Prologue
T he son Dare Westmoreland didn’t know he had, needed him.
Shelly Brockman knew that admission was long overdue as she stood in the living room of the house that had been her childhood home. The last box had been carried in and now the task of unpacking awaited her. Even with everything she faced, she felt good about being back in a place that filled her with many fond memories. Her thoughts were cut short with the slamming of the front door. She turned and met her son’s angry expression.
“I’m going to hate it here!” He all but screamed at the top of his lungs. “I want to go back to Los Angeles! No matter
what you say, this will never be my home!”
Shelly winced at his words and watched as he threw down the last bag filled with his belongings before racing up the stairs. Instead of calling after him, she closed her eyes,
remembering why she had made the move from California to Georgia, and knew that no matter how AJ felt, the move was the best thing for him. For the past year he had been failing in school and hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Because of his height, he looked older than a ten-year-old and had begun associating with an older group of boys at school, those known to be troublemakers.
Her parents, who had retired and moved to Florida years
ago, had offered her the use of her childhood home rent-
free. As a result, she had made three of the hardest
decisions of her life. First, deciding to move back to
College Park, Georgia, second switching from being a
nurse who worked inside the hospital to a home healthcare nurse, and finally letting Dare Westmoreland know he had a son.
More than anything she hoped Dare would understand that she had loved him too much to stand between him and his dream of becoming an FBI agent all those years ago. Her decision, unselfish as it had been, had cost AJ the chance to know his father and Dare the chance to know his son.
Crossing the room she picked up AJ’s bag. He was upset about leaving his friends and moving to a place he
considered Hicksville, USA. However, his attitude was the least of her worries.
She sighed deeply and rubbed her forehead, knowing she couldn’t put off telling Dare much longer since chances
were he would hear she’d return to town. Besides, if he
took a good hard look at AJ, he would know the truth, and the secret she had harbored for ten years would finally be out.
Deep within her heart she knew that it was time.
One
Two weeks later—early September
S heriff Dare Westmoreland leaned forward in the chair
behind his desk. From the defiant look on the face of the boy standing in front of him he could tell it would be one of those days. “Look, kid, I’m only going to ask you one more time. What is your name?”
The boy crossed his arms over his chest and had the nerve to glare at him and say, “And I’ve told you that I don’t like
cops and have no intention of giving you my name or
anything else. And if you don’t like it, arrest me.”
Dare stood to his full height of six-feet-four, feeling every bit of his thirty-six years as he came from behind his desk to stare at the boy. He estimated the kid, who he’d caught
throwing rocks at passing cars on the highway, to be
around twelve or thirteen. It had been a long time since any kid living in his jurisdiction had outright sassed him. None of them would have dared, so it stood to reason that the kid was probably new in town.
“You will get your wish. Since you won’t cooperate and tell me who you are, I’m officially holding you in police custody until someone comes to claim you. And while you’re waiting you may as well make yourself useful. You’ll start by
mopping out the bathroom on the first floor, so follow me.”
Dare shook his head, thinking he didn’t envy this kid’s parents one bit.
Shelly had barely brought her car to a complete stop in front of the sheriff’s office before she was out of it. It had taken
her a good two hours in Atlanta’s heavy traffic to make it
home after receiving word that AJ had not shown up at
school, only to discover he wasn’t at home. When it had
started getting late she had gotten worried and called the
police. After giving the dispatcher a description of AJ, the woman assured her that he was safe in their custody and
that the reason she had not been contacted was because AJ had refused to give anyone his name. Without asking for any further details Shelly had jumped into her car and
headed for the police station.
She let out a deep sigh. If AJ hadn’t given anyone his name that meant the sheriff was not aware she was AJ’s mother and for the moment that was a comforting thought. As she pushed open the door, she knew all her excuses for not yet meeting with Dare and telling him the truth had run out, and fate had decided to force her hand.
She was about to come face to face with Sheriff Dare Westmoreland.
“Sheriff, the parent of John Doe has arrived.”
Dare looked up from the papers he was reading and met his secretary’s gaze. “Only one parent showed up, Holly?”
“Yes, just the mother. She’s not wearing a wedding ring so I can only assume there isn’t a father. At least not one that’s around.”
Dare nodded. “What’s the kid doing now?” he asked, pushing the papers he’d been reading aside.
“He’s out back watching Deputy McKade clean up his police motorcycle”
Dare nodded. “Send the woman in, Holly. I need to have a long talk with her. Her son needs a lot more discipline than he’s evidently getting at home.”
Dare moved away from his desk to stand at the window
where he could observe the boy as he watched McKade
polish his motorcycle. He inhaled deeply. There was
something about the boy that he found oddly familiar.
Maybe he reminded him of himself and his four brothers
when they’d been younger. Although they had been quite a handful for their parents, headstrong and in some ways
stubborn, they had known just how far to take it and just how much they could get away with. And they’d been smart
enough to know when to keep their mouths closed. This kid had a lot to learn.
“Sheriff Westmoreland, this is Ms. Rochelle Brockman.”
Dare swung his head around and his gaze collided with the woman he’d once loved to distraction. Suddenly his breath caught, his mouth went dry and every muscle in his body
froze as memories rushed through his spiraling mind.
He could vividly recall the first time they’d met, their first
kiss and the first time they had made love. The last time
stood out in his mind now. He dragged his gaze from her face to do a total sweep of her body before returning to her face again. A shiver of desire tore through him, and he was glad that his position, standing behind his desk, blocked a view of his body from the waist down. Otherwise both
women would have seen the arousal pressing against the zipper of his pants.
His gaze moved to her dark-brown hair, and he noted that it was shorter and cut in one of those trendy styles that
accented the creamy chocolate coloring of her face as well as the warm brandy shade of her eyes.
The casual outfit she wore, a printed skirt and a matching blouse, made her look stylish, comfortable and
ultrafeminine. Then there were the legs he still considered the most gorgeous pair he’d ever seen. Legs he knew
could wrap around his waist while their bodies meshed in pleasure.
A deep sigh escaped his closed lips as he concluded that at thirty-three she was even more beautiful than he
remembered and still epitomized everything feminine.
They’d first met when she was sixteen and a sophomore in high school. He’d been nineteen, a few weeks shy of twenty and a sophomore in college, and had come home for a visit to find her working on a school project with his brother
Stone. He had walked into the house at the exact moment she’d been leaning over Stone, explaining some scientific formula and wearing the sexiest pair of shorts he had ever seen on a female. He had thought she had a pair of legs
that were simply a complete turn-on. When she had
glanced up, noticed him staring and smiled, he’d been a
goner. Never before had he been so aware of a woman. An immediate attraction had flared between them, holding him hostage to desires he’d never felt before.
After making sure Stone didn’t have designs on her
himself, he had made his move. And it was a move he’d
never regretted making. They began seriously dating a few months later and had continued to do so for six long years, until he had made the mistake of ending things between
them. Now it seemed the day of reckoning had arrived.
“Shelly.”
“Dare.”
It was as if the years had not passed between them, Dare suddenly thought. That same electrical charge the two of them always generated ignited full force, sending a high voltage searing through the room.
He cleared his throat. “Holly, you can leave me and Ms. Brockman alone now, “he thought it best to say.
His secretary looked at Shelly then back at him. “Sure,
Sheriff,” she murmured, and walked out of the office, pulling the door shut behind her.
Once the door closed, Dare turned his full attention back to Shelly. His gaze went immediately to her lips; lips he used to enjoy tasting time and time again; lips that were hot,
sweet and ultra-responsive. One night he had thrust her into an orgasm just from gnawing on her lips and caressing