Chapter 7
Kelly hung up the phone as it rolled to voice mail. Again. "Dammit, Parker, where the hell are you?" he muttered as he stowed the phone in his pocket.
Parker rolled over and picked up her phone. The alarm was chirping. She punched the button to make it stop, then got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.
"About time you got up," she heard her grandmother call from the living room.
She turned on the shower and stepped inside. The hot water felt wonderful. She would have loved to stay in there all day, but she wanted to be considerate of her Grandmother's water bill, and she also needed to get home so she could get changed for work. Summer classes meant part time hours, which was why she had her marine mechanic job.
Shower complete, she stepped out and ran a comb through her hair. She then gave it a quick braid before she went back to the bedroom to get dressed. She was grateful Mary Alice let her keep a few changes of clothes in the spare bedroom. It came in handy when it she decided to spend the night. She quickly made the bed and folded the light blanket that Mary Alice always kept at the bottom. She added the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls that she had played with as a child. All those years later, she still loved the classic dolls.
"Park? Breakfast is getting cold."
"I'm coming," she said as she gave the bed a final inspection .
She tossed yesterday's clothes into the hamper and left the room. She walked into the kitchen. Mary Alice had made one of her feasts. Parker took it all in, and realized that if she ate everything, she would be stuffed for a week.
"Come sit down and eat."
Parker poured coffee while her grandmother fixed her a plate. When Mary Alice set it in front of her, she couldn't believe it. "Grandma, this is too much. There is no way I can eat all of this."
"Eat. You'll need your energy later."
"I'm just going to be working on the computer all day. I finished up my last boat repair last night."
Mary Alice sat down opposite her. "You know, your grandfather was so proud of you for taking over for him."
"He taught me everything I know. He was a good mechanic."
Mary Alice nodded. "I miss him."
"I do too."
Parker dug into her breakfast. She had taken over her grandfather's marine mechanic business after he died. While it was full time work in the spring and summer, it wasn't during the winter. She worked as a librarian because she needed the income for when she wasn't repairing engines. She grew up watching her grandfather fix engines for twenty five years. When she was about ten, he allowed her to start handing him the needed tools. He eventually allowed her to start fixing when she was about sixteen.
"Park?"
She shook her head and looked at Mary Alice.
"Your phone," she prodded.
She looked down at her phone. It was the same number from last night. She checked her phone log and saw seven missed calls. "Who the hell keeps calling me?" she grumbled as she swiped open the phone. "Hello?"