Secret Santa (13 page)

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 had 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'm Violet Fae,
and it's a pleasure to meet anyone who's a friend of old Mrs.
Ashton. Will too, I guess." She gestured to the soccer mom who had
come over, "And this is Pam Gilbert. She's 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's 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 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's 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'm 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've 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 wasn't
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'm McKenna Mason,
but I insist you just call me Kenna."

"I'm Roger Burns and this is my
grand-nephew, Paul Russell. I'll 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.

"I take it your son is the D.A.? Well, in
that case I'll do you one better and start a scandal right now."
She leaned over and placed a kiss on his paper thin cheek and then
whispered in his ear, "If I get a job, do you think they'll all say
I kissed my way to the top?"

Roger chuckled and looked at Will while
giving Kenna's hand another light pat, "Son, I hope you don't mind,
but I'm going to encourage my Paul here to ask this one out. She
reminds me of my sweet Martha, God rest her soul." He squeezed her
hand and then slowly started to work his way back to his table.

"I'll gladly take my great uncle's
suggestion. May I call you at Miss Lily's sometime this week?"
Will's hand found its way back to her waist and as if staking a
claim. He pulled her a step closer to his side. "After all, Will,
you know as well as I do that no one can outlast Whitney. So you
may as well save yourself the time."

Kenna saw Will's jaw clench. Apparently
there was a story there. Maybe Will wasn't as free as she thought,
even though he appeared to be singling her out. Either way, she
didn't like to be treated like she was spoken for, so she smiled at
Paul. "I'd love that. Thank you, Paul".

"It was great meeting you, Kenna. I'm glad
you've come to Keeneston and look forward to seeing you soon. Good
luck with your interview with my uncle," Paul said and then turned
to head back sit at his table with his great uncle.

"Come on, you two, sit down and eat. Violet
took charge and brought you out tonight's special, on the house, as
a welcome to the town for Kenna." Miss Daisy ushered them back into
the booth and placed a plate loaded with meatloaf, garlic mashed
potatoes, and some steamed carrots in front of Kenna.

"Thank you, Daisy Mae. This is so nice of
you both."

Miss Daisy harrumphed and went to fetch more
orders.

"I have to apologize for my actions with
Paul," Will said after a couple of bites of dinner. "We have been
rivals since high school. He was a couple of grades behind me and a
star on the soccer team. We often clashed over girls. He's right. I
have no claim on you. But that's not saying that I wouldn't like
to," Will said as he looked her right in the eyes. He lowered his
gaze and went back to eating. Periodically through the meal,
patrons would come up to the table and introduce themselves and
talk about the law with Kenna or about the town in general.
However, most came to talk to Will about his horses or how the
football team would look in the fall. After the tension between
Will and Paul, it was a nice break to meet so many of the town and
avoid thoughts of either man. After all, it wasn't as if she were
looking for a boyfriend. She was pretty sure she was cursed in that
respect anyway.

When they finished dinner, they got up from
the booth, and Kenna noticed Will leaving a twenty on the table
even though dinner had been on the house. He placed his hand at the
small of her back and navigated her out of the cafe as people waved
and said they'd see her later. She had never felt so close to a
group of people before.

"How about we walk up to Miss Lily's? It's
such a nice night out," he said, helping her slide on a light
jacket.

"That would be great.” As they crossed Main
Street and headed up to Miss Lily's, she turned to Will. His face
was in profile as the moonlight shone down to show a slight scar on
the bridge of his sharp nose. "How did you get that scar?" Kenna
asked, gently running her finger over it.

"I got it during a game. We were playing an
away game and were in Green Bay during December. It was freezing
outside. Snow was covering the field and this strong wind was
blowing. My receivers couldn't get their feet under them and that
left me in the pocket longer than normal. One play, while waiting
for my receiver to get open, I got hit from behind by a huge
lineman. I wasn't prepared for it, so I hit the ground full force
with my face leading the way. My helmet slid down a little and cut
the bridge of my nose. The good thing was I had just managed to get
the ball off, and we ended up winning the game with that touchdown.
The other good thing was that it was so cold that I didn't feel
much of it. When the doc looked at me after the game, the blood had
frozen and there was very little mess."

"I know you played in the NFL in D.C. for a
couple of years, but that's all. Did you always intend to go
pro?"

"No, I went to the University of Kentucky on
a football scholarship. I was red shirted my first year though.
They had a great QB and a junior backup so I wasn't really needed.
Also, I was still pretty scrawny. I didn't really bulk up until the
end of my freshman year. I grew taller, and the strength coach
kicked my butt daily. I filled out, and by the time the QB in front
of me graduated, I was ready to play. Anyway, I went on to start my
junior and senior year. We had this great Air Raid offense that
really padded my stats too. Because of my red shirt, I had five
years of college. So while it was technically my senior year of
football, I had already graduated and was enrolled in the MBA
program."

"You got your MBA while playing football?
That must've been tough."

"Actually, I only got one of the two years
completed then. I had a pretty good senior year and started to get
scouted by some pro teams. I thought I'd give it a try since there
was some interest, so I entered my name in the draft. I ended up
being drafted late in the second round to D.C. Halfway through my
first year, I was content riding the bench and watching one of the
best NFL QB's picking apart team after team. But late in October we
were playing the Falcons. It was a battle of the top teams. They
were first in the NFC and we were second. We were neck and neck
through the first half. But then in the third quarter, they started
pulling away. They were ten points ahead when our QB got rolled by
one of our lineman and went down."

"What does 'rolled' mean and why did your
lineman do it?” she asked.

"The offensive line is made up of the big
men that have the job of protecting the QB. Well, one of the
defensive players on the Falcons knocked over one of the lineman.
When you knock down a three hundred and twenty pound man, the
momentum sends him into the QB's leg. In this case he rolled onto
the QB's foot, trapping it. When he hit the leg, it resulted in
almost snapping the bone. It tore a whole bunch of ligaments and
tendons though. Put him out for the rest of the season."

"So, with Number One out, you got your big
chance." She smiled and jumped in front of him, pretending to pass
a football down the street. "I bet you won the game by throwing the
winning touchdown," she laughed.

"Actually, far from it. I caused us to lose.
I threw the losing interception. I got cussed out by the coach and
slammed by the talking heads. I was totally unprepared to be the
starter. I hadn't played a single down before that game but was
suddenly expected to lead the team. Lucky for me, Doron, the
injured QB, helped me out a lot. He would come in early for
practice and spend an hour with me teaching me the system and what
to look for."

"So, how long did you stay in the NFL? Were
you fired?"

"No, I wasn't fired," Will laughed as they
stopped on the front porch of Miss Lily's bed and breakfast. He
turned and faced her, "Although I kinda sucked for the next month
and we fell in the ranking, we managed to get into the playoffs and
by that time the extra practice with the coaches and Doron really
paid off. I started throwing more touchdowns and fewer
interceptions. We ended up the runner-up in our division that year,
which was a big accomplishment for a rookie like me."

"They kept you around, huh?" she said as she
playfully nudged him with her shoulder.

"Yeah, they decided I wasn't that bad and
paid me a nice bonus to extend my contract with them. Doron and his
wife had been trying to get pregnant for over five years, and they
didn't think it would ever happen. Then she found out she was
pregnant with triplets right before the NFC championship game."
Will chuckled, "You should've seen Doron's face when he came into
the locker room after finding out. His face was drawn and his eyes
kinda crossed. He announced to the whole team that after ten years
of playing in the NFL, he was quitting to become a stay-at-home
dad. He had even purchased a minivan on the way to practice."

"That certainly sealed your fate then. How
long did you play for?"

"I played for seven seasons. All with D.C.,
which is pretty rare. I loved every moment on the field."

"Why did you stop then?

"I stopped because I got a phone call from
my mom saying Dad was in the hospital. She was in tears. She had
found him unconscious in the mare barn. He had suffered a heart
attack, and luckily she came upon him right after it happened. The
stress of running the farm was just too much for him. I decided I'd
use my MBA to run the farm. Every summer for three years, I took
summer classes and finished my MBA. I focused on agricultural
management, but I also learned enough from my first year in the
program to be careful with my money. So I didn't really need to
play anymore to live comfortably. I quit at the end of the season
while I was at the top of my game and took over the farm. I still
get together with the guys a couple times a year, so it's not like
I've left it totally behind. But I'm having a lot of fun with
expanding the farm. This year, we actually have a chance for
back-to-back Derby wins."

"Wow! I'm taking it that it’s hard to
do?"

"Very. Speaking of the farm, you haven't
seen it yet. Would you be interested in coming over for dinner one
night? I can show you around the place." He eagerly looked at her,
waiting for her answer.

"That would be great. I'd love to see the
place and some of the horses."

He smiled widely at her answer. From jumping
around throwing imaginary footballs, a lock of her auburn hair had
escaped from behind her ear and was dangling by her eye. He slowly
reached over and brushed his fingers gently across her cheek on the
way to tucking the errant strand back behind her ear.