A Little Dare (52 page)

and
let
this
whole
damn
town
know
AJ’s
mine.”

“I
know,
Dare,
but
remember
we
decided
to
let
him
be
the
one
to
determine
when
that
would
be.
Personally,
I
think
it’ll
be
sooner
than
you
think,
because
he’s
slowly
coming

around.”

Dare
raised
a
questioning
brow.
“You
think
so?”

“Yes.
The
two
of
you
are
interacting
together
a
lot
better.
That’s
obvious.
I
can
tell,
and
I
know
your
brothers
picked
up
on
it
tonight
as
well.”

“Yes,
but
for
some
reason
he
still
holds
himself
back
from
me,”
Dare
said
in
a
frustrated
tone.
“I
sense
it,
Shelly,
and
it
bothers
the
heck
out
of
me.
I
don’t
know
why
he’s
doing
it.”

Shelly
smiled
slightly.
“I
think
I
do.”

Dare
met
her
gaze.
“Then
tell
me—why?”

She
sighed.
“I
think
AJ
is
beginning
to
wonder
if
he’s
good
enough
to
be
your
son.”

Dare
frowned.
“Why
would
he
wonder
about
a
thing
like
that?”

“Because
basically
he’s
beginning
to
see
you
through
a

new
set
of
eyes,
the
same
eyes
Morris
and
Cornelius
see
you
with,
and
AJ’s
concerned
about
the
way
the
two
of
you

met.
He
knows
it
wasn’t
a
good
start
and
that
you
were
disappointed
with
him.
Now
he’s
afraid
that
he
won’t
be
able
to
wipe
the
slate
clean
with
you.”

Dare
rubbed
a
hand
down
his
face.
“There’ll
never
be
a
time
that
I
wouldn’t
want
my
son,
Shelly.”

She
wrapped
her
arms
around
his
waist
upon
hearing
the
frustration
in
his
voice.
She
heard
the
love
there
as
well.
“I
know
that
and
you
know
that,
but
he
has
to
know
that,
too.
Now
that
you’ve
broken
the
ice
with
him,
it’s
time
for
you
to
get
to
know
him
and
for
him
to
get
to
know
you.
Then
he’ll
see
that
no
matter
what,
you’ll
always
be
there
for
him.”

Dare
let
out
a
deep
sigh.
“And
I
thought
winning
him
over
would
be
easy.”

She
smiled.
“In
a
way,
it
has
been.
To
be
honest
with
you,
I
really
didn’t
expect
him
to
come
around
this
soon.
Like
you,
he
has
somewhat
of
a
stubborn
streak
about
certain
things.
Him
coming
around
the
way
he
has
just
goes
to
show
that
you
evidently
have
a
way
with
people.”

Dare
smiled
and
brought
her
closer
to
him.
“And
do
I
have
a
way
with
you,
Shelly?”
The
only
reason
he
wasn’t
making
love
to
her
again
tonight
was
that
he
was
well
aware
of
the
fact
that
her
body
was
sore.
He
couldn’t
help
noticing
how
stiff
her
movements
were
when
she’d
dropped
AJ
off
that
morning
and
again
this
evening
at
dinner.

“After
last
night
how
can
you
even
ask
that,
Dare?
You

know
I
was
putty
in
your
hands,”
she
said,
recapturing
his
attention.

“Then
that
makes
us
even,
because
I
was
definitely
putty
in
yours
as
well.”
He
leaned
down
and
kissed
her,
thinking
of
just
how
right
she
felt
in
his
arms.

Just
like
always.

Eleven

S
helly
stretched
out
in
her
bed
with
a
sensuous
sigh.

Almost
two
weeks
had
passed
since
she
and
Dare
had

spent
the
night
together
on
a
blanket
in
her
backyard.
Since
then,
nightly
meetings
in
the
backyard
on
a
blanket
had

become
almost
a
ritual.
He
had
become
almost
a
fixture
in
her
home,
dropping
by
for
dinner,
and
inviting
her
and
AJ
to
a
movie
or
some
other
function
in
town.

AJ
was
beginning
to
let
his
guard
down
around
Dare,
but
as
yet
he
had
not
acknowledged
him
as
his
father.
Shelly
knew
Dare’s
patience
was
wearing
thin;
he
was
eager
to
claim
his
son,
but
as
she
had
explained
to
Dare
weeks

ago,
AJ
had
to
believe
in
his
heart
that
his
father
wanted
him
for
a
son
before
he
could
give
Dare
his
complete
love
and
trust.

She
then
thought
about
her
own
feelings
for
Dare.
She
had
to
fight
hard
to
keep
from
falling
in
love
with
Dare
all
over
again.
She
had
to
remember
they
were
playacting
for
AJ’s
sake.
To
anyone
observing
them,
it
seemed
that
he
was

wooing
her.
He
was
giving
the
towns
people
something
to
talk
about
with
the
different
flower
arrangements
that
he

sent
her
each
week.

A
couple
of
people
had
taken
her
aside
and
warned
her
not
to
be
setting
herself
up
for
heartbreak
all
over
again,
since