Page 56 of Putting Out
“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 readIn 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. It 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.
