A Little Dare

“Nothing happened. I fell off my bike,” AJ snapped.

Dare glanced over at McKade. They both recognized a lie when they heard one. Dare crossed his arms over his

chest. “You never came across to me as the outright clumsy type.”

That got the response Dare was hoping for. The anger

flaring in AJ’s eyes deepened. “I am not the clumsy type. Anyone can fall off a bike,” he said, again snapping out his answer.

“Yes, but in this case that’s not what happened and you

know it,” Dare said, wanting to snap back but didn’t. It was apparent that AJ had been in a fight, and Dare decided to cut the crap. “Tell me what really happened.”

“I’m not telling you anything.”

Wrong answer, Dare thought taking a step forward to stand in front of AJ. “Look, kid, we can stand here all day until you decide to talk, but you will tell me what happened.”

AJ stuck his hands in the pockets of his jeans and glanced down as if to study the expensive pair of Air Jordans on his

feet. When seconds ticked into minutes and he saw that

Dare would not move an inch, he finally raised his head,

met Dare’s gaze, squared his shoulders and said. “Caleb Martin doesn’t like me and today after school he decided to take his dislike to another level.”

Dare leaned against the counter and raised a brow. “And?”

AJ paused, squared his shoulders again and said. “And I decided to oblige him. He pushed me down and when I got up I made sure he found out the hard way that I’m not

someone to mess with.”

Dare inwardly smiled. He hated admitting it but what his

son had said had been spoken like a true Westmoreland. He didn’t want to remember the number of times one of the Westmoreland boys came home with something bloodied or broken. Word had soon gotten around school that those Westmorelands weren’t anyone to tangle with. They never went looking for trouble, but they knew how to handle it

when it came their way.

“Fighting doesn’t accomplish anything.”

His son shrugged. “Maybe not, but I bet Caleb Martin won’t be calling me bad names and pushing me around again. I had put up with it long enough.

Dare placed his hand on his hips. “If this has been going on for a while, why didn’t you say something about it to your

mother or to some adult at school?”

AJ’s glare deepened even more. “I’m not a baby. I don’t need my mother or some teacher fighting my battles for me.”

Dare met his son’s glare with one of his own. “Maybe not, but in the future I expect you not to take matters into your own hands. If I hear about it, I will haul both you and that

Martin kid in here and the two of you will be sorry. Not only will I assign after-school duties but I’ll give weekend work duties as well. I won’t tolerate that kind of foolishness.”

Especially when it involved his son, Dare decided not to add. “Now go into that bathroom and get cleaned up then meet me out back.”

AJ shifted his book bag to his other shoulder. “What am I supposed to do today?”

“My police car needs washing and I can use the help.”

AJ nodded and rushed off toward the bathroom. Dare

couldn’t hide the smile that lit his face. Although AJ had

grumbled last night about having to show up at the police

station after school, Dare could tell from his expression that he enjoyed having something to do.

“Sheriff?”

Dare glanced up and met McKade’s gaze. “Yes?”

“There’s something about that kid that’s oddly familiar.”

Dare knew what McKade was getting at. His deputy had

seen the paperwork he’d completed last night and had

probably put two and two together; especially since Rick

McKade knew his first and middle names. The two of them were good friends and had been since joining the FBI at

the same time years back. When Dare had decided to

leave the Bureau, so had McKade. Rick had followed Dare to Atlanta, where he’d met and fallen in love with a

schoolteacher who lived in the area.

“The reason he seems oddly familiar, McKade, is because you just saw him yesterday,” Dare said, hoping that was the end of it.

He found out it wasn’t when McKade chuckled and said. “That’s not what I mean and you know it, Dare. There’s something else.”

“What?”

McKade paused a moment before answering. “He looks a lot like you and your brothers, but especially like you.” He

again paused a few moments then asked. “Is there anything you want to tell me?”

Dare’s lips curved into a smile. He didn’t have to tell McKade anything since it was obvious he had figured

things out for himself. “No, there’s nothing I want to tell you.”

McKade chuckled again. “Then maybe I better tell you, or rather I should remind you that the people in this town don’t know how to keep a secret if that’s what you plan to do. It won’t be long before everyone figures things out, and when they do, someone will tell the kid.”

Dare’s smile widened when he thought of that happening. “Yes, and that’s what his mother and I are counting on.”

Knowing what he’d said had probably confused the hell out of McKade, Dare turned and walked through the door that led out back.

The kid was a hard worker and a darn good one at that,

Dare decided as he watched AJ dry off the police cruiser. He had only intended the job to last an hour, but he could

tell that AJ was actually enjoying having something to do. He made a mental note to ask Shelly if AJ did any chores at home, and if not, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to assign him a few. That would be another way to keep

him out of trouble.

“Is this it for the day?”

AJ’s statement jerked Dare from his thoughts. AJ had placed the cloth he’d used to dry off the car back in the bucket. “Yes, that’s it, but make sure you come back

tomorrow—and I expect you to be on time.”

A scowl appeared on AJ’s face but he didn’t say anything as he picked up his book bag and placed it on his

shoulder. “I don’t like coming here after school.”

Dare shook his head and inwardly smiled, wondering who the kid was trying to convince. “Well, you should have

thought of that before you got into trouble.”

Their gazes locked for a brief moment and Dare detected a storm of defiance brewing within his son. “How much longer do I have to come here?” AJ asked in an agitated voice.

“Until I think you’ve learned your lesson.”

AJ’s glare deepened. “Well, I don’t like it.”

Dare raised his gaze upward to the sky then looked back to AJ. “You’ve said that already kid, but in this case what you like doesn’t really matter. When you break the law you have to be punished. That’s something I suggest you remember. I also suggest that you get home before your mother starts worrying about you,” he said, following AJ inside the

building.

“She’s going to do that anyway.”

Dare smiled. “Yeah, I wouldn’t put it past her, since mothers are that way. I’m sure my four brothers and I worried my

mother a lot when we were growing up.”

AJ raised a brow. “You have four brothers?”

Dare’s smile widened. “Yes, I have four brothers and one sister. I’m the oldest of the group.

AJ nodded. “It’s just me and my mom.”

Dare nodded as well. He then stood in front of the door with A. J. “To answer your question of how long you’ll have to

come here after school, I think a full week of this should

make you think twice about throwing rocks at passing cars the next time.” Dare rubbed his chin thoughtfully then

added. “Unless I hear about you getting involved in a fight again. Like I said, that’s something I won’t tolerate.”

AJ glared at him. “Then I’ll make sure you don’t hear about it.”

Not giving Dare a chance to respond, AJ raced out of the door, got his bike and took off.

“Ouch, that hurts!”

“Well, this should teach you a lesson,” Shelly said angrily, leaning over AJ as she applied antiseptic to his bruised lip. “And if I hear of you fighting again, I will put you on a

punishment like you wouldn’t believe.”

“He started it!”

Shelly straightened and met her son’s dark scowl. “Then next time walk away,” she said firmly.

“People are going to think I’m a coward if I do that. I told you I was going to hate it here. Nobody likes me. At least I had friends in L.A.”

“I don’t consider those guys you hung around with back in

L.A. your friends. A true friend wouldn’t talk you into doing bad things, AJ, and as far as anyone thinking you’re a

coward, then let them. I know for a fact that you’re one of the bravest persons I know. Look how long you’ve had to be the man of the house for me.”

AJ shrugged and glanced up at his mother. “But it’s different with you, Mom. I don’t want any of the guys at school thinking I’m a pushover.”

“Trust me, you’re not a pushover. You’re too much like your father.” She then turned to walk toward the kitchen.

Shelly knew she had thrown out the hook and it wouldn’t