Bluegrass State of Mind (3 page)

Kenna found the Kranskis on the
wraparound porch and walked with them down the stone path lined
with daffodils. She slid into the back seat of their white Mercedes
sedan.

She looked out the window as they
headed toward the "big city" of Lexington. She guessed being from
New York City, anything under a couple million people seemed small;
but could understand if you are from the surrounding towns of less
than twenty-five thousand people that Lexington with its population
of three hundred thousand would be a "big city". As she stared out
the window, she felt some comfort come over her as she watched the
rolling hills of the farmland dotted with corn, tobacco, soy bean,
cows, horses and beautiful manor houses pass by. So open and so
green… she had never seen so much green.

Fifteen minutes later they approached
Keeneland and turned with a steady stream of traffic into the race
track. Kenna observed the beautiful landscaping and how open it
seemed while at the same time a huge plane was attempting a landing
over the racetrack.

"The airport is right across the
street," Julius explained. "That was probably one of the Sheiks or
a Royal from somewhere across the pond coming in for the sales.
They will fly into the small airport and just park the plane for a
day or two".

She nodded, showing she had been
listening to him. Kenna thought it was safe to bet the owner of
that plane was going to inject some cash into the thoroughbred
industry.

They drove through fields of green
grass, all trimmed and lined with huge old trees, up to a
clubhouse. A valet came out and took the keys from Julius and went
to park the Mercedes. Julius and June started a constant stream of
chatter between themselves and then deftly went through the
clubhouse to the paddock area. Pictures of past Derby winners and
stakes winners lined the stone walls from the times they raced at
Keeneland. The majesty of the pictures, the feel of the stone
building, the sounds of the horse hooves, and smelling the scents
of cut grass, hay, oats and leather; she could just feel the
history of the place and started to understand why horse racing has
been such a popular sport for hundreds of years.

They stepped out of a stone walkway
and into the paddock where horses were being led around with a
number stuck to their hips. Hundreds of people were milling about
looking at each horse or just talking to one another. Some people
where wearing Armani suits while some were in worn cowboy boots and
faded jeans. She caught the sight of one man in a simple button up
shirt, faded jeans with some tears in it, and boots that looked
like they had stepped in nothing but horse crap. Yet he pulled out
a state of the art smartphone and had the keys for an Audi
carelessly dangling out of his pocket. She smiled at the strange
scene. Who these people were, what they wore, and the type of car
they drove was of no importance. Audi driving cowboys chatted with
beat up Ford truck owners over which horse to bid on.

Taking in another deep breath, Kenna
closed her eyes and let the sounds and scents flow over her. Having
always been a history buff, she could just see the men and women
walking around in 1936 when Keeneland first opened. While she had
been daydreaming, the Kranskis had made their way across the
paddock and were heading for a string of barns.

"We are heading over to the Spring
Creek Barn to check out a yearling. You see that blue and white
flag over the third barn down? That's the Ashton Barn. Just make
your way down there and ask for your friend. Whenever you're done,
just come find us." And with that, June gave Kenna a finger wave
and started to walk toward another barn. Find them? How, could she
find them in this massive place?

She took a deep breath and turned
toward the blue and white flag. As she walked towards it, she
passed by a couple of barns proudly displaying certain colors she
took to be the farm colors, much like a family crest. She slowed as
she approached the Ashton Barn and saw that many people walking
horses around were all wearing blue and white polo shirts. It must
be a way to identify farm personnel. Some were taking horses up to
the paddock while others were putting them in stalls. Still others
took them out of stalls and walked them to groups of people who
seemed to be examining them. Kenna guessed these people to be
potential buyers. She looked around and did not see anyone she
guessed to be Will. Of course, the last time she had seen him she
was twelve and he was not quite sixteen. However, she did not think
she would ever forget those dark chocolate brown eyes. She looked
around scanning the faces around the barn.

She sighed as she realized she needed
help finding him and turned to the closest man in the blue and
white uniform, “Excuse me, I am looking for Mr. Ashton. Is he here
today?" she asked the short young man leading a horse from the
barn.

"Si. He over there" the blue and white
clad man said in broken, but understandable English. He pointed to
a little hallway in the middle of the barn. It was lined with more
horse stalls and as she approached she saw a man rubbing the nose
of one of the horses. He was tall; at least six foot one and his
brown hair had a slight amount of gray in it near his temple. He
still looked good though, even if he was a little premature
gray.

She walked up behind him and stood for
a moment staring at his back trying to figure out how to say, "Hi,
I know you have not seen me in seventeen years, but I was hoping
you could help me start a new life here in Kentucky by getting a
job and maybe finding a place to live".

Before she could make her presence
known, Will turned to her and asked, "You here to look at Miss
Thing, hon?"

Kenna's mouth opened, but nothing came
out. She stood momentarily locked in place taking him in. The
graying hair, the brown twinkling eyes, the huge smile that showed
one dimple on his left cheek, the wrinkles around his eyes, and the
hands gave away his age. It wasn't Will. She let out the breath she
hadn't realized she was holding, “I am sorry, I was told Mr. Ashton
was in here," Kenna said with a distracted smile on her face. She
was fighting off the strange feeling she knew this man, but
couldn't place him.

"Well, then you found him. William
Ashton. Nice to meet you, ma'am." Mr. Ashton stepped forward with
his hand outstretched. Kenna stared for a second and then reached
her hand out to grasp his. He gently, yet firmly shook her hand and
gave her an approving nod when she returned the firm
handshake.

Chapter Two

"I am sorry for the confusion, but the
William Ashton I need is a little younger. It was a gamble he would
be here anyway. I had not talked to him since we were kids and I
probably got some information mixed up. I am sorry to have bothered
you." Kenna started to turn away and scan the crowd once again when
she heard Mr. Ashton chuckling.

"Don't go telling my wife about me
being too old for you now. I love her, but bless her heart, once
she gets hold of something she never lets it go. Besides, you don't
have the wrong place. I am guessing you are about my son's age.
Will is running around here someplace. Is that who you are looking
for? Will Ashton?"

At the mention of his son, Kenna took
in a deep breath of air. She then slowly let it out and fell back
onto her courtroom demeanor as to not show her nerves. "Yes, sir. I
am looking for Will Ashton. More particularly, the Will Ashton
who's grandmother, Alda, used to live in Upstate New York," Kenna
stated clearly, as if making point of clarification to a judge. She
was so close to finding who she was looking for, she couldn't take
another failure in the search for Will. Her nerves were becoming
frayed, but she was determined to come across as the confident
lawyer she was in court. People took her more seriously that way
and tended to tell her what she wanted to know if she was business
like.

"Then you found the right one. That
would have been my mama. You knew her?" Mr. Ashton's face lit up as
he asked about his mother.

"She was roommates with my
grandmother, Victoria Mason, at the Liverpool Retirement
Community."

"Ah, you're Vicki’s granddaughter.
McKenna, isn't it?

"That's right. It seems Alda told you
as much about me as my Nana told me about Will." Kenna smiled,
remembering her Nana and her antics with her roommate.

"That's right. We heard all about you
until your Nana passed away when you were, what, thirteen,
fourteen?"

"Fourteen" she answered. Mr. Ashton
saw her eyes misting over and before Kenna knew it, he enveloped
her in a fatherly bear hug. Surprised, she stiffened, but then
melted into him as he started to pat her back. She suddenly felt as
though she was fourteen years old again. Since her parents had
died, no one had hugged her like this and she missed it
greatly.

"Before she passed away, Alda told us
that your parents were killed in an accident. Bless your heart. You
have had it rough, haven't you?"

His question was more rhetorical so
she just nodded and buried her head deeper into his shirt. He
smelled like horses and hay with a slight whiff of cologne - he
smelled fatherly. She took a deep breath and reluctantly pulled
away once she had collected herself. Kenna looked up and found Mr.
Ashton's kind eyes looking down at her as he patted her head like
she was a good little girl.

"I am pretty sure Will is in the barn.
He'll be back in just a second." He stopped scanning the barn area
and turned to Kenna. "What brings you to our neck of the woods?" he
asked with a great amount of interest.

She wanted to answer that fear and
running for her life brought her here. Instead she worked up a fake
smile and answered, "Actually, I am interviewing for the Assistant
D.A. job with Thomas Burns. I might become a Southerner after all
these years of cold winters in the North."

"That would be great. I will tell Tom
he should hire you when I see him for our weekly golf game tomorrow
morning," William said. "After all, you're practically
family."

Kenna's smile widened into one of
genuine warmth as she looked at Mr. Ashton. Well, that was
fortunate. Guess some old boys clubs could work for me instead of
against me she thought.

Mr. Ashton's eyes lit as he focused on
something over her shoulder. “Will! Over here, I got a surprise for
you. You will never guess who is here," Mr. Ashton yelled while
waving his arm in the air.

Kenna took a deep breath as she heard
strong booted footfalls coming nearer. She turned around slowly,
with a wobbly smile on her lips prepared for the embarrassment of
not being remembered. Suddenly the deep breath she was taking got
stuck and her green eyes widened at the sight of the grown up
version of Will Ashton. He was gorgeous; strong, masculine, and
with an air of good humor about him. He had a boyish smile on his
face, showing off one dimpled cheek. His dark brown hair matched
his eyes that vibrated with energy. Gone was the scarecrow of a boy
she knew as a fifteen year old teenager, replaced with a thirty-two
year old man's body. He was easily six foot two and muscled. Very
muscled from the way his thighs looked as they filled out a pair of
worn jeans. His wide shoulders looked to be squeezed into his white
button-up shirt. His square jaw was starting to show a slight
amount of stubble from a long day. But he still looked like he had
enough energy to play a football game.

Will strode up to Kenna, stopped right
in front of her, and smiled with genuine happiness.
"Hi."

"Hello, Will". She lifted her head to
look him in the eyes. When she did, their eyes met and she felt her
smile falter. She just knew he had no idea who she was. Why would
he? She had just turned twelve the last time he saw her. She was
shaped like a boy and had a mass of untamed red hair. Over the past
seventeen years, her hair had turned more auburn with strong red
highlights. And she was definitely not shaped like a boy. She was
both top and bottom heavy, with a well-defined waist she had
obtained through running multiple hours a week. She was not a stick
thin model, but she always felt that her size ten jeans fit
perfectly and showed off those curves rather well.

Just when she was gathering the
courage to embarrassingly introduce herself, his father cut in.
"Will, I need to steal you for just a moment before you get caught
up with your old friend here, if you don't mind. Nice to see you
again, dear. Remember, you're family. Stop on by anytime," Mr.
Ashton said with a slight smirk. She thought she caught sight of a
quick flash of mischief across his face. But when she looked again
it was gone. "Sure, Dad. Excuse me for just a moment," Will said
before turning and walking off a few feet with his Dad.

Kenna took the time to collect
herself. Little Will had turned into a gorgeous man. He probably
had so many women in his life that there would be no way he
remembered her.

Will finished the conversation with
his dad and walked back to Kenna, "Sorry about that. I guess I also
better apologize that I don't seem to know you as well as you seem
to know me. Although you do remind me of someone I knew when I was
just a teenager," he said with a cocky smile that showed he wasn't
embarrassed in the least about not being sure if he knew who she
was.