Putting Out

by S Doyle

  “What does Pop say about this?”

  Reilly squirmed in her seat and focused on her coffee. Luke continued to stare at her and eventually she broke.

  “I haven’t shown him. I don’t want to upset him. It’s bad enough with the phone calls. I show him and Grams the nice letters and Kenny and I go through the rest.”

  Luke turned to Kenny. “Do you have the other letters? The ones from this guy?”

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m with Reilly. I didn’t want Grams or Pop getting upset about it, so I burned them.”

  “I’m keeping this one,” Luke stated. “Any more that come from this guy go to me. We’ve got to take this stuff seriously. Yes, he’s probably some crackpot, but this is a kidnapping threat. Reilly is in the public eye now. Smack in the middle of it. There are going to be men out there who want her dead because of what she’s doing, and others who just want her.”

  “Are you trying to scare me?”

  “I’m trying to make you realize this isn’t a game. All those reporters, all that press, all that attention. Nothing good can come from it.”

  “We’re pretty isolated on the farm. They can’t get too close.”

  Kenny stood and made his way to the coffeepot for a refill.

  “Still, Luke’s right. Maybe some extra protection might help.”

  “Like a bodyguard? Get real.”

  “Actors use them all the time,” Luke pointed out. “Hell, your boy Buck never traveled anywhere without an entourage of five around him.”

  “That was for show. Which is exactly what people will think if they see me walking around with some oversize muscled thugs at my back. Nothing has happened. A few crazy letters. I’m not going to suddenly get paranoid and see stalkers everywhere. I’ve got other things to concentrate on.”

  “I don’t want you to be paranoid. I want you to be careful.”

  “I will be. Like Kenny said, what the heck can happen to me out here on the farm? The property line is about a half a mile in each direction.”

  “With no fence, no security, nothing to stop someone who really wanted to get to you from simply walking up to the house,” Luke said.

  Reilly opened her mouth and then closed it. Great, she thought. Now she was worried.

  “You know between Kenny’s mood and your paranoia, you’re not helping my mental conditioning. I don’t want to talk about the breathe guy anymore. Or the right- wing chauvinist freaks who think I should be beaten for trespassing on sacred male ground, or the Donna Reed clones who think I’m giving womanhood a bad name. They’re all nuts and they all deserve the same amount of my attention, which is none of it.”

  With that, Reilly stood, suggesting she was done with the conversation. She heard the front door open and turned to Luke.

  “Put it away, please.”

  He didn’t hesitate before folding up the letter and putting it in his back jean pocket. “We’re not done discussing this,” he told her.

  “We are for now.”

  A rumble of voice could be heard in the foyer. Expecting to find her Pop with an armload of groceries and Grams directing the procession, she was shocked to see both her Pop and Odie on either side of her Grams all but carrying her to a chair in the living room. Grams sank into the upholstery and put a hand over her heart. Immediately, Reilly rushed to her side to kneel in front of her.

  “What is it, Grams? Are you hurt? Faint?”

  “Hush and stop fretting,” Pop ordered. “We had a bit of an accident, that’s all.”

  Kenny made his way to the living room and stopped short when he saw his grandmother’s face. “What the hell happened?”

  “Now isn’t the time for your mouth, son. Go get me some water.”

  At Pop’s stern request, Kenny rushed off, but Luke was already on his way toward the living room with a glass halfway filled with water. He knelt beside Reilly and gently placed the glass in Grams’ hand.

  “Here you go. Sip it slowly.”

  Kenny folded his arms over his chest and stared down at his grandmother. “What happened?” he asked Odie.

  “Car accident,” Odie announced. “Some damn fool. Prob-bably one of those damn reporters. Always fussing. Always wanting some damn statement. Next time I see one, I’ll give him a statement.”

  Reilly reached up to smooth her Grams’ hair back. It was perfectly set, no doubt with rollers the night before, and despite the accident, her makeup was untouched. She was as beautiful as ever, even if she was so pale Reilly could see the blue veins underneath her skin.

  “Feeling better now?”

  “A little more steady,” she sighed. “It was such a fright. The way the van seemed to pull right into us. Like he wanted us off the road completely. Oh, dear, he nicked the door on your car, Reilly. And my walker, which was folded up next to the door, got a little banged up. It’s why your grandfather and Odie had to practically carry me inside. Of course in hindsight it was really rather romantic of both of them.”

  Pop snorted and stormed off for the kitchen. Reilly rolled back onto her feet and patted her grandmother’s hand.

  “I’ll make you some tea. It will be better than water.”

  “Maybe with a little nip in it.”

  Reilly nodded. “Absolutely.”

  In the kitchen she found Pop chugging a glass of water. It didn’t look like it had the same steadying affect. Deciding to wait until he was ready to talk about it, Reilly went about putting the teapot on the stove and finding the bottle of brandy in one of the cabinets near the refrigerator. It was barely touched and had a sticky note on it that read In Case of Emergency Only. Her Pop’s idea of a joke. She added a splash to a teacup and waited for the water to boil. In the living room she could hear both Luke and Kenny extracting the details from Odie.

  “Damn … bastard…”Pop muttered, trying to work out his rage, Reilly knew over what might have happened rather than what did.

  “I’m sorry, Pop.”

  He turned sharply, his face red with anger and his eyes still filled with panic.

  “It’s not your fault.”

  “It is. The reporters, the cameras being everywhere you go. The phone calls. The mail. All of it is because of me.”

  His face fell a little, but she knew he couldn’t refute it. Maybe she didn’t want the attention, but she sure as hell was responsible for it and she probably should have considered the impact of her decision to play.

  “I didn’t think it would get this crazy.”

  “We took your car because mine was blocked in. I didn’t think… anyway, you’ve got a big dent in the passenger side now. Sorry about that.”

  Reilly shrugged, then walked over to wrap her arms around his thick waist. “As long as you and Grams are all right, none of it matters. You know what this means. I think it’s time for me to go.”

  “No, don’t say that. It was some reporter thinking it was you, trying to get you to pull over or something. As soon as he hit me he sped right off. Probably knew if I got my hands on the little sucker I would wring his neck.”

  “It’s not fair, Pop. Grams doesn’t need this. I know she likes company but now it’s a houseful and it’s going to be this way until April. We’ll pack up and head to my house in Florida, then everything will return to normal.”

  “Normal can be boring,” Pop said with his arms tightening around her. “But I have to think of your grandmother. She’s pushing herself and…”

  “She shouldn’t have to. It will be better this way. I had already been thinking about it before this happened.”

  Actually, it had come to her the moment Luke mentioned someone walking onto the property. She didn’t quite share his concerns that she was a target for some nutcase who wanted to hurt her or kidnap her, but she was attracting a great deal of attention and that was going to affect anyone around her.

  Reilly shook her head. “What idiot thought I was going to answer questions after he ran me off the road?”

  “I don’t know. I
t was an old van with no windows. He came up the passenger side so I couldn’t see him. Or maybe it was a she. I have to confess I said several derogatory things about the person’s character on the ride home.”

  “Well, he or she deserved it. The next time I find a camera in my face I’m going to let everyone know the extent to which the media is out of control in this country. For heaven’s sake, it’s a golf tournament.”

  “Bite your tongue,” Pop demanded a little gruffly. “It’s the American. What you’re doing is a first. People will always react strongly to a first. It’s in our nature.”

  The whistle on the teapot blew and Reilly broke away from her Pop to see about the kettle. Careful, so as not to spill, she walked the cup to her grandmother, who took the first sip and sighed.

  “Nothing like a good nip.”

  This had everyone chuckling. All were assured that Grams was well recovered from her shock.

  “It’s settled,” Reilly announced. “I’m heading back to Windermere. Odie, you’re going to have to pack up all your equipment. Sorry about that, but…”

  “No problem. We’ll be packed up and on the road today. Should meet you down there in about a day or two.”

  “Wait,” Luke interjected. “I think that’s a mistake. I agree it makes sense to get out of Little Creek. You stand out like a pineapple among a field of corn in this town, but going to your place, where everyone will be able to find you easily, doesn’t make sense, either. You need someplace where you can train and be as far out of the spotlight as possible.”

  “Ideas?” Kenny prompted.

  “One,” Luke answered. “My place in Savannah.”

  “You have a place in Savannah, Georgia?” Reilly asked, stunned Luke had homes in cities she wasn’t aware of. It seemed wrong. That there was a part of his life she wasn’t aware of and didn’t have access to. Like he wasn’t supposed to move on without her only that didn’t make sense if they weren’t a couple.

  “On Skidaway Island. I bought it a couple of months ago. So that should work to our advantage.”

  “Guess that means we’re going to Savan-nah,” Odie drawled. “I’ll let Pierce know and then we’ll get cracking.”

  “I’m going to call Erica. Let her know we’re headed out.” Kenny jogged up the steps passing Odie as he did.

  “I guess I have to pack, too.” Reilly shrugged.

  “Be quick about it. Hopefully, we can get a flight out today.” Luke reached for his cell phone to start making arrangements. “It’s time to take this show on the road.”

  15

  Kenny could hear the commotion of Reilly starting to pack up her stuff. He closed the bedroom door and sat down on the bed with his cell phone. He wasn’t sure why he thought it necessary to call Erica now, but after the way they had left it, he figured he at least owed her an apology and at the very the least the courtesy of letting her know they were moving the operation.

  After all, she was supposed to be his girlfriend.

  The folded unopened birthday card in his back pocket really had nothing to do with it. He hit her contact and waited for her to pick up.

  “Hi.”

  “What do you want, Kenny?”

  “I wanted to apologize about getting so ticked off with you regarding Reilly. You’re entitled to your opinions. Looking at it now I guess it seemed silly to be so bent over it.”

  “Yeah,” she returned slowly. “It did seem silly. Kind of like one of those fake arguments a person makes up when they want to end a relationship quick and easy.”

  Kenny scowled. Hell, he never said Erica was stupid. He wouldn’t have been interested in her in the first place if she was. He was willing to acknowledge to himself at least that he’d overreacted to the situation between Erica and Reilly. He was also willing to admit the overreaction came on the heels of seeing Tessa again.

  Tessa, who wouldn’t even open a damn birthday card.

  “I don’t want to end anything,” he finally said.

  “Kenny, I’m not getting the impression you really want to start anything, either. We seem to be stuck. This thing with Reilly… I’m not kidding, it’s probably going to get ugly.”

  “Ugly? Why?”

  “Did you hear what Sinjin Rye said on television? Sure it was a jab at Reilly, but when a jerk says something about a professional golfer, an LPGA golfer, it hurts all of us. Makes us look less than what we are.”

  Since he was trying to make nice, Kenny didn’t think it was necessarily a good idea to mention he didn’t see how a nasty comment about Reilly affected the entire LPGA tour.

  “Like I said, you’re entitled to your own opinions. I’m not going to try and convince you they’re wrong.”

  “Okay. So you still want to try us.”

  “Definitely. A trial us is exactly what I had in mind.”

  “I’m heading up to LA for another tournament. You could meet me there.”

  “Actually, I also called to let you know we’re changing camps. Things are getting too hectic here. The reporters are swarming at the property lines. One got a little overzealous and bumped into the car Pop was driving with Grams in it. We don’t want them hassled anymore so we’re going to head down to one of Luke’s properties.”

  “Where?”

  “Savannah. Some house he’s got on Skidaway Island.”

  “Okay, but why do you have to go?”

  Kenny flinched. “What do you mean? Of course I have to go. She’s training for the biggest tournament she’s ever going to play in.”

  “Right. She’s training. You’re not. You’re just the caddy.”

  A rush of blood filled his face and his gut turned over on itself. He had to swallow a few times before he could speak because he sure as hell didn’t want her to know he’d reacted in any way to her comment.

  You’re just the caddy.

  He breathed out slowly. “I think I’m good for moral support. You know how Reilly can get.”

  “Not really. I’ve never seen her train for anything. She doesn’t seem to work at it. She just wins.”

  “Not this time. This time she’s working.”

  “That’s fine. For her. But what about us? How are we going to kick-start this thing if you’re in Savannah and I’m doing the west coast swing?”

  “I’ll call when I get down there. Maybe you could come for a visit or if I think Reilly can do without me for a few days, I’ll fly to the coast,” he said neutrally.

  “Okay. That’s fair. You’ll call me and let me know what’s going on?”

  “Do you want to know?”

  There was a pause on the other end. “I guess not. I can’t really be hypocritical about this, can I?”

  “No. I’ll tell Reilly you said hey.”

  “Thanks. And Kenny, I do want this to work between us. I would even fly coach to Georgia if that was all I could get just to see you.”

  He tried to smile, but couldn’t. “Coach? It must be like-like.”

  “It must be. Talk to you.”

  “Yeah.” He ended the connection as he tried to deal with what she’d said and why her words had seemed like a knife aimed directly at his back.

  She hadn’t intended them to be cruel. It was obvious from her tone she’d simply stated what was to her a fact.

  Why did he need to go to Savannah? What did he contribute?

  Without thinking, he hit another name in his contact list. The phone rang in his ear, but realized he had no clue what he was going to say if anyone answered.

  “Hi, you’ve reached Tessa. I’m not available right now but please leave a message.”

  For a second he froze as he considered if it was possible to leave a message that would change her opinion of him in some fundamental way. When he knew such words didn’t exist, he ended the call.

  Downstairs, Luke was dropping his duffel bag on top of Reilly’s suitcases.

  “Hey, you ready? We’ve got a flight in two hours.”

  Kenny shrugged. He hadn’t packed, but he was
n’t quite as over the top as Reilly was about her stuff. He could throw everything he needed together in a matter of minutes. What he was considering was not making the trip at all.

  “That was fast.”

  “A lot of frequent flyer miles and gold cards. It helps,” Luke explained. “Pierce, Odie and Pop are out in the barn breaking down the equipment. When you’re finished packing help us load up the truck.”

  “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  “Everything okay?” Luke paused at the front door.

  “Sure.” But it wasn’t.

  He wasn’t good with dealing with stuff like this. For the most part he was a happy person. He had a great job. He enjoyed women. He had all the money he needed to live the life he’d grown accustomed to. Now all of a sudden it felt as if the ground had shifted out from under his feet. Not enough to make him fall, but enough to have him stumbling.

  Truth was, things had been shifting inside before this all happened with Reilly. He’d just done a much better job of ignoring it.

  “Look out. Woman on a mission coming through.”

  Reilly stormed by him on the stairs with another bag over her shoulder. Once she reached the bottom she swung it around and chucked it on her pile near the front door.

  “That’s it. I’m ready. What about you?”

  Kenny lowered himself on one of the steps. “What would you think if I didn’t make the trip with you? I mean, there’s really no point in my being there.”

  Reilly’s jaw visibly dropped. “You’re kidding, right? You have to come.”

  “Why?”

  “Why?” Reilly asked, her voice a few octaves higher than normal. “Because you’re my caddy.”

  “How does that help you train for this? I can’t do the sit-ups for you.”

  “You push me when I stop. You mock me when I fail, so I don’t fail again. Jesus, Kenny. I can’t do this by myself. You’re my goddamn partner.”