Bluegrass State of Mind (38 page)

Kenna walked out of the courthouse and
went right to her car. All she wanted to do was relax with Will for
a while. Maybe go out to dinner. She drove to Will’s house and
Betsy pointed her in the direction of the barn after they exchanged
hellos.

She parked next to the barn and walked
inside. She paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust and then
paused a second more to enjoy the sight of Will shirtless. He was
wearing heavy leather gloves and jeans that rode low on his hips.
He reached over to grab a bale of hay and moved it into a stall. He
took his arm and wiped his brow. Turning to reach for his water
bottle, he saw Kenna standing by the door.

“
Hey! How was court
today?” He asked taking a slug of water. He walked over to the tack
room and grabbed a towel and used it wipe away the sweat and
hay.

“
It was pretty
straightforward until the last case. I’ll tell you all about it
over dinner.” She walked toward him and ran her hand down his chest
and stopped at his stomach. Will put the towel down and put both
hands on her cheeks. He slowly leaned down and kissed her with an
aching gentleness that had her melting into him.

“
Before we head out, there
is something I want to show you. You mind going for a short ride?”
He reached around her and grabbed a white button up shirt and put
it on.

“
That’s fine. Do I need to
change?”

“
Nope, you’re perfect.
Come on, my truck is out back.”

He buttoned up his shirt and tucked it
in. He rolled up his sleeves and then took Kenna’s hand in his. She
smiled as he opened the door to his truck for her to jump in. Four
months of living in Kentucky and she was a pro at hopping in and
out of huge trucks while wearing heels and a straight
skirt.

Will pulled the truck out of the
barn’s lot and went down a road beside the barn. The road led
further away from the main house and was surrounded by pastures.
Some were full of horses, some with only a single stallion. They
passed a field used for growing their own hay to help with the cost
of feeding such a large operation.

“
Where are we
going?”

“
We’re about a mile from
the main road. See that over there.” He pointed to a gate in the
middle of a fence. “That’s a path to Mo’s property. We own this
side of the fence, he owns that side.”

They took a turn that curved away from
the gate and went slightly uphill. They reached the top and Kenna
looked down at a beautiful two-story white brick house with a one
story glassed-in sun room to one side. The driveway straightened
out and newly planted trees lined both sides of the drive leading
up to the house. The drive emptied into a big yard with a little
red truck sitting in the circular drive.

“
Where are we?” Kenna
asked as she got out of the truck.

It was so quiet and the house was
perfect. There was a little strip of land that looked like it was
being tilled for a garden and the little red truck seemed to just
fit in to complete the picture of country bliss.

“
Will, who lives here?”
She asked again.

Will shuffled his feet and stuck his
hands into his pockets. He looked up into her eyes then and smiled.
“I live here. Actually, I was hoping we’d live here.” Will went
down onto one knee and pulled a purple velvet box out of his
pocket. Inside sat the most dazzling four carat emerald cut diamond
Kenna had ever seen. “McKenna Mason, I love you so much. You bring
such joy to my life and nothing would make me happier than if you
agree to be my wife. Will you marry me?”

Kenna felt her mouth fall open to
answer but she could only nod. Will took out the ring and slipped
it onto her finger. She fell to her knees and kissed him with every
ounce of love she had for him.

“
So, do you think you
could be happy here?” Will asked, gesturing to the
house.

“
It’s so perfect. I love
it! I thought you had been living at the main house?”

“
I have been. This house
was just completed a couple of weeks ago and the landscaping was
finished yesterday. But, I also have one more surprise for you.” He
pointed to the little red truck. “I was hoping you’d say yes. As an
engagement gift I got you a Ford F-150 to match your M6. Now you
truly are a Kentucky girl!”

* * *

Betsy and William were standing on
their back porch with their eyes trained down the road Kenna and
Will were driving up.

“
I am guessing by their
eager expressions you told them you were going to ask me to marry
you?”

Will laughed and fingered the ring on
her left hand. “I did. I had to ask my Mom for the diamond. It was
my Grandmother’s. I had it reset though.”

“
Oh Will, that is so
sweet. If it wasn’t for Alda and my Grandmother, we’d never have
met.” Kenna couldn’t help laugh at Betsy as she shoved William’s
hand off her shoulder and came running down the stairs to meet
Kenna as she got out of the truck.

“
Oh my. Let me see it,"
Betsy nearly begged.

Kenna lifted her left hand and showed
off her diamond while William clasped Will’s shoulder and shook his
hand.

“
It’s just beautiful on
you. It’s been so long, I almost forgot what it looked like. We’ve
had it locked away in the safe since Alda left for the nursing home
twenty-five years ago.” Betsy grabbed her up into a hug and kissed
her cheek.

“
We couldn’t be happier
for you both,” William said as he pried his wife off of Kenna so he
could give her a hug. “Welcome to the family.”

“
Oh! We must have an
engagement party! William, we must have an engagement party for
them.” Betsy didn’t wait for her husband to respond, instead just
took Kenna’s hand and continued, “What about over the Fourth of
July? We could have a cookout and fireworks. Oh, it will be so much
fun!”

Kenna couldn’t help it, her eyes
started to tear up.

“
You’ve overwhelming the
poor girl, Betsy,” William said gently as he pulled Betsy
away.

“
No, it’s not that. It’s
just that I realized I have a family again.” And with that, she
burst into tears of joy.

They had decided to celebrate at the
cafe. Kenna called Paige and told her the good news. She invited
her to join her and the Ashtons. Just twenty minutes later, they
arrived at the cafe to find the Rose sisters, Paige, Mo, Ahmed,
Henry, Tammy, Tom, and many of the Ashton friends already
there.

“
The Keeneston grapevine,”
Kenna said shaking her head. Paige gave her a fierce hug and the
rest of the night became a blur of toasts, hugs and good
food.

Chapter Twenty

Every night since the engagement a
week ago, Kenna had spent her time organizing the new house she
shared with Will. She checked out of the Bed and Breakfast and
found it surprisingly hard to leave.

She had picked out linens and towels,
and then had a field day in Paige’s store finding picture frames
and other decorative items. She was currently in the kitchen
filling the cabinet with everyday dishes she had picked out. The
doorbell rang and she almost dropped the plate.

“
Dani!” She practically
screamed. Hope burst through her like sunshine as she made a dash
for the front door. She yanked it open and found a UPS delivery
man.

“
Miss Mason?”

“
Yes?”

“
Package for you. Sign
here.” He handed her the clipboard and then a package no bigger
than a five by seven box.

“
Thank you,” she said.
Disappointment filled her and for the first time she was losing
hope of seeing her friend.

She took the box to the kitchen and
found the new pair of scissors to cut the tape. She pulled open the
top and a picture slid out with a note taped over it. She lifted
the note and her breathing stopped. She thought she might faint.
Her vision became tunneled as she stared at a picture of her,
Danielle, and Chad taken the night of her birthday. Chad stood in
the middle of the two women with his arms slung around their
shoulders. Dani and Kenna were laughing, but Chad had an arrogant,
predatory smile that made her stomach turn. With shaky hands, she
picked the note up from the counter and opened it.

Congratulations on the engagement,
sweetheart. I’ll never forget my two favorite girls.

Kenna dropped the frame and card. She
didn’t even hear the shattering of the frame.

She didn’t notice Will running into
the room, until he stopped in front of her and shook
her.

“
Kenna. Kenna. Answer me.
Are you okay? What happened?”

All she could do was point to the
shattered photo. She saw Will pick it up along with the note and
then curse. He ran over to the phone and dialed a number. “Get over
here now.” He hung up and dialed another number. “Yeah, it’s me.
There’s been a package sent. Yeah, come to the new
house.”

The rushing sound of blood started to
recede and she tore her gaze from the note lying on the floor. Will
came over to her and crouched on the floor, pulling her into him.
“It’s okay… It’s okay. We’ll take care of it. He’s too scared to
come here himself so he had to send it.”

Kenna jumped when the front door
opened.

Will stood up, “We’re in
here.”

“
Who is it?” Kenna
asked.

“
It’s Ahmed. Cole will be
here in about twenty five minutes.”

Kenna put a shaky hand on the counter
and was about to pull herself up when she felt Will’s hand under
her arm, supporting her as she stood.

“
You okay?”

“
No, but I will be.” Kenna
took a deep breath and managed a shaky smile when Ahmed entered the
room.

“
Come over here and sit
down,” Ahmed gestured to the kitchen table. “We’ll take care of
this Kenna. I promise.” He bent down to take a closer look of the
photograph. “What is this photograph from? Take your time and tell
me everything you remember about it.”

Kenna took a deep breath. “It was from
my twenty-ninth birthday. That was my last night in the New York.
We were at a club called The Zone. Danielle and I had just arrived.
Chad wanted the picture. He had already ordered my favorite drink,
a sparkling peach martini. But for the picture, all three of us
took a shot of Grey Goose Vodka. Chad handed his phone to the
bartender and threw his arm around both of us. He pulled us in
close and said, ‘I want a photo with my girls’.”

“
What had you and Danielle
laughing so hard?” Ahmed quietly asked.

Kenna couldn’t take her eyes off the
photograph. She felt as if she was still being oppressed by the hot
sticky air of the club. She could feel the burn of the vodka shot
she had taken. She could hear Danielle’s laughter. And she heard
Chad ask the bartender to take a picture.

“
Wait.” Kenna closed her
eyes and brought herself back to the night. “He called the
bartender by name. He said, ‘Hey, David. Do me a favor and take a
picture of me and my two girls.’” Kenna opened her eyes and looked
back at the picture of their faces caught in a moment of unguarded
laughter. “Danielle had said, ‘If Chad knows that hot bartender so
well, maybe he can introduce me. I am always looking for a man
willing to serve me a drink!’ And then we laughed because we always
laughed at the thought. She had men falling over her constantly but
she refused almost all of them. It was an inside joke that no man
could actually last long enough to bring her a drink,” she
explained after looking up and seeing that Will and Ahmed did not
seem to comprehend the irony of the joke.

“
Okay good. Agent Parker
will be here soon. Let him collect it properly for evidence. I am
just going to take a picture of it and the note to see what kind of
hits I can get. Cole and I have been working on this the past
couple of weeks and he should have an update for us today.” Ahmed
bent down and photographed the envelope, note, the UPS box, and the
photograph.

Will sat down beside her and put his
hand on her knee. “It’s okay, honey. We’re all here for you and
we’ll find him.” He pulled her into his protective embrace and laid
his cheek against the top of her head. Kenna took a couple of deep
breaths and sank into him. His warmth chased away the coldness that
had seeped into her bones the second she had looked in the
box.

She heard the sound of a car door
closing and boots on the sidewalk. She knew Cole had arrived.
“Will, I know it needs to be done, but I feel so
drained.”

“
Don’t worry. I’ll take
care of it. Sit there while I let Cole in and make you a cup of hot
chocolate. I’ll answer as many of the questions as I can for you.”
Will gave her knee a little squeeze before standing up going to let
Cole in.

Cole came in and swept the photograph,
envelope, and note for fingerprints before placing them into clear
evidence bags. He asked questions that Will and Ahmed answered
while Kenna sipped her hot chocolate and fought the exhaustion that
was setting in after the adrenaline had worn off.