A Little Dare - Brenda Jackson [4]
He read the question that suddenly flashed in her gaze and said. “And no, this will not be a part of any permanent record, although I think it won’t be such a bad idea for him to come back every day this week after school for an hour to do additional chores, especially since he mentioned he’s not into any after-school activity. The light tasks I’ll be assigning to him will work off some of that rebellious energy he has.”
He met her gaze. “However, if this happens again, Shelly, he’ll be faced with having to perform hours of community service as well as getting slapped with a juvenile delinquent record. Is that understood?”
She nodded, feeling much appreciative. Had he wanted to, Dare could have handled things a lot more severely. What AJ had done was a serious offense. “Yes, I understand, and I want to thank you.”
She sighed deeply. It seemed fate would not be forcing her hand today after all. She had a little more time before having to tell Dare the truth.
Dare sat down at his desk with a form in front of him and a pen in his hand. “Now then, what’s his name?”
Shelly swallowed deeply. “AJ Brockman.”
“I need his real name.”
She couldn’t open her mouth to get the words out. It seemed fate wouldn’t be as gracious as she’d thought after all.
Dare was looking down at the papers in front of him, however, the pause went on so long he glanced up and looked at her. He had known Shelly long enough to know when she was nervous about something. His eyes narrowed as he wondered what her problem was.
“What’s his real name, Shelly?” he repeated.
He watched as she looked away briefly. Returning her gaze she stared straight into his eyes and without blinking said. “Alisdare Julian Brockman.”
Two
A ir suddenly washed from Dare’s lung as if someone had cut off the oxygen supply in the room and he couldn’t breathe. Everything started spinning around him and he held on to his desk with a tight grip. However, that didn’t work since his hands were shaking worse than a volcano about to explode. In fact his entire body shook with the force of the one question that immediately torpedoed through his brain. Why would she name her son after him? Unless ..
He met her gaze and saw the look of guilt in her eyes and knew. Yet he had to have it confirmed. He stood on non-steady legs and crossed the room to stand in front of Shelly. He grasped her elbow and brought her closer to him, so close he could see the dark irises of her eyes.
“When is his birth date?” he growled, quickly finding his equilibrium.
Shelly swallowed so deeply she knew for certain Dare could see her throat tighten, but she refused to let his reaction unsettle her any more than it had. She lifted her chin. “November twenty-fifth.”
He flinched, startled. “Two months?” he asked in a pained whisper yet with intense force. “You were two months pregnant when we broke up?”
She snatched her arm from his hold. “Yes.”
Anger darkened the depths of his eyes then flared through his entire body at the thought of what she had kept from him. “I have a son?”
Though clearly upset, he had asked the question so quietly that Shelly could only look at him. For a long moment she didn’t answer, but then she knew that in spite of everything between them, there was never a time she had not been proud that AJ was Dare’s son. That was the reason she had returned to College Park, because she felt it was time he was included in AJ’s life. “Yes, you have a son.”
“But—but I didn’t know about him!”
His words were filled with trembling fury and she knew she had to make him understand. “I found out I was pregnant the day before my graduation party and had planned to tell you that night. But before I got the chance you told me about the phone call you’d received that day, offering you a job with the Bureau and how much you wanted to take it. I loved you too much to stand in your way, Dare. I knew that telling you I was pregnant would have changed everything, and I couldn’t do that to you.”
Dare’s face etched into tight