A Little Dare

“Yes, Lizzie, I’d like another cup.”

“And what would you like?” Lizzie asked her, and Shelly couldn’t help but notice the cold, unfriendly eyes that were staring at her.

Evidently the same thing you would like, Shelly thought,

trying to downplay the envy she suddenly felt, although she knew there was no legitimate reason to feel that way. What was once between her and Dare had ended years ago and she didn’t intend to go back there, no matter how much he

could still arouse her. Sighing, she was about to give the woman her order when Dare spoke. “She would like a cup of coffee with cream and one sugar.”

The waitress lifted her brow as if wondering how Dare

knew what Shelly wanted. “Okay, Sheriff.” Lizzie placed menus in front of them, saying, “I’ll bring your coffee while you take a look at these.”

When Lizzie had left, Shelly leaned in closer to the center of the booth and whispered, “I don’t appreciate the daggered looks coming from one of your girlfriends.” She decided not to tell him that she’d felt like throwing a few daggered looks of her own.

Lifting his head from the menu, Dare frowned. “What are

you talking about? I’ve never dated Lizzie. She’s just a kid.”

Shelly shrugged as she straightened in her seat and

glanced over to where Lizzie was now taking another order. Her short uniform showed off quite nicely the curves of her body and her long legs. Dare was wrong. Lizzie was no kid. Her body attested to that.

“Well, kid or no kid, she definitely has the hots for you, Dare Westmoreland.”

He shrugged. “You’re imagining things.”

“No, trust me. I know.”

He rubbed his chin as his mouth tipped up crookedly into a smile. Settling back in his seat, he asked, “And how would you know?”

She met his gaze. “Because I’m a woman.” And I know all about having the hots for you, she decided not to add.

Dare nodded. He definitely couldn’t deny that she was a

woman. He glanced over at Lizzie and caught her at the

exact moment she was looking at him with a flirty smile. He remembered the other times she’d given him that smile,

and now it all made sense. He quickly averted his eyes.

Clearing his throat, he met Shelly’s gaze. “I’ve never

noticed before.”

Typical man, Shelly thought, but before she could say

anything else, Lizzie had returned with their coffee. After

taking their order she left, and Shelly smiled and said, “I

can’t believe you remembered how I like my coffee after all this time.”

Dare looked at her. His gaze remained steady when he said. “There are some things a man can’t forget about a woman he considered as his, Shelly.”

“Oh,” her voice was slightly shaky, and she decided not to touch that one; mainly because what he said was true. He had considered her as his; she had been his in every way a woman could belong to a man.

She took a deep breath before taking a sip of coffee.

Emotions she didn’t want to feel were churning inside her. Dare had hurt her once and she refused to let him do so

again. She would definitely take Ms. Mamie’s advice and watch herself around him. She glanced up and noticed

Dare watching her. The heat from his gaze made her feel a connection to him, one she didn’t want to feel, but she

realized they did have a connection.

Their son.

She cleared her throat, deciding they needed to engage in conversation, something she considered a safe topic. “How is your family doing?”

A warm smile appeared on Dare’s face. “Mom and Dad and all the rest of the Westmoreland clan are fine.”

Shelly took another sip of her coffee then asked. “Is it true what I’ve heard about Delaney? Did she actually finish

medical school and marry a sheikh?” she asked. She

wondered how that had happened when everyone knew

how overprotective the Westmoreland brothers had been of their baby sister.

Dare smiled and the heat in his gaze eased somewhat.

“Yeah, it’s true. The one and only time we took our eyes off Laney, she slipped away and hid out in a cabin in the

mountains for a little rest and relaxation. While there she

met this sheikh from the Middle East. Their marriage took some getting used to, since she up and moved to his

country. They have a five-month-old son named Ari.”

“Have you seen him yet?”

Dare’s smile widened. “Yes, the entire family was there for his birth and it was some sort of experience.” A frown

appeared on his face when he suddenly thought about what he’d missed out on by not being there when AJ had come into the world. “Tell me about AJ, Shelly. Tell me how things were when he was born.”

Shelly swallowed thickly. So much for thinking she had

moved to a safe topic of conversation. She sighed,

knowing Dare had a right to what he was asking for. “He

was born in the hospital where I worked. My parents were there with me. I didn’t gain much weight while pregnant and that helped make the delivery easier. He wasn’t a big baby, only a little over six pounds, but he was extremely long

which accounts for his height. As soon as I saw him I

immediately thought he looked like you. And I knew at that moment no matter how we had separated, that my baby

was a part of you.”

Shelly hesitated for a few moments and added. “That’s why I gave him your name, Dare. In my mind he didn’t look like a Marcus, which was the name I had intended to give him. To me he looked like an Alisdare Julian. A little Dare.”

Dare didn’t say anything for the longest time, then he said. “Thank you for doing that.”

“You’re welcome.”

Moments later, Dare cleared his throat and asked. “Does he know he was named after his father?”

“Yes. You don’t know how worried I was before arriving at the police station yesterday. I was afraid that you had found out his name, or that he had found out yours. Luckily for me, most people at the station call you Sheriff, and everyone in town still calls you Dare.”

Dare nodded. “Except for my family, few people probably remember my real name is Alisdare since it’s seldom

used. I’ve always gone by Dare. If AJ had given me his full name I would have figured things out.”

After a few brief quiet moments, Dare said. “I told my parents and my brothers about him last night, Shelly.”

She nervously bit into her bottom lip. “And what were their reactions?”

Dare leaned back against his seat and met her gaze. “They were as shocked as I was, and of course they’re anxious to meet him.”

Shelly nodded slowly. She’d figured they would be. The

Westmorelands were a big family and a rather close-knit group. “Dare, about your suggestion on how we should handle things.”

“Yes?”

She didn’t say anything for the longest time, then she said. “I’ll go along with your plan as long as you and I understand something.”

“What?”

“That it will be strictly for show. There’s no way the two of us could ever get back together for any reason. The only thing between us is AJ.”

Dare raised a brow and gave her a deliberate look. He

wondered why she was so damn sure of that, but decided to let it go for now. He wanted to start building a

relationship with his son immediately, and he refused to let Shelly put stumbling blocks in his way. “That’s fine with me.”

He leaned back in his chair. “So how soon will you tell AJ about me?”

“I plan to tell him tonight.”

Dare nodded, satisfied with her answer. That meant they could put their plans into action as early as tomorrow. “I think we’re doing the right thing, Shelly.”

She felt the intensity of his gaze, and the force of it touched her in a way she didn’t want. “I hope so, Dare. I truly hope so,” she said quietly.

Four

D are glanced at the clock again and sighed deeply. Where was AJ? School had let out over an hour ago and he still

hadn’t arrived. According to what Shelly had told him that

morning at breakfast, AJ had ridden his bike to school and been told to report to the sheriff’s office as soon as school was out. Dare wondered if AJ had blatantly disobeyed his mother.

Although Shelly had given him her cell-phone number—as a home healthcare nurse she would be making various house calls today—he didn’t want to call and get her worried or

upset. If he had to, he would go looking for their son himself and when he found him, he intended to—”

The sound of the buzzer interrupted his thoughts. “Yes, McKade, what is it?”

“That Brockman kid is here.”

Dare nodded and sighed with relief. Then he recalled what McKade had said—that Brockman kid. He frowned. The first thing he planned to do when everything settled was to give his son his last name. That Westmoreland kid

sounded more to his liking. “Okay, I’ll be right out.”

Leaving his office, Dare walked down the hall toward the

front of the building and stopped dead in his tracks when he

saw AJ. His frown deepened. The kid looked as though

he’d had a day with a tiger. “What happened to you?” he

asked him, his gaze roaming over AJ’s torn shirt and soiled jeans, not to mention his bruised lip and bloodied nose.