Out of the Shadow by Jl Paul Page A

be home soon, won’t she? I thought she just went to her dad’s for the summer?”
    “ Yeah, she will be,” Jamie said. “She’s going to school here so she’ll still be living with Nate and Stacy.”
    “ Things aren’t so great with her though, are they?” Ally prodded. “Cole doesn’t like to talk about it a lot but I always get the feeling that things are strained.”
    “ I don’t know,” Jamie said, pushing the hair off his forehead. “I don’t know what goes through that girl’s head half the time. She’s determined to drive Stacy nuts, I think.”
    “ I think you’re right,” Ally concurred. “She’s sort of a sore subject with Cole. He doesn’t talk about her much.”
    Just as Jamie was about to respond, his phone rang again. He groaned and rolled his eyes, making Ally smile. She reached across the bed and grabbed the phone, her smile widening as Cole’s name appeared on the screen.
    “ I’ll answer this for you,” she said. She flipped the phone open. “Hey, handsome.”
    “ Jeez, James, what’s up with your voice? You’re sounding a little high pitched,” Cole teased.
    “ Well,” Ally said, winking at Jamie. “I’m not as masculine as you think. As a matter of fact, I’m rather girly.”
    Jamie shook his head and reached for the phone but Ally jerked her head back out of his reach.
    “ How are you, princess?” Cole asked. “Helping Jamie pack I assume.”
    “ Don’t call me that,” she chastised. “And yes, I’m helping Jamie pack – somebody has to. Where are you guys?”
    “ Somewhere in Utah. Listen, Al, I’d love to sit and talk to you all night but I only have a couple minutes and I really need to speak to Jamie.”
    “ Sure,” she said, her bottom lip protruding. “But call me later – no matter the time.”
    “ I will,” he promised as she handed the phone to Jamie.
    She sat on the bed and watched her cousin warily, straining to eavesdrop on this particular conversation. Jamie’s eyes kept darting to her as he answered Cole carefully and she knew without a doubt that they were talking about her.
    “ I’ll do that,” Jamie said, turning away from her. “I’ll get back with you on what I find out.”
    He closed the phone and once again tossed it to the bed. He stood, gathered his sports equipment, and dumped it in a box. He pushed everything down and shut the lid, a ghost of a smile flitting across his lips.
    “ What was that all about?” she asked.
    “ What?” he asked, not looking at her.
    “ You know what,” she said. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped a foot. “What did Cole want?”
    “ A favor,” Jamie said as he dug a black marker out of his desk drawer and scribbled on the box he’d just packed. “A favor I’m not allowed to discuss with you so drop it. You can pester him about it later when he calls you but I’d rather not have the headache.”
    She dropped her arms with a groan and whipped around to finish packing, using less care than she’d originally started. She shoved his shirts in the suitcase and crammed his socks in the open spaces.
    “ All right, that’s enough for now,” he said, knowing she’d pout until she spoke to Cole. “Let’s get some food. I can finish the rest of this later.”

 
    Chapter Seven
 
    Ally greeted Deanna, the receptionist, as she waited for the security door to be unlocked. She waved as she dashed down the hall to the elevator, catching it before it could be called away to another floor. She rode it patiently and when the doors opened, she grinned as she practically skipped down the hall. She paused momentarily in front of Nate’s open office, deciding she’d offer him the opportunity to take her to lunch along with her father, but the office was empty.
    She frowned but figured he was probably hanging out in her dad’s office. She turned quickly and ran into a hard body.
    “ Oh, sorry,” she said, raising her blazing cheeks to the handsome face smirking at her. “Oh!