In My Father's Shadow (3 page)

With a laugh, he released her hand so he could stroke
her cheek instead. “Al, you don’t want us to be in some kind of
romantic relationship, do you?”

She swallowed and placed her hand over his, removing
it from her cheek. “No, I don’t. But I do want my friend back.”

He grunted a laugh and kissed her forehead softly.
“I’m here and I promise to stop being a jerk, okay?”

She rolled her eyes as her heart lightened a fraction
of a bit. “Good luck with that.” She pulled out of his embrace and
returned to the piano bench. She tapped out a childish melody
before smiling at him over her shoulder. “Come on. Play something
with me while you wait for the others.”

He sat down next to her and the two of them plucked
away until RJ came storming through the door, his younger brother
Ren in his wake.

“Heart and Soul? Are you serious? Really? You guys
are killing me,” RJ exclaimed.

Cole shrugged. “It’s the only thing the princess here
knows how to play.”

She smacked Cole’s shoulder. “Stop calling me that
and I do know how to play other stuff.” She got up to hug RJ’s
younger carbon copy. “How are you, Ren? I haven’t seen you since
last June.”

“Good, thanks. Did you have fun at softball camp?” he
asked.

“Yes,” she said. “It was fine.”

“Fantastic,” he said as he gave her one last hug
before pulling his guitar out of his case.

She settled on the piano bench as Cole tuned the drum
kit and RJ tuned his guitar. They’d started playing together last
year and were actually very good. Richie Shaw, RJ and Ren’s dad,
had told them he could talk to his producer and see if he’d record
them - but the guys had declined. They wanted to do it on their
own, without any help from their dads. Only now they were short a
guy since their bass player, Steve Runyin, had graduated and left
for college.

Ren decided to try his hand at bass for that
particular rehearsal session and they warmed up with a few cover
songs they’d learned and perfected. Ally could immediately see the
improvement they’d made over the summer and she could picture Cole
drawing up demanding rehearsal schedules and ordering everyone to
practice every night before bed. He was so much like her own father
that she sometimes wondered if her parents received the right baby
– even if she was a little over a year younger than Cole.

They finished the first song and RJ tried to cajole
her into stepping up to the mic to sing a few verses but she shook
her head emphatically.

“I have to agree with the princess,” Cole said as he
shot her a wink. “No one wants to hear that.”

“Whatever,” she said, ignoring his jib. She jumped
off the bench and giggled as RJ’s eyes widened in horror, thinking
she was actually going to take him up on his offer. She grinned and
merely moved to the floor, not the microphone, and folded her legs
under her body, leaning against the wall. “Just getting more
comfortable. Please, continue.”

They resumed with another cover song and she drew her
knees to her chest, tapping her foot with the beat. She was
saddened knowing that, even though they were good, they’d always be
in Tight Control’s shadow. Her father’s band had held together for
over two decades and people of all ages still listened to them. As
a matter of fact, they were due to start touring again in a couple
of weeks. She didn’t like it much when they went on tour because
her mother often joined them and weekends at home were lonely and
quiet.

But it would be a long, hard road for Cole, RJ, Ren,
and whoever us joined the band. No matter how talented they were or
how hard they worked or how much success they earned, they’d always
been known as Tight Control’s younger generation. That would hang
over their heads, probably, for their entire lives. And Ally didn’t
think it was fair at all.

Her eyes fell on Cole and her pulse quickened. They
were playing one of their original songs with Cole belting out the
lyrics while pounding out the beat on the drums. She rested her
chin on her knees as she watched every familiar muscle twitch and
facial expression. She knew him so well, knew almost everything
about him, and that was why she had to fight those rising feelings
in her chest. She didn’t want to lose him as a friend – didn’t
think she could handle it.

That night, as she snuggled under her blankets and
listened to Jeana, her roommate, snore softly, she couldn’t stop
thinking about her conversation with Cole and the feelings that
wouldn’t leave her.

Not a day had gone by since that early June afternoon
that she hadn’t thought of ‘the incident’, as she liked to call it.
She remembered with perfect clarity every little detail – how
they’d been relaxing by the pool one minute and locked in an
embrace the next. She remembered the guilt washing over Cole’s face
and the tension that hovered between them when he drove her home.
She remembered lying in bed, just as she was now, reliving the
entire ‘incident’ and trying desperately to analyze every touch,
every word.

“I can’t do this to myself,” she mumbled under her
breath as she twisted in the blankets, trying to find a comfortable
position that was more conducive to sleeping.

He doesn’t want to ruin our friendship, she reminded
herself as she closed her eyes. And I don’t want to, either. She
was determined to get over her silly little crush and have things
return to normal. Her feelings were just the product of a long
summer away from him and her reaction to the subtle, mature changes
that had come about in her absence. Once she settled into a regular
routine both at school and with all three of the boys, her crazy
feelings would stop and he’d just be Cole, her best friend,
again.

At least, that’s what she told herself.

Chapter Three

A week later, Cole exited his second hour classroom a
little later than usual and entered the student traffic rushing
from class to class, building to building. A tiny smirk erupted on
his lips as he spotted a familiar dark ponytail bobbing and weaving
behind a familiar head. He quickened his pace until he caught up
with her.

“Hey, Al,” he said as he dropped a casual arm around
her shoulders. “Thanks for having Parker call me. He’s played with
us a few times and I think he’ll work out.”

“Glad I could help,” she said, blinding him with her
smile. His heart twitched and he wondered briefly what that was all
about until he pushed it aside, giving her shoulders a squeeze.

“We’re practicing tonight in the music room in case
you want to drop by,” he invited.

“Can’t, volleyball practice,” she said, a note of
regret in her voice. She patted his stomach as she continued to
smile up at him. “Sorry but you’ll have to find someone else to
constructively critique your music.”

“Ha!” he snorted. “You call ‘you guys really sucked
that one up’ constructive criticism?”

“Just being honest,” she said, mischievous glint in
her pretty blue eyes. “What kind of friend would I be if I
lied?”

She was flirting – he was almost sure. She’d always
had a sense of humor and could handle a joking session with the
guys but this went beyond that. She was flirting.

Before he could speak – respond to her subtle
flirting, a hand hooked the crook of his arm, nearly sending him
and Ally sprawling to the sidewalk.

“Cole, can you help me with something?” Jennifer
Mansfeld said, appearing out of nowhere and batting her eyelashes
as if she expected to take flight. “Oh, hi Ally. How are you?”

“Fine,” Ally answered, her light mood gone in an
instant. Ally had tried befriending Jennifer the previous year when
Cole and Jennifer had briefly dated. It hadn’t worked out well and
Ally was only too relieved to be able to tell Cole how fake she
found Jennifer and how happy she was that Cole had dumped her.

Cole gave Ally a conspiratorial wink before turning
his attention back to Jennifer. “What do you need, Jen?”

Jennifer flashed her brilliant, even teeth and gave
Cole’s arm a squeeze. “That report we’re supposed to do for
Literature - did you finish it yet?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t that hard,” Cole said, his brow
furrowed. Jennifer had never made a secret out of how much she
loved Literature and could often be found snuggled in a bean bag
chair in the library, some old tome opened in her lap. “Have you
even started because it’s due Wednesday?”

She clutched his arm, nearly sinking her blood red
nails into his flesh. “I haven’t started it yet – I’ve been so busy
I haven’t even had time to read the chapters.”

Cole suppressed a grin when his ears picked up Ally’s
low snort. He gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I have a little time
right now,” Cole offered. “But that’s about it - unless you find me
at lunch.”

“Oh thank you so much, Cole,” Jennifer cooed, both
hands now wrapped around his bicep. “You don’t know how much it
means to me. Can we run to the library now?”

“Yeah, sure,” Cole said as he turned his eyes on
Ally, regretful smile on his face.

Ally rolled her eyes and huffed. “I’ll see you later,
Cole. I’m going be late.” She ducked out from underneath his arm
and dashed away, doing her best to get lost among the sea of
students. He watched her until she turned a corner before he
allowed Jennifer to drag him to the library.

***

Sunday night, Cole sprawled on the top of a picnic
table outside of the Student Center and lit up a cigarette,
smirking as Ally, who was seated on the bench of his table, her
back brushing against his arm, faked a cough. She hated
smoking.

“You going to the gig next weekend, Al?” Cole asked,
bumping her back with his elbow.

“I hope so,” she said, waving the air in front of
her, making Cole chuckle. “I have to call my dad first, but I’m
sure he won’t mind. Are you playing at the same hotel you did last
time?”

“Yep,” RJ said, lighting up a cigarette. He handed
one to Jamie and Ally groaned.

“Don’t get him started on all your nasty habits,” she
chastised. “He is an athlete.”

Cole rolled to his side so he could place his mouth
close to her ear. “Don’t mother him.” She jumped and he fell to his
back in laughter.

“I’m not mothering him,” she said indignantly,
crossing her legs, one foot jiggling furiously. Her arms
automatically folded across her chest – a sure sign she was working
herself up to an angry Ally outburst.

“Don’t get all upset, Ally,” Jamie said in a gentle
voice. “You know I don’t really smoke – just once in a great
while.”

“Well it’s a disgusting, nasty habit and I don’t know
why any of you boys do it in the first place,” she huffed.

“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Cole said, interrupting her
before she could hit her stride and launch into a full-blown tirade
on the evils of smoking cigarettes. They’d all heard it plenty of
times before and he wasn’t in the mood for it that night.

“When are our dads going on tour again?” Ren
asked.

Cole took a long drag off his cigarette before
tossing it to the ground. He sat up and placed a foot on either
side of Ally, smirk widening at her obvious reaction. “Two weeks
from Monday, I think.”

“I wish we could go with them,” Jamie said as he
crushed his partially smoked cigarette out on the sole of his shoe.
“We used to have so much fun.”

“Yeah, me too,” RJ added. “Those were the best of
times.”

Cole smiled in the dark, remembering the things the
four of them would do when they were lucky enough to get to go on
tour with the band. He toyed absently with a strand of Ally’s hair
as he dazed off, recalling the first time he’d been allowed to go
with his dad.

“
Why won’t you let him come with me, Audrey?” Nate
pleaded as Cole scampered off to his room to unpack after a weekend
with his father. He’d been surprised when his dad had walked him
into the house and a little nervous when Nate said he just needed
to speak to Audrey for a moment.

He kept his door open a crack and listened carefully
to their conversation.

“
He’s just a little kid, Nate,” Audrey said. “He
doesn’t need to go on tour with a rock band.”

“
The other guys are taking their kids. Cole will
have fun – he’s friends with Ally and RJ and Jamie – they’re all
pretty tight. I hate for him to miss this opportunity.”

“
Who’s going to keep an eye on him while you’re on
stage?” she challenged.

“
Liz, Callie, and Gretchen are going and they plan
to take turns watching the kids when we go onstage.”

“
You’ll be gone for three months,” she exclaimed,
digging for excuses. Cole could hear them stomping through the
living room and was a bit ashamed, knowing his father could see how
dirty their house was – Cole’s mom was usually too tired to cook or
clean.

“
Damn it, Audrey, I pay you enough money every
month – why don’t you hire a maid? You expect my son to live like
this?”

“
Don’t tell me how to keep my house!”

Cole leaned against the wall, ears perked, wishing
they’d stop fighting about the house and get back to the tour. He
wanted to go with his dad so badly but he knew if he kept arguing
with his mom, she’d say no just to be mean.

“
Listen,” Nate said again, softly. “Let me take
him for awhile. You’ll get a break and you can have some time to
yourself. It’s summer – you can hang out at the beach or go away
with your boyfriend or whatever.”

“
Are you taking shots at him now?”

Nate groaned. “No. I just thought you’d like some
time for yourself.”

“
You really want to take him for three months?”
she asked, incredulous, and Cole thought she might be weakening.
“What about school?”

“
I’ll have him back in time for school,” Nate
promised. “Unless you let me hire a tutor.”