Read A Little Dare Online

Authors: Brenda Jackson

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

A Little Dare (45 page)

BOOK: A Little Dare
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probably
give
him
the
advice
anyway.
He
could
tell
she
was
just
that
upset
with
him
right
now.
“Why
sure,
Ms.
Luanne.
What
words
of
advice
would
you
like
to
offer
me?”

She
met
his
gaze
without
blinking.
“Get
your
head
out
of
the
sand
and
stop
overlooking
the
obvious.”

“Meaning?”

She
frowned.
“That’s
for
you
to
figure
out.”

Shelly
looked
at
Mr.
Coleman
in
surprise.
She
then
looked
at
the
beautiful
arrangement
of
flowers
he
held
in
his
hand.
“Are
you
sure
these
are
for
me?”

The
older
man
beamed.
“Yes,
I’m
positive.
Luanne
said
for
me
to
get
them
to
you
right
away,”
he
said
handing
them
to
her.

“Thanks,
and
if
you
just
wait
a
few
minutes
I’d
like
to
give
you
a
tip.”

Mr.
Coleman
waved
his
hand
as
he
went
down
the
steps.
“No
need.
I’ve
already
been
tipped
real
nice
for
delivering
them,”
he
said
with
a
grin
that
said
he
had
a
secret
that
he
wouldn’t
be
sharing
with
her.

“All
right.
Thanks,
Mr.
Coleman.”
She
watched
as
he

climbed
into
his
van
and
drove
off.
Closing
the
door
she

went
into
the
living
room
and
placed
the
flowers
on
the
first
table
she
came
to.
Someone
had
sent
her
a
dozen
of
the
most
beautiful
red
roses
that
she
had
ever
seen.
And
the
vase
they
were
in
was
simply
gorgeous;
she
could
tell
the
vase
alone
had
cost
a
pretty
penny.

She
quickly
pulled
off
the
card
and
read
it
aloud.
“You’re
in
my
thoughts.
Dare.”

Her
heart
skipped
a
beat
as
she
lightly
ran
her
fingers
over
the
card.
Even
the
card
and
envelope
weren’t
the
standard
kind
that
you
received
with
a
floral
arrangement.
They
had
a
rich,
glossy
finish
that
caused
Dare’s
bold
signature
to

stand
out
even
more.

For
a
moment,
Shelly
could
only
stare
at
the
roses,
the
vase
they
were
in
and
the
card
and
envelope.
It
was
obvious
that
a
lot
of
time
and
attention
had
gone
into
their
selection,
and
a
part
of
her
quivered
inside
that
Dare
would
do
something
that
special
for
her.

You’re
in
my
thoughts.

She
suddenly
felt
tears
sting
her
eyes.
She
didn’t
know

what
was
wrong
with
her.
It
seemed
that
lately
her
emotions
were
wired
and
would
go
off
at
the
least
little
thing.
Ever

since
that
day
of
Dare’s
visit
and
what
he’d
done
to
her
on
the
porch,
not
to
mention
that
little
episode
he’d

orchestrated
at
the
restaurant,
she’d
been
battling
the
worst
kind
of
drama
inside
her
body.
He
had
done
more
than

open
Pandora’s
box.
He
had
opened
a
cookie
jar
that
had
been
kept
closed
for
ten
years,
and
now
she
wanted
Dare
in
the
worst
possible
way.

“Who
sent
the
flowers,
Mom?”

Shelly
lifted
her
head
and
met
her
son’s
gaze.
“Your
father.”

He
shrugged.
“The
sheriff?”

“One
and
the
same.”
She
glanced
back
over
at
the
flowers.
“Aren’t
they
beautiful?”

AJ
came
to
stand
next
to
her.
It
was
obvious
they
couldn’t
see
the
arrangement
through
the
same
eyes
when
he
said.
“Looks
like
a
bunch
of
flowers
to
me.”

She
couldn’t
help
but
laugh.
“Well,
I
think
they’re
special,
and
it
was
thoughtful
for
him
to
send
them
to
let
me
know
I
was
in
his
thoughts.”

AJ
shrugged
again.
“He’s
looking
for
a
girlfriend,
but
I
told
him
you
weren’t
interested
in
a
boyfriend.”

Shelly
arched
a
brow.
“AJ,
you
had
no
right
to
say
that.”

His
chin
jutted
out.
“Why
not?
You’ve
never
had
a
boyfriend
before,
so
why
would
you
care
about
one
now?
It’s
just

been
me
and
you,
Mom.
Isn’t
that
enough?”

Shelly
shook
her
head.
Her
son
had
years
to
learn
about

human
sexuality
and
how
it
worked.
She
was
just
finding
out
herself
what
ten
years
of
abstinence
could
do
to
a
person.
“AJ,
don’t
you
think
I
can
get
lonely
sometimes?”
she
asked
him
softly.

He
didn’t
say
anything
for
a
little
while.
Then
he
said.
“But
you
never
got
lonely
before.”

“Yes,
and
I
worked
a
lot
before.
That’s
how
you
got
into
all
that
trouble.
I
was
putting
in
extra
hours
at
the
hospital
when
the
cost
of
living
got
high.
I
needed
additional
money
so
the
two
of
us
could
afford
to
live
in
the
better
part
of
town.
I

didn’t
have
time
to
get
lonely.
Now
with
my
new
job,
I
can

basically
make
my
own
hours
so
I
can
spend
more
time

with
you.
But
you’re
away
in
school
a
lot
during
the
days,

and
pretty
soon
you’ll
have
friends
you’ll
want
to
spend
time
with,
won’t
you?”

AJ
thought
of
Morris
and
Cornelius
and
the
fun
they’d
had
on
the
playground
that
day
at
school.
“Yes.”

“Well,
don’t
you
think
I
need
friends,
too?”

“Yes,
but
what’s
wrong
with
having
girlfriends?”

“There’s
nothing
wrong
with
it,
but
most
of
the
girls
I
went
to
school
with
have
moved
away,
and
although
I’m
sure
I’ll

BOOK: A Little Dare
9.52Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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