A Little Dare - Brenda Jackson [17]
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.
“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