In My Father's Shadow (9 page)

Cole waited for Alec to drop his bag in before
slamming the trunk shut. “As you wish, princess.”

She stood on the door frame, ripped her glasses off
her face and glared at him over the top of his car. “Do not call me
that,” she ordered, pointing a finger at him.

Alec groaned as Jamie and Ren jogged to the parking
lot. “Jamie,” Alec whined. “Please let me ride with you! I can’t
take an hour and a half of this!”

Jamie shrugged, wry smile on his face. “Dude, I’m
riding with RJ.”

RJ laughed harder and motioned for Alec to get in his
car. Ally huffed, her jaw dropping. “Hey, I want to ride with you,
too!”

“Sorry, princess, you’re stuck with me. Get in the
car,” Cole smirked as he opened the door and slipped in the
car.

She shot RJ and Jamie a glare before jamming her
glasses back over her eyes and hopping into the car.

“Good luck, dude,” RJ called with a grin. “See you
there.”

****

“Are you ever going to talk to me again, Al?” Cole
asked after miles of silence – not even a peep from the radio.

“No,” she pouted, staring out the window.

He rubbed his forehead, unsure how to handle the
situation. “What do you want me to do, huh?” he asked, desperation
in his voice. “Do you actually want to risk our friendship that
way? Or would you prefer me to treat you like I’ve treated my
girlfriends in the past – forget all about them when I get busy
with music and don’t call them, blow off dates – that sort of
thing. Is that what you want?”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” she said stonily,
refusing to even glance his way.

“Damn it, Al! I can’t stand you being mad at me!” He
pounded his palm on the steering wheel and made her jump. “See,
this is why I think you and I would be a bad idea. You can hardly
stand to be around me and we haven’t even done anything.”

“Cole,” she said softly. “Stop – just stop. I’ll get
over it. Just give me some time.”

“Fine,” he said angrily, snapping on the radio. “Just
tell me when time’s up, huh? Do you think you could do that for
me?”

She nodded, ignoring his sarcasm, and glanced at him
from the corner of her eye. They spent the rest of the drive in
polite silence.

***

Ally could hardly contain her excitement when they
pulled up to the gates of her house. She dug in Cole’s glove box
and found the remote control, pressing the OPEN button. She leaned
forward as he carefully drove up the drive and the rustic, two
story house came into view – the house she’d grown up in and the
first one her father had ever purchased.

As soon as Cole put the car in park, she unsnapped
her seat belt and bolted out the door, eager to see her parents
even though she’d barely been gone a month.

“Don’t worry, Al,” he called after her sarcastically.
“I’ll get your bag.”

“Thanks,” she shouted over her shoulder as RJ’s car
parked behind Cole’s. Ally bounded up the steps, figuring her
friends would follow soon enough. They’d been there plenty of times
and knew they were always welcome – didn’t even need to knock as
they all had their own keys.

Cole watched as she dashed up the steps where Liz,
Ally’s mom, waited. He admired the striking difference between the
two of them and the similarities. They were nearly the same height,
Ally maybe a touch shorter, but Ally was dark with blue eyes
whereas Liz was blonde with green eyes. He watched as they embraced
before he dragged Ally’s bag out of the trunk and followed Alec up
the steps.

Jay, Ally’s father, stepped out on the porch and
grinned at Cole as Ally launched herself into his arms. Jay kissed
the top of her head as he hugged her while Alec greeted his
mother.

“How’s school, princess?” Jay asked. Cole snorted as
he brushed past them, earning a glare from Ally.

“Fine, Daddy,” she said, ignoring Cole.

Cole laughed and entered the house, not surprised to
find everyone gathered in the living room, waiting for their
children. He dropped Ally’s bag and sought out his own father who
was standing near the fireplace, a casual arm draped around the
petite blonde’s shoulders next to him. Cole strode across the room
and embraced his father. It had only been a few weeks since he’d
left for school but Nate seemed to have developed few more lines in
his face and a little more gray touching his temples.

“How’s school going?” Nate asked, smiling fondly at
his son.

“Good,” he answered as he moved to peck the woman
standing next to his father on the cheek. “How are you, Stacy?”

“Fine, Cole,” she smiled softly eyes sparkling. “You
look tired. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, waving off her concerns. He ruffled
her hair and turned to greet Richie and Callie - RJ’s parents, and
Mark, and Gretchen - Jamie’s parents.

They all retired to the deck and he watched as Jamie
threw a football to the younger boys. RJ’s little brothers, Ray and
Ricky, looked like miniature Richie’s while Jamie’s little brother,
Trevor, greatly resembled Gretchen. The mish-mashed family was all
together again and normally that would bring him great peace. But
that usual feeling was absent thanks to the tenseness that existed
between him and Ally.

He scanned the deck and found her with her arms
around her father, smiling up at him, telling him all about her
first volleyball game of the year. He kissed the top of her head
and chucked her under the chin.

“Sorry I couldn’t get your game,” he apologized. “I
might not be able to make any at all this year but we’ll be done
with the tour for most of basketball and probably all of softball
season.”

She beamed at him and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay,
Daddy. I understand.”

Cole turned away from them and walked to the edge of
the deck, promptly lighting a cigarette.

“I’m going to go say hi to Dancer,” he heard her say.
She bounded off the deck and dashed to the barn to visit with her
horse. “I’ll be right back,” she shouted.

A pair of arms wrapped around his waist, startling
him, and he jerked around to find Liz. He smiled at her and placed
his arm around her shoulders. He’d always loved Liz and used to
wish his own mother was more like her. “I thought you were going to
quit?” she said.

He shrugged, a rueful smile on his lips. “Yeah, well,
you know.”

“You two are arguing, aren’t you?” she asked quietly,
nodding at the barn in which Ally had disappeared.

He let out a short laugh. “How’d you guess?”

She just smiled knowingly and patted his stomach. “I
watched you two grow up together and I know how close you are. I
could always tell when you two had a disagreement because you both
are so stubborn that neither one wants to apologize.”

He let out a genuine laugh and hugged Liz to his
side. “Well, you pretty much hit the nail on the head this
time.”

“She’ll come around,” Liz reassured him. “Come on and
eat. I know your dad is anxious to get you home. He has a lot to
talk to you about.”

Cole blanched as his arm locked around her. “What’s
wrong, Liz?”

She smiled again and squeezed his waist. “Honey, it’s
not bad. Please don’t worry. Come inside and get something to
eat.”

“Yeah, sure,” he said as she dropped her arms and
slipped inside the house with the other women. Cole finished his
cigarette, his eyes trained on the barn. Ally suddenly reappeared
and trekked slowly across the grounds toward the house and his
heart flinched at the pain he could tell she was trying to hide. He
wished he could do something to make everything better again but he
had no clue where to start. He’d been eager to get home and ask his
father how he should handle things but his father obviously had
something serious to discuss with him. There was no way Cole would
bring up his pesky little problems now.

His world, which had seemed so in control at the
beginning of the school year and heading in the right direction –
was suddenly spinning in crazy circles and he was getting nauseous.
He had no idea how to change things and set them right on
course.

Chapter Eight

Cole beat his dad and Stacy home. He let himself in,
dropped his bag in the brightly lit foyer and made a beeline
through the lush living room and straight to the refrigerator. He
opened the door and dug around until he pulled out a bottle of
water. He cracked the seal and started to chug as he heard the
front door open.

“Should have known you’d head for the fridge,” Nate
teased as he strolled into the kitchen and slapped Cole on the
back. “Come down to the basement when you’re done, huh?”

Cole nodded, threw his empty water bottle in the
recycling bin and grabbed two more. He pounded down the stairs and
found his dad standing near the drum kit, raking his fingers
through his hair.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting so old that you forgot
what those things are,” Cole chided as he handed his dad a bottled
water.

“Just remember who taught you,” Nate said, yanking a
set of sticks from his back pocket. He thrust them in Cole’s
hand.

“What?” Cole asked, hiding a smile and raising a
brow. “What do you want me to do?”

“Let’s hear this new stuff you and RJ are working
on,” Nate said, nodding at the drum set.

Cole grinned and set his water on a chair before
walking behind the kit and settling on the stool. He warmed up with
a simple beat before jumping in on the new stuff they’d been trying
to teach Parker.

They played around on the drums for about a half hour
until Nate grew quiet and pensive. Cole put his sticks down and got
out from behind the set.

“All right, Dad,” he said, his anxiety level rising
rapidly. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Nate sighed, snatched an ashtray from a storage chest
and motioned for Nate to follow him out of the music room and into
the huge den, complete with a large screen plasma television
anchored to the wall. Nate set the ashtray on the coffee table and
grinned at his son.

“Give me a smoke, boy, and keep it quiet. Stacy hates
when I smoke in the house,” he said a bit sheepishly.

Cole grinned, shook a cigarette out of his pack and
offered to his dad. He popped one in his mouth and lit up, too.
“She can’t kick both our asses.”

Nate laughed. “Don’t be too sure.” Nate set his
cigarette in the ashtray and watched as the bluish smoke curled as
it floated toward the ceiling. “Smoking is nasty – you need to
quit.”

“Look who’s talking,” Cole said, his insides
quivering. His dad usually just came straight out and said what was
on his mind but his beating around the bush was really starting to
worry Cole.

“I did quit,” Nate said, pointing at the cigarette
still burning in the tray. “Just once in awhile, you know, I get
that urge.”

Cole drew on his cigarette and stuck it next to his
father’s. “Just spit it out already, Dad. Tell me what’s going on
before I freak out here.”

“Cole, do you like Stacy? I mean, honestly,” Nate
asked, his eyes not meeting his son’s.

Cole wrinkled his brow, totally confused. Maybe
something was wrong with Stacy or maybe she was leaving or
something. Cole hoped not – his dad had spent most of his life
working and doing things for Cole. It was about time he had some
kind of happiness in his life. And he knew Nate was crazy about
Stacy – apparently they’d dated years and years ago but had to
break up for some reason – something to do with her family. Cole
swallowed uneasily. “Yeah, Dad. You know I’ve always told you if I
didn’t like a woman you were dating. I’ve always been honest with
you about that.”

Nate nodded slowly. “Stacy and I have been talking
and I think we’ve decided to just go ahead and get married.” Cole’s
eyes lit up and his mouth opened but Nate stopped him from
speaking. “But I’m not going to do it if you don’t approve.”

“How can you say that?” Cole protested, his voice
coming out in a squeak. “Of course I approve. I really like her and
she seems to make you happy.”

Nate visibly relaxed and stubbed the barely touched
cigarette out in the ashtray. “Well, it’s just been you and I since
you were ten and I just don’t want things to get awkward around
here.” He looked a little sheepishly at his son. “She practically
lives here, I know, but it’s not the same thing. I want to marry
her but I don’t want it to be weird for you.”

Cole shrugged and took a drink of his water. “Dad,
it’s not weird for me. I like Stacy, a lot, and I think she fits in
well in this crazy adopted sort of family we have going on here. I
know she makes you happy and it seems like you make her happy so I
think you should go for it.” Cole’s lips curled into an evil smirk.
“Or are you demanding she make an honest man out of you?”

Nate laughed and threw his bottle cap at his son.
“You’re a riot, kid.”

Cole sat back, the tension evaporating from his body.
“Yeah, I know. So when are you getting married?”

Nate shrugged. “Probably around Thanksgiving. We
already have a break from the tour scheduled so Stacy and I figured
that’s as good a time as any. It’s going to be a simple ceremony –
that’s what we both want.” Nate’s smile warmed as he placed a hand
on his son’s shoulder. “And I’d like it if you’d be the best
man.”

Cole’s eyes grew. “What about Jay?”

Nate squeezed Cole’s shoulder. “Jay understands – he
was the best man for my first marriage, anyway. He thinks it should
be this way. And Stacy’s going to have her daughter Stephanie,
stand up with her.”

Cole nodded. “Ah, the elusive daughter I’ve never
met.”

“That’s because you’re always away at school and she
was with her dad over the summer.” Nate finished off his water and
crushed the bottle in his hands. “Stacy wants to transfer her to
Woodsedge Academy after the holidays.”

Cole rolled his eyes and fell back into the sofa.
“Maybe Stephanie can hang out with Ally and take some of the heat
off my back.”