Dare to Love (Young Adult Romance) (3 page)

Satisfied that our friendship was
still intact, she grinned suddenly.  “Was he a hottie or what?”

“Who?”

“That cop,” she said, swooning
dreamily.

“Lieutenant Hudson?” I cried,
disbelieving.

“No, not him.”  She wrinkled her
nose.  “I mean that other cop—the good-looking one who took you to the patrol
car.  He can arrest me any day.”

“Oh, Jen,” I said with a shudder, “in
the first place, he’s not a cop.  He’s an explorer.  And in the second place,
he might be good looking, but he’s a real jerk.”

“Really?  Why is he a jerk?”

“Well, he ... he ... he just is,
that’s all,” I finished lamely.

Jennifer watched me, a knowing look
in her eyes.  “Laura, he was just doing his job.  You can’t blame him for
that.”

“Why not?” I demanded, but knew she
was right.  But I didn’t want to talk about it anymore.  “Well, I’d better get
going.”

Jennifer watched me briefly before
climbing out of the car.  She leaned back in.  “Call me later?”

I nodded and she closed the door.  I
waved at her, backed out of her driveway, and then drove home, mindful of every
roadside sign—particularly those that mandated speed.

I stood poised atop the huge rock and
watched the crystalline mountain water below.  I inhaled deeply, and then leapt
forward and executed a swan dive.

When I emerged from the icy depths of
the pool and broke the surface, I expelled a startled breath.  The frigid water
was always a shock to my system, but soon enough, I grew accustomed to the
cold.

As I cut through the water, my
strokes were strong and purposeful.  And with each measured stroke, a bit of my
frustration was lessened.  A dip in the icy water always helped to clear my
head.

I hadn’t slept much the night
before.  All night, I’d thought about Dad—about how angry he was with me.  He’d
practically ignored me at dinner last night, and he’d left for work this
morning without so much as a ‘hello’ or ‘good-bye’.

I also thought a lot about Lieutenant
Hudson, who no doubt considered me a spoiled brat.  And disturbingly, I thought
most of Dare.  I was sure he held the same opinion of me as the lieutenant did,
and I found this unsettling for reasons I couldn’t fathom.

When my muscles began to protest from
the exertion of swimming in the freezing water, I swam to a huge, flat boulder
where I’d deposited my things earlier, and hoisted myself onto it.  Although it
was about eleven o’clock in the morning, the sun shone brightly and the day
held promise of becoming very warm.

I decided to lay down on the smooth
rock and bask in the heat of the sun.  I considered applying sunscreen, but
dismissed the idea.  It wasn’t long before the soft sounds of nature lulled me
into a deep and untroubled sleep.

***

“Laura.”

The deep voice penetrated my slumber
and I stirred slightly.  My elbow came into contact with a rock hard surface. 
I abruptly opened my eyes and examined my elbow.  My soft mattress didn’t leave
bruises!

Suddenly wide awake, I sat up and
found myself face to face with ... Dare?

Startled, I propelled myself backward
and my hand struck a sharp rock.  “Ouch!” I cried, and clutched the injury. 
Dare, who was kneeling in front of me, reached for my hand.  I pulled away from
him.  “What are you doing?”

“Let me see your hand.”

“No, it’s all right,” I insisted as I
stood up.

“Are you sure?” he asked, his voice
edged with concern.

I nodded my head and watched him
curiously.  I wondered what he was doing here.  Suddenly, I noticed his
uniform.  “Are you on duty?”

“I guess you could call it that,” he
said, now standing himself.  “We’re patrolling the area with Lieutenant
Hudson.”

“Patrolling for
what
?” I
asked, surprised.

“Stranded motorists.  Rowdy kids. 
Lawbreakers.”

I digested this bit of information. 
“Where’s your gun?”

Dare smiled sheepishly.  “Explorers
don’t carry guns.  If we see anything, we call dispatch.”  He nodded toward the
portable radio mounted on his police belt.

An awkward silence followed, and I
shifted uncomfortably.  I remembered I was wearing a swimming suit, and
suddenly I felt very self-conscious.  I glanced down at my towel and he must
have followed my gaze since he reached down and picked it up off the rock. 
Handing it to me, his eyes sought mine.  Hastily, I looked away as I wrapped
the towel around me. 

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“No, problem,” he responded, and then
glanced around the area.  “Are you here with friends?”

“No.  I came by myself.”

“
You what
?” he asked, his
voice sounding both astonished and disapproving.

I was surprised by his reaction. 
“What’s the big deal?”

“You’re a girl,” he replied, as if
that pretty much summed it all up.

“And what has that got to do with
anything?  I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

Dare searched my face for a brief
moment and then expelled a harsh breath.  “Yeah, right.”

I watched him as he walked several
feet away from me to a grassy area.  His back was to me and he appeared to be
studying something.  “Come over here,” he called.

Curious, I walked toward him.  When I
reached him, he knelt down and pointed to something.  “What?” I asked as I
knelt down beside him.

“Over there.”

I followed his gaze, but still
couldn’t see what he was pointing at.  “What are...?”

My words trailed as he flung his body
around and grabbed my shoulders.  He threw me to the ground and moved so that
he was sitting on top of me.  Grabbing my wrists in one swift motion, he pinned
my arms above my head.  It happened so quickly that I could only gasp in
surprise.

“You can take care of yourself,” he
mocked.  “Okay, prove it.”

Terrified, I began struggling, but I
was no match for him.  “Get off, please,” I begged.

“Show me how strong you are, Laura. 
You come up here all alone and insist you can take care of yourself.  Did it
ever occur to you something bad could happen to you?”

“Let me up,” I insisted.

When he made no move to release me, I
began screaming.  He just shook his head and laughed without humor.  “Who’s
going to hear you, Laura?”

Finally, he released me and stood
up.  I sprung to my feet and was about to run away, but he reached out and
grabbed my arm.  He easily spun me around.  “I guess you really showed me,” he
mocked.

“Leave me alone,” I shouted and
hurried toward my stuff.  Quickly, I collected my gear and was about to dash to
my car when Dare dangled my keys behind me.  “Give them to me,” I said through
clinched teeth, “or I’ll....”

“You’ll what?” he asked.  “There’s
not a whole lot you can do—way up here all by yourself.  And
that’s
my
point.”  He tossed me my keys and then sat down on a rock.

I simply stood there in stunned
silence.  I couldn’t believe what he’d done to me.  And what’s more, I couldn’t
believe I wasn’t capable of stopping him.  To that point, I really believed I
could handle anything.

“I can’t believe this,” I said
finally, shaking my head.

“What?” he asked, eyeing me
curiously.  “That you, at what?—one hundred pounds, couldn’t handle me at one
hundred sixty.  Come on, Laura, even I would be stupid to come up here by
myself.”

Sighing heavily, I sat down on the
ground.  Dare was right.  I knew he was right.  And my dad was right.  I was
reckless at times.

I watched the water, intrigued by the
play of sunlight on the rippling pool.  A million thoughts were running through
my mind.  I thought about my mom and I wished she was near.  I felt hot tears
sting my eyes, and I hastily wiped them away.

“Are you all right?”

Dare had sat down beside me on the
rock.  I turned toward him and saw he was watching me, a concerned expression
on his face.

“Yes,” I told him, averting my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Laura.  I really didn’t
mean to...”

“You didn’t,” I interrupted him.

“I just wanted to show you how
dangerous...”

“I know,” I said softly.  “You’re
right.  I shouldn’t have come up here alone.”

He nodded and watched me curiously. 
Then he stretched out his hand and gently touched my cheek.  The action
startled me, and I pulled back as if I’d been scorched.

“You have a pretty bad sunburn,” he
commented.

“I guess I fell asleep.”

He sighed heavily and shook his head
slowly. 

I shot him a withering glance, but
didn’t bother responding.  He’d made his point earlier, for Pete’s sakes. 

We sat quietly, neither speaking for
awhile.  It was strange to be sitting so close to him.  I turned slightly and
as I’d done the day before, studied his handsome profile.  He really was
gorgeous.  He turned and just like the day before, caught me staring. 

He broke into an easy grin.  “Well,
do I pass inspection?”

“I...”

I knew I was blushing, and I wasn’t
about to answer his question.   With his dark, wavy hair and piercing blue
eyes, he definitely passed inspection.  I noted that his lashes were even
darker and thicker than my friend, Jennifer’s. 

“How long have you been an explorer?”
I asked suddenly.

“Changing the subject,” he noted
perceptively. 

I smiled slightly and glanced away. 
He laughed softly.  “I’ve been an explorer since I was a sophomore.  I moved
here a few months ago, but I was an explorer in my old town, too.  I’ll be a
senior this year.”

I nodded. 

“How ‘bout you?” he asked.

I shook my head, confused.

“How old are you?” he asked,
grinning.

“Sixteen.”

Dare nodded.  “Do you go to Stevenson
High?”

“Yeah.  I’ll be a junior.” 

An awkward silence followed, and I
resumed staring at the icy pool of water.

Dare surprised me when he spoke
again.  “Was your dad pretty angry?”

I glanced up at him and our eyes
locked.  I knew he was referring to my speeding the day before and my
subsequent arrest.  I nodded slowly.  “Yes, he was furious.  I, um, I’ve been
stopped for speeding a few times before...”  

“So I’ve heard,” he interrupted,
smiling crookedly.

I felt my cheeks go red beneath my
sunburn.  “But I’ve never been arrested before.”

Dare chuckled and I glanced at him
sharply.

“It’s not very funny,” I mumbled. 

“You’re right.  Speeding isn’t
funny.”  

I shook my head and glanced away. 
I’d already been lectured by my father.  I sure didn’t need it from him, too.

“I have to admit, though, you’re the
cutest criminal I’ve ever seen.” 

Hesitantly, I lifted my eyes and
noted he was watching me, a lazy smile on his face.

My eyes widened in amazement.  He’d
called me cute!  Were it not for the sunburn I already had, he would have
noticed my face had become as bright as a shiny, red apple.  I searched my mind
for something to say—anything to say.

“Have you...arrested...many people?”
I finally managed.  I almost groaned aloud.  What a lame question.

“Well, no,” he admitted.  “I’ve been
on quite a few ride-alongs though.”

“What’s a ride-along?”

“As explorers, we can actually ride
along with real officers on their shifts—like yesterday.  It’s really cool. 
You learn a lot about police work.  It’s really a lot different from what you
see in the movies,” he said.

“How?” I asked him.  Although my
father was the sheriff, we really didn’t talk much about his work.

“Well, in reality, police work can be
pretty mundane.  Not many car chases or bank robberies,” he said with a laugh.  “But
it can be pretty exciting sometimes.  Mostly, though, it’s a lot of routine
traffic stops and paperwork.” 

“Why do you want to be a deputy?” I
asked him.

“Well, my grandfather was a cop, my
dad, my uncle...”  He paused.  “I guess it’s in the blood.”

“Maybe you should consider getting a
transfusion,” I mumbled.

“You don’t like law enforcement
officers?” he asked curiously.  “I mean, your dad is the sheriff, after all.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“You really don’t like cops,” he
persisted.

“I like cops,” I responded levelly. 
“I just don’t, well…  Oh, I don’t know.”

Dare shook his head slowly.  “It
probably isn’t easy being the sheriff’s daughter, is it?”