Dare to Love (Young Adult Romance) (7 page)

I didn’t want to risk getting in the
way, so I headed back to the patrol car.  I leaned against the front of it and
watched my father and the other deputy.  Dad hurried back to the patrol car and
opened the trunk.  He pulled out a metal box with a handle on it.  He closed
the trunk, smiled sadly at me, then hurried back to the other deputy. 

I watched as both men kneeled down on
the roadway.  At first, I couldn’t figure out what they were looking at, but then
I realized they were studying the skid mark the car had left on the road.  Dad
pulled a tape measure from the box, and they began measuring certain sites at
the scene.  I was so absorbed in watching my father, I didn’t hear the car pull
up behind the patrol car.  I was surprised when Dare appeared at my side.

“Hi, Laura.” 

“Oh, hi.”

“How bad was it?” he asked, nodding
toward the scene.

I pointed toward the car, still plied
against the tree.  Dare winced, and shook his head.  “I heard over the radio he
wasn’t wearing his seatbelt.  I guess he may have been drinking, too.”

My eyes widened in surprise.  I
hadn’t heard that. 

“He had his little brother in the
car,” I told Dare.  “Luckily, the little guy was wearing a seatbelt.  Thank
goodness he’s okay.”

I couldn’t believe that the boy might
have been drinking—and with his little brother in the car!  Just thinking about
it made me shiver.           

“Are you cold, Laura?” 

Dare surprised me when he quickly
slipped out of his light jacket and draped it over my shoulders.

“Oh, I’m fine,” I assured him.  “You
need your coat.  Now you’ll be cold.”

“No, I don’t need it,” he said, as he
moved to stand beside me.  He leaned against the hood and nodded toward my
father and the other deputy.  “They have to take measurements, then later,
they’ll use specific mathematical formulas to determine how fast the kid was
going.  They’ll also photograph everything they can.”

As if on cue, my father pulled a
camera from the box and began snapping pictures. 

“How do you know so much about this?”
I asked Dare.

He shrugged.  “I’ve picked it up on
my ride-alongs.  It’s really interesting.  Once I become a police officer or
deputy, I think I might like to be in a traffic unit.  It’s a lot more
interesting than people realize.  Oftentimes, there are a lot of factors
involved in accidents, such as speed, road conditions, any number of
influences, and the traffic cop has to be sort of a detective to put everything
together.”

Dad walked up to us then.  “Hello,
Dare.”

“Hello, sir.  I thought I’d come by
to see if you need any help.  I waited to be sure the emergency personnel had
left.”

“Thanks, son.  I appreciate the
offer.  Actually, we’re nearly finished with the scene investigation,” Dad
said.  “But you could do me a favor…”

“Sure,” Dare said eagerly.

“Would you mind giving Laura a ride
home?  Deputy Lane and I will be tied up for several hours with paperwork.” 

“No problem,” Dare said.

Dad turned to me then.  “No need for
you to hang around for that, hon.”

“Okay, Dad.”

“See you at home,” he told me, before
kissing me lightly on the cheek. 

As I climbed into Dare’s car, I
watched my dad walk slowly back to the scene of the accident.  I realized how
difficult it must be for him to investigate such scenes—especially since my
mother had been killed in a car accident.

I shook my head and pressed my eyes
together.  I forced the horrible thought from my mind. 

“Hey, are you all right?” Dare asked
me.

I shook myself.  “I’m fine.”

He watched me for a brief moment and
then started the car.  Carefully, he turned the car around.  “Where do you
live?”

I gave him directions and then
subsided into the seat.  I suddenly realized that I was exhausted.  The evening
had taken a toll on me, as well. 

Every once in a while, Dare turned to
watch me.  “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.”

We didn’t speak for awhile.  Finally,
he broke the silence.  “Gives you something to think about, doesn’t it?”

“Huh?”

“That boy—drinking and driving with
his little brother in the car.”

“I know,” I said, shaking my head. 
“How irresponsible.”

He watched me speculatively, before
turning to stare straight ahead.  “Has it...uh...given you cause to think about
your own driving....?”

“What?” I asked, stunned.  “I don’t
even drink.”

“But you do drive fast,” he said
levelly.

My mouth dropped open.  “I... I...”

What could I say?  My record spoke
for itself.  I’d been pulled over three times in three months for speeding.  As
disturbed as I was by Dare’s statement, I couldn’t deny the accuracy.

I turned to stare out the window at
the passing scenery.  Dare’s words left me little doubt.  He thought I was as
reckless and irresponsible as the boy who’d driven drunk with his little
brother in the car.  The realization hurt. 

I was relieved when he pulled his car
into my driveway.  The instant the car stopped, I reached for the door handle. 
I was almost out of the car when Dare said, “Laura, I didn’t mean to...”

“Forget it,” I said tiredly. 

I felt his strong, warm hand on my
arm.  “I’m sorry, Laura.  I didn’t mean to upset you.  I’d just hate to see
something happen to you.”

I glanced back at him and our eyes
met.  I sighed heavily.  Though there was darkness all around us, the car’s
ceiling light illuminated his concerned features.  His eyes were riveted on my
face. 

“Are you mad at me, Laura?”

I looked away from him and stared
into the darkness outside the car.  Did I have cause to be angry?  He was just
warning me to watch my driving.  After what I’d seen tonight, and taking into
account that Dare had probably seen such scenes before, I knew he probably felt
compelled to warn me.

Suddenly, I thought of my father.  He
had probably responded to dozens and dozens of such accidents during his law
enforcement career.  And my mother had been killed in a car accident. 
Considering all this, it was a wonder Dad even allowed me to ride in a car, let
alone drive one.  No wonder he was so terribly upset by my speeding.

I shook my head.  “It’s okay, Dare. 
You’re...right.  I need to drive slower.  Besides, I’m reformed now,” I added
softly. 

He sighed with relief.  “I’m going to
walk you to your door, okay?  It’s pretty dark outside.”

When we stepped onto the front porch,
Dare watched as I unlocked the front door.  “Lock it the minute you get
inside,” he told me.

I nodded, and then stepped inside.  I
turned.  “Bye, Dare.”

He surprised me by reaching for my
hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.  “I’ll see you tomorrow at the meeting.”

I nodded and closed the door behind
me.  I heard Dare’s deep, muffled voice through the closed door.  “Don’t forget
to lock it,” he reminded me again.

I couldn’t help smiling.  It was
sweet that he wanted to see me safely inside my house before leaving.

I immediately turned the dead bolt, and
then headed up to my bedroom.  I glanced at the clock beside my bed and
realized that my favorite show was about to start.  But I was too tired to
watch it.  Instead, I showered and readied for bed. 

As I slid between the light covers, I
reached for a stuffed bear that had been my favorite since I was a little
girl.  I remembered how little Joey had hugged the bear my father had given him
at the accident scene.  It had soothed him in a way that words couldn’t. 

I hugged my bear as I drifted off to
sleep.

The next evening, I drove to
Jennifer’s house to pick her up, and we headed to the station for the explorers’
meeting.  Earlier, I’d talked to her over the phone and told her about my
ride-along with my father the evening before.

Now, as we drove along, I couldn’t
stop thinking about Dare.  He had been really sweet last night, but too, he had
warned me about my driving.  As much as I told myself he didn’t mean anything
bad by it, I worried that he thought I was reckless and irresponsible. 

I groaned aloud, and Jennifer glanced
at me.  “He likes you Laura,” Jennifer said tiredly.

“I don’t know, Jen,” I said shaking
my head.  “I’d like to believe that, but I just don’t know...”

She turned slightly in the seat to
watch me.  “He told you himself that he doesn’t want to see anything bad happen
to you.  Plus, you said he actually squeezed your hand, and ... he walked you
to your door.  I think his concern is really sweet—and genuine.”

I shook my head.  Maybe Jennifer was
right, but...

“He was at the station with
Courtney,” I reminded her.

“So?  He told you they were doing
research.”

“Yeah, well, I wonder what they were
researching.”  I said.   “Maybe how well their lips fit together.”

“Laura!”  Jennifer rolled her eyes. 
“Will you try to be positive, just for once, please!”

“I am positive,” I told her,
“positive Dare likes Courtney.”

“Oh, Laura!”

***

Soon Jennifer and I were at the
station.  The conference room was alive with explorers, and Jennifer and I
exchanged glances.  I nodded toward a couple of empty chairs.  We sat down and
watched the activity around us.

We soon learned what explorers wore
to their meetings.  Uniforms!

Jennifer poked me in the side.  “Nice
color,” she joked, screwing her face distastefully at the avocado green.  “It
takes a real hottie to look good in one of those,” she commented, nudging me
with her elbow as Dare walked into the room.

I had to agree with her.  The uniform
emphasized his broad shoulders, lean waist, and well-muscled legs.  “Laura,
he’s so cute,” she swooned.

“Explorers!  May I have your
attention?” Lieutenant Hudson shouted.

The room suddenly became quiet as
everyone took a seat.  The lieutenant scanned the room and his eyes found me. 
I knew then he was making sure I’d come.  Smiling, he said, “Everyone, let’s
welcome Laura Tyler and Jennifer....”  He paused, his eyes questioning.

“Dillon.  Jennifer Dillon,” Jennifer
informed.

“Right.  Laura Tyler and Jennifer
Dillon.”  The lieutenant smiled broadly.  “Are you joining us, too, Jennifer?”

“Oh, no,” she said resolutely, “I’m
just here with Laura.”

“Moral support,” he said knowingly. 
“Well, keep an open mind, Jennifer.  We’d be glad to have you in the club. 
Okay, gang, before we begin, who still needs a uniform?”  Scanning the room, he
said, “Looks like only Laura.”

“Courtney,” Lieutenant Hudson said,
“take Laura to the back room and see what you can find.”

Great, I thought.  I was about to be outfitted
by Courtney of all people!

I followed her into the backroom and
watched her rummage through a cluttered closet.  Turning around, she studied me
briefly, then in a bored tone, said, “Small.”

She pulled a lone uniform from the
closet that was anything but small.  “Put this on.  It’s all we have.”

“I can’t wear that,” I protested. 
“It’s huge!”

“The lieutenant insists that we all
wear our uniforms.  If you want to be an explorer, then I suggest you follow
the rules.”

Without another word, she sauntered
out of the room.  Sighing resignedly, I locked the door behind her and changed
into the uniform.

The shirt hung to my knees and the
pants were much too long.  I rolled up the legs, and fortunately, the pants
came with a belt, but I knew I looked ridiculous.

I just couldn’t let everyone see me
looking so awful.  I was about to take the uniform off, when I heard a soft
tapping at the door.  Opening the door, I said, “Courtney, I can’t wear this
thing...”

“Laura!”

The decidedly masculine voice did not
belong to Courtney.  Slowly, my eyes met Dare’s eyes and his were twinkling
with humor.  I began to back away, humiliated, but he reached toward me and
grabbed a handful of the material.  “Laura, are you in there?” he teased.

I tried to pull away but he only
tightened his grip.  “I need to get out of this thing,” I said, my face
becoming more and more heated from embarrassment.

“You look cute,” he declared.

I averted my eyes.  “Dare, Courtney
says I have to wear this thing.  I can’t.”

He smiled.  “Go ahead and change.  I’ll
wait for you.”

I closed the door and hurriedly
slipped out of the uniform.  When I stepped into the hallway, wearing my own
clothes, Dare whistled approvingly.  “Much better,” he said.