In My Father's Shadow (31 page)

“Hey, Al,” Cole said as he dropped next to her. Her
heart flipped as she smiled at him. “How’s things?”

“Fine,” she said.

“Yeah, okay,” he said with a smirk. “I heard you’ve
been a basket case, jumping down people’s throats and stuff.”

She shrugged and turned her eyes back to her book.
“People are just too sensitive sometimes.”

He removed the book from her hands and cupped her
cheek. “You need to chill, Al. You need to stop worrying about it
because it’s not going to help anything.”

“I know,” she said tersely. She sighed and raked her
hand through her hair. “I just want this really bad!”

He straddled the bench and closed her book, setting
it on top of the picnic table. “What day is your appointment?”

“Wednesday.”

“And your parents are going to be in L.A.?” he
asked.

She nodded. “Alec’s flying out there tomorrow to join
them for the week. My mom wanted to come with me but I told her
absolutely not. I want to do this on my own.”

He studied her for a few minutes and took one of her
hands between his. “So, does that mean you don’t want me to
come?”

“You’d come?” she asked, stunned. Of course she’d
wanted to ask him or even Jamie or RJ to accompany her, but her
pride had prevented it. She was desperate to prove her independence
but – if she was being honest – she’d admit she needed a little
moral support.

“Yeah, I would.” He smiled softly. “Maybe we could
spend a few days there. Take in the museums or something.”

“I’d love that,” she smiled and wrenched her hand
from his to throw her arms around his neck. “Thanks, Cole.”

He rubbed her back. “I thought you might. I’ll make
the arrangements.” He kissed the top of her head. “You’d better let
your parents know. Oh, and make sure you inform Jay that you’ll
have your own room.”

She pulled back to beam at him and laugh. “I’ll tell
him.”

“Hey,” Jamie called, plopping down next to them.
“What are you guys doing for spring break?”

Ally smiled at Jamie and laced her fingers through
Cole’s. “We’re going to Chicago for a few days. I have to do my
physical and all that. Why? You have a better idea?”

“Nope but I thought that since it was RJ and Cole’s
last year with us we’d all do something together,” Jamie mused.

Ally looked up at Cole hopefully and he shrugged.
“Why don’t you guys come to Chicago?” she suggested.

“Ally’s physical is Wednesday. Maybe we can get a
couple of rooms and hang out downtown for the week. We can catch a
hockey game or check out the museums or something,” Cole said.

“That sounds cool. I’ll ask RJ,” Jamie said, hopping
up from the bench. “I’ll talk to you guys about it later.”

Cole draped his arm casually around Ally’s shoulders.
“Want to go to Mario’s and grab some pizza?”

“Are you asking me out on a date?” she asked, her
heart pounding freakishly hard in her chest.

He considered her carefully. “I guess I am.”

She stood up, her eyes shimmering. “Good. That means
you have to pay.”

***

Mario’s was quiet and they’d managed to snag a
private table toward the back. The dining room was dim and Ally
thought it added a bit of romance to the evening. She was doing the
best she could to rein in her excitability but it wasn’t working
well.

They ordered pizza and chatted pleasantly while they
waited for the waitress to bring them their drinks. Once she did
and hurried away, Cole grinned.

“So, I talked to my dad earlier and he told me that
he’s going to be working with your dad.”

“You’re kidding!” Ally said, her eyes bright. “That
is so cool. Too band Richie and Mark won’t work with them,
too.”

“Al,” Cole said, taking her hand. “They don’t want to
right now. They told us that they wanted to take a little break and
decide whether or not they wanted to retire.”

“I know,” Ally sighed. “It’s just strange to think
that they’re not all working together anymore.”

Cole ran his thumb over the top of her hand. “Things
change, princess, you know that. As great as Tight Control is, they
can’t last forever.”

She glared at him. “That’s not what you were saying a
couple weeks ago.”

He smirked and gave her a wink. “That’s not what had
me upset and you know it but we’re over that argument. I was wrong
and you were right.”

“Let’s mark the calendar,” Ally said.

He laughed and tugged her closer to press a kiss on
her temple.

Later that evening, she returned to her room in
brighter spirits than she’d been in months. The date had gone well
and even though they hadn’t discussed their relationship, she felt
that things were moving along the right track.

She just hoped she was right.

Chapter Twenty-Five

They arrived in Chicago Saturday afternoon and
checked into their hotel. Cole went all out and rented a two
bedroom suite, wanting to make it as memorable a trip as possible
for Ally. RJ and Jamie split the cost of a suite also, jokingly
telling Stephanie she could sleep on the sofa in the sitting
room.

Ally explored the suite with child-like eyes,
admiring the elegant décor. She opened the door to each bedroom and
gaped. “You know,” she called out to Cole, who was exploring the
kitchenette in search of food. “This is really cool. Thank
you.”

“No problem, princess,” he called out. “There’s no
food in here.”

“Don’t call me that. You’re not mad because I wanted
RJ and Jamie to come along, are you?” she asked as she wandered
into the kitchenette and leaned on the counter.

He eyed her curiously. “And Stephanie,” he reminded
her. “And no, I’m not mad. Why would you think that?”

She shrugged and dropped her eyes to the smooth
counter. “I thought maybe we’d, you know, figure out this week if
we wanted to be together.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against
the wall. “That’s not why I brought you here. That wasn’t my
intention, Ally.”

“I know,” she said, moving around the counter to
stand in front of him. “But I did what you said and thought a lot
about what I want and I want you.”

His pulse quickened as he looked into her blue eyes.
He gripped her shoulders, wanting to just take her in his arms and
assure her that things would be fine but he was still a little
leery. “Al, we need to have this conversation but you know…”

Someone pounded on the door.

He groaned and rested his forehead on the top of her
head. “Like I was saying, you know someone is going to knock on the
door any second.”

She laughed as she moved reluctantly away from Cole
to open the door. RJ came bounding in, Jamie and Stephanie close
behind. She smiled as he compared their suite to his. It’d been a
rough couple weeks for the four of them. Slowly, she’d forgiven
them, though the closeness they’d shared over the years hadn’t
reached the high level it once had been. She wasn’t too worried;
she figured it would come to them and she’d placed a lot of hope
that this week together would help. In the back of her mind, a
little bit of hurt still lingered, but it was healing as each one
of her boys went out of his way to do little things to make it up
to her. She loved them all so much for it.

Her relationship with Stephanie was something she was
going to have to put a lot of effort into. The other girl’s remarks
about her father still stung, even though she knew Stephanie hadn’t
actually meant it. Stephanie didn’t overly try to befriend her, but
Ally could see the hope in her eyes each time they were together.
Ally still resented how quickly the boys had accepted her, and she
only hoped that with time, it would fade - especially now that her
relationship with Cole seemed to be taking a turn for the
better.

And the budding relationship between Jamie and
Stephanie enforced that need for Ally to try harder. Problem was,
Ally didn’t know how to have girlfriends. She talked with Jeana
often and she shared camaraderie with her teammates, but as far as
having a real, true girlfriend, that was something Ally had never
experienced. She was used to being one of the guys.

“Don’t think too hard, Ally,” RJ teased, wrapping his
arm around her shoulders. “We can see smoke coming out of your
ears.”

She rolled her eyes and lightly punched his arm. “So
what are we gonna do first?”

“Eat,” the boys all said at once. Ally caught
Stephanie’s eye and both girls laughed.

***

They spent the rest of the weekend wandering around
the city. Although the temperature was mild, it was still chilly
enough to force them to stick to places where they could gather
indoors.

Cole constantly held her hand or had an arm thrown
around her shoulders and the excitement from his touch thrilled
her. Every night in their suite, they would sit on the sofa and
talk. At first all she talked about was the physical and the work
out but gradually she turned to other things - like her jealous
feelings toward Stephanie and how hurt she’d been when they weren’t
talking. In turn, he opened up to her, explaining how scared he
still was about being in a real relationship.

Monday night found them sitting in a dark, twenty-one
and under club listening to a DJ play dance mixes which none of
them really knew. RJ was scanning the crowds, catching the eye of
many girls who tried to entice him to the dance floor. He just
grinned or winked but didn’t join them when they sashayed away to
dance.

“You ready to go back, princess?” Cole whispered in
her ear, and his breath on her skin only heightened her awareness
of him.

She nodded. “Don’t call me that.”

He stood, took her hand and grinned. “Whatever.”

“You guys going back?” RJ asked with an annoying
smirk.

Cole pushed him playfully. “Yeah. Don’t pick up any
strange women.”

“The stranger the better,” he remarked.

They bid the others good-night and caught a cab back
to their hotel.

Once they returned to their room, Cole locked the
door and led her to the sofa. They sat close together, silently at
first, each collecting their thoughts.

“Al, I know things are going better between us, but I
don’t want you thinking that just because we’ve come a long way and
just because we’re alone in a hotel room that you have to do
anything. Got it?”

She removed her jacket and draped it carefully over
the back of the sofa. “I didn’t think that at all. I know you’re
not like that.” She turned toward him, a scowl on her face. “What
made you think of that?”

He pulled her closer and held her. “Well, the way RJ
was sort of razzing us at the club … I didn’t know if you thought
that I wanted us to…you know.”

She nestled into him and giggled. “Cole, I know
you’ve struggled with that issue since we’ve decided to try this so
of course I know you didn’t plan on seducing me or anything.”

“Al,” he said, taking a deep breath. Her heart
stopped in her chest as she knew the moment had finally come.

“Yeah?” she asked in as strong a voice as she could
muster. It wasn’t very strong at all.

“I love you, Al, and I have to agree with you. I
don’t think I could ever go back to just being your friend.” He
kissed the top of her head as his arms tightened around her. “I
guess we’re stuck struggling through all this. I mean, if you’re
game.”

She wriggled out of his arms and straddled his lap.
She held his head in her hands and kissed him firmly. “I love you,
too, and I’m willing to struggle through anything for you. I know
we’ll work, Cole. I’ll work harder.”

“It’s going to get harder, you know,” he said, giving
her a stern look. “This is my last year of school – we won’t see
each other every day.”

“I know that,” she said, not budging. “But no one
else interests me, Cole. I don’t want to be with anyone else but
you.”

He smiled and ran his finger through her hair.
“There’s no one else I want to be with, either.”

“And I believe in us,” she whispered. She leaned in
to kiss him softly.

He kissed her back, tugging her closer. “Me, too,
princess, I promise.”

She grinned, her heart floating high above the earth.
She flung her arms around his neck and pressed her body against
his. She was a little afraid of the future – unsure of where things
would take them, but she was ready to give it a shot. He was worth
it. “I want to be with you, Cole. More than anything.”

He rubbed her back and pressed kisses in her hair.
“Me, too, princess. Now, it’s getting late – why don’t you go to
bed and we’ll do something fun tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she said edging back to kiss him and scuttle
off his lap. “And don’t call me that.”

***

Wednesday morning finally arrived and she endured her
grueling physical. The doctors poked and prodded her and put her
ankle through every kind of test imaginable. She was worn out
before it came time to hit the field.

Once the doctors finished torturing her, she was able
to enjoy a short break before she had to report to the chilly,
soggy softball field. She dressed in a pair of gray baseball pants
and one of Cole’s Woodsedge Academy t-shirts. She tossed her hair
back into a secure ponytail, tied her cleats and hit the field.

Cole and the others climbed the frigid bleachers in
order to get a good seat. Although it was early April, the
temperature had climbed to the middle sixties. But it didn’t make
the steel bleachers any warmer.

Cole watched anxiously as about fifteen girls walked
out onto the field, each one dressed for a workout. When Ally
stepped on the diamond, his heart flipped. He smiled, hoping his
shirt would bring her extra luck; not that she needed it, he
thought. She had always impressed him with her athletic prowess and
he was sure she’d knock the socks off all the coaches watching
today.

One by one, the girls entered the batter’s box and
faced the pitching machine while three or four coaches with
clipboards stood around, jotting down notes and consulting with
each other. Finally, Ally made her way to the plate and dug her
cleats into the dirt. She took a few practice swings as Cole leaned
forward, anxiously. She let the first couple of pitches blow by,
gauging their speed and positions. Finally, she swung and sent the
ball straight up and behind her.