A Little Dare

“Good morning, Ms. Mamie. How’s your arthritis?”

“A pain as usual,” was the old woman’s reply.

“Good morning, Sheriff Westmoreland.”

“Good morning, Lizzie,” Dare greeted the young waitress as he slid into the stool at the counter. She was old man Barton’s granddaughter and was working at the diner part-time while taking classes at the college in town.

He smiled when Lizzie automatically poured his coffee. She knew just how he liked it. Black. “Where’s Ms. Kate this morning?” he asked after taking a sip.

“She hasn’t come in yet.”

He raised a dark brow. For as long as he’d known Ms. Kate—and that had been all of his thirty-six years—he’d never known her to be late to work at the diner. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, I guess so,” Lizzie said, not looking the least bit worried. “She called and said Mr. Granger was stopping by her house this morning to take a look her hot-water heater. She thinks it’s broken and wanted to be there when he arrived.”

Dare nodded. It had been rumored around town for years that old man Granger and Ms. Kate were sweet on each other.

“Would you like for me to go ahead and order your usual, Sheriff?”

He rolled his shoulders as if to ease sore muscles as he smiled up at her and said. “No, not yet. I’m waiting on someone.” He glanced at his watch. “She should be here any minute.”

Lizzie nodded. “All right then. I’ll be back when your guest arrives.”

Dare was just about to check his watch again when he heard the diner’s door open behind him, followed by Boris’s loud exclamation. “Well, my word, if it isn’t Shelly Brockman! What on earth are you doing back here in College Park?”

Dare turned around on his stool as other patrons who’d known Shelly when she lived in town hollered out similar greetings. He had forgotten just how popular she’d been with everyone, both young and old. That was one of the reasons the entire town had all but skinned him alive when he’d broken off with her.

A muscle in his jaw twitched when he noticed that a few of the guys she’d gone to school with—Boris Jones, David Wright and Wayland Miller—who’d known years ago that she was off limits because of him, were checking her out now. And he could understand why. She looked pretty damn good, and she still had that natural ability to turn men on without even trying. Blue was a color she wore well and nothing about that had changed, he thought, as his gaze roamed over the blue sundress she was wearing. With thin straps tied at the shoulders, it was a decent length that stopped right above her knees and showed off long beautiful bare legs and feet encased in a pair of black sandals. When he felt his erection straining against the crotch of his pants, he knew he was in big trouble. He was beginning to feel a powerful and compelling need that he hadn’t felt in a long time; at least ten years.

“Is that her, Sheriff? The woman you’ve been waiting on?”

Lizzie’s question interrupted Dare’s musings. “Yes, that’s her.”

“Will the two of you be sitting at the counter or will you be using a table or a booth?”

Now that’s a loaded question, Dare thought. He wished—doubly so—that he could take Shelly and use a table or a booth. He could just imagine her spread out on either. He shook his head. Although he’d always been sexually attracted to Shelly, he’d never thought of her with so much lust before, and he couldn’t help wondering why. Maybe it was because in the past she’d always been his. Now things were different, she was no longer his and he was lusting hard—and he meant hard!—for something he had lost.

“Sheriff?”

Knowing Lizzie was waiting for his decision, he glanced toward the back of the diner and made a quick decision. “We’ll be sitting at a booth in the back.” Once he was confident he had his body back under control, he stood and walked over to where Shelly was surrounded by a number of people, mostly men.

Breaking into their conversations he said. “Good morning, Shelly. Are you ready for breakfast?”

It seemed the entire diner got quiet and all eyes turned to him. The majority of those present remembered that he had been the one to break Shelly’s heart, which ultimately had resulted in her leaving town, and from the way everyone was looking at him, the last thing they wanted was for her to become involved with him again.

In fact, old Mr. Sylvester turned to him and said. “I’m surprised Shelly is willing to give you the time of day, Sheriff, after what you did to her ten years ago.”

“You got that right,” eighty-year-old Mamie Potter agreed.

Dare rolled his eyes. That was all he needed, the entire town bringing up the past and ganging up on him. “Shelly and I have business to discuss, if none of you mind.”

Allen Davis, who had worked with Dare’s grandfather years ago, crossed his arms over his chest. “Considering what you did to her, yes, we do mind. So you better behave yourself where she is concerned, Dare Westmoreland. Don’t forget there’s an election next year.”

Dare had just about had it, and was about to tell Mr. Davis a thing or two when Shelly piped in, laughing. “I can’t believe all of you still remember what happened ten years ago. I’d almost forgotten about that,” she lied. “And to this day I still consider Dare my good friend,” she lied again, and tried tactfully to change the subject. “Ms. Mamie, how is Mr. Fred?”

“He still can’t hear worth a dime, but other than that he’s fine. Thanks for asking. Now to get back to the subject of Dare here, from the way he used to sniff behind you and kept all the other boys away from you, we all thought he was going to be your husband,” Mamie mumbled, glaring at Dare.

Shelly shook her head, seeing that the older woman was determined to have her say. She placed a hand on Ms. Mamie’s arm in a warm display of affection. “Yes, I know you all did and that was sweet. But things didn’t work out that way and we can’t worry about spilled milk now can we?”

Ms. Mamie smiled up at Shelly and patted her hand. “I guess not, dear, but watch yourself around him. I know how crazy you were about him before. There’s no need for a woman to let the same man break her heart twice.”

Dare frowned, not appreciating Mamie Potter talking about him as if he wasn’t there. Nor did it help matters that Shelly was looking at him as though she’d just been given good sound advice. He cleared his throat, thinking that it was time he broke up the little gathering. He placed his hand on Shelly’s arm and said. “This way, Shelly. We need to discuss our business so I can get to the office. We can talk now or you can join Jared and I for lunch.”

From the look on her face he could tell his words had reminded her of why he was meeting Jared for lunch. After telling everyone goodbye and giving out a few more hugs, she turned and followed Dare to a booth, the farthest one in the back.

He stood aside while she slipped into a soft padded seat and then he slid into the one across from her. Nervously she traced the floral designs on the placemat. Dare’s nearness was getting to her. She had experienced the same thing in his office last night, and it aggravated the heck out of her that all that anger she’d felt for him had not been able to diffuse her desire for him; especially after ten years.

Desire.

That had to be what it was since she knew she was no longer in love with him. He had effectively put an end to those feelings years ago. Yet, for some reason she was feeling the same turbulent yearnings she’d always felt for him. And last night in her bed, the memories had been at their worse…or their best, depending on how you looked at it.

She had awakened in the middle of the night with her breath coming in deep, ragged gasps, and her sheets damp with perspiration after a hot, steamy dream about him.

Getting up and drinking a glass of ice water, she had made a decision not to beat herself up over her dreams of Dare. She’d decided that the reason for them was understandable. Her body knew Dare as it knew no other man, and it had reminded her of that fact in a not-too-subtle way. It didn’t help that for the past ten years she hadn’t dated much; raising AJ and working at the hospital kept her busy, and the few occasions she had dated had been a complete waste of her time since she’d never experienced the sparks with any of them that she’d grown accustomed to with Dare.

“Would you like some more coffee, Sheriff?”

Shelly snatched her head up when she heard the sultry, feminine voice and was just in time to see the slow smile that spread across the young woman’s lips, as well as the look of wanton hunger in her eyes as she looked at Dare. Either he didn’t notice or he was doing a pretty good job of pretending not to.

“Yes, Lizzie, I’d like another cup.”

“And what would you like?” Lizzie asked her, and Shelly couldn’t help but notice the cold, unfriendly eyes that were staring at her.

Evidently the same thing you would like, Shelly thought, trying to downplay the envy she suddenly felt, although she knew there was no legitimate reason to feel that way. What was once between her and Dare had ended years ago and she didn’t intend to go back there, no matter how much he could still arouse her. Sighing, she was about to give the woman her order when Dare spoke. “She would like a cup of coffee with cream and one sugar.”

The waitress lifted her brow as if wondering how Dare knew what Shelly wanted. “Okay, Sheriff.” Lizzie placed menus in front of them, saying, “I’ll bring your coffee while you take a look at these.”

When Lizzie had left, Shelly leaned in closer to the center of the booth and whispered, “I don’t appreciate the daggered looks coming from one of your girlfriends.” She decided not to tell him that she’d felt like throwing a few daggered looks of her own.

Lifting his head from the menu, Dare frowned. “What are you talking about? I’ve never dated Lizzie. She’s just a kid.”

Shelly shrugged as she straightened in her seat and glanced over to where Lizzie was now taking another order. Her short uniform showed off quite nicely the curves of her body and her long legs. Dare was wrong. Lizzie was no kid. Her body attested to that.

“Well, kid or no kid, she definitely has the hots for you, Dare Westmoreland.”

He shrugged. “You’re imagining things.”

“No, trust me. I know.”