A Little Dare (29 page)

he
was.

“Your
bike,”
the
smaller
of
the
two
said,
turning
to
him.
“We
think
it’s
cool.
Where
did
you
get
it?”

AJ
relaxed.
He
thought
his
bike
was
cool,
too.
“Not
from
any
place
around
here.
My
mom
bought
it
for
me
in

California.”

“Is
that
where
you’re
from?”
the
largest
boy
asked.

“Yeah,
L.A.
that’s
where
I
was
born,
and
I
hope
we
move

back
there.”
He
sized
up
the
two
and
decided
they
were

harmless.
He
had
seen
them
before
around
school,
but

neither
had
made
an
attempt
to
be
friendly
to
him
until
now.
“My
name
is
AJ
Brockman.
What’s
yours?”

“My
name
is
Morris
Sears,”
the
smaller
of
the
two
said,
“and
this
is
my
friend
Cornelius
Thomas.”

AJ
nodded.
“Do
you
live
around
here?”

“Yeah,
just
a
few
blocks,
not
far
from
Kate’s
Diner.”

“I
live
just
a
few
blocks
from
Kate’s
Diner,
too,
on
Sycamore
Street,”
AJ
said,
glad
to
know
there
were
other
kids
living

not
far
away.

“We
saw
what
happened
with
you
and
Caleb
Martin

yesterday,”
Morris
said,
his
eyes
widening.
“Boy!
Did
you

teach
him
a
lesson!
No
one
has
ever
done
that
before
and
we’re
glad,
since
he’s
been
messing
with
people
for
a
long
time
for
no
reason.
He’s
nothing
but
a
bully.”

AJ
nodded,
agreeing
with
them.

“Would
you
like
to
ride
home
with
us
today?”
Cornelius

asked,
getting
on
his
own
bike.
We
know
a
short
cut
that

goes
through
the
Millers’
land.
We
saw
a
couple
of
deer
on
their
property
yesterday.”

AJ’s
eyes
lit
up.
He’d
never
seen
a
deer
before,
at
least
not
a
real
live
one.
He
then
remembered
where
he
had
to
go

after
school.
“I’m
sorry
but
today
I
can’t.
I
have
to
report

directly
to
the
sheriff’s
office
now.”

“For
fighting
yesterday?”
Morris
asked.

AJ
shook
his
head.
“No,
for
cutting
school
two
days
ago.
I
was
throwing
rocks
at
cars
and
the
sheriff
caught
me
and
took
me
in.”

Cornelius
eyes
widened.
“You
got
to
ride
in
the
back
of
Sheriff
Westmoreland’s
car?”
he
asked
excitedly.

AJ
raised
a
brow.
“Yes.”

“Boy,
that’s
cool.
Sheriff
Westmoreland
is
a
hero.”

AJ
gave
a
snort
of
laughter.
“A
hero?
And
what
makes
him

a
hero?
He’s
nothing
but
a
sheriff
who
probably
does
nothing
but
sit
in
his
office
all
day.”

Morris
and
Cornelius
shook
their
head
simultaneously.

“Not
Sheriff
Westmoreland,”
Morris
said
as
if
he
knew
that
for
a
fact.
“He
was
in
all
the
newspapers
last
week
for

catching
those
two
bad
guys
the
FBI
has
been
looking
for.
My
dad
says
Sheriff
Westmoreland
got
shot
at
bringing

them
in
and
that
a
bullet
barely
missed
his
head.”

“Yeah,
and
my
dad
said,”
Cornelius
piped
in,
“that
those
bad
guys
didn’t
know
who
they
were
messing
with,
since
everyone
knows
the
sheriff
doesn’t
play.
Why,
he
used
to
even
be
an
FBI
agent.
My
dad
went
to
school
with
him
and
graduated
the
same
year
Thorn
Westmoreland
did.”

AJ
looked
curiously
at
Cornelius.
“What
does
Thorn
Westmoreland
have
to
do
with
anything?”

Cornelius
lifted
a
shocked
brow.
“Don’t
you
know
who
Thorn
Westmoreland
is?”

Of
course
AJ
knew
who
Thorn
Westmoreland
was.
What
kid
didn’t?
“Sure.
He’s
the
motorcycle
racer
who
builds
the
baddest
bikes
on
earth.”

Cornelius
and
Morris
nodded.
“He’s
also
the
sheriff’s

brother,”
Morris
said
grinning,
happy
to
be
sharing
such
news
with
their
new
friend.
“And
have
you
ever
heard
of

Rock
Mason?”

“The
man
who
writes
those
adventure-thriller
books?”
AJ
asked,
his
mind
still
reeling
from
what
he’d
just
been
told—
Thorn
Westmoreland
was
the
sheriff’s
brother!

“Yes,
but
Rock
Mason’s
real
name
is
Stone
Westmoreland
and
he’s
the
sheriff’s
brother,
too.
Then
there
are
two
more
of
them,
Chase
and
Storm
Westmoreland.
Mr.
Chase
owns
a
big
restaurant
downtown
and
Mr.
Storm
is
a
fireman.”

AJ
nodded.
He
wondered
how
Morris
and
Cornelius
knew
so
much
about
a
family
that
he
was
supposed
to
be
a
part
of,
yet
he
didn’t
know
a
thing
about.

“And
I
forgot
to
mention
that
their
sister
married
a
prince
from
one
of
those
faraway
countries,”
Morris
added,

interrupting
AJ’s
thoughts.

“How
do
you
two
know
so
much
about
the

Westmorelands?”
AJ
asked,
wrinkling
his
forehead.

“Because
the
sheriff
coaches
our
Little
League
team
and
his
brothers
often
help
out.”

“The
sheriff
coaches
a
baseball
team?”
AJ
asked,
thinking
now
he’d
heard
just
about
everything.
The
only
time
the

people
in
L.A.
saw
the
sheriff
was
when
something
bad

happened
and
he
was
needed
to
make
a
statement
on
TV.