“Okay. Can you see the barn from here?”
“Yes. It’s just right over there.” She pointed to a barn that sat about one hundred yards to the left and slightly behind the Derby barn.
“See you in a few. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Don’t worry, Boots, I’ll be back to wish you luck before you go.” Kenna blew him a kiss and took off for the other barn.
She showed her badge to security and walked into the peaceful barn. It smelled of honey, oats, and hay. For a moment, she listened to the shifting of horses on the hay and snorts as they ate. It seemed a world apart from the boisterous party going on around the track. She found the tack room and grabbed a handful of sugar cubes for the horses.
“That’s a good girl,” she said as she gave a cube to one of the fillies that had finished third in the Oaks. The sound of high heels hitting the rubber walkway had her looking around. She hadn’t seen the security guard since she had entered the barn, and his shoes definitely didn’t make that sound.
“Paige? Is that you?” she raised her voice slightly and the heard the footsteps stop. She froze. Her hand rested right behind the horse’s ear where she had been scratching. The filly whinnied, having felt the tension enter Kenna’s body.
She paused to listen and heard the footsteps start again. The person coming was definitely a woman with heels. Kenna looked around the barn and realized that the tack room was at the farthest point away from the security of the open barn door. Her only way out was in the direction of the person approaching.
Kenna willed herself to think. She took a deep breath as she watched the shadow of the woman appear on the ground. She made her way closer to an empty stall.
“Going somewhere, Kenna? Am I really that repulsive?”
Kenna stopped halfway through the door and looked out to see Whitney standing at the entrance of the hallway. “Oh, I didn’t know who it was. How are you doing, Whitney?” She let out a nervous laugh and placed her hand over her wildly beating heart.
Whitney was no threat. She was dressed to the nines in a cream-colored, satin mini-dress with black heels and an exquisite black and cream hat that was a good three feet wide.
She saw Whitney’s eyes narrow and felt the hatred pouring out of her. Kenna needed to revise that threat level, and fast. Whitney stomped up to her.
“You… you home-wrecking slut. You’re nothing but a whore, and you ask me how I'm doing?” Kenna took another step back as Whitney swept down on her. “I was just fine until you came here and stole my husband away from me.”
Kenna held up her hands. “Whitney, calm down. I didn’t do anything to purposely hurt you. You and Will are divorced. I didn't break up your marriage,” she said in a calm and level voice. The look in Whitney’s eyes told her she wasn't of her right mind.
“That’s where you have it wrong. I've been working at getting him back and I was so close. He was getting so worn down from all those accidents that he was ready to leave the farm and come back to Washington. I know he was contacted by Sports Network about taking a broadcasting job that would have him on TV every week. He would have been famous again, and I would be right by his side, the Belle of D.C... people would come to my house for parties. I'd have my own reality show to show the glamorous lifestyle of a football player’s wife and a politician’s daughter.”
Whitney took another step closer and shoved Kenna. She felt Whitney’s hands hit her shoulders and as she backed up, Kenna felt her heel slip between the rubber walkway and the stall entrance. She reached out, trying to grab for the stall door but only managed to grab a hold of Whitney’s arm.
Whitney let out a scream as Kenna took her down. She felt the impact when she hit the floor and again when Whitney landed on her. “Get off me!” She tried to push Whitney off her, but Whitney latched onto her hair.
“You bitch. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.” She felt Whitney rip off her hat and was about to crumple it when Kenna let go with a punch. Kenna wasn’t able to pull back very far, but Whitney wasn’t used to anyone hitting her and fell back instantly.
“Don’t mess up my hat. Do you know how long that took Paige to make?” She got up and grabbed the hat from Whitney’s hand as Whitney pressed her hand to her cheek.
Kenna made it a step from the door when she felt Whitney’s cold hands wrap around her ankle and pull. Kenna went down hard on her stomach but managed to save the hat. “Whitney! Stop it! Why are you doing this?”
Whitney had her by the ankles and was pulling her back into the stall. “I told you. I had everything in place. I spent so much time planning it and so much money hiring people to execute my plan. It was going perfectly! He was getting so tired of sleeping in the barn. He was worried about his workers and his horses. If you had just left him alone, I'd be married to him again, and we’d be living back in our brownstone in D.C. I would be famous again!”