Bluegrass State of Mind (5 page)

Will opened the front door and ushered
Kenna in. An elderly lady looked up from where she was chatting at
a table and waved. Will waved back and pointed Kenna to an open
booth in the back. As they walked past the packed tables, talk of
the patrons quieted and then grew even louder as soon as Kenna and
Will sat down. An elderly woman bustled over. Eyes twinkling and
note pad at the ready she stopped in front of the table. Her feet,
encased in bright white orthopedic shoes, were practically dancing
with excitement. She was small; barely over five feet, but she had
the look of strength about her. Kenna was pretty sure if Miss Daisy
was walking the streets of New York, a mugger would think she was
easy pickings only to be thumped by a purse and grabbed by the ear
for a lecture.

"Miss Daisy, you ready to take me up
on my offer of a date yet?" Will asked giving Miss Daisy a
wink.

She blushed and smacked his hand with
her small note pad. "William Ashton, you devil. If I was only
thirty years younger... But, look at you with your bad manners.
Bless your heart. If I didn't know your Mama raised you better, I
would think you were a total failure of a gentleman for not
introducing me to your lady friend." Miss Daisy looked pointedly at
Kenna and she thought Miss Daisy said the words 'lady friend' a
little strangely.

"McKenna Mason, this young lady is
Miss Daisy Mae Rose. One of her sisters is Miss Lily Rae, your
landlord," Will smiled at her and then nodded his head toward the
back of the cafe, "and her other sister is Miss Violet Fae Rose,
but she's usually in the back riding hard on the cooks".

"That she is. And you dear, you just
call me Daisy Mae. So, you’re staying with Lily Rae. Well, I am
sure she'll feed you fine, but you just come on down here anytime
you want to eat. Most of the time, we supply some of the food to
Lily Rae anyway." Miss Daisy turned to Will, "You know Violet Fae
will be out to see you as soon as I put in the order. Do you both
know what do you want to drink?"

Will looked up at Kenna and signaled
her to go ahead with her order, "This raspberry ice tea looks
great. I will have some of that," Kenna said.

"Sweet tea for me. Thanks, Miss
Daisy," Will said with a genuine smile for her.

Daisy Mae turned to Kenna, "It was
real nice to meet you dear, and I’ll be out in just a jiffy with
your drinks. Specials are on the board." With a wave, she walked to
the back with their drink orders. Kenna noticed her stopping at
every table on the way. Some quick glances darted her way while
others openly stared.

The bell over the door tinkled and the
gazes of the patrons shifted from her to the person coming in to
the cafe. Will leaned forward and explained to Kenna that the man
was Mr. Wolfe. He was a kind of legend in the town and the main
source of the Keeneston grapevine. It amused her to see him greet a
majority of the people there. John turned his attention to table
where Will and McKenna sat. He began to wind his way through the
tables. He shook hands and nodded his head in greeting all the way
to the back.

"Uh-oh, here comes trouble," Will said
as he stood up from the table to shake Mr. Wolfe's hand. "John,
good to see you again." Will turned to Kenna. “This beautiful lady
is McKenna Mason. Kenna, this is John Wolfe.”

"I see you wasted no time is welcoming
this beautiful young lady to our town. I hope he's treating you
well Miss Mason."

"He sure is, Mr. Wolfe." Kenna
said.

"Little lady, you can call me John. I
heard a rumor you were in town to interview for the Assistant D.A.
job. Good luck with that. I saw Tom this afternoon and told him I
hoped he’d give you lots of consideration. It wouldn't hurt to have
a pretty thing like you to counter his bad looks either!" John
guffed.

Kenna felt her cheeks start to blush,
but was more amazed he knew why she was there. Not to mention his
remarks on her being pretty did not seem to stem from sexism, but
from gentlemanly manner. "How on earth did you know I was
interviewing for the job. Mr. Burns said the application process
was confidential and I have not told anyone but Will and his
father?" Kenna asked.

Will's smile grew and he shook his
head in slight bafflement. "We don't know how he does it, but John
always finds everything out. He has for as long as I have known
him. The prevailing town theory is he bugged the whole city. Either
that or a magic crystal ball. We can't decide and John has never
revealed his sources."

Miss Daisy appeared behind John
carrying their drinks, "What's this I hear? John, did you say
McKenna is here to apply for the Assistant D.A. job?"

Kenna cringed. Miss Daisy had not only
asked her question loudly, she did it in such a way that her voice
projected through the whole cafe. Kenna saw another white head of
hair pop out the back servers’ window and figured that was Miss
Violet. All conversation had stopped and the only noise was chair
legs scrapping the floor as the patrons angled toward her awaiting
an answer.

"You better just come clean with the
group," Will said.

His smile was starting to irritate
her. He wasn't the least bit surprised or embarrassed that half the
town was blatantly staring and patiently waiting for her to answer.
"Um" she cleared her throat and then decided if this was turning
into a sudden cross-examination, then she better act like the
accomplished attorney she was. She scooted to the end of the booth
and stood up. Her hands were sweaty and she felt slightly confused
by the attention. She put on her best lawyer face, which consisted
of softening her face and attaching a small polite smile. She
clasped her hands in front of her and spoke in her courtroom voice,
"Yes, I have come from New York to apply for the Assistant D.A.
job. Will has been showing me around this lovely town that I hope
will soon be home." She gave one more smile and went to sit
down.

"Excuse me, Miss, but what does a big
shot city lawyer know about Keeneston? Why did you leave? You
weren't busted in one of those sex-for-hire stings that brought
down the Governor up there were you?" asked a man who looked to be
one hundred years old.

Kenna froze. She wasn't completely
prepared to tell them why she left. She couldn't just announce to a
group of people that she fled for her life and hoped to hide out
here until she could figure out what to do. Stick to the truth, she
thought. It makes the lies easier to remember later. She placed her
lawyer face back on and even managed a little laugh, "No, no. No
sex scandals, I am sorry. But if you really want, you can walk me
home tonight and we can start our own rumors," she joked and then
threw in a wink. The place erupted into laughter, but she knew it
wouldn't placate them. So she added, "I was just tired of the long
hours, the lack of appreciation for my work, and I was firmly stuck
in the litigation department. I wanted a change. My Nana was great
friends with Mrs. Ashton, Will's Grandmother, so I thought this
would be a great place to be able to make a home. So far it has
exceeded expectations. Are there any more questions?" Kenna looked
around hoping there were no more to come but saw a hand raised
toward the front. A group of teenagers wearing letter jackets were
all pushing the leader to his feet.

The pimply, but surprisingly tall,
muscled young man stood up, "Umm, I was… I mean, we were wondering
if you’re single or if you're married to some fella," his face
flushed red and even the tips of his ears appeared to be
burning.

Kenna was shocked by the personal
question and thought everyone else would be. But as she looked
around, clearly everyone was very interested in her answer. "No, I
am not and have never been married," she said in a slightly shell
shocked voice.

She saw another young man stand up,
"Are you dating Coach?"

Now she was just confused. Apparently
the group was more interested in her personal life than her
professional one. She had been expecting questions about her
beliefs in capital punishment or stiff jail terms, not if she was
romantically involved with someone. "Who is Coach?" she asked the
young man.

"He is," the boy pointed to
Will.

Will raised his hand, "Guilty. I help
coach the Keeneston High School football team."

Kenna's mouth was frozen in an “O”
shape and she turned back to the boy, "Well, in that case, no.
We're not dating. Actually, today is the first time I have seen him
since I was twelve." Some of the younger men in the cafe were
smiling and trying to grab her attention. She could not believe
this. Pretty soon she might be auctioned off for dates.

She almost groaned aloud when she saw
yet another hand rise. This one belonged to a middle aged soccer
mom. She was sitting at a table with her husband and two boys
dressed in some sort of sports uniform. Kenna gave a slight nod to
acknowledge the mother.

The mom put down her hand and stood up
nodding hellos to some people in the crowd, "Where are your people
from?" she asked and continued to stay standing.

Somewhat perplexed at the question,
Kenna answered. "Well, I was born in Liverpool, New York. It's just
outside Syracuse. My parents met at Syracuse University and we
moved to New York City when I was ten." Kenna smiled at the soccer
mom to indicate she was done and waiting for part two. This was
starting to turn into a toughest interview she had ever had. She
glanced quickly at Will and smothered her irritation at the fact he
was lounging in the booth with a huge Cheshire Cat grin on his
face. At least one of them found this amusing.

"What do your parents think of you
moving so far away? Are they considering moving closer as well?"
The soccer mom sat down indicating the end of her line of
questioning.

The fake smile dropped from Kenna's
face at the mention of her family. She noted that Will sat up
straight and looked to be seconds away from coming to her aid, but
she knew she must answer this question.

"Sadly, no. My parents died in an auto
accident a couple of years ago. I was an only child, as were my
parents. You find me the only member of my family left. The lone
Mason. Are there any…"

"Oh, you poor dear!" Miss Violet had
apparently had enough of hiding in the back and come out of the
kitchen. Much like her sisters, she was barely five feet tall with
the signature white hair. She varied from Miss Daisy in the fact
that she looked to be all matronly cushion, which she promptly put
to use pulling McKenna into a fierce hug. Kenna found herself bent
over with her face buried in pillowed breasts, being slightly
rocked. She tried to tell Miss Violet it was okay, but her words
got muffled in Miss Violet's ample cleavage.

"Now, now, Dear. You have family right
here. Doesn't she?" Miss Violet asked the cafe.

There were lots of "Sure does" and
"Welcome to Keeneston" going around. Kenna gasped in a deep breath
when Miss Violet released her and found a circle of people
surrounding her.

"As you probably guessed, I am Violet
Fae and it is a pleasure to meet anyone who is a friend of old Mrs.
Ashton. Will too, I guess." She gestured to soccer mom who had come
over, "And this is Pam Gilbert. She is on the school board
here."

Pam, with her dirty blond hair and
traditional soccer mom uniform of pressed jeans and a button up
polo shirt sporting her son's team colors, shook Kenna's hand. "I
am so sorry I asked about your parents. I just feel terrible. I
sure do hope you'll forgive me."

"Of course, it is nice to meet you."
Pam stepped back and was replaced by the young man who had blushed
beet red when asking her about her relationship status.

She felt Will come to stand next to
her. Miss Violet and Pam had moved back to Pam's table and
continued to talk to each other, so Will took over the
introductions. "This young man is our running back on the high
school football team. Trey Everett, meet Miss Mason." Trey shook
hands with Kenna and then he nervously looked back and forth
between Will and Kenna.

"It is nice to meet you, Trey. What
year are you? And please, call me Kenna."

Trey's shy expression vanished and was
replaced with a grin, "Thanks ma'am, I mean, Kenna. I am a junior
this year and can't wait to start my senior year of football in the
fall. You'll come to a game, right?" Trey asked with
eagerness.

"I'd love to." She said with a
truthfulness she hadn't felt in a long time. Even though she was
pretty sure Ferdinand and Isabella could have used these people for
the Spanish Inquisition, they appeared to be well-meaning and were
now welcoming her to the town.

A very handsome man about her age
approached with the “sex scandal” old man on his arm. The younger
man was tall with blonde hair and eyes the color of the sea. He was
not intimidating in size like Will, but was probably five ten and
more bookish looking. The “sex scandal” man took Kenna's hand in
his old, arthritic hand and patted it. "I know what it's like to
lose family dear. I know we set a date for me to walk you home
tonight, but maybe we can just have dinner soon
instead."

"That's so kind of you. I am McKenna
Mason, but I insist you just call me Kenna."

"I am Roger Burns and this is my
grand-nephew, Paul Russell. I will call that young buck of a son of
mine tonight and tell him to hire you if you promise me a kiss
goodnight on our date." He winked at her then as Will and Paul
broke out laughing.