Bluegrass State of Mind (23 page)

“
Bye Will.”

Kenna watched as he made his way to
his truck and drove off. She was about to argue with her feelings
when the screen door opened and Miss Lily tumbled out.

“
Miss Lily! Were you
listening to our conversation?”

“
Oh, heavens no. I was
straightening the public sitting room for the weekend visitors and
well, with the door open I couldn’t help but hear. But since you
asked, I think you did the right thing.”

“
I didn’t ask, but go
ahead and tell me why you think so.” Kenna patted the seat and
before Lily had started her explanation, a car with tires
screeching turned into the drive.

“
What did I miss? Tell me
everything!” Paige screamed as she got out of her car and ran to
the porch.

Turning to Miss Lily, she shook her
finger as if scolding her. “Did you call everyone in
town?”

“
No. I would never do
that. I just called my sisters and Paige.”

“
So, give it another ten
minutes and everyone in town will know Will was over here trying to
win me back.”

Paige couldn’t wait any longer, “Is
that what he wanted? Then what was the deal with
Whitney?”

With Miss Lily and Paige hovered
around Kenna, shooting off questions Kenna filled them in on the
conversation with Will. Miss Lily brought out a tray for dinner and
a pitcher of lemonade. The ladies discussed Whitney and what they
thought of the situations.

"I just don't understand her. Why
would she put on this charade? Does she really think it's a good
way to win Will back?" Paige said as she took another bite of apple
pie.

"Only because she's demented." Miss
Lily's raised voice along with her waving her arms in the air was
enough to bring another round of laughter to the group.

Sometime around the apple pie being
brought out, the ladies decided to turn their discussion into a
comedic enactment. Miss Lily had the best impersonation of Whitney
between them. Their laughter died when they saw the Sheriff pull to
a stop in front of the house.

"Ladies," Red said as he tipped his
hat, his red hair having faded to more of a strawberry blonde as he
aged.

With her nose lifted into snobbery
perfection, Miss Lily let out her best impersonation of Whitney
yet, "Officer, is there something we can do for you this
night?"

Kenna saw Red's lips twitch. "Let me
guess, you ladies broke out some spiked lemonade and decided to
celebrate the downfall of Miss Bruce?"

Miss Lily's eyes got wide and then
they narrowed onto Red. "I will have you know I am a good Baptist
and would never partake in spirits. And I don't want to hear you
spreading that gossip, Red. Are you trying to get me in
trouble?"

"It seems you have gotten yourself
into enough trouble. One of your neighbors called, complaining
about the loud ruckus going on out here so late at
night."

"That would be Linda. It's barely ten
o'clock. That old bat, bless her heart, she sees smiles and it's
her mission to stomp them out," Miss Lily huffed.

"After the other night, I think it's a
good idea all of us get to bed a little early," Kenna said as she
stood and stretched her arms above her head. The fatigue from the
last day washed over her. She said her goodnights and climbed the
stairs up to her room.

Kenna changed into an old Syracuse
Lacrosse t-shirt and climbed into bed with her book. Before she
could open it, she spotted her laptop and the urge to check her
email hit her. She opened the laptop and turned it on. Every time
she checked her email, her stomach tightened into a knot and she
broke out into a cold sweat. She opened her browser and logged into
her account. She stopped breathing when the screen went blank to
load the page. When she saw the new email from Danielle, she wasn't
sure if she should breathe quite yet. She made herself exhale and
clicked to open the email.

K-

Beware! I think they found
you. I don't know exactly where you are, but the men in black have
pulled off me and left town. I really think they have found you.
Please be careful. Let me know you are okay.

XoXo

D

Shit. Shit. Shit. Kenna tossed the
laptop onto the bed and turned off the lights. She went over to the
door and slowly opened it. Miss Lily tended to leave the front door
unlocked, so she quietly made her way down the old creaky staircase
in the dark to the front door. She could see that the deadbolt was
not thrown. As she approached, she peeked out the window. There
were no cars on the streets or people lurking in the bushes. Kenna
locked the door, ran back upstairs, shut her own door, and locked
it. Breathing hard now, she got back into bed and picked up the
laptop.

Dani-

Doors are locked and no
creepy guys outside. I will keep my eyes open and let you know if I
see anything. Make sure you stay out of sight too. You never know
if they pulled back to lure you out.

Keep Safe,

K

* * *

The next day dragged for Kenna as she
sat in a constant state of paranoia. In court, she looked back
every time the door opened. So much so that Noodle even got
anxious. She quickly walked back to the office, checking out
everyone on the sidewalk to make sure she recognized them before
jumping into her office at the last possible moment. She managed to
get some paperwork done after she told Tammy that no one was to
know she was there. Tammy had agreed, although her confusion was
plain.

She managed to get home knowing no one
saw her and dressed for a night out with Will. The last thing she
wanted to do was go into Lexington. But knowing she would be with
Will made her nerves calm down enough to talk herself into not
canceling. She needed to tell Will the real reason she was in
Keeneston. However, just the thought of doing so made the terror
seem more real. It made the men looking for her real, and closer to
her.

“
Come on, McKenna, you can
do it. It's easy,” she rehearsed in the mirror. “Will, I am really
here running from some powerful people. Saw something I wasn't
supposed to that would get them into a heap of trouble. Please tell
me if any strangers are looking for me. Thanks,” and she finished
her practice speech. "There, simple. Just a couple of quick
sentences and it will all be out in the open," she told
herself.

Kenna heard the sound of a car pulling
into the driveway and grabbed her purse and started downstairs. As
she rounded the curve in the staircase, she saw Miss Lily at the
front door with Will. He was holding a bouquet of pastel colored
tulips in his hand and looked so handsome in black dress slacks and
a French blue dress shirt that Kenna almost stopped to stare. She
was glad she had dressed up in a little black dress with half inch
wide straps that crossed to form an X in the front and then crossed
in the back as well. She chose to wear her purple Prada heels as a
silent toast to Danielle.

"You look terrific," Will said, his
voice a little huskier than normal as he handed her the
flowers.

"Thank you. Miss Lily, would you mind
if I borrow a vase for these?"

"Just give them here. I will put them
in a vase and take them up to your room for you. You two get going
and have a nice time." Miss Lily took the flowers and headed to the
kitchen as Will placed Kenna’s purple shawl over her shoulders. She
noticed his hands linger for a moment on her shoulder as he trailed
a finger down her arm.

He held out his arm for her, "Shall
we?"

Kenna placed her hand in the crook of
his elbow and felt his muscles tense in response. "What do you have
planned for tonight?" She asked as he led her to a silver Corvette
parked in the driveway. "Is this yours? What happened to your
truck?"

"I do own more than one car. I thought
you deserved a nice car for a romantic night out on the town." Will
stopped by the passenger door and opened it for her. He waited
until she was seated and closed the door. She let out a nervous
breath. She wasn't quite sure why she was nervous. They'd seen each
other countless times in the past couple of months but this felt
different. This was all or nothing, and she knew it. Either she was
going to fall head over heels in love, or she was going to need to
find the strength to walk away from Will forever. As she watched
Will make his way around the car, she had a feeling she'd already
made the choice.

Will opened the car door and reached
into the back seat. "I got you something for tonight."

He handed her a box with a blue bow on
it. He'd already gotten her flowers, she didn't know what else he
could have gotten her. She opened the box and pulled out a black
sweatshirt with KHS Football written across the front in royal
blue.

"Thank you! It's great. Now I will be
part of the team." She took off her shawl and pulled the sweatshirt
on.

"We have to get there a little before
the scrimmage starts so I can talk to the boys. But you shouldn't
have to wait too long. Cade Davies, one of Paige's older brothers,
is my assistant. He's going to show you around some and then Paige
will be there after she closes up to watch the scrimmage with
you."

"You didn't have to drag Paige out to
baby-sit me. I would have been fine watching by myself."

"Paige comes to all of the games to
support her brother. Also, I think football games provide an outlet
for her normally undetectable aggressive side."

They pulled into the parking lot at
the high school. As Kenna waited for Will to open her door, she saw
the steady stream of young men walking into the locker rooms. Some
were laughing and joking around. Some where seriously discussing
game plans with each other. Yet others just listening to music and
paying no attention to anything around them. Will opened the door
and gave Kenna his hand to help pull her out of the low riding
car.

Her breath caught and her heart
stopped when she heard the sharp whistle. "Looking good, Coach!
You're pretty dressed up for a game." Trey Everett nudged the guy
next to him as they both broke out into laughter. Kenna released
her breath and smiled.

"That's how you get women, Trey. Of
course, by your record, you haven't learned that yet," Will shot
back a smile making his dimples stand out as he put his hand on the
small of Kenna’s back. Trey's friend pointed at him and broke out
into a new fit of laughter.

"Wait here. I'll get Cade to show you
around. Then I will see you after the game and we'll go out to
dinner at Marabella's," he said as he came to a stop outside the
locker room entrance.

He slid his hand from her back to her
hip and pulled her toward him. As he lowered his head, her lips
raised instinctively to his. She sighed when he laid his lips on
hers, gently brushing them back and forth before settling in for a
heartbreakingly sweet kiss. He ran his hands up her back so softly
that it felt like a whisper.

"That was for luck," he whispered into
her ear before heading into the locker room.

Kenna turned away from the door and
stopped dead. Two young boys stood with their mouths hanging
open.

"Wow. Coach has game," one said to the
other as they walked past Kenna to the door. They nodded to her,
"Ma'am," and then they disappeared behind the old steel
door.

Kenna's face flushed when she heard
the cheers erupt from the room soon after and thought about running
away when the door opened again. This time a man about her age
stepped out with a grin on his face. He was an obvious participant
in the ribbing Will was getting inside.

"You must be Paige's friend. And well,
we all know you're Will's special friend after the clinic you both
put on out here."

"Oh God," she groaned. "Let me guess,
by tomorrow morning everyone will know I was caught making out with
Will under the bleachers. I feel like I am in high school
again!"

The man laughed and held out his hand,
"Cade Davies. It's nice to meet you. I have heard a lot about you
from Paige and Will."

She shook hands with him and noticed
the strong grip he had. His dirty blonde hair was a little longer
than normal, with strands tucked behind his ears and tickling the
top of his collar. His hazel eyes seemed to dance with his
amusement of the locker room antics.

"So, are you Paige's oldest brother?
She told me all about you guys, but I can't remember the
order."

"Nope, not the oldest. I am brother
number three. Come on, I'll show you around the school and the
field while Will's getting the guys ready for the game." He led her
out of the field house and toward the massive school.

"Do you teach here or do you volunteer
like Will?" She asked as he opened one of the metal doors leading
into the school.

"I teach science, mostly Biology and
Anatomy/Physiology."

Kenna looked over at him and took in
his six foot plus frame, heavily muscled arms, broad chest, and
tapered waist. It was clear he either worked out with the boys or
did something else because he did not look like a teacher. "You
don't look like any science nerd I know," she laughed.