years. To me you’re just another man.”
He lifted a brow. He wondered if she had kissed many men the way she’d kissed him, and for some reason he doubted it. She had kissed him as though she hadn’t kissed anyone in years. He had felt the hunger that had raged through her. He had felt it, explored it and, for the moment, satisfied it. “You’re sure about that?”
“Yes, I’m positive, so I suggest you place all your
concentration on winning your son over and forget about your son’s mother.”
As he turned to cross the room to leave, he knew that he
would never be able to forget about his son’s mother, not in a million years. Before walking out the door he looked back at her. “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot something.”
She lifted a brow. “What?”
“The brothers four. They’re dying to see you. I told them of
our plans for AJ and they agreed to be patient about seeing him, but they refuse to be patient about seeing you, Shelly. They want to know if you’ll meet them for lunch one day this week at Chase’s restaurant in downtown Atlanta?”
She smiled. She wanted to see them as well. Dare’s
brothers had always been special to her. “Tell them I’d love to have lunch with them tomorrow since I’ll be working in
that area.”
Dare nodded, then turned and walked out the door.
AJ saw the two boys standing next to his bike the moment he walked out the school door. Since his bike was locked, he wasn’t worried about the pair taking it, but after his fight with Caleb Martin yesterday the last thing he wanted was trouble. Especially after the talks the sheriff and his mother had given him.
The sheriff.
He shook his head, not wanting to think about the fact that the sheriff was his father. But he had thought about it most of the day, and still, as he’d told his mother last night, he didn’t want the sheriff to know he was his son.
“What are you two looking at?” he asked in a tough voice, ignoring the fact that one of the boys was a lot bigger than
he was.
“Your bike,” the smaller of the two said, turning to him. “We think it’s cool. Where did you get it?”
AJ relaxed. He thought his bike was cool, too. “Not from any place around here. My mom bought it for me in
California.”
“Is that where you’re from?” the largest boy asked.
“Yeah, L.A. that’s where I was born, and I hope we move
back there.” He sized up the two and decided they were
harmless. He had seen them before around school, but
neither had made an attempt to be friendly to him until now. “My name is AJ Brockman. What’s yours?”
“My name is Morris Sears,” the smaller of the two said, “and this is my friend Cornelius Thomas.”
AJ nodded. “Do you live around here?”
“Yeah, just a few blocks, not far from Kate’s Diner.”
“I live just a few blocks from Kate’s Diner, too, on Sycamore Street,” AJ said, glad to know there were other kids living
not far away.
“We saw what happened with you and Caleb Martin
yesterday,” Morris said, his eyes widening. “Boy! Did you
teach him a lesson! No one has ever done that before and we’re glad, since he’s been messing with people for a long time for no reason. He’s nothing but a bully.”
AJ nodded, agreeing with them.
“Would you like to ride home with us today?” Cornelius
asked, getting on his own bike. We know a short cut that
goes through the Millers’ land. We saw a couple of deer on their property yesterday.”
AJ’s eyes lit up. He’d never seen a deer before, at least not a real live one. He then remembered where he had to go
after school. “I’m sorry but today I can’t. I have to report
directly to the sheriff’s office now.”
“For fighting yesterday?” Morris asked.
AJ shook his head. “No, for cutting school two days ago. I was throwing rocks at cars and the sheriff caught me and took me in.”
Cornelius eyes widened. “You got to ride in the back of Sheriff Westmoreland’s car?” he asked excitedly.
AJ raised a brow. “Yes.”
“Boy, that’s cool. Sheriff Westmoreland is a hero.”
AJ gave a snort of laughter. “A hero? And what makes him
a hero? He’s nothing but a sheriff who probably does nothing but sit in his office all day.”
Morris and Cornelius shook their head simultaneously.
“Not Sheriff Westmoreland,” Morris said as if he knew that for a fact. “He was in all the newspapers last week for
catching those two bad guys the FBI has been looking for. My dad says Sheriff Westmoreland got shot at bringing
them in and that a bullet barely missed his head.”
“Yeah, and my dad said,” Cornelius piped in, “that those bad guys didn’t know who they were messing with, since everyone knows the sheriff doesn’t play. Why, he used to even be an FBI agent. My dad went to school with him and graduated the same year Thorn Westmoreland did.”
AJ looked curiously at Cornelius. “What does Thorn Westmoreland have to do with anything?”
Cornelius lifted a shocked brow. “Don’t you know who Thorn Westmoreland is?”
Of course AJ knew who Thorn Westmoreland was. What kid didn’t? “Sure. He’s the motorcycle racer who builds the baddest bikes on earth.”
Cornelius and Morris nodded. “He’s also the sheriff’s
brother,” Morris said grinning, happy to be sharing such news with their new friend. “And have you ever heard of
Rock Mason?”
“The man who writes those adventure-thriller books?” AJ asked, his mind still reeling from what he’d just been told— Thorn Westmoreland was the sheriff’s brother!
“Yes, but Rock Mason’s real name is Stone Westmoreland and he’s the sheriff’s brother, too. Then there are two more of them, Chase and Storm Westmoreland. Mr. Chase owns a big restaurant downtown and Mr. Storm is a fireman.”
AJ nodded. He wondered how Morris and Cornelius knew so much about a family that he was supposed to be a part of, yet he didn’t know a thing about.
“And I forgot to mention that their sister married a prince from one of those faraway countries,” Morris added,
interrupting AJ’s thoughts.
“How do you two know so much about the
Westmorelands?” AJ asked, wrinkling his forehead.
“Because the sheriff coaches our Little League team and his brothers often help out.”
“The sheriff coaches a baseball team?” AJ asked, thinking now he’d heard just about everything. The only time the
people in L.A. saw the sheriff was when something bad
happened and he was needed to make a statement on TV.
“Yes, and we’re on the team and bring home the trophies every year. If you’re good he might let you join.”
AJ shrugged, not wanting to be around the sheriff any more than he had to. “No thanks, I don’t want to join,” he said.
“Well, I’ve got to go, since I can’t be late.”
“How long do you have to go there?” Morris asked standing aside to let AJ get to his bike.
“The rest of the week, so I’ll be free to ride home with you guys starting Monday if you still want me to,” AJ said,
getting on his bike.
“Yes,” Cornelius answered. “We’ll still want you, too. What about this weekend? Will your parents let you go look at the deer with us this weekend? Usually Mr. Miller gives his
permission for us to come on his property as long as we
don’t get into any trouble.”
AJ was doubtful. “I’ll let you know tomorrow if I can go. My mom is kind of protective. She doesn’t like me going too far from home.”
Morris and Cornelius nodded in understanding. “Our moms are that way, too,” Morris said. “But everyone around here knows the Millers. Your mom can ask the sheriff about them if she wants. They’re nice people.”
“Do you want to ride to school with us tomorrow?” Cornelius
asked anxiously. “We meet at Kate’s Diner every morning at seven-thirty, and she gives us a carton of chocolate milk free as long as we’re good in school.”