In My Father's Shadow (26 page)

Stephanie took a deep breath. “They said that Rhys
Redden was opening a new branch of Redden Records in Chicago and
that Jay had agreed to run it. They also said that Tight Control
was still on tour and hadn’t made any sort of announcement about
their future.”

RJ cursed colorfully and turned back to his guitar.
He carefully packed it into the case as Ren hovered at his
shoulder.

“Shouldn’t we find Alec or something?” Ren asked, his
face pale.

“Damn,” Ally finally said. “Yeah.”

“I’ll go find him,” Ren offered, obviously anxious to
escape the tense music room. “Um, where should I take him?”

“To our room,” Cole said as he gently pried
Stephanie’s fingers off his arm. “We’ll call the parents and demand
answers.”

“They’ll just say the same thing as always,” Ally
said dismally. “They’ll say they’re just rumors and we shouldn’t
listen.”

Stephanie shook her long mane of luscious hair. “No,
Ally – they’re not just rumors. They said that Rhys Redden
announced the new branch opening. They said that Rhys said that Jay
was going to run it.”

Ally ducked her head, knowing Stephanie was right but
she didn’t want to admit it. She didn’t want to believe that her
dad would abandon his band mates – his friends. She desperately
wished she could speak to her parents alone – without the guys
around. She wanted to beg them to tell the truth. She wanted her
father to explain it to her himself.

“Let’s go,” Cole said as Stephanie grabbed his arm
again. Ally looked up, a little surprised to see her acting so
possessive but couldn’t worry about it at the moment. She allowed
Jamie to take her by the arm and guide her out of the room.

***

“Dad?” Ally said as Jay answered his cell phone. “Um,
can we please talk?”

She glanced at the guys – and Stephanie – hovering
closely, listening to her every word. They’d decided that Ally
should telephone Jay and call him out, hoping he’d tell her the
truth.

“Princess,” he said with a long sigh. “Listen, okay?
I know you heard the announcement about Redden Records and I want
to explain.”

“Please do,” she said as her cell phone trembled in
her hand.

“Yes, I am going to work at the Chicago branch, but
it wasn’t supposed to be announced yet. I was supposed to be able
to talk to you kids about it first.”

“What’s going to happen to the band?” she asked as RJ
cursed and fell to his bed. He slumped near the headboard.

“Well, we don’t know everything yet,” he said. “Ally,
that’s the truth. Once this tour is over, we plan to sit down and
discuss everything. And once we know for sure, we’ll tell you kids.
Okay?”

She nodded, and then realized that he couldn’t see
her. “Okay.”

“Tell the others what I told you and tell them not to
worry. Things are all right, honestly,” Jay assured her.

“Okay.”

“I love you princess,” Jay said.

“I love you, too, Daddy,” she said as she closed her
phone. She looked up at the anxious faces awaiting her words. She
sighed and shoved her phone in her pocket. “Well, it’s true. Dad is
going to work at Redden Records but they haven’t decided what they
are going to do about the band yet. After the tour, they’ll talk
about it then tell us.”

“Well,” said Cole in a resigned voice as he sat on
his bed. He shrugged. “I guess that’s it, huh?”

Chapter Twenty-One

RJ’s once bright and cheerful demeanor disappeared
over the next few days and it caused Cole great concern. Yeah, Cole
was bummed at the prospect that his dad might no longer be playing,
but it was out of his hands. If his dad decided that he wanted to
retire, then he deserved it. He’d been playing music since he was a
kid.

Jamie didn’t say much at all about the fate of Tight
Control. He went to class, went to practice, and hung out like
usual. He was a bit preoccupied at times, but his mood swings
couldn’t rival RJ’s.

Ally was a totally different story. She went along
with life as usual – not mentioning a thing about the possibility
of Tight Control’s demise. It was like nothing even happened. She
stayed busy – obsessed really - with strengthening her ankle and
playing basketball. They’d barely spent any time alone together and
when they did get a second or two, they didn’t discuss their
fathers.

“Hey, Cole. Wait up,” Stephanie shouted, breaking his
thoughts as he walked along the snow covered sidewalk toward his
dorm. He stopped and waited for her to reach him. “Are you going to
band practice?”

“Nope,” he said, shifting his backpack up his
shoulder. “Parker has a term paper to finish.”

“Oh, well, Coach said we’re having a short practice
tonight so maybe we can all hang out or something,” she suggested,
hope filling her eyes.

He studied her face, her expression expectant. She’d
been trying very hard to fit in with him and his friends and even
though he was pretty sure everyone liked her all right, he could
see it was a struggle to insert herself into a tight-knit group of
friends. But she was his sister, now, and he felt that it was his
duty to help her the best he could. He shrugged. “Sure. Where?”

“My room, I guess,” she said with a frown. “It gets
awfully lonely in there since I don’t have a roommate.”

“I’ll grab the guys and we’ll come by after
dinner.”

“Okay. I’ll tell Ally at practice. See you later.”
She grinned and gave him a quick hug.

***

“Hey, Ally,” Stephanie said as they changed in the
locker room after practice. “Come by my room after dinner.”

“Why? What’s up,” Ally asked warily.

“Nothing. I saw Cole earlier and asked him to get the
guys and come by. I just thought we’d all hang out.” She bit her
bottom lip and Ally couldn’t stop the twinge of satisfaction at the
other girl’s nervousness. She tried to chase it away, knowing it
was wrong, but it just bugged her that Stephanie was bound and
determined to worm her way into Ally’s group of friends.

“Okay,” Ally said, resigned to make more of an effort
for Cole’s sake. She knew how desperately Cole wanted a regular
family like the rest of them. “I’ll be there.”

“Ally,” Coach Morgan called. “Come to my office when
you’re done.”

Ally nodded and finished tying her shoes.

“What’s that about?” Stephanie asked, her brow
furrowed.

“I have no clue,” Ally said. “Maybe she’s gonna let
me play Wednesday.”

“I hope so,” Stephanie sighed. “If we want to make
the playoffs, we need to start winning more games.”

Ally shrugged and walked across the room to knock on
the coach’s open door. Coach Morgan smiled at her and motioned for
her to sit.

“Don’t look so worried,” she reassured her as she
rose from her chair and shut the door. She shuffled back to her
desk and pulled out a piece of paper. “I received a letter from
Edgar Menendez, manager of the State Team. You know I’m required to
send them reports on physicals and stuff like that.”

Ally nodded, knowing where this conversation was
headed. “You had to tell them about my ankle, right?”

“Yes, honey,” Coach said sympathetically. “Especially
since it was sports related. Now your doctor will send them an
update and the release for you to play, but they still want you to
go to Chicago for a physical performed by their doctors.”

Ally leaned forward and rubbed her hands over her
face. There were plenty of girls on the reserve list, eager to take
Ally’s spot should she not pass her physical or perform well. At
the state level, the coaches and managers took everything
seriously. If Ally wasn’t one hundred percent, she’d be dropped to
the reserves and someone else would take her place.

“And if they deem my ankle not fit then, am I off the
team? Even if it will be stronger and better by June?” she asked,
hoping for an optimistic answer.

“I’m not sure. But I think they just want to examine
you now and then again in the spring.” Coach said, perching on the
edge of her desk. “This is a preliminary exam – they want to make
sure you’re on the right track.”

Ally set her lips and nodded. “In other words, if my
ankle isn’t healing properly or getting stronger, they don’t want
to waste their time with me when they could be working on someone
else.”

“Yes,” Coach said reluctantly. “That’s about the gist
of it, I guess. But I don’t think you need to worry. You’ve been
good about it – exercising like the doctor said.”

Ally gazed around the small, untidy office, her mind
in a whir. “Do I need to make an appointment?”

“No. They want you next Saturday.” Coach Morgan
studied her with concern. “Do you want me to take you?”

Ally shook her head. “Nah. I’ll call my parents.”

“Don’t worry about this, Ally,” Coach Morgan said.
“It’ll work out. The doctor wouldn’t release you for basketball if
he didn’t think it was healed. And he’s the best orthopedic doctor
in the area.”

Ally smiled and grabbed the letter. “I know. Thanks.”
She got up and exited the office.

***

“Where’s Ally?” Jamie asked as he sat down with his
tray and glanced at the vacant spot next to him.

“Coach wanted to talk to her after practice,”
Stephanie told them.

Cole’s fork paused halfway to his mouth. “About
what?”

Stephanie shrugged. “Ally thought maybe Coach was
going to let her play in Wednesday’s game.”

Cole eyed the cafeteria doors doubtfully. “Well, if
that was it, she’d be flying in right about now.”

The words no sooner left his mouth when Ally walked
through the doors. She entered the food line, picked out a few
items and made her way to the table. She plopped down next to Jamie
and offered everyone a weak smile.

“Hi,” she said. She opened her bottle of juice and
took a sip, then paused as all eyes were on her. “What?”

“What’d the coach want?” Jamie asked. “Do you get to
play Wednesday?”

Ally shrugged and placed her juice on the table. She
picked up her fork and toyed with the steaming potatoes on her
plate. “I forgot to ask her.”

Cole choked on his broccoli. “You what? That’s not
like you. You’ve been chomping at the bit to play since your cast
was removed.”

“She wanted to talk to me about the State Team,” Ally
said, nonchalantly, smashing her boiled potatoes with her fork.

“What’s up with that?” RJ asked, coming out of his
stupor, suddenly taking notice.

Ally pushed her tray away, tired of the charade. She
wasn’t hungry in the least and wouldn’t be able to force a bit down
to her churning stomach. “I have to go to Chicago next Saturday to
have a physical by their team doctors. Coach has to give them
reports, you know, and they want to check the progress of my ankle
for themselves.”

“But your doctor said its fine,” Cole argued. “And
the season doesn’t start until June. Why now?”

“They want to make sure it’s healing okay and stuff,”
Ally said, picking up her tray of uneaten chicken. “But I’m not
going worry about it now.”

She flashed a smile and left the table, taking her
tray to the trash and dumping her uneaten dinner in the can. She
placed her tray in the proper place and left the cafeteria.

Cole grabbed his tray, emptied it ,and slammed it on
the stack of dirty trays. He pushed through the doors and hurried
after her.

“Al,” he said, snatching her hand and stopping her.
“I’ll take you next weekend, if you want.”

Squeezing his hand, she stood on her toes to kiss
him. “I’d like that.” She gave him a smirk. “You’re getting better
at this stuff, Cole.”

He dropped her hand and draped his arm around her
shoulders. “It’s a lot of hard work, but I’ll manage.”

***

They gathered in Steph’s room that evening, just
sitting around watching TV. They avoided the music channels and the
tabloid programs and focused on sitcoms. Ally sat close to Cole,
holding his hand and trying desperately to warm up to
Stephanie.

She pushed all her worries about her ankle and the
State Team out of her mind as she tried to relax and enjoy the time
with her friends. But whenever her eyes landed on RJ, her stomach
knotted. She couldn’t stand the pain she could see lingering in his
eyes and she ached to comfort him.

“RJ,” Ally said softly, as she left Cole’s side to
sit next to RJ. “Please snap out of this. Talk to us.”

He turned his dark eyes to her. “Snap out of it? How
can you say that, Ally?”

“There’s nothing we can do about the band,” she said.
“And we don’t know that they’re retiring, anyway. Rhys Redden still
toured with his band when he started Redden Records. I know my dad
wouldn’t desert his friends.”

He stood and moved away from her, turning his back to
them all. “Look, Ally, you don’t know everything, okay?”

“What do you mean?” Cole asked. “Do you know
something you’re not telling us, bro?”

“I heard things, okay?” RJ said as he whirled around
to face them. “I wasn’t sure at the time what it meant but I’m
getting a better idea now.”

“What did you hear?” Jamie asked.

RJ shook his head furiously and glanced quickly in
Ally’s direction. “No, not with the princess here. I’m not saying a
word.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Ally
demanded as she jumped to her feet, fire raging in her eyes. “If
you know something about my father then I have a right to hear
about it.”

“You don’t want to hear the ugly truth, princess,” he
said bitterly, an ugly sneer on his lips. He leaned closer to her
and her heart pounded at the hatred in his eyes. “Trust me – you
don’t want to know the truth.”

“What truth?” Jamie asked as he stepped between them.
“What are you talking about?”

RJ peeked around Jamie to glare at Ally. “It always
comes down to what Jay wants, doesn’t it?”

“Hey,” Ally protested. “That’s not fair!”