Secret Santa (10 page)

“We have a horse farm in Ocala, Florida,”
June said as she smiled and gently squeezed Kenna's hand again.

She's a toucher, Kenna thought as June
continued, “I hope we can be friends. I always love coming to Miss
Lily’s for the sales. We always meet the most wonderful people.”
June continued to talk as Kenna made her way to the dining room for
lunch, explaining all about the sales and about the horses they
were hoping to buy. Kenna looked around the dining room and noted
that it was casually set with a buffet of olive nut and pimento
cheese sandwiches. Fresh fruit was in a bowl and a large salad was
set in the middle of the round table were Kenna sat with June and
Julius.

"Come in, come in. Have a seat just anywhere
at the table ya'll. I'll be out in a jiffy with the sweet tea,"
Miss Lily said as she quickly zipped into the kitchen. Kenna's eyes
widened slightly. Miss Lily was remarkably fast for someone in her
early seventies. She reappeared with a pitcher of sweet tea, and
her white apron was blown back from her flowered dress as her easy
spirits sailed across the polished hardwood floors. The room was
bright with sun streaming in through the open windows.

Kenna picked up her sweet tea, tentatively
gave it a sip, and found that she was pleasantly surprised by the
taste. Julius and June began to talk about one of the horses they
were hoping to sell and which barns they should go to first when
they went to the Keeneland sales after lunch as Kenna listened with
half an ear and nibbled at the pimento cheese sandwich. Not bad,
she thought and then took a bigger bite.

"So, are these horse sales a big deal? I
mean, do lots of people go to them?" Kenna asked while she tried
the olive nut sandwich. She was definitely going to have to learn
how to make these sandwiches and had a feeling Miss Lily would
teach her in a heartbeat if she asked.

"They sure are, hon," Julius told her. "The
Keeneland sales bring in tens of millions of dollars every year.
There are smaller sales in Florida and some good sized sales in
Saratoga, New York. But if you want the next big thing or the best
selection, you go to Keeneland."

“It’s also the best place to see the who’s
who of racing,” June chimed in. “For example, some Middle Eastern
royalty own racing stables. There's a Sheik from some small oil
country who's trying to build the next big stable right here in
Keeneston. He's not the only royalty. Queen Elizabeth has been
known to have a horse or two stabled in the area. She’s also
attended the Derby a couple of years ago.”

Kenna though that this was as good a time as
any to ask about one of the reasons she had come to Keeneston ,
"When I was a kid, one of my Nana’s friend’s family had a horse
farm here. This morning I found out the Ashtons are still here. Do
you know them?"

"The Ashtons!" June practically squealed.
She clapped her hands lightly together and beamed at Kenna, "Of
course we know them. Everyone knows them. After all, they have
Spires Landing at stud on their farm here in Keeneston."

Kenna breathed a sigh of relief and felt a
little of the weight lift off her shoulders. Maybe June would know
how to get in touch with Will. That would be easier than trying to
find the entrance to the farm. She would feel strange just knocking
on the door. "So, you think they'll be at the sales?"

"Of course, although I don't know if Betsy
and William will be there. But I'm sure someone from the family
will be," June said.

Will had gotten married. Kenna knew it was
wishful thinking or stupidity on her part to think that after all
these years he wouldn't be married. After all, he was a couple
years older than she, probably around thirty-two by now. She had
heard that he had graduated from the University of Kentucky and
played in the NFL for a couple of years, so it was definitely
stupid to think him still unmarried. Childhood crush aside, she
needed help and he was the one she was depending on to give it to
her.

"If you want to go to the sales this
afternoon, we'd be happy to take you. Wouldn't we, sugar?" June
said, interrupting Kenna's thoughts.

"Of course we would. You just come along
with us if you'd like," Julius responded.

Kenna looked at her phone calendar and saw
that her appointment with the Keeneston District Attorney's office
was scheduled for two days from now, so time was a concern. It was
best to go track down Will now and beg him to put in a good word
with her potential boss. Or see if he knew of any other jobs in
town if she didn't get the D.A. job. "That would be great. Thanks,
June, Julius."

After finishing lunch, Kenna went to freshen
up before heading out to the sales. She stared at her hair in the
mirror and attempted to fluff it, but then it just ended up looking
tangled as opposed to that Hollywood, windswept ‘just had great
sex’ look. She looked at her clothes hanging in the closet and
decided to compensate for not having the ‘just had great sex’ hair
with her own Ralph Lauren skin- tight, green cable sweater. Mr. and
Mrs. Perky put her in the Ralph Lauren mood. She slipped her small
feet into her black Nine West, two- inch heel boots to boost her
shortened height up to what she thought of as a normal height. With
that, she was ready to go. Wiping sweaty hands on her jeans, she
headed downstairs, trying to prepare herself for what would equate
to begging and pleading for help finding a job, something she
never, never, never did, especially from an old crush she thought
as she rolled her eyes, who would probably not even remember her
name.

Kenna found the Kranskis on the wraparound
porch and walked with them down the stone path lined with
daffodils. She slid into the back seat of their white Mercedes
sedan.

She looked out the window as they headed
toward the "big city" of Lexington. She guessed being from New York
City, anything under a couple million people seemed small, but she
could understand if you're from the surrounding towns of fewer than
twenty-five thousand people, that Lexington with its population of
three hundred thousand would be a "big city". As she stared out the
window, she felt some comfort come over her as she watched the
rolling hills of the farmland dotted with corn, tobacco, soy bean,
cows, horses and beautiful manor houses pass by. So open and so
green… she had never seen so much green.

Fifteen minutes later they approached
Keeneland and turned with a steady stream of traffic into the race
track. Kenna observed the beautiful landscaping and how open it
seemed while at the same time a huge plane was attempting a landing
over the racetrack.

"The airport is right across the street,"
Julius explained. "That was probably one of the Sheiks or a Royal
from somewhere across the pond coming in for the sales. They'll fly
into the small airport and just park the plane for a day or
two.”

She nodded, showing she had been listening
to him. Kenna thought it was safe to bet the owner of that plane
was going to inject some cash into the thoroughbred industry.

They drove through fields of green grass,
all trimmed and lined with huge old trees, up to a clubhouse. A
valet came out and took the keys from Julius and went to park the
Mercedes. Julius and June started a constant stream of chatter
between themselves and then deftly went through the clubhouse to
the paddock area. Pictures of past Derby winners and stakes winners
lined the stone walls from the times they had raced at Keeneland.
The majesty of the pictures, the feel of the stone building, the
sounds of the horses’ hooves, and smelling the scents of cut grass,
hay, oats and leather, she could just feel the history of the place
and start to understand why horse racing has been such a popular
sport for hundreds of years.

They stepped out of a stone walkway and into
the paddock where horses were being led around with a number stuck
to their hips. Hundreds of people were milling about, looking at
each horse or just talking to one another. Some people where
wearing Armani suits

while some were in worn cowboy boots and
faded jeans. She caught the sight of one man in a simple button- up
shirt, faded jeans with some tears in it, and boots that looked
like they had stepped in nothing but horse crap. Yet he pulled out
a state of the art Smartphone and had the keys for an Audi
carelessly dangling out of his pocket. She smiled at the strange
scene. Who these people were, what they wore, and the type of car
they drove was of no importance. Audi driving cowboys chatted with
beat- up Ford truck owners over which horse to bid on.

Taking in another deep breath, Kenna closed
her eyes and let the sounds and scents flow over her. Having always
been a history buff, she could just see the men and women walking
around in 1936 when Keeneland first opened. While she had been
daydreaming, the Kranskis had made their way across the paddock and
were heading for a string of barns.

"We're heading over to the Spring Creek Barn
to check out a yearling. You see that blue and white flag over the
third barn down? That's the Ashton Barn. Just make your way down
there and ask for your friend. Whenever you're done, just come find
us." And with that, June gave Kenna a finger wave and started to
walk toward another barn. Find them? How, could she find them in
this massive place?

She took a deep breath and turned toward the
blue and white flag. As she walked towards it, she passed by a
couple of barns proudly displaying certain colors she took to be
the farm colors, much like a family crest. She slowed as she
approached the Ashton Barn and saw that many people walking horses
around were all wearing blue and white polo shirts. It must be a
way to identify farm personnel. Some were taking horses up to the
paddock while others were putting them in stalls. Still others took
them out of stalls and walked them to groups of people who seemed
to be examining them. Kenna assumed that they were potential
buyers. She looked around and didn't see anyone she guessed to be
Will. Of course, the last time she had seen him she was twelve and
he wasn't quite sixteen. However, she didn't think she would ever
forget those dark, chocolate brown eyes. She looked around,
scanning the faces around the barn.

She sighed as she realized she needed help
finding him and turned to the closest man in the blue and white
uniform, “Excuse me, I'm looking for Mr. Ashton. Is he here today?"
she asked the short young man leading a horse from the barn.

"Si. He over there," the blue and white clad
man said in broken but understandable English. He pointed to a
little hallway in the middle of the barn. It was lined with more
horse stalls, and as she approached, she saw a man rubbing the nose
of one of the horses. He was tall, at least six feet one inch, and
his brown hair had a slight amount of gray in it near his temple.
He still looked good though, even if he was a little prematurely
gray.

She walked up behind him and stood for a
moment staring at his back, trying to figure out how to say, "Hi, I
know you haven't seen me in seventeen years, but I was hoping you
could help me start a new life here in Kentucky by helping me get a
job and maybe find a place to live.”

Before she could make her presence known,
Will turned to her and asked, "You here to look at Miss Thing,
hon?"

Kenna's mouth opened, but nothing came out.
She stood momentarily locked in place taking him in. The graying
hair, the brown twinkling eyes, the huge smile that showed one
dimple on his left cheek, the wrinkles around his eyes, and the
hands gave away his

age. It wasn't Will. She let out the breath
she hadn't realized she was holding, “I'm sorry. I was told Mr.
Ashton was in here," Kenna said with a distracted smile on her
face. She was fighting off the strange feeling that she knew this
man, but couldn't place him.

"Well, then you found him. William Ashton.
Nice to meet you, ma'am." Mr. Ashton stepped forward with his hand
outstretched. Kenna stared for a second and then reached her hand
out to grasp his. He gently, yet firmly shook her hand and gave her
an approving nod when she returned the firm handshake.

Chapter Two

"I'm sorry for the confusion, but the
William Ashton I need is a little younger. It was a gamble he'd be
here anyway. I hadn't talked to him since we were kids and I
probably got some information mixed up. I'm sorry to have bothered
you." Kenna started to turn away and scan the crowd once again when
she heard Mr. Ashton chuckling.

"Don't go telling my wife about me being too
old for you now. I love her, but bless her heart, once she gets
hold of something she never lets it go. Besides, you don't have the
wrong place. I'm guessing you're about my son's age. Will is
running around here someplace. Is that who you're looking for? Will
Ashton?"

At the mention of his son, Kenna took in a
deep breath of air. She then slowly let it out and fell back onto
her courtroom demeanor as to not show her nerves. "Yes, sir. I'm
looking for Will Ashton, more particularly, the Will Ashton whose
grandmother Alda used to live in Upstate New York," Kenna stated
clearly, as if making point of clarification to a judge. She was so
close to finding who she was looking for, she couldn't take another
failure in the search for Will. Her nerves were becoming frayed,
but she was determined to come across as the confident lawyer she
was in court. People took her more seriously that way and tended to
tell her what she wanted to know if she was businesslike.

"Then you found the right one. That would've
been my mama. You knew her?" Mr. Ashton's face lit up as he asked
about his mother.

"She was roommates with my grandmother
Victoria Mason at the Liverpool Retirement Community."

"Ah, you're Vicki’s granddaughter. McKenna,
isn't it?

"That's right. It seems Alda told you as
much about me as my nana told me about Will." Kenna smiled,
remembering her nana and her antics with her roommate.