Bluegrass State of Mind (37 page)

“
About ten times, but it
never hurts,” she smiled up to him.

“
Come on, let’s dance.” He
swept her up into the dance and held her close. She closed her eyes
and laid her head on his shoulder. She should have heard the band
playing Sinatra’s ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, but the sound of
Will’s whispers in her ear were far more magical.

* * *

Kenna looked across the table at Paige
and smiled. She lifted her fork and took a bite of the chocolate
and peanut butter pie.

“
See, you can’t stop
smiling! What happened last night?” Paige rolled her eyes and took
a sip of sweet tea. “Miss Daisy, she won’t tell me,” she
whined.

Taking an order across the room, Daisy
shot her a look that threatened the oncoming
interrogation.

“
Thanks a lot, Paige. Now
the whole town will know Will and I spent the night together in
Louisville,” she said in a low voice.

“
We already know that,
dear. What we want to know is all the other stuff. Like about
Whitney’s arrest and why Paige was being reported as Mo’s
girlfriend,” Miss Daisy said as she turned the order slip over to
Miss Violet.

“
That’s not what I wanted
to know,” Miss Violet mumbled as she headed back into the
kitchen.

“
Me neither.” Paige
pouted.

“
Well, I can answer Miss
Daisy’s questions. It started three months ago in New York City...”
Kenna told the story to Miss Daisy and the growing number of
customers who scooted their chairs closer to listen. Even Miss
Violet came out of the kitchen to listen.

“
Oh, you poor dears.” Miss
Daisy said, putting her hand over her heart. “That man, Chad, was
in here looking for you one day. I thought it was someone you
prosecuted, so I didn’t tell him anything. Well, he’ll know better
than to come back here again. Won’t he Violet?”

“
He sure will. I’ll go
clean Clint now.” Miss Violet turned and disappeared into the
kitchen.

“
Clint?” She and Paige
asked at the same time.

“
That’s her Smith &
Wesson .44 Magnum. Just like Clint Eastwood carried in Dirty
Harry,” Daisy answered. “But what I want to know is what happened
to Danielle? Do you know where she is?”

Kenna watched Miss Daisy twist her
apron out of concern for someone she had never even met and was
touched. “No, I don’t know. We email each other, but I never know
how long it will take her to check her mail.”

“
I’ll have to put her name
on the list at Church and we’ll all pray for her safety.” Miss
Daisy nodded, as well as several others. “Now that Whitney is in
jail and singing like a canary and Chad is on the run, why don’t
you have Danielle come here?”

“
Here?” Kenna couldn’t
seem to process the thought of Danielle in Keeneston. They had been
hiding for three months. Just seeing Danielle again was hard to
imagine.

“
It seems like the smart
thing to do. You have Mo and his security looking out for Chad. And
you have Will and Agent Parker. Not counting all of us now,” Miss
Daisy said, pointing to the room of around thirty people, all of
whom were nodding in agreement. “We look out for our own, you know.
She’ll be far safer here with you and the whole town than trying to
run on her own. That poor girl, all alone in that city...” Miss
Daisy clucked.

Walking back to her room at Miss
Lily’s, Kenna couldn’t get the thought out of her head. She opened
her laptop and hoped for a message from her. She was disappointed
when she got no new mail.

Dani-

So much has happened. It
would take too long to explain in an email. I have been found, but
I am safe. I think we should face this together. I am in Keeneston,
Kentucky. I am usually at the Courthouse. Trust me, you can’t miss
it. Or at Ashton Farm with Will Ashton. It’s time to end
this.

-K

Kenna hit send and hoped she would get
to see her friend soon. She powered down the computer and got ready
for bed. Will was pre-taping numerous shows to air tomorrow
morning, so he was going to be busy until later in the evening. She
pulled out a book and walked downstairs to the front porch, curling
one leg under her as she sat on the swing with one foot dangling to
push herself as she fell into the story.

“
Hey,
sweetheart.”

Kenna had been so engrossed in her
book, she hadn’t heard Will’s truck pull up. The smile that came
across her face could no more be stopped than the sun coming up
every morning. “How was your afternoon?”

“
It was good. Got a little
crazy at the cafe, but they gave me an idea. Miss Daisy said to
tell Danielle to come here. By now, the whole town is aware of my
situation and will be on the lookout for Chad. Oh! Miss Daisy said
he stopped by the cafe looking for me too.”

“
I think it’s a great idea
to have her here. You know Cole is still looking into it and I am
sure it would be easier on him to have you both here so he can come
to you with any questions or evidence that he digs up.” Will sat
down on the swing and placed her foot in his lap. He started to
massage it and Kenna closed her eyes in utter joy.

“
Mmm. How were your
interviews?”

Will chuckled as Kenna purred. “They
were good. Mom said the phones have been ringing off the hook for
people wanting to breed to Boots. Art is trying to get him ready
for The Preakness in two weeks. He’s even trying to kiss him. It
seems only you hold that magic with him. I mean, if I was Boots and
I could get kissed by Art or you, you’d be the winner every
time.”

“
Well, why don’t we just
test that theory?” Kenna gave him a wink and laughed as Will
scooped her up onto his lap.

Will rested his forehead against hers.
“I love you so much.” His lips closed the distance and locked onto
hers in a passionate kiss. His tongue slipped past her lips and
swept into her mouth. She felt his hand lift the hem of her
Syracuse University t-shirt and move up. He rested his hand on her
stomach, his thumb making small circles on the underside of her
breast.

She plunged her tongue into his mouth
and arched her back, offering him his breasts. His hand cupped her
breast and gently kneaded it. He ran his rough thumb gently over
her hardened nipple and trailed his fingers to her other breast. He
gently caressed her breast and slowly rolled her nipple between his
thumb and finger. Kenna moaned into his mouth and ran a hand down
his back, stopping to squeeze his ass before running back up to run
her fingers through his hair.

He pulled back and she reached for
him. “Sorry hon, but our chaperone is home.”

She picked up her head to see Miss
Daisy’s old Buick turn into the driveway. She groaned and put her
head onto his shoulder. It was really time for her to find her own
place.

“
You know, you’re a
Kentucky girl now,” he said as he played with the hem of her shirt.
“It’s about time you got some UK gear.”

“
A Kentucky girl,
huh?”

Will kissed her neck, right below the
ear and whispered, “That’s right. Made up of sweet tea and
everything nice.”

Chapter
Nineteen

“
Your Honor, I object.”
Kenna rolled her eyes. She couldn’t help it. When she got done with
the docket, it would be the weekend. She felt ready to curl up into
bed and sleep for a week. On top of working, she still had not
heard from Danielle. She had flown to Maryland for The Preakness
and just this past weekend, she got back from The Belmont. Boots
had finished second in The Preakness after being pinned against the
rail in the final quarter mile. However, he had surprised everyone
by pulling out a win at The Belmont. He won again by a red kissed
nose.

“
Sustained.” Judge Copper
sighed.

“
What does that mean? You
can’t be talking all fancy like. It’s not fair and I am entitled to
a fair trial. I know my rights,” Mrs. Westerly shouted. She pointed
her finger at Kenna and Kenna was tempted to break it
off.

This trial had been going on for over
thirty minutes and she was ready to scream. The thought crossed her
mind more than once to grab Noodle's taser and shock herself just
so the EMTs would be forced to take her out the
courtroom.

Mrs. Westerly was twenty-five years
old. She was five feet tall and probably one hundred and forty
pounds, most of which were boobs. She had her hair wrapped in a
colorful scarf and large hoops earrings. She had a posse of kids
with her, consisting of five kids within six and a half years of
each other.

Miss Westerly had come home from
shuttling kids to various summer camps to find Mr. Westerly's ding
dong ringing her best friend’s doorbell. She had promptly grabbed
the nearest object, one of her children’s baseball bats, and tested
her swing out on Mr. Westerly and her ex-best friend.

Granted, no one could really blame
her. Most everyone cheered when Mr. Westerly broke his arm,
considering Mr. Westerly had a habit of sleeping his way through
the married women in his wife’s Mother Day Out program.

When caught, Mr. Westerly had not
admitted to the affairs. Instead, he told young Mrs. Westerly that
he was not cheating, but offering a service to her friends. Mrs.
Westerly paused mid-swing and asked what service he was providing.
He told her it was educational. He was teaching the women how to
perform certain sex acts so that they would be better wives to
their husbands. And that was when Mrs. Westerly broke Mr.
Westerly’s other arm.

Mrs. Westerly was fighting the charge
of battery that Mr. Westerly brought against her. Kenna personally
wanted to give her a high five and let her walk free, but couldn’t.
However, she did pursue the lowest sentence possible. That is, if
Mrs. Westerly would just shut up. She was currently alternating
between enormous sobs and fits of anger. Her prevailing theory was
he deserved it and she shouldn’t have to be found guilty for
that.

“
Mrs. Westerly,” Kenna
said when Mrs. Westerly took a breath, “Ma’am, did you enter the
house with the intent of assaulting your husband?”

“
I told you, it’s not
assault. Assault suggests I did something wrong. I know my rights!”
she shouted.

Judge Cooper banged his gavel. “Ma’am.
Just answer yes or no.”

“
But, I have my rights. I
am entitled to a hearing.”

“
You’re having one. Now
answer yes or no to Miss Mason’s question or I am throwing you in
jail for Contempt of Court.”

“
No! You can’t take my
babies from me. Who would look after them?” Mrs. Westerly wailed.
Kenna thought she looked dangerously close to hurling herself to
the ground and kicking her feet.

“
Ma’am, please, just
answer this question. Did you go into your house with the intent of
hitting your husband?”

“
No, but I...”

“
Prosecution rests your
honor,” Kenna said, cutting off Mrs. Westerly. She knew Judge
Cooper hated that, but she figured it was better than hearing about
Mrs. Westerly’s rights one more time.

Judge Cooper banged his gavel and Mrs.
Westerly stopped her ranting. “Ma’am, I find you guilty
of...”

Before Judge Cooper could finish
announcing his verdict Mrs. Westerly collapsed to the ground and
flailed around while praying to be saved by Baby Jesus.

“
Knock it off!” Judge
Cooper yelled from the bench. Mrs. Westerly stopped her screaming
and lay quietly on the ground. “If you had let me finished, you
would have heard that the charges are reduced from a felony to
assault under extreme emotional disturbance, which is punishable up
to 90 days in jail.”

Mrs. Westerly resumed her screaming
prayers to Baby Jesus.

“
But, I find that during
that particular situation, a person’s emotions rule them. By not
contemplating any action, you simply acted out of emotion.
Therefore, I sentence you to seven days of in-house
confinement.”

Mrs. Westerly stopped praying and sat
up. “You’re not going to send me to jail. I can still keep my
babies?” she sniffed.

“
That’s right. Report to
the police station Monday at nine a.m. so that a tracking bracelet
can be attached. You will stay in your house for seven days and
then will serve one year of probation. You will also complete an
anger management course. That’s all for the day.” Judge Cooper
banged his gavel one more time. “Court is adjourned.”

Mr. Westerly, looking exactly as one
thought a used car salesman to look, jumped up in a somewhat
awkward fashion since both arms were encased in casts. “But your
honor, she should be in jail! She attacked me!”

“
Mr. Westerly, consider
yourself lucky. If it had been my wife, you would have seen the
barrel of a shotgun. Maybe it will help you keep it in your pants.
If you continue your ways, some husband will do something far worse
than two hits with a bat. Have a good weekend, Miss Mason.” Judge
Cooper said as he walked into chambers.