Bluegrass State of Mind (24 page)

"I just became a teacher. I served
eight years in the Special Forces. Got out two years ago and
finished my degree."

"What division were you? And, if you
don't mind me asking, what prompted you to join?"

"Right after the World Trade Center
bombings, Miles, Marshall, and I joined the Army Rangers. Up here
is my classroom." It was an obvious change of subject, so Kenna let
it go.

"What about your other brothers. Paige
said you were all into farming."

"We all are. Miles had gotten his
Bachelors of Science at Texas A&M, which is the leading school
in agricultural studies. He then got his MBA in Agricultural
Management from Purdue. Miles is the brains behind our farm. He
worked during college and assigned my mom as his Power of Attorney.
He would keep in touch with real estate agents here.When land near
our parents’ farm would go up for sale, Miles would try to purchase
it. Lots of times he would only be able to buy ten acres of
landlocked property on the cheap. No one wanted it because you
couldn't get to the property without trespassing over someone
else’s land. And you really can't do much on a large scale with ten
acres. Well, he started buying even more when he was earning a
paycheck in the Army. It was like a puzzle. He would buy
strategically landlocked pieces on the cheap and would spend a
little money on the connector piece of property. After we got out
of the Army, Miles had bought a total of seven hundred acres that
had a common boundary with my parent's five hundred acres. We all
liked the idea, so over the past couple of years we've all done the
same thing. However, our farms aren't nearly as large as
Miles'."

"What do you grow on your
farms?"

"Cy and I both run cattle on ours. It
takes the least amount of work. Cy is the black sheep of the
family. He likes to take off for weeks at a time. So we run our
cattle together and basically treat our two farms as one. Since
he's away so much, he lives with Marshall and me out on Marshall's
farm. He bought a tract of land with this hundred year old farm
house on it that he's fixed into a modern day bachelor's pad. Marsh
has his own security company, and he also runs some cattle too. We
also all rotate crops like corn and soybeans on part of our
property."

"What about Miles and your youngest
brother?"

"Miles just completed a house in the
middle of his tract of land. Takes forever to get out there. He's
started his own anti-corporate company called Family Farms. Large,
impersonal corporations are getting into farming and driving down
the costs of production and turning farming into mass production.
It's killing off the smaller family farms. In obtaining his MBA,
Miles studied how they do it. Now he runs his company to achieve
two goals, keeping the family farms alive and competing with the
large corporations. He manages a co-op of family farms to mimic the
corporate farms. He has the family farms working together to
combine their efforts while reducing their costs. As I said, he's
the brains behind the farming. My little brother, Pierce, is still
in school. He's at the University of Kentucky getting his degree in
agriculture with a focus on soil composition and will graduate in a
couple of weeks. He's the opposite of Miles. He's old school. He'll
take over running my parent's farm. He's the one that decides what
crops should be planted, when they need to be rotated, soil
compositions, and all sorts of other things."

They exited the school and headed back
to the football field. Kenna saw that cars were already starting to
fill up the parking lot. She followed Cade past the ticket takers
and up a few rows to where Paige sat.

"Hey, bro. How's the team looking this
year?" Paige stood up and hugged her brother. Cade picked her up in
a bear hug and Kenna smiled at the obvious affection between them.
That, and the sight of Paige's feet dangling off the
ground.

"Pretty good. The only trouble is that
we're pretty inexperienced in key areas. I better get down there
and make sure Will survived the hazing. It was really nice meeting
you, Kenna. Hope to see you around at the games in the fall." With
a chuck to Paige's chin he went down the steps of the bleachers and
disappeared into the field house.

Will was right, Paige has a lot of
pent up aggression. Kenna was surprised the first time Paige jumped
up and screamed at one of the players. But by the end of the
scrimmage, she was used to it. Paige knew a lot more about football
than Kenna did and enjoyed trying to teach Kenna about the sport.
Kenna loved watching Will with the kids. There was mutual respect
between them and it was clear Will enjoyed teaching them the game
just as it was clear the boys were entranced by having a coach like
Will.

Kenna knew with her head and her heart
that she loved Will. When the stands cleared and parents were
making their ways to their cars, she looked onto the field to see
Will coaching a boy no older than fifteen how to put the perfect
spiral on the ball. The boy was short, skinny as a toothpick, and
lacking any muscles that would make him a high school player. Yet
Will took the time to teach and praise the boy's efforts. She
smiled as she watched Will place the boy’s hands on the football
and explain one more the time how to throw the ball.

Chapter Twelve

Will and Kenna drove in companionable
silence into Lexington. Along the way, she watched the rolling
hills go by until they reached town. Will rested his hand on her
knee, causing her heart to race. They pulled up at a historic house
that the owners had converted into a restaurant. Marabella’s was a
two story brick house with white columns and a circular drive in
the front. A valet opened the door for her when Will
stopped.

“
Good evening, Mr.
Ashton,” the valet said as he opened Will’s door next.

“
Hey Nick. How is Ella
doing?” Will put a supportive hand on Nick’s shoulder and Nick
beamed.

“
She’s doing great, thanks
to you. They are even talking about letting us bring her home this
week.”

Will’s smile widened to equal the one
appearing on Nick’s face, “That is wonderful news. Absolutely
wonderful news. Let me know if there is anything I can do for
you.”

After Will pulled out her chair and
she sat down did curiosity win out. “Who is Ella and what is she
sick with?”

“
She’s Nick’s infant
daughter. She was born with a cleft palate. Their insurance covered
the dental surgeon, but not a cosmetic one. I had a friend who is a
plastic surgeon assist on the surgery to sew the outside of Ella’s
mouth back together to minimize any scarring or deformities. Both
surgeons think she’ll be completely healed by the time she is one.
No red marks, and the skin is growing normally. Everyone is
optimistic for completely normal speech. But we are also prepared
to help with a little speech therapy.”

“
That’s so thoughtful,
Will.” She knew if it was possible, she just fell in love with him
again. So many of the athletes she worked with used charity works
like this to help them get out of legal trouble or boost their
image. Will did it so a little girl wouldn’t grow up with a scar on
her face or a speech impediment.

“
You know, the Derby is
just a little over a week away. It’s an event everyone should go to
at least once. The atmosphere is electric. Over one hundred and
fifty thousand people show up every year. The infield turns into
party central and it carries all the way up to Millionaire’s Row.
You should come this year.” He reached over the table and took her
hand in his. “It would be nice to have you there.”

“
That sounds great. Do I
need anything special for it?”

Will laughed. “You looking for a
reason to go shopping?”

Kenna just smiled, of course she was.
What girl wouldn’t want a reason to go shopping!

“
Of course you are. And
yes, you will need some really great hats. Paige can help you out
with that. Also, a spring sun dress type thingy. My family is
hosting a Derby breakfast the day of the race.”

“
Oh, so this is a whole
day event?”

“
Actually, it’s a whole
week of events for me. I will head out on Sunday and stay up there
for most of the week while some of my horses are racing at
Churchill Downs. I’ll also help the team get Naked Boot Leg
prepared for the Derby.”

“
I never asked, but what
does Naked Boot Leg mean?”

“
It’s a quarterback trick
play when you fake a running play and the quarterback circles back
across the backfield looking for the pass.”

Kenna gave a smile and a nod as if she
followed what he was saying completely.

“
So, tell me about Derby
Day. What kind of things will we do?”

“
Well, we have a private
box. When we get there, we’ll walk a red carpet of sorts. Even
retired athletes are still semi-celebrities. And the fact that our
farm owns last year’s winner. It’s not unheard of for farms to have
back to back winners. Calumet Farm in Lexington did it once in the
1940’s and again in the 1950’s. But it is certainly newsworthy when
the opportunity arises.”

“
Red carpet? Do I wear an
evening gown?” She joked while she intertwined her fingers with
his.

“
Not that time of day.
It’s more cocktail attire. The evening gown comes in play at the
after-party the track hosts.”

Will sat back in his chair as the
empty dinner plates were taken away and replaced with crème brulee.
Kenna took a bite and moaned.

“
Hey, shouldn’t you
reserve those kind of sounds for when we’re alone?” Will sat back,
crossed his arms and gave a little pout.

“
We never seem to be
alone. It’s like we’re teenagers with chaperones at every
turn.”

“
I used to be pretty
clever finding alone time with a beautiful girl when I was a
teenager.”

“
Then maybe you can put
those skills to use tonight.” She looked at Will and noticed that
his spoon was paused halfway to his mouth and decided to give him a
little wink.

Will’s hand shot up in the air,
“Check!”

“
Shh. You don’t want to
wake Miss Lily,” Kenna said as she approached her room. Will had
parked the car on the street and they had approached the house on
foot. However, they were having a hard time not
laughing.

Kenna opened her door and turned on
the light. She watched Will gently close the door and turn the
lock. She was having a hard time remembering to breathe. She saw
Will take a deep breath and let it out and then turn around. Her
eyes met his and the yearning she was feeling reflected in
his.

“
Come here.” His voice
sounded huskier than normal. She took a step forward and stopped in
front of him. “You are so beautiful.” His hand gently brushed along
her cheek before his head dipped and he took her mouth in a
passionate kiss. He nudged her lips apart as his tongue slid in,
stroking the inside of her mouth. Her fingers laced through his
hair and ran down his back. She pressed herself against his chest
and felt his erection against her stomach.

He pushed her shawl off one shoulder
and ran kisses along its path to her neck. He placed a gentle kiss
on the hollow of her throat and then kissed the shawl off the other
shoulder. “Did I mention how beautiful you are?” His finger moved
to unbutton the strap of her dress.

“
Mmm.” Kenna moaned, her
eyes closed as she reveled in the feel of his touch. She held her
breath as her dress fell to the floor and felt the cold air caress
her bare stomach. She opened her eyes when she felt Will pull back.
She opened them to see him staring at her.

“
How did I get so lucky?”
He whispered.

She smiled and was glad she had worn
her matching La Perla black lace set from Saks. She closed the
distance and began to slowly unbutton his shirt, revealing a hard
chest sprinkled with dark hair. She ran her fingertips over his
chiseled abs and stopped at his belt. He grabbed her hands and
hauled them back behind her as he possessed her mouth. She felt the
gentle tug on her arms as he walked her backwards until the back of
her knees hit the bed.

She reached for his belt buckle and
slowly unhooked it while Will nibbled his way down her neck. His
hands moved slowly from her back to her smooth stomach. Her breath
hitched when she felt his thumb glide across her aroused nipple.
With an unsteady hand, she unbuttoned his pants and watched them
fall to the ground.

“
Oh my. I guess that
answers my question of boxers or briefs.”

* * *

Kenna pulled her navy Armani suit coat
down and shoved her hands into the pockets of her pants. The red
toe of her heeled shoe was tapping as she stared at opposing
counsel. “Mr. Nichols, I don’t care how they do it in the big city
of Louisville. I am not going to dismiss the charges against your
client.”

“
Look here, little lady.
You are not from around these parts. You do not arrest the coach of
a program such as this.”

“
First of all, I may not
know a lot about college football, but I am pretty sure Mr. Faulk
has been retired for at least ten years. Second, I don’t care if
he’s the President of the United States. He was driving drunk and
could have killed someone. His five year old granddaughter was in
the car with him. You’re lucky I am not tacking on wanton
endangerment charges. But if you keep pushing me, I will.” Kenna’s
foot stopped tapping as she stared at Mr. Nichols receding hairline
and red tipped nose.