In My Father's Shadow (20 page)

He cupped her face with both hands. “Don’t cry, Ally,
please.”

She sniffed and looked at him, at a total loss as to
where to go. “Cole,” she said hoarsely. “We either do this or we
don’t. No more halfway. I can’t take it.”

He nodded, swaying a little as his eyes searched her
face frantically. “I agree.”

“So what is it?” she whispered, body trembling.

He kissed her softly and rested his forehead against
hers. “I say we do it, Al. I know you’re not a coward and I’m tired
of being one.”

She closed her eyes and tried to smile but she wasn’t
able to muster one. “Maybe we should talk about this tomorrow.”

“I’m not drunk, Al,” he stated. “Yeah, a little
buzzed, but not drunk. I know what I’m doing.”

She bit her lip and looked into his muddy brown eyes.
She put her hand behind his neck and pulled him down. She kissed
him, her eyes fluttering shut and her heart swelling. His hands
tangled in her hair and once again, that heat warmed her entire
body and she reluctantly moved her hands to his chest and gently
shoved him back, her chest heaving.

“You’re killing me, Al,” he said, breathing
heavily.

“I’m sorry,” she said, biting her lip.

He kissed her again. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?” she asked, her heart ready
to crack. “Is this why you stopped talking to me? Because of the
night of the dance?”

He smiled feebly and shifted so they were both lying
on their sides. “Sort of. Things got out of hand quickly that
night, didn’t they?”

She nodded, fighting a smile. “Yes.”

He took a deep breath and released it, making her
wince as the smell of alcohol lingered near her face. “I panicked,
Al. I didn’t know how to handle that, you know? I mean, you were my
best friend and then all of a sudden we’re making out, getting
close to things that I didn’t think either one of us was ready for.
Do you understand?”

She sighed and let her head fall to his chest. “Yes.
More than you know.”

“Well, I didn’t handle it well, I know,” he said,
pausing to kiss her forehead. “I’m really sorry, Al. I just thought
I needed some time to figure out what to do. And I hurt you in the
process. I’m so sorry about that.”

“I wish you would have just talked to me about it,
Cole,” she said, her heart twisting in her chest. “I was feeling
the same way and I wasn’t sure what to do, either. Maybe we could
have worked it out together.”

“Maybe we can still work it out together,” he said,
clumsily pushing her hair behind her ear.

“Do you still want to?” she asked, keeping the
desperation out of her voice.

“Of course I do,” he said with a grin. “I didn’t want
to end things, princess.”

“Don’t call me that,” she said without much menace.
She snuggled closer to his chest and he tightened his hold on
her.

“I still want us to be together,” he said. “I’ll try
harder, okay?”

“Me, too,” she said.

He chuckled. “You didn’t do anything, Al. This one is
on me.” He yawned and held her closer. “We just need to relax,
right? Let things happen. But as far as the sex thing – that’s
something we should wait on for a bit. That’s a really big step and
I’m afraid that if we do it…”

“That it could ruin our friendship?” she finished,
burying her face in his chest. “I know, Cole. I’ve thought the same
thing. And I think you’re right about that.”

He stroked her hair tenderly. “I should go and let
you rest. We can talk more about this in the morning.”

“No,” she protested, jerking her head up. “Stay with
me tonight. Please.”

He studied her pleading face. “Okay,” he said,
tossing the blankets off of them and sliding off the bed. He
offered her a hand and helped her with her crutches. He seemed a
bit steadier on his feet and she hoped maybe he’d sobered up some.
She was afraid maybe everything he’d said was under the influence
and he wouldn’t remember anything in the morning. “But we’ll stay
in my room. The door locks and no one will bother us.”

They crossed the hall, the shrieks of laughter from
the kitchen drifting all the way up the stairs. They entered his
room and he shut the door and locked it before turning to her and
kissing the top of her head.

“I’m going to go change in the bathroom. Why don’t
you get in bed and get comfortable.”

She got in his bed, making sure her left leg, the one
with the cast, was against the wall. She didn’t want to bump his
shin with it in the middle of the night and cause him any pain.

He returned, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and
climbed in bed next to her. He turned out the lights and pulled her
to his chest. “Comfortable?”

She nodded and snuggled into him. “It’s perfect.”

In no time, she dozed in a light sleep while he
stared into the darkness, softly stroking her arm. He loved her and
he knew it, finally realized it. But they still had things to work
out – things to talk about – and he couldn’t start spewing
romantic, sappy words of love until he was sure they’d get through
all the crap and make it.

His cell phone chirped and he grabbed it off the
table next to his bed, hoping it hadn’t wakened her. “Yeah,” he
said quietly.

“Dude, is Ally with you?” Jamie asked, not quite
soberly.

“Yeah man. She’s sleeping,” Cole chirped back.

“Take care of her, man. She’s my favorite cousin and
my best friend and I love her, dude.”

“You know I will, James.” Cole smiled in the darkness
as he waited for Jamie to chirp him back.

He didn’t have to wait long. “Dude,” it was RJ this
time sounding just as intoxicated as Jamie. “I love her too, man.
Don’t mess it up.”

“I’ll try not to,” Cole said, holding in his
laugh.

“We really do love her,” Jamie cut across RJ.

“I know,” Cole said, dropping a soft kiss on Ally’s
head. “I love her, too.”

In the dark, Ally smiled.

***

Cole woke the next morning with a slight headache, a
weight on his chest, and something tickling his nose. He opened his
eyes and found Ally’s hair all over his face. He brushed it away
and forced himself not to panic. The events of the previous evening
came back to him and he recalled most of the conversation they’d
had. He heaved a sigh of relief, knowing he’d kept things under
control and maybe partially fixed things with her again. Maybe this
time things would work out for the best. Maybe this time he
wouldn’t screw things up.

He looked down at her and listened to her light, even
breathing. Yeah, he was done. He’d lost his heart to her a long
time ago but it hadn’t really hit him until last night. He tucked
her wild hair behind her ear and promised himself that he’d do
everything in his power to protect her; to keep her from getting
hurt - and most importantly, to keep them together.

He tried to wiggle out from under her but she lifted
her head and opened her sleepy eyes. His heart melted at her groggy
smile. “Where are you going?”

He kissed her forehead. “To see about getting us some
breakfast.”

She yawned and stretched. “I’ll come with you.”

He pushed the blankets back and blanched. She was
only dressed in her undergarments and one of his t-shirts. “Not
like that you won’t.”

She rolled her eyes and scooted to the end of the
bed. “Well, give me some shorts. All I have is the dress I wore to
the wedding.”

He rummaged around in his dresser and produced a pair
of drawstring shorts. “Ah, yes,” he said as he handed them to her,
an impish gleam in his eyes and a smug smirk on his lips. “Very
nice dress it was. Brought out the color of your eyes.”

She looked at him curiously. “I didn’t think you
noticed me at all yesterday.”

He dropped to his knees before her and yanked her in
his arms, kissing her quickly on the mouth. “I noticed everything
about you yesterday, princess.” He gave her a wink and jumped to
his feet. “Get dressed. I’ll wait for you in the hall.”

Stephanie was the first one to stumble into the
kitchen. She caught Ally wrapped up in Cole’s arms in front of the
island where they had various breakfast foods sprawled out.

She cleared her throat, forcing them apart and
causing heat to rush to Ally’s cheeks. She buried her face in his
chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

“Good morning, love birds,” Stephanie said, overly
sweet. “Nice to see you’ve reconciled.”

“Can it Steph,” Cole laughed, holding onto Ally’s
waist as she grabbed the crutches leaning against the island. “You
guys made quite the mess down here last night.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “That’s why I got up
this early, to come clean it.”

He waved her away and moved back to the stove to
check on the sausage. He turned off the fire and grabbed a plate
from a cabinet. “Me and Al got it.”

“I see. And started breakfast,” Stephanie flashed a
smile in Ally’s direction. “What do you need me to do?”

“Go wake the idiots,” Ally smirked, knowing what they
were like in the morning and imagining it would be ten times worse
after they’d spent the night drinking. Serves them right, though.
She wrinkled her brow. “And was I dreaming last night or did they
all chirp Cole, telling him how much they loved me?”

Stephanie laughed as she yanked open the refrigerator
and located a carton of orange juice. She poured a glass and took a
long drink. “Oh, it was funny. I tried to get them to go upstairs
and crash but they insisted on finding you first to tell you they
were sorry they got drunk and to tell you they loved you.”

Ally laughed. “Maybe I should get them drunk more
often – maybe they’d appreciate me more.”

“They appreciate you,” Cole said, handing Ally his
spatula. He kissed her cheek. “Guess it just takes alcohol to get
them to admit it.” He chucked her under the chin as he dashed out
of the kitchen, calling over his shoulder that he’d go wake the
others.

“You four are really close, huh,” Stephanie said when
Cole left the room.

Ally nodded, flipping the sausages onto the plate.
“We grew up together. We’ve always been close.”

“But you and Cole,” she said, thoughtfully. “You’re
romantically involved?”

Ally shrugged. “Just recently. I think it’s always
been there but we’ve just ignored it.”

Stephanie frowned as she opened cabinets, rifling
through things until she located a can of coffee. She scooped some
out into a coffee filter and filled the pot. She hit the switch and
leaned against the counter. “You guys had an argument or something
before you came home, didn’t you?” Ally nodded. “Yeah, I knew
something was wrong with Cole when he came home the other night and
I’d never met him before. I tried to get him to talk but he
wouldn’t.”

“Really,” Ally said, eyes wide.

Stephanie nodded. “I like him. A lot. And I think he
likes me. I think the two of us will be friends, like stepsiblings
should be.” She smiled at Ally as she pushed away from the counter
to gesture with her hands. “But I never wanted to butt into
whatever you had going on with him. Or automatically assume I would
be accepted into your circle of friends.”

Ally hung her head, ashamed of the jealous feelings
and mean thoughts she’d had towards the other girl. “I’m really
overprotective of the boys. And jealous. I’m sorry if I treated you
coldly.”

“No, Ally, you didn’t,” Stephanie reassured her. “I
just wanted to be straight with you from the start, especially
since we’ll be seeing a lot of each other. My mom transferred me to
your school and I’m to start after Thanksgiving.”

“I thought she was sending you there after the
Christmas holidays?” Ally said, a little confused. “I thought you
had to go back to your dad’s house until Winter Break?”

Stephanie shook her head. “No. Basketball training
starts when school resumes and I don’t want to miss it so Mom and
Nate said I should just move in during Thanksgiving Break. I play
basketball and softball.”

Ally nodded and turned back to the stove, a strange
feeling churning in her stomach.

Chapter Seventeen

Thanksgiving evening, Liz knocked on Ally’s bedroom
door. They’d had a nice holiday; her grandparents and Ethan and
Caroline had been there along with Richie, Callie, Mark, and
Gretchen and their kids. All that had been missing was Nate and his
family. But Stacy had wanted to do Thanksgiving alone that year.
She’d wanted everyone to bond. Ally missed Cole severely,
especially after spending the night after the wedding with him.
He’d taken her to the movies and out to dinner Monday night but
they hadn’t spent any time together since.

She’d managed to sneak away with RJ and Jamie earlier
that evening so they could discuss the big get together Saturday
night and figure a way to bring up the rumors again, but it had
seemed incomplete since Cole hadn’t been with them. None of them
had been able to come up with a single plan to get the adults to
talk.

“Come in,” Ally called, thinking it was Alec. He’d
come to her room each night, after she got home, so they could
speculate what would happen when they all got together again on
Saturday night.

“I’m surprised you’re home tonight,” Liz smiled as
she sat on her daughter’s bed. Ally blushed and sat down next to
her, pulling her desk chair to prop her ankle up. “How’s the
ankle?”

“Better,” Ally answered honestly. “Can’t wait to get
this stupid cast off, though.”

“Ally, what’s going on with you and Cole?” Liz
asked.

Ally smiled dreamily “We’re dating. We’ve struggled
through this since September and I think we’ve finally figured it
out.”

Liz smiled softly as she gazed lovingly at her
daughter. “I always thought you two would end up together.” She
stroked her daughter’s hair. “Your dad and I were really good
friends before we got together. I was still in high school and it
was tough because sometimes I didn’t get to see him for weeks. But
every chance I got to see him, I cherished it.”