In My Father's Shadow by Jl Paul

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