A Little Dare (50 page)

“the
sheriff.”
But
then,
to
call
him
Dare
was
even
less

respectful.
“All
right,
do
you
want
pancakes
this
morning?”

“Yes!
With
lots
and
lots
of
butter!”

She
smiled
as
she
stood,
wincing
in
the
process.
Her
sore
muscles
definitely
reminded
her
of
last
night.
“Not
with
lots
and
lots
of
butter,
AJ,
but
I’ll
make
sure
you
get
enough.”

Shelly
saw
Dare
the
moment
she
pulled
her
car
into
the

parking
lot
at
the
sheriff’s
office.
He
walked
over
to
the
car
and
met
them.
She
wasn’t
surprised
to
discover
that
he’d
been
waiting
for
them.

“Are
we
late?”
AJ
asked
quickly,
meeting
Dare’s
gaze.

Dare
smiled
at
him.
“No,
Cornelius
isn’t
here
yet,
but
I

understand
he’s
on
his
way.
Morris’s
mother
just
dropped
him
off
a
few
minutes
ago.
He’s
waiting
inside.”

He
then
looked
at
Shelly,
and
his
smile
widened.
“And
how
are
you
doing
this
morning,
Shelly?”

She
returned
his
smile,
thinking
about
all
the
things
the
two
of
them
had
done
last
night
while
most
of
College
Park

slept.
“I’m
fine,
Dare,
what
about
you?”

“This
is
the
best
I’ve
felt
in
years.”
He
wanted
to
say
ten

years
to
be
exact,
but
didn’t
want
AJ
to
catch
on
to
anything.

Shelly
glanced
at
her
watch.
“How
long
will
the
lessons
last
today?”

“At
least
an
hour
or
so.
Why?
Is
there
something
you
need
to
do?”

Shelly
placed
an
arm
around
AJ’s
shoulders.
“Well,
I
was
hoping
I’d
have
enough
time
to
get
my
nails
done
in

addition
to
getting
my
hair
taken
care
of.”

“Then
do
it.
I’m
going
over
to
Thorn’s
shop
when
I
leave

here
to
check
out
the
new
bike
that
he’s
building.
AJ
is

welcome
to
go
with
me
if
he
likes
and
I
can
bring
him
home
later.”

He
shifted
his
glance
from
Shelly
to
AJ.
“Would
you
like
to
go
to
Thorn’s
shop
to
see
how
he
puts
a
motorcycle

together?”

The
expression
in
AJ’s
eyes
told
Dare
that
he
would.
“Yes,
I’d
love
to
go!”
He
turned
to
Shelly.
“Can
I,
Mom?”

Shelly
met
Dare’s
gaze.
“Are
you
sure,
Dare?
I
wouldn’t
want
to
put
you
out
with
having
to—”

“No,
I’d
like
his
company.”

AJ’s
eyes
widened
in
surprise.
“You
would?”

Dare
grinned.
“Sure,
I
would.
You
did
a
great
job
with
all
the
chores
that
I
assigned
to
you
this
week,
and
I
doubt
that

you’ll
be
playing
hooky
from
school
anytime
soon,
right?”

AJ
lowered
his
head
to
study
his
sneakers.
“Right.”

“Then
that
does
it.
My
brothers
will
be
there
and
I
know
for
a
fact
they’d
like
to
see
you
again.”

AJ
smiled.
“They
would?”

“Yes,
they
would.
They
said
they
enjoyed
having
you
at

dinner
the
other
night.
Usually
on
Saturday
we
all
pitch
in
to
give
Thorn
a
hand
to
make
sure
any
bike
he’s
building
is
ready
to
be
delivered
on
time.
The
one
he’s
working
on

now
is
for
Sylvester
Stallone.”

“Wow!”

Dare
laughed
at
the
astonishment
he
heard
in
AJ’s
voice
and
the
look
of
awe
on
his
face.
What
he’d
said
about
his
brothers
wanting
to
see
AJ
again
was
true.
They
were

biting
at
the
bit
for
a
chance
to
spend
more
time
with
their
nephew.

“Well,
I
guess
that’s
settled,”
Shelly
said,
smiling
at
Dare

and
the
son
he
had
given
her.
“I’d
better
get
going
if
I
want
to
make
my
hair
appointment
on
time.”
She
turned
to
leave.

“Shelly?”

She
turned
back
around.
“Yes?”

“I
almost
forgot
to
mention
that
Mom
called
this
morning.
She
heard
from
Laney
last
night.
She,
Jamal
and
the
baby
are
coming
for
a
visit
in
a
couple
of
weeks
and
will
stay
for
about
two
months.
Then
they
will
be
moving
to
stay
at
their
place
in
Bowling
Green,
Kentucky
while
Laney
completes
her
residency
at
the
hospital
there.”

Shelly
smiled.
When
she’d
last
seen
Dare’s
baby
sister,

Delaney
was
just
about
to
turn
sixteen
and
the
brothers

were
having
a
time
keeping
the
young
men
away.
Now
she
had
graduated
from
medical
school
and
had
landed
herself
a
prince
from
the
Middle
East.
She
was
a
princess
and
the
mother
to
a
son
who
would
one
day
grow
up
to
be
a
king.
“That’s
wonderful!
I
can’t
wait
to
see
her
again.”

Dare
grinned.
“And
she
can’t
wait
to
see
you,
either.
Mom
told
her
that
you
had
moved
back
and
she
was
excited

about
it.”

Without
having
to
worry
about
AJ,
Shelly
decided
to
throw
in
a
pedicure
after
getting
her
hair
and
nails
done.
Upon
returning
home,
she
collapsed
on
the
bed
and
took
a
nap.
The
lack
of
sleep
the
night
before
still
had
her
tired.
After