Bluegrass State of Mind (34 page)

Kenna let a breath out that she didn’t
know she was holding. “Wow! That was so cool.”

“
Come on, let me show you
around the grandstand before the next race. Then, if you want, we
can watch the rest of the races from my box. Or we can come back up
here.”

“
No, I want to see the
grandstand.”

“
I am going to stay up
here a while before moving down to Mo’s box,” Paige said. "He has
one near Will’s, so we’ll be able to cheer Boots on together. You
two have fun!” Paige gave her a hug and went back to studying the
racing program.

“
Now, this is the Derby!”
Will said as he was shoved on the side in the massive crowd. He had
led her down the elevator and into the standing room only section
of the grandstand. Kenna had been stepped on, bumped, and shoved…
but all done in the nicest way. People couldn’t help it, it was
just that crowded. Everyone was so jovial that they would just
shout out an apology and wish you luck on your next bet before
being swept away in the crowd.

She had even been flashed. Well, not
really her. As a group of infielders went into the tunnel, a girl
saw Will and flashed him. Will bought Kenna a soft serve ice cream
cone and stood as close as he could to the rail. “Come stand in
front of me. If you thought it was exciting up stairs, wait until
you see a race from the cheap seats.”

The trumpet sounded and the horses
lined up in the gate right in front of Kenna. She was so absorbed
in the sounds of the horses and clicking of the gates being shut,
she didn’t notice Will had been busy taking photos and signing
autographs.

The bell rang and the gates slammed
open. The feel of the horses breaking free of the start was so
exhilarating Kenna couldn’t help but be awed.

“
You enjoying it?” Will
had to yell.

“
This is wonderful!
Although, I hate that I can’t see them when they are on the
backstretch.” She turned to watch the jumbo screen of the horses
racing down the backstretch. She then peered over to her left,
waiting for them to make the corner to the final quarter mile.
Being in the crowd, as opposed to above it, gave her a whole new
experience. The noise was deafening as cheers welcomed the horses
coming into sight.

She felt Will step up behind her. His
arms rested on her shoulders as she cheered for every horse to win.
They came thundering down upon her as they strove towards the
finish line. Cheers went up from those who won and sighs went up
from those who lost. The quiet that follows the end of a close race
was so strange to Kenna.

“
Come on, let’s go up to
the box.” Will took her hand and led her toward the middle of the
grandstand.

His hand was warm and secure around
hers. She loved the feel of her soft skin against his calloused
palms. She gave his hand a little squeeze and Will smiled back at
her. It was the type of smile that made her heart swell. It was
such an intimate communication between two people who loved one
another. She smiled back and they slowly made their way through the
crowd to the elevators.

They rode to the third floor where
they were greeted by security guards. After flashing their owner’s
badges, they made their way past a series of boxes filled with
eight chairs each. On the outside rail of every box was the
engraved name of various farms. They passed Desert Sun, Mo’s farm,
and went down a couple of stairs to a box on the first row. Kenna
had a direct view of the start/finish line and was able to lean
over the rail to see the mass of humanity they had just walked
through.

“
Kenna! Will! Oh, look at
you two together!”

“
June! It’s so good to see
you again.” Kenna raced over to the box across from the Ashton Farm
box. “I thought you weren’t going to make it to the Derby this
year.”

June kissed both cheeks as Julius
shook Will’s hand.

“
We didn’t think we were,
but a friend from Florida has a horse racing in the Derby and asked
us to come with them. Of course we agreed! You look divine. I want
to hear all about what’s been going on while we were in Florida.
Will you be going to the ball tonight?”

“
Yes. We are planning to
be there.”

“
Great! We’ll talk there.”
June lowered her voice and with a grin said, “When we can have some
girl talk.”

“
It’s a date!”

Will escorted her down a step and
across the aisle to the Ashton Farm box.

“
This next race should be
a good one. It’s one of the biggest in turf.” Will pointed to the
infield. “See where the gate is?”

“
It’s in the grass. Why is
it there?”

“
It’s for a turf race. The
horses run on the grass. After every turf race, tons of workers go
out there and put the divots back into place. Just like in polo.”
Will rested his arm around the back of his chair as he continued to
point out the people around them.

The owners of all the Derby contenders
were close together. The other boxes were owned by prominent farms,
such as Mo’s.

Throughout the races, people stopped
by the box to chat. Some would sit down and talk football, horses,
and anything else until the next race began.

The box cleared out right as another
race was set to begin and Will leaned over to her. “Are you having
fun?”

“
This is just
mind-blowing.” She looked below at the people hurrying to place
their bets and the people mingling about the other owners’ box.
Smiles were as plentiful as hats.

“
After this race, I need
to go down the barn and help get Boots ready for the race. It’s a
tradition we have. After I walk him out for the on-track warm up, I
will come back up here. If you’d like, you can come down with me.
Or you can stay up here and watch the next couple of
races.

“
No, I would love to go
down to the barn with you.”

Will sat back and watched Kenna as she
enjoyed the race. She sat at the edge of her seat, and her hand
gripped the rail as she watched the horses start from the
gate.

She felt Will’s fingers dance along
the side of her neck and trace the shell of her ear. She
temporarily forgot about the race as he took a small strand of her
hair and twirled it around his finger before pressing a gentle kiss
behind her ear.

“
Come on, let’s go see
Boots,” he whispered.

“
But the
race...”

“
Is over. The number four
horse won.” He stood up and held out his hand for her. She took it
and stood, staring at the emptying track. How did she not see or
hear the end of the race?

Chapter
Seventeen

Will led her through a series of
elevators and hallways until they exited the side of the grandstand
at street level. They walked through security and past the paddocks
where horses were warming up. They worked their way through the
crowds. Will took the time to sign autographs and answer the same
question from twenty different reporters on what he thought his
chances were of winning with Boots.

Finally, they made it to the barn
where all the horses racing in the Derby were housed. Security was
very tight and Kenna thought she caught a glance of Noodle and
Dinky walking around in suits.

When Boots saw Will, he tossed his
head back and let out a whinny. Will dug into his pocket and pulled
out a sugar cube for him. “Hey, Big Boy. How are you doing today?”
Boots nuzzled his hand and then hit him with his head when he
wouldn’t give him anymore snacks. “That’s good, get mad and take it
out on the other horses on the track.”

“
Hi, Mr. Ashton. He seems
to be eating up this energy. Some horses get freaked out about it.
Every time he sees a camera or hears his name being yelled, he
puffs out like a macho man,” a very short man said. He was wearing
the royal blue and white colors of the Ashton Farm, so it was
pretty easy to guess he was the jockey riding Boots.

Boots looked over and saw Kenna. He
stomped his feet and threw his head back. The jockey laughed, “I
don’t know who you are, but you better go over there and say hi to
Boots before he kicks the stall.”

“
But, he’s only met me
once when I gave him an apple out at the farm.”

“
Rodrigo, this is Kenna
Mason, my girlfriend. And Kenna, you gave him an apple once he’ll
now want one every time. He’s a typical guy.” Will and Rodrigo
laughed as Will handed her another sugar cube.

Kenna approached Boots slowly. She was
terrified of doing something to mess him up before his big race.
She was still awed by the size of this 'small’ horse that stood
taller than her. His chestnut coat was shining. The white star
between his eyes and the white on his nose seemed almost three
dimensional against the rest of his coat. Boots grabbed the sugar
cube from her hand and nuzzled her.

“
Aren’t you a sweet boy?
And so handsome. You’ll be the fastest horse out there today, won’t
you?” she cooed to him.

Will and Rodrigo stared in amazement
as Boots nuzzled even more, asking Kenna to rub his nose. She
continued to talk to him, whispering encouragements and even gave
him a big kiss on the forehead for luck. “Oh no! I left a red
lipstick stain on his forehead! Come here, Boots. Let me wash it
off.”

Boots backed up and refused to let her
clean his forehead. Will came over and called to him, and even
offered him another sugar cube. But Boots refused to have the
bright red lipstick mark wiped off. “Okay, we’ll leave it on.
You’re trying to make all the others jealous, aren’t
you?”

Boots threw his head back again and
came over to nuzzle Kenna.

“
That’s my boy,” Kenna
laughed. “But, I have to go and let you get ready for your big
race. Now, if you run faster than all the other horses, then I’ll
give you lots more sugar cubes and even an apple or two.” Kenna
turned to find a third man staring at her.

“
Kenna, this is Art
Stringer. He’s Boots’ trainer. Art, this is my girlfriend McKenna
Mason.”

“
Ma’am. I can’t believe
that’s Boots. He’s normally only nice to Will,” Art said. Then he
turned to the horse, “Are you ready to win for Miss Mason, Boots?
It’s time to get you warmed up.” Art was dressed in a nice suit and
a beautiful tie made to match the Ashford silks. He was bigger than
Rodrigo, but still not a tall man. The biggest difference with Art
was the calm assurance that he radiated. He was confident in the
way he handled Boots and the way he talked to him.

Will was helping and Kenna knew she
would just be getting in the way. She looked down at the other
stalls and saw similar activities taking place in all of them.
“Hey, Will. I am just going to go over to your barn and see some of
the horses who ran yesterday.”

“
Okay. Can you see the
barn from here?”

“
Yes. It’s just right over
there.” She pointed to a barn that sat about one hundred yards to
the left and slightly behind the Derby barn.

“
See you in a few. Love
you.”

“
Love you, too. Don’t
worry, Boots, I’ll be back to wish you luck before you go.” Kenna
blew him a kiss and took off for the other barn.

She showed her badge to security and
walked into the peaceful barn. It smelled of honey, oats, and hay.
For a moment, she listened to the shifting of horses on the hay and
snorts as they ate. It seemed a world apart from the boisterous
party going on around the track. She found the tack room and
grabbed a handful of sugar cubes for the horses.

“
That’s a good girl,” she
said as she gave a cube to one of the fillies that had finished
third in the Oaks. The sound of high heels hitting the rubber walk
way had her looking around. She hadn’t seen the security guard
since she had entered the barn, and his shoes definitely didn’t
make that sound.

“
Paige? Is that you?” she
raised her voice slightly and the heard the footsteps stop. She
froze. Her hand rested right behind the horse’s ear where she had
been. The filly whinnied, having felt the tension enter Kenna’s
body.

She paused to listen and heard the
footsteps start again. The person coming was definitely a woman
with heels. Kenna looked around the barn and realized that the tack
room was at the furthest point away from the security of the open
barn door. Her only way out was in the direction of the person
approaching.

Kenna willed herself to think. She
took a deep breath as she watched the shadow of the woman appear on
the ground. She made her way closer to an empty stall.

“
Going somewhere, Kenna?
Am I really that repulsive?”

Kenna stopped half way through the
door and looked out to see Whitney standing at the entrance of the
hallway. “Oh, I didn’t know who it was. How are you doing,
Whitney?” She let out a nervous laugh and placed her hand over her
wildly beating heart.

Whitney was no threat. She was dressed
to the nines in a cream colored satin mini-dress with black heels
and an exquisite black and cream hat that was a good three feet
wide.

She saw Whitney’s eyes narrow and felt
the hatred pouring out of her. Kenna needed to revise that threat
level, and fast. Whitney stomped up to her.