In My Father's Shadow (29 page)

“Yeah,” she said. “I don’t think he knows what the
argument was all about. I know I didn’t tell Alec.” She sighed as
the circles she was rubbing on her temples tightened. “I told Alec
that it was between me and the other three, and Stephanie, and that
he needed to stay out of it. But he’s convinced that Cole hurt me
some way.”

“He did,” Jeana said, getting to her feet. “You’d
think he’d stick up for you. I thought he was your boyfriend.”

Ally laughed bitterly. “I don’t know what he was. But
it doesn’t matter now anyway.”

“Then come on,” Jeana ordered, pulling a long, green
dress from the closet. “Get dressed. Show them boys you don’t give
a damn what they think anymore.”

Ally smiled wryly, her heart lifting slightly. Maybe
a night out away from them was what she needed. Maybe Jeana had
been right all along and Ally needed more than just Jamie, RJ, and
Cole. Maybe she needed to branch out and find some new friends.
“Fine,” she conceded. “Just keep me away from them.”

***

They’d just finished a song when Cole spotted Ally
with Jeana. Cole groaned and closed his eyes. Ally looked so
beautiful in the green dress – so much classier than some of the
girls with their plunging necklines and short skirts.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who noticed
her. Several guys – most from Jamie’s football team – noticed her,
too. Jealousy swelled inside but he ignored it and concentrated on
the task at hand.

RJ gave the signal and they started the last song of
the first set. He focused solely on the music and kept his eyes
away from Ally. When the song was over, he jumped down off the
stage and was immediately surrounded by admirers. He smiled and
charmed his way through the people to join his friends at a table
near the back.

“Anyone spike the punch yet?” Cole joked, frowning as
he sniffed his cup.

“Nah,” Parker said, sipping at his cup. “I’m sure
it’s a matter of time.”

“I hope they wait until the last set,” RJ said. “We
don’t need to be drinking that stuff and end up drunk up on
stage.”

“Good set, guys,” Jamie said as he and Stephanie
plopped down at their table.

“Thanks,” RJ answered, distracted. “Your lip looks a
lot better, Steph.”

She fingered her lip gingerly and looked away
guiltily. “It’s much better. Ally sure can pack a punch.”

Cole snorted. “I know.” He found Ally again, standing
with Jeana near the punch table. The DJ was playing a loud,
thumping song while three football players were standing near the
two girls. Cole watched as Ally laughed at something one of the
boys said. He held his hand out to her and she shook her head. One
of the guys led Jeana out on the dance floor and Cole’s eyes
narrowed as the other football player tried to convince Ally to
dance. She finally relented and allowed him to take her by the hand
and pull her out on the floor. The music slowed down and the guy,
Cole couldn’t remember his name, drew Ally closer to him. Cole
turned his head in disgust while Jamie eyed him suspiciously. He
twisted in his chair and smirked when he spotted Ally.

“He’s not her type,” Jamie announced.

RJ leaned past Jamie and saw Ally. He rolled his
eyes. “Get over her, man. She’s being stubborn and won’t listen to
a word any of us has to say.”

Cole shrugged in an attempt to be nonchalant. “She
can do what she wants.”

When the song ended, Ally smiled at her suitor and
made her way back to an empty table alone. Cole looked over at her
just as she looked at him. He couldn’t turn away; he just kept her
gaze. Jeana joined Ally and distracted her with excited chatter.
Cole sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

RJ was right – he did need to get over her. It had
been a mistake to think they could have some sort of romantic
relationship. Maybe if they hadn’t been involved that way, she
wouldn’t have been so damn stubborn and maybe she would have
listened to reason. Maybe she’d be at the table with them now and
not dancing with football players or other guys that couldn’t keep
their eyes off of her.

“Is it time for the next set yet?” he asked RJ.

“Just about,” RJ said. He got up and the others
joined him. Cole looked back at Ally once more, but she was
gone.

***

Tight Control’s tour ended a few days before Ally’s
birthday. They made a public announcement stating that they had
decided to take a break for awhile and rumors ran rampant all over
Woodsedge Academy. Ally could hardly get to class for the clusters
of people who stopped her in the halls to question her. She was
relieved when Friday rolled around so she could grab Alec and head
for home.

As soon as they walked through the door, Ally dropped
her stuff and found her parents in the living room, on the
sofa.

“Hey, princess,” Jay said with a wide smile. “Hey,
son. How’s school?”

Ally draped an arm around Alec’s shoulders and took a
deep breath. “We want to know what’s going on with the band.”

“Sit down,” Jay said as he leaned forward and took
Liz’s hand. “Guys,” he said, smiling warmly at his children. “We’re
taking a break while I work this thing with Redden Records out.
We’re not retiring or splitting up or anything like that.”

“Did the other guys know you were taking the job with
Rhys?” Alec asked.

“Of course,” Jay said, frowning. “I wouldn’t make a
decision like that without telling anyone. We’d been tossing the
retirement idea around for awhile but none of us really made a
solid decision. When this offer presented itself, we decided to
take a break and take the time to decide what we want to do.”

Ally and Alec exchanged a relieved glance. Ally
turned her eyes on her father. “Why didn’t you tell us before
making the announcement about working with Rhys Redden?”

Jay grimaced and squeezed Liz’s hand. “That wasn’t
supposed to happen. After I talked to Rhys and the other guys, we
agreed that the announcement wouldn’t be made until after we had a
chance to talk to you kids but someone in Rhys’s PR office sent out
the press statement way ahead of time.”

Ally’s heart filled with relief and made her smile.
“I didn’t think you’d lie to us.”

“Of course not,” Jay frowned. “Never.”

“So, Ally,” Liz said, smiling. “I know you want to
talk about all this with us, and we will, but I was wondering what
you’d like to do for your birthday. I need to get a hold of
Gretchen if you want to do a big thing with Jamie.”

“Nothing, Mom,” Ally told her with a weak smile. “I
just want to have dinner with you, Dad, and Alec.”

Liz frowned. “You don’t want to invite the boys
over?”

“No, not really,” she said flatly as she stood. “It’s
not a big deal, really. I’m going to take my stuff upstairs then go
see Dancer.”

Alec waited until Ally was out of earshot then
sighed. “Let’s talk, Mom.”

Ally finished unpacking and plopped on her bed, not
enough energy to even go to the barns and visit her horse. She
stared at the ceiling, mulling her father’s words. Her insides
burned with anger at her supposed friends. She’d been right all
along – her father hadn’t abandoned anyone.

“Can we talk to you a minute, princess,” Jay asked as
he knocked on her open door and entered her room. She nodded and
sat up. Jay pulled her desk chair out and sat while Liz perched on
the edge of the bed. “What’s going on with the boys?”

Ally sighed and tried to talk but the tears overcame
her quickly. Liz hugged her and rocked her back and forth until
Ally’s sobs subsided. “It’s terrible,” she whispered. “They hate
me.”

“Why?” Jay asked. “What happened?”

Ally looked at her dad, not sure if she could reveal
to him what the others had said. The words had hurt her horribly –
had stung her heart – and she couldn’t bear to repeat them and hurt
him the same way.

But when he smiled encouragingly at her, her tongue
loosened and the burden she’d been carrying slipped off her
shoulders. “They blame you, Dad,” she said softly. “And I hate them
for it.”

Jay glanced at Liz. “Blame me for what?”

“They think you snatched up the job Rhys offered you
without consulting the other guys. They think you did it behind
their backs.” She hiccupped. “They said that the guys all stuck
with you when you had your…drug problem…and now you’re abandoning
them. I told them it wasn’t true.”

“It’s not true,” Liz argued, anger flaring in her
eyes.

Jay shook his head at Liz. “Ally, honey, I’m sure it
looked that way to them and they probably jumped to conclusions out
of concern for their fathers -just like you would do. Don’t worry,
honey. We’ll sort this out, okay?”

She nodded and bit her lip. “There’s more.”

“What?” Liz prodded.

Ally ducked her head. “I punched Stephanie.”

Liz sucked in a breath. “What? Why?”

Ally’s remorse disappeared in a flash only to be
replaced with anger. “She said some stuff about Dad! She had no
right!”

Jay smiled and patted her leg. “I appreciate you
defending me, princess, but I don’t think you should have hit her.
Violence never solves anything – as you’ve probably already
discovered.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Ally said. She took a deep
breath. “It’s just, so much has built up. I’m worried about my
ankle so I had to quit basketball. I have to try out again for the
State Team. Everyone at school has been bugging me about the band.
And then the boys and I stopped talking.”

Jay knelt in front of her and took her hands. “I know
you don’t believe this, but things will get better. I promise.” He
stood and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to straighten this out,
okay?”

Ally pulled out of Liz’s arms. “No, Dad, please.” She
grabbed his hand and squeezed. “They’re already mad at me and if
you call their parents…”

“I won’t call their parents, princess,” Jay said.
“I’m going to get Alec in here and the four of us are going to
talk. I want you both to know the truth.”

He left the room and Ally put her arms around Liz and
allowed her mother’s comfort to heal her hurting heart.

***

Cole was on his bed Saturday afternoon, brooding and
pouting because his father hadn’t answered any of his questions,
telling him that they’d discuss it together when they gathered at
Jay’s house for Ally and Jamie’s birthday bash.

Usually, Liz and Gretchen planned a little get
together in mid February to celebrate Jamie and Ally’s birthdays
but since they’d been on tour, they hadn’t been able to do it that
year.

Stephanie popped her head into his room, a frown
marring her face. “Your dad wants us to come downstairs. It looks
like everyone is here. Maybe they’re going to tell us what’s going
on.”

Cole sat up and ran his hands through his hair. He
slipped off his bed and thumped down the steps but when he reached
the living room, he stopped cold. Instead of the usual group of
people, he only found RJ and his parents as well as Jamie and his
parents. His dad sat off to the side with Stacy and Stephanie.

“What’s up?” Cole asked warily.

“That’s what we’re here to find out,” Nate told his
son. “Sit down.”

Cole shrugged and grabbed the spot on the sofa next
to RJ. “Is this some kind of weird intervention or something?”

“No,” Nate said slowly. “I’ll let Gretchen
explain.”

Everyone turned their attention to Gretchen. She
started to pace, her shoulders tense. “Well, I was just hoping that
maybe you guys, and you too, Stephanie, could enlighten me on why
my niece wants nothing to do with you four.”

“What are you talking about, Mom?” Jamie asked.

“I called Liz last night to see if she wanted to do
something for Jamie’s and Ally’s birthdays but my brother answered
the phone and told me Liz was with Ally at the moment and that Ally
was extremely upset. He wouldn’t tell me why, he just said it was
something Ally wanted to keep between the three of them.” She
paused to give each boy a dark look. “I don’t know what the deal
is, but it seems to have my brother pretty torn up about it
also.”

“And when Gretchen tried to arrange some kind of get
together, Jay told her that Ally didn’t want to do anything this
year. He said she just wanted to stay home with her family,” Mark
continued. “So, we figured that you four were our best bet.”

“Now I know that you guys are upset about us taking a
break and Jay taking a position with Redden Records, but that’s
nothing to argue amongst yourselves about,” Nate said.

“This is my fault,” RJ groaned, standing. “I said
some stuff I shouldn’t have.”

“What’d you say?” Richie asked.

RJ swallowed nervously. “I told Ally it was all Jay’s
fault you guys were taking a break. I told her that he was
abandoning you guys, even after you stuck with him before, when he
had his drug problem.”

“What do you even know about that?” Callie asked.

RJ told them about the conversation he had overhead
and his ensuing research. Then he gave a brief description of the
argument they’d had with Ally.

Nate cursed and ran his hands over his face. “You
told her all that? About Jay?” RJ nodded, abashed. “I can’t believe
you boys,” Nate continued. “Jay has treated you boys like his own
since the day you were born! Even if he was ‘abandoning us,’ that’s
no reason for you to turn on him like that.”

“Rhys Redden approached Jay about the job, but he
turned it down at first,” Richie said quietly. “He told us about it
and we encouraged him to take it.” Richie looked at his son. “I was
the one to suggest we take a break.”

RJ’s bowed head snapped up and he stared at his
father. “Why?”

“I’m tired. I want to relax for awhile. Jay’s worked
us hard since he got out of rehab and thanks to him, we’ve been
very successful. Now, I just want to enjoy life for a bit.” Richie
grimaced as he, too, began to pace.