A Little Dare (10 page)

with
me
but
one
in
law
enforcement.
And
I
loved
him

enough
to
step
aside
to
let
him
fulfill
that
dream.
That’s
the
reason
I
left
without
telling
you
about
the
baby,
Dare.
That’s
the
only
reason.”

He
nodded.
“Had
I
known
you
were
pregnant,
my
dreams
would
not
have
mattered
at
that
point.”

“Yes,
I
knew
that
better
than
anyone.”

Dare
finally
understood
the
point
she’d
been
trying
to
make
and
sighed
at
how
things
had
turned
out
for
them.
Ten

years
ago
he’d
thought
that
becoming
a
FBI
agent
was
the
ultimate.
It
had
taken
seven
years
of
moving
from
place
to
place,
getting
burnt-out
from
undercover
operations,
waking
each
morning
cloaked
in
danger
and
not
knowing
if
his
next
assignment
would
be
his
last,
to
finally
make
him
realize
the
career
that
had
once
been
his
dream
had
turned
into
a

living
nightmare.
Resigning
from
the
Bureau,
he
had

returned
home
to
open
up
a
security
firm
about
the
same

time
Sheriff
Dean
Whitlow,
who’d
been
in
office
since
Dare
was
in
his
early
teens,
had
decided
to
retire.
It
was
Sheriff
Whitlow
who
had
talked
him
into
running
for
the
position
he
was
about
to
vacate,
saying
that
with
Dare’s
experience,
he
was
the
best
man
for
the
job.
Now,
after
three
years
at
it,

Dare
had
forged
a
special
bond
with
the
town
he’d
always
loved
and
the
people
he’d
known
all
of
his
life.
And

compared
to
what
he
had
done
as
an
FBI
agent,
being

sheriff
was
a
gravy
train.

He
glanced
out
of
the
window
and
didn’t
say
anything
for

the
longest
time
as
he
watched
AJ.
Then
he
spoke.
“I
take
it
that
he
doesn’t
know
anything
about
me.”

Shelly
shook
her
head.
“No.
Years
ago
I
told
him
that
his
father
was
a
guy
I
had
loved
and
thought
I
would
marry,
but
that
things
didn’t
work
out
and
we
broke
up.
I
told
him
I

moved
away
before
I
had
a
chance
to
tell
him
I
was

pregnant.”

Dare
stared
at
her.
“That’s
it?”

“Yes,
that’s
it.
He
was
fairly
young
at
the
time,
but

occasionally
as
he
got
older,
he
would
ask
if
I
knew
how
to
reach
you
if
I
ever
wanted
to,
and
I
told
him
yes
and
that
if
he
ever
wanted
me
to
contact
you
I
would.
All
he
had
to
do
was
ask,
but
he
never
has.”

Dare
nodded.
“I
want
him
to
know
I’m
his
father,
Shelly.”

“I
want
him
to
know
you’re
his
father,
too,
Dare,
but
we
need
to
approach
this
lightly
with
him,”
she
whispered
softly
“He’s
going
through
enough
changes
right
now,
and
I
don’t
want
to
get
him
any
more
upset
than
he
already
is.
I
have
an
idea
as
to
how
and
when
we
can
tell
him,
and
I
hope
after

hearing
me
out
that
you’ll
agree.”

Dare
went
back
to
his
desk.
“All
right,
so
what
do
you
suggest?”

Shelly
nodded
and
took
a
seat
across
from
his
desk.
She
held
her
breath,
suddenly
feeling
uncomfortable
telling
him
what
she
thought
was
the
best
way
to
handle
AJ.
She
knew
her
son’s
emotional
state
better
than
anyone.
Right
now
he
was
mad
at
the
world
in
general
and
her
in
particular,

because
she
had
taken
him
out
of
an
environment
he’d

grown
comfortable
with,
although
that
environment
as
far
as
she
was
concerned,
had
not
been
a
healthy
one
for
a
ten-
year-old.
His
failing
grades
and
the
trouble
he’d
gotten
into
had
proven
that.

“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