A Little Dare - Brenda Jackson [70]
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
Five “S heriff Westmoreland!” AJ shouted as he jumped out of his seat. He stood in front of his mother and lifted his chin angrily, defiantly. “It can’t be him. No way.” Shelly smiled slightly. “Trust me, it is him. I of all people should know.” “But—but, I don’t want him to be my father,” he huffed loudly. Shelly looked directly at AJ, at how badly he was taking the news, which really wasn’t unexpected, considering the way he and Dare had clashed. “I’m sorry you feel that way because he is and there’s nothing you can do about it. Alisdare Julian Westmoreland is your father.” When she saw the look that crossed his face, she added. “And I didn’t make up that part either. You really were named after him, AJ. He merely shortens the Alisdare to Dare.” She felt AJ’s need to deny what she’d just told him, but there was no way she could let him do that. “The question is, now that you know he’s your father, what are we going to do about it?” She watched his forehead scrunch into a frown, then
Six H er mouth still knew him. A multitude of emotions tightened Dare’s chest as he sat at his desk and thought about the kiss he and Shelly had shared. Very slowly and very deliberately, he took his finger and rubbed it across his lips, lips that less than an hour ago had tasted sweetness of the most gut-wrenching kind. It was the kind of sweetness that made you crave something so delightful and pleasurable that it could become habit forming. But what got to him more than anything was the fact that even after ten years, her mouth still knew him. That much was evident in the way her lips had molded to his, the familiarity of the way she had parted her mouth and the ease in which his tongue had slid inside, staking a claim he hadn’t known he had a right to make until he had felt her response. He leaned back in the chair. When it came to responding to him, that was something Shelly could never hold back from doing. He’d always gotten the greatest pleasure and enjoyment from hearing the s
Seven “D ad, Mom, I’d like you to meet, AJ. He’s Shelly’s boy.” Dare knew his father wouldn’t give anything away, but he wasn’t so convinced about his mother as he saw the play of emotions that crossed her features. She was looking into the face of a grandson she hadn’t known she’d had; a grandson she was very eager to claim. Luckily for Dare, his father understood the strategy that he and Shelly were using with AJ and spoke up before his wife had a chance to react to the emotions she was trying to hold inside. “You’re a fine-looking young man, but I would expect no less coming from Shelly.” He reached out and touched AJ’s shoulder and smiled. “I’m glad you’re joining us for dinner. How’s your mother?” “She’s fine,” AJ said quietly, bowing his head and studying his shoes. Dare wondered what kind of docile act the kid was performing, but then another part of him wondered if when taken out of his comfort zone, AJ had a tendency to feel uneasy around people he didn’t know. Dare recalled a
Eight “M om? Mom? Are you okay?”