A Little Dare - Brenda Jackson [9]
“What do you suggest, Shelly?” Dare asked again, sitting down and breaking into her thoughts.
Shelly cleared her throat. “I know how anxious you are to have AJ meet you, but I think it would be best, considering everything, if he were to get to know you as a friend before knowing you as his father.”
Dare frowned, not liking the way her suggestion sounded. “But I am his father, Shelly, not his friend.”
“Yes, and that’s the point. More than anything, AJ needs a friend right now, Dare, someone he can trust and connect with. He has a hard time making friends, which is why he began hanging out with the wrong type of kids at the school he attended in California. They readily accepted him for all the wrong reasons. I’ve talked to a few of his teachers since moving here and he’s having the same problems. He’s just not outgoing.”
Dare nodded. Of the five Westmoreland brothers, he was the least outgoing, if you didn’t count Thorn who was known to be a pain in the butt at times. Growing up, Dare had felt that his brothers were all the playmates he had needed, and because of that, he never worried about making friends or being accepted. His brothers were his friends—his best friends—and as far as he’d been concerned they were enough. It was only after he got older and his brothers began seeking other interests that he began getting out more, playing sports, meeting people and making new friends.
So if AJ wasn’t as outgoing as most ten-year-old kids, he had definitely inherited that characteristic from him. “So how do you think I should handle it?”
“I suggest that we don’t tell him the truth about you just yet, and that you take the initiative to form a bond with him, share his life and get to know him.”
Dare raised a dark brow. “And just how am I supposed to do that? Our first meeting didn’t exactly get off to a great start, Shelly. Technically, I arrested him, for heaven’s sake. My own son! A kid who didn’t bat an eye when he informed me he hated cops—which is what I definitely am. Then there’s this little attitude problem of his that I feel needs adjusting. So come on, let’s be real here. How am I supposed to develop a relationship with my kid when he dislikes everything I stand for?”
Shelly shook her head. “He doesn’t really hate cops, Dare, he just thinks he does because of what happened as we were driving from California to here.”
Dare lifted a brow. “What happened?”
“I got pulled over in some small Texas town and the officer was extremely rude. Needless to say he didn’t make a good impression on AJ.”
She sighed deeply. “But you can change that, Dare. That’s why I think the two of you getting together and developing a relationship as friends first would be the ideal thing. Ms. Kate told me that you work with the youth in the community and about the Little League baseball team that you coach. I want to do whatever it takes to get AJ involved in something like that.”
“And he can become involved as my son.”
“I think we should go the friendship route first, Dare.”
Dare shook his head. “Shelly, you haven’t thought this through. I understand what you’re saying because I know how it was for me as a kid growing up. At least I had my brothers who were my constant companions. But I think you’ve forgotten one very important thing here.”
Shelly raised her brow. “What?”
“Most of the people in College Park know you, and most of them have long memories. Once they hear that you have a ten-year-old son, they’ll start counting months, and once they see him they’ll definitely know the truth. They will see just how much of a Westmoreland he is. He favors my brothers and me. The reason I didn’t see it before was because I wasn’t looking for it. But you better believe the good people of this town will be. Once you’re seen with AJ they’ll be looking for anything to link me to him, and it will be easy for them to put two and two together. And don’t let them find out that he was named after me. That will be the icing on the cake.”
Dare gave her time to think about what he’d said before continuing. “What