"Yes, I know about the Old Guards’ clubs around here. Dad plays golf with the D.A. and I'm sure he'll put in a good word. It's hard for outsiders to work their way into a job like that. But I know Mr. Burns pretty well. I'll tell him my granny approved of you, and that should make you a shoo-in."
"Thanks."
"I know you said you worked something out, but I can help you find a place to stay if you want. There's plenty of room out at the farm."
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I'm staying with Miss Lily, and my room is perfect. Thank you for the generous offer, though."
"Miss Lily will look out for you real well. I'm glad you're there. I was worried you were staying by yourself at some hotel." His kindness made her heart melt a little. It was possible to find those kinds of manners in New York, but she was beginning to notice that it was bred into men down here.
"Actually, the other guests staying there gave me a ride today, Julius and June Kranski. Do you know them?" she asked.
"Of course. Nice people. They come up every year for the sales and then back for Derby every now and then.”
“I was supposed to meet up with them again, but I have no idea how to even find them. This place is so crowded,” she said as she started to scan the people walking around the various barn areas.
“Come on, I'll help you find them. It’s actually pretty easy to find people. You just start asking,” he said with a grin. He reached down and took her hand and walked her out of the barn toward the paddock area where the horses were parading around. Every couple of yards Will would stop and ask someone if they knew where Julius was. It seemed Will knew everyone there. It also seemed Julius and June knew everyone there since all the people asked pointed in the same direction. In no time at all, they found the couple looking at a horse about to go into the sales arena.
“Will, darling, how are you doing?” June asked as she gave him a peck on the cheek.
“June, Julius. It’s good to see you again,” Will said as he shook Julius’s hand.
“I see McKenna found you. Are you ready to go back to Miss Lily’s, dear?” June asked as she turned to Kenna.
“Anytime you are, June. If there's something else you need to do, like buy a horse, I can wait,” Kenna said with a smile. They had been so kind to her and she didn’t want to hurry them. She had a meeting with the Green Book, a four-inch thick book that held Kentucky’s criminal law and procedures. She needed to read it before her meeting with Mr. Burns. She needed to prove to Mr. Burns that she was very capable of picking up Kentucky law.
“Well, we were hoping to buy one more, and he isn’t up for probably another hour," Julius told her.
“I can take her home. I'm done for the day,” Will said, his hand moving to gently cup her elbow in a subtle show of possessiveness.
“That would be great. Is that okay with you, Kenna?” June asked her.
“Sure, as long as it isn’t out of your way,” Kenna said.
Will’s grip on her elbow tightened as they said their good-byes and walked back to his barn. “If you don’t mind, let me just check on things one last time to make sure everything is in order," he said, heading into the barn.
Chapter Three
As Will went to check on things at the barn, Kenna took a breath and felt more of the rock lifting from her shoulders. She was pretty lucky that both Will and his father would put in a good word for her with the job. She knew her previous experience and grades spoke for themselves, but that didn't mean much if the D.A.'s best friend's cousin wanted the job. Sometimes you had to get dirty, just enough to get your foot in the door.
Kenna looked at the bustle of people moving around at the sales. She was over seven hundred miles from New York, but she still felt so nervous that they'd find her. And then what? She had no idea, and that was part of the problem. Taking on a case at trial was one thing, but taking on the unknown with your life at stake was another. She just couldn't quite get rid of the feeling that things weren't as safe as they appeared.
She heard Will approaching and turned around to see that he had a set of car keys in one hand and a briefcase in the other.
"Everything okay with the horses?"
"Yeah. I just had to get the files on the horses we were interested in and make sure our night manager had enough people to patrol the barn. We like to make sure the horses are not only well looked after in the terms of care, but also in the terms of safety." Will stood beside her and took one last look at his army of blue polo-wearing workers. "Are you ready to head back? If you'd like, we could stop and get dinner together. I know a great home-cooking-type place just a couple of blocks from Miss Lily's.”