"Thanks, Parker, but this is a red shirt." Emily held the shirt up before slipping it on.
"I know that and you know that, but he doesn't. Abby's color blind, but he's eager to please so cut him some slack."
"That he is. Must have learned it from you. Could I use your phone please?" Emily got up and headed toward the kitchen after Parker nodded her head. She left the coach and player to work out a solution to their problem while she went to work out her own.
"Thanks, Bobbie, I got a flight out tomorrow. I'm taking a couple of days off to start looking for a place as soon as I get there, so I appreciate you giving me a place to stay until I find one." After only a ten minutes Emily had found a flight back to New York and an old friend to stay with once she got there. The airline would put her on a different route for awhile to give her more time at home until she resolved her family problems, so she could use the rest of her vacation to look for a new apartment.
The pilot stepped back outside to find Parker dressed and ready for what she assumed to be more practice. The large hands that usually held a racket now held the hate letter that predicted her death, and from the movement of her eyes Emily could see she was reading it again. Gary was standing at the railing of the deck staring at the water not looking happy. Emily had never seen another person that looked so much like a free spirit just sitting still as Parker King. Who would want to kill a person for that?
"All set?" Parker looked up from the paper in her hand and smiled at Emily. She had gotten these types of things before, but these people seemed a little more organized than the rest. At the bottom of the page they had listed her schedule of play to point out different places they could get to her.
"Yeah thanks. I should let you get back to work. I have to pack and find a place to stay in town." Emily twisted the borrowed shirt she had on in her hands and waited for Parker to walk away.
"Why?"
"Why what?" Gary walked off the deck headed toward the court when he heard them begin their conversation. Emily figured he and Parker had had an argument while she was using the phone and there was no clear winner. Or maybe she was just imagining things and was projecting the fight she knew was waiting for her next door onto the two glum looking people here.
"Why are you going to stay in town, when I have three guest rooms inside that are empty? I promise to be on my best behavior, Captain, if you would grace me with your company for the evening. I'll even take you out to dinner so that you don't have to suffer through my cooking two nights in a row." Parker whispered something into the dog's ear and he went and stood in front of Emily. He lifted his paw and waved it at the small blonde trying to get her to look at him. "See, even Abby wants you to stay. I'll even drive you to the airport in the morning. I give excellent cab service."
"Well I won't complain if you want to cook for me again, you do great work in the kitchen. You really don't mind if I stay with you?" Emily scratched Abby's head as she looked at Parker.
"I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it. You want me to go over with you and help you pack?" Parker wasn't asking for any explanations of why Emily wasn't leaving with Gail, but something had happened last night and she wanted to make sure Emily was all right.
"No, get back to work before it's Gary that doesn't let me stay." Emily could see that Parker wanted to not let her go alone after Gail's performance from the previous night. Their relationship had died but Gail had never been violent, though a huge confrontation was not was she was looking for either. "How about I take Abby with me then we'll both meet you out on the court when I'm done? Since I've never scored court side tickets, this will be a treat for me."
"Just whistle if you need me to come over." Parker threw the hate mail on the table and bent down to pick up her rackets. Natasha would be there soon to begin their session and Parker wanted to finish early to spend the afternoon with Emily.
"I don't know if I can whistle that loud."
"I was talking to the dog." The creases on the blonde's forehead told Parker that she was trying to figure out if she was serious or not.
"No freaking way," said Emily finally over Parker's laughter.
Gail had gone for a walk along the beach after her shower and sleep wouldn't come to try and think of a way to apologize to Emily for her behavior. From the moment she had met Emily, Gail had fallen in love with the gregarious woman, and for the longest time she had thought Emily felt the same way about her. She had been relentless in making Emily hers, but the long trips and the constant finding of fault in her behavior were beginning to tell Gail she was losing her grip on the pilot. The problem was she wasn't ready to let go. In her other relationships it was Gail that had done the leaving, not the other way around. Aside from the night before she couldn't find a reason for Emily's pushing her away.
Nothing looked different when she got back from her walk and seeing that Emily was still gone Gail took the car into town. Maybe some flowers and a bottle of their favorite wine could be the start of a better ending to their vacation. By the time the rental car hit the end of the driveway, Emily was walking out to the tennis court over the water after dropping her bags off in one of the guest rooms of Parker's house.
It had taken less than an hour from the time she had stepped off the deck with Abby to the time she got back, but Parker and tall blonde she was playing with were covered in sweat. Like Emily had seen the day before, the two kept up a blistering pace with Gary calling out instructions every so often over the grunts that followed almost every shot.
Emily sat on a bench that was right behind the side of the net Parker was playing on and drank the bottle of water she had brought out with her. Abby jumped up next to her and put his head in her lap looking relaxed but Emily could see he was keeping his eyes on the ball waiting for the opportunity to pounce on a missed one.
"Move the shots out more, Park, aim for the lines. If your opponent thinks the balls are going to go out they might not chase them all down. When that happens, you win shots and conserve energy," said Gary. Parker let the next ball Natasha hit fly past her stopping to take a quick break.
"Why would anyone let a ball past them, Gary, I chase them all down even the ones that look like they're out by a foot." Gary threw her a couple of balls then pointed his finger at her.
"Damn right you'll chase them all down. You know that, but not everyone has me as their coach." Gary puffed up his chest a little remembering the defeated look on Jill Seabrook's face by the third game of the first set. Parker really was one of those people that came along every decade or so that combined the power of her play with the soft touch needed to win. "Now get back to work."