In My Father's Shadow Read Free Page B

“Have him give me a
call.”
    She nodded, staring into his laughing brown eyes.
“Cole?”
    “What?” he asked softly.
    She didn’t know if she was mentally ready to have
this discussion but since her mouth jumped out ahead of her brain
again, she figured she didn’t have much of a choice. And she was
never one to back down from a challenge. “Why are we not friends
all of a sudden?”
    “What the hell are you talking about?” he asked, a
spark of irritation flashing in his eyes. “We’re still
friends.”
    She yanked her wrist out of his grip and placed her
hand on his thigh. “You didn’t call me all summer while I was at
camp and you’ve been sort of…tense…around me since school
started.”
    He raised a brow and wagged a finger at her. “You
didn’t call me either.”
    She looked away from him and studied a poster of
Mozart hanging on the wall near the door. “Was it because we…you
know. Was it because of that?”
    He grabbed her chin, forcing her wide eyes to meet
his. “We kissed, Ally. It’s okay to say it. And it was just one
kiss -it’s not like it meant anything.”
    Pain shot through her heart as she pulled out of his
grip. She stood quickly and stepped away from the piano, eager to
put some space between them. “You’re right. It didn’t mean a
thing.”
    “Al,” he groaned as he got to his feet and cautiously
approached. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He made an attempt to
take her hand but she snatched it out of reach and folded her arms
across her chest.
    “I know what you meant, Cole,” she said through
gritted teeth. “And I’m sorry I brought up the whole mess. I’ll get
out of your way so you can practice.”
    “No, not until you hear me out,” he said firmly. He
yanked her arms loose and closed his hand over hers. His eyes
softened as his voice took on an edge of desperation. “Al, I only
meant that just because we kissed, it didn’t mean we had to jump
into some kind of relationship -neither one of us wants that. And
besides, we’re best friends. I don’t want us to let that one kiss
ruin our friendship.”
    She wasn’t the type to cry so she grew irritated when
she felt tears building behind her eyes. She sucked in a breath,
hoping to chase them away. She didn’t want them to fall in front of
Cole and betray the nonchalant mask she was working hard to keep in
place.
    “Yeah, okay,” she said, avoiding his eyes as her
heart crumbled in her chest. She wasn’t sure what her reaction
meant and wished she could stop the hurt. Cole was right – they
didn’t need to jump into a relationship. She didn’t want to ruin
their friendship, either.
    “Al? We’re on the same page here, right?” he asked.
Sighing, she nodded so he loosened the hold he had on her hand and
gave it an affectionate squeeze. “Why don’t you stick around and
listen to us play?”
    “Sure,” she told him with a weak smile. “I’m curious
to see if you still suck.”
    With a laugh, he released her hand so he could stroke
her cheek instead. “Al, you don’t want us to be in some kind of
romantic relationship, do you?”
    She swallowed and placed her hand over his, removing
it from her cheek. “No, I don’t. But I do want my friend back.”
    He grunted a laugh and kissed her forehead softly.
“I’m here and I promise to stop being a jerk, okay?”
    She rolled her eyes as her heart lightened a fraction
of a bit. “Good luck with that.” She pulled out of his embrace and
returned to the piano bench. She tapped out a childish melody
before smiling at him over her shoulder. “Come on. Play something
with me while you wait for the others.”
    He sat down next to her and the two of them plucked
away until RJ came storming through the door, his younger brother
Ren in his wake.
    “Heart and Soul? Are you serious? Really? You guys
are killing me,” RJ exclaimed.
    Cole shrugged. “It’s the only thing the princess here
knows how to play.”
    She smacked Cole’s shoulder. “Stop