"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.
"That's right. We heard all about you until your nana passed away when you were, what, thirteen, fourteen?"
"Fourteen," she answered. Mr. Ashton saw her eyes misting over and before Kenna knew it, he enveloped her in a fatherly bear hug. Surprised, she stiffened, but then melted into him as he started to pat her back. She suddenly felt as though she were fourteen years
old again. Since her parents had died, no one had hugged her like this and she missed it greatly.
"Before she passed away, Alda told us that your parents were killed in an accident. Bless your heart. You've had it rough, haven't you?"
His question was more rhetorical so she just nodded and buried her head deeper into his shirt. He smelled like horses and hay with a slight whiff of cologne — he smelled fatherly. She took a deep breath and reluctantly pulled away once she had collected herself. Kenna looked up and found Mr. Ashton's kind eyes looking down at her as he patted her head like she was a good little girl.
"I'm pretty sure Will is in the barn. He'll be back in just a second." He stopped scanning the barn area and turned to Kenna. "What brings you to our neck of the woods?" he asked with a great amount of interest.
She wanted to answer that fear and running for her life brought her here. Instead she worked up a fake smile and answered, "Actually, I'm interviewing for the assistant D.A. job with Thomas Burns. I might become a Southerner after all these years of cold winters in the North."
"That would be great. I'll tell Tom he should hire you when I see him for our weekly golf game tomorrow morning," William said. "After all, you're practically family."
Kenna's smile widened into one of genuine warmth as she looked at Mr. Ashton. Well, that was fortunate. Guess some old boys’ clubs could work for me instead of against me, she thought.
Mr. Ashton's eyes lit as he focused on something over her shoulder. “Will! Over here! I’ve got a surprise for you. You'll never guess who's here," Mr. Ashton yelled while waving his arm in the air.
Kenna took a deep breath as she heard strong, booted footfalls coming nearer. She turned around slowly with a wobbly smile on her lips, prepared for the embarrassment of not being remembered. Suddenly the deep breath she was taking got stuck, and her green eyes widened at the sight of the grown-up version of Will Ashton. He was gorgeous: strong, masculine, and with an air of good humor about him. He had a boyish smile on his face, showing off one dimpled cheek. His dark brown hair matched his eyes that vibrated with energy. Gone was the scarecrow of a boy she knew as a fifteen-year-old teenager, replaced with a thirty-two-year-old man's body. He was easily six feet two inches and muscled, very muscled from the way his thighs looked as they filled out a pair of worn jeans. His wide shoulders looked squeezed into his white, button-up shirt. His square jaw was starting to show a slight amount of stubble from a long day. But he still looked like he had enough energy to play a football game.
Will strode up to Kenna, stopped right in front of her, and smiled with genuine happiness. "Hi."
"Hello, Will." She lifted her head to look at him. When she did, their eyes met and she felt her smile falter. She just knew he had no idea who she was. Why would he? She had just turned twelve the last time he had seen her. She was shaped like a boy and had a mass of untamed red hair. Over the past seventeen years, her hair had turned more auburn with strong red highlights. And she was definitely not shaped like a boy. She was both top- and bottom-heavy, with a well-defined waist she had obtained through running multiple hours a week. She wasn't a stick-thin model, but she always felt that her size ten jeans fit perfectly and showed off those curves rather well.
Just when she was gathering the courage to embarrassingly introduce herself, his father cut in. "Will, I need to steal you for just a moment before you get caught up with your old friend here if you don't mind. Nice to see you again, dear. Remember, you're family. Stop on by anytime," Mr. Ashton said with a slight smirk. She thought she caught sight of a quick flash of mischief across his face. But when she looked again it was gone. "Sure, Dad. Excuse me for just a moment," Will said before turning and walking off a few feet with his father.