Read A Little Dare Online

Authors: Brenda Jackson

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Contemporary, #Arts&Photography

A Little Dare (14 page)

“I
had
important
business
to
take
care
of,”
Dare
said

grabbing
a
bottle
of
beer
and
leaning
against
the

refrigerator
in
Stone’s
kitchen.
“I’ll
wait
this
round
out
and
just
watch.”

His
brothers
nodded
as
they
continued
with
the
game.

Moments
later,
Chase
Westmoreland
let
out
a
curse.

Evidently
he
was
losing
as
usual,
Dare
thought
smiling.
He
then
thought
about
how
the
four
men
at
the
table
were
more
than
just
brothers
to
him;
they
were
also
his
very
best

friends,
although
Thorn,
the
one
known
for
his
moodiness,
could
test
that
friendship
and
brotherly
love
to
the
limit
at

times.
At
thirty-five,
Thorn
was
only
eleven
months
younger
than
him,
and
built
and
raced
motorcycles
for
a
living.
Last
year
he’d
been
the
only
African-American
on
the
circuit.

His
brother
Stone,
known
for
his
wild
imagination,
had

recently
celebrated
his
thirty-third
birthday
and
wrote
action-
thriller
novels
under
the
pen
name,
Rock
Mason.
Then
there
were
the
fraternal
thirty-two-year-old
twins,
Chase
and

Storm.
Chase
was
the
oldest
by
seven
minutes
and
owned
a
soul-food
restaurant
in
downtown
Atlanta,
and
Storm
was
the
fireman
in
the
family.
According
to
their
mother,
she
had
gone
into
delivery
unexpectedly
while
riding
in
the
car
with
their
Dad.
When
a
bad
storm
had
come
up,
he
chased
time
and
outran
the
storm
to
get
her
to
the
hospital.
Thus
she

had
named
her
last
two
sons
Chase
and
Storm.

“You’re
quiet,
Dare.”

Dare
looked
up
from
studying
his
beer
bottle
and
brought
his
thoughts
back
to
the
present.
He
met
Stone’s
curious
stare.
“Is
that
a
crime?”

Stone
grinned.
“No,
but
if
it
was
a
crime
I’m
sure
you’d
arrest
yourself
since
you’re
such
a
dedicated
lawman.”

Chase
chuckled.
“Leave
Dare
alone.
Nothing’s
wrong
with
him
other
than
he’s
keeping
Thorn
company
with
this

celibacy
thing,”
he
said
jokingly.

“Shut
up,
Storm,
before
I
hurt
you,”
Thorn
Westmoreland
said,
without
cracking
a
smile.

Everyone
knew
Thorn
refrained
from
having
sex
while

preparing
for
a
race,
which
accounted
for
his
prickly
mood
most
of
the
time.
But
since
Thorn
had
been
in
the
same

mood
for
over
ten
months
now
they
couldn’t
help
but

wonder
what
his
problem
was.
Dare
had
a
clue
but
decided
not
to
say.
He
sighed
and
crossed
the
room
and
sat
down
at
the
table.
“Guess
who’s
back
in
town.”

Storm
looked
up
from
studying
his
hand
and
grinned.
“Okay,
I’ll
play
your
silly
guessing
game.
Who’s
back
in
town,
Dare?”

“Shelly.”

Everyone
at
the
table
got
quiet
as
they
looked
up
at
him.

Then
Stone
spoke.
“Our
Shelly?”

Dare
looked
at
his
brother
and
frowned.
“No,
not
our
Shelly,
my
Shelly.”

Stone
glared
at
him.
“Your
Shelly?
You
could
have
fooled
us,
the
way
you
dumped
her.”

Dare
leaned
back
in
his
chair.
He’d
known
it
was
coming.
His
brothers
had
actually
stopped
speaking
to
him
for

weeks
after
he’d
broken
off
with
Shelly.
“I
did
not
dump
her.
I
merely
made
the
decision
that
I
wasn’t
ready
for
marriage
and
wanted
a
career
with
the
Bureau
instead.

“That
sounds
pretty
much
like
you
dumped
her
to
me,”

Stone
said
angrily.
“You
knew
she
was
the
marrying
kind.
And
you
led
her
to
believe,
like
you
did
the
rest
of
us,
that
the
two
of
you
would
eventually
marry
when
she
finished

college.
In
my
book
you
played
her
for
a
fool,
and
I’ve

always
felt
bad
about
it
because
I’m
the
one
who

introduced
the
two
of
you,”
he
added,
glaring
at
his
brother.

Dare
stood.
“I
did
not
play
her
for
a
fool.
Why
is
it
so
hard
to
believe
that
I
really
loved
her
all
those
years?”
he
asked,

clearly
frustrated.
He’d
had
this
same
conversation
with

Shelly
earlier.

“Because,”
Thorn
said
slowly
and
in
a
menacing
tone
as
he
threw
out
a
card,
“I
would
think
most
men
don’t
walk
away
from
the
woman
they
claim
to
love
for
no
damn
reason,

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