Risky Shot

Risky Shot

(Book 2 in the Bluegrass Series)

Kathleen Brooks

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Cover art by Calista Taylor.
http://www.calistataylor.com

Copyright 2011 Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing Edition by Kathleen Brooks

Books by Kathleen Brooks

Bluegrass State of Mind

Risky Shot

To my wonderful husband for all the love and support he’s shown me and for politely ignoring me when I start singing as I type!

Prologue

Danielle De Luca pulled her rusting out, muffler dragging, piece of shit Chevy Lumina off to the side of the road and rested her head against the wheel. Well, more like banged her head against the wheel – repeatedly.

Dani took in a deep breath and felt a river of sweat run down her back as she peeled her shirt from the seat. She reached across the stick shift and grabbed the gallon jug of water for her radiator. She popped her hood and watched the hot steam erupt out. It wouldn’t surprise her if steam was coming out of her ears too. This trip had been a nightmare. Between looking over her shoulder for the men in black suits or her car deciding to do its imitation of a geyser, a twelve hour trip turned into a sixteen hour one.

Waiting for the steam to stop she placed her hands on her trim hips and looked around. She was on a narrow country road outside of Lexington, Kentucky heading toward her friend living in Keeneston. She wiped her wet palm on her khaki shorts and pulled up her white ribbed tank top to wipe the beads of sweat on her forehead. The only thing she saw around her was a couple cows munching grass and staring at her.

The heat was oppressive. She couldn’t believe that air could feel heavy this early in the morning. She had grown up in the cool mountains of Northern Italy and then spent her teenage years in Milo, Maine. Neither place had prepared her for the humidity of Kentucky near the end of June.

Even though Kentucky was hot, she did have to admit it was pretty. The field the cows were in had gently rolling hills outlined by black four board fences and sprinkled with a wide range of big leafy trees, not the fir trees she was used to in Maine. The grass gave the impression that it was an ocean of blue-green color dancing in the wind while the cows lazily enjoyed it.

Looking back at her car she grabbed the water jug and cautiously approached her radiator. She quickly tapped the top of it with her middle finger, pulling it back quickly when it burned her finger. She pried open her back door and rummaged around until she came up with an old bandana to use to wrench open the radiator cap. She poured in the last of the water and hoped it was enough to get her to Keeneston.

Dani tightened the cap and was about to close the hood when she heard a car pull over in the grass behind her. She placed her hand in her pocket and felt the cool steel of her knife. Slowly she peeked around the hood and relaxed when she saw the brown of a Sheriff’s car parked there. The door opened and a heavy set man in his sixties got out. He would have had shocking red hair when he was younger, but now it had been dimmed by some gray hair woven throughout.

“Having some trouble there, hon?” He gestured to the open hood.

“No sir. Well, not any more than normal that is. I got her all filled up and she should be cool enough in a minute.” Dani raised her arms and slammed the hood closed.

She stopped him before he got to his car. “Actually, maybe you could help me. I am looking for a friend of mine, McKenna Mason. Would you happen to know where to find her?”

She saw Red pause and then raise his hand to stroke his chin. “I don’t know if I can recall that name. Do you know where she lives?”

“She gave me two places to look. A bed and breakfast and her boyfriend’s house, a Will Ashton, but didn’t give me an address for either.”

“You say she’s your sister?”

“No, I am her friend, we worked together in New York. She sent me an email telling to come here. There is something we need to do together...” She stopped explaining herself and decided this country cop wouldn’t know where to find his gun if it wasn’t strapped onto his waist.

“I know who you are Miss De Luca, I just needed to make sure it was really you. As you know, it’s not the safest for her right now and we look after our own. Kenna’s been waiting almost six weeks for you to get here. She’s out at Will’s. I’ll show you the way.” Red turned and left her standing open mouthed by her car as he hoisted himself into his.

She couldn’t believe it. She had just gotten played by a country cop. She felt embarrassed about her assumptions, but relieved to not have to find her way into town herself.

Red flashed his lights and waved out the window to a driveway on her left. She flashed her lights and waved back before turning into the driveway. An ornate metal gate supported by beautiful gray stone walls stood closed before her. Fields of green spread as far as she could see. Some cows dotted the landscape and a horse that looked to be one hundred years old slowly plodded his way to the fence to stare at her. Keeping an eye on the horse, she stopped at the call box and pushed the button.

Dani chuckled. She couldn’t help but like a woman who sounded so kind. The gate opened and Dani drove through. She passed the cows and waved goodbye to the old horse as she drove down the long driveway. She pulled up in front of a huge white mansion and gawked. Maybe raising cows and old horses was very lucrative?

Before she could even turn the engine off, the front door was flung open and an elegant older lady came running out. She had light blonde hair put up in a perfect pony tail that was held in place by a peach ribbon that matched her sundress. A very tall, handsome man with brown hair followed fondly behind. His hair had just a touch of gray at the temples to show his age.

Dani got out of the car and was encased in the tightest hug she had ever felt. “Oh, you poor, sweet dear. Oh, bless your heart! We are so happy you are finally here.”

“Thank you,” she managed to gasp out.

“Bets, you’re scaring her, or cutting off her air at any rate.” The woman released her, but kept her hand on her arm. “I am William Ashton and this is my wife Betsy.”

“Nice to meet you both.” Dani smiled at the obvious affection between the Ashtons.

“I bet you can’t wait to see Kenna.” William put an arm around her shoulder and turned her to the face the house. “See that side road there? You will want to go down that road until it ends. It will take you a few minutes, so don't worry that you've gone wandering off the wrong way. Go ahead and go right on down. I am sure you’ll catch her before she leaves for work."

“Thank you.” She tried to turn and get back into the car, but was once more enveloped into another tight hug by Betsy.

“Okay, I’ll let you go. You just must promise me you’ll stop by again soon. We’ll have dinner after you get settled in.” Betsy patted her hand one last lime and finally let go. Dani waved goodbye and got back into the car.

She drove through the farm, seeing horses, cows, some corn, and lots and lots of land. The Ashtons had been great, but she was still not used to being around people, especially people who touched her.

The past four months had been similar to the show Man Versus Wild. However, in her version, she wasn’t trapped in some nice jungle. She was in New York City, where she often lived out of her car and nearly froze each night. She prayed she wouldn't be car jacked, mugged, or worse. The other nights were spent fighting for room in a shelter where she didn't get any sleep due to crying babies or strange men trying to sneak into her cot. She wished she was in the jungle with Bear Grylls leading her towards civilization. In New York, she didn't have raging currents or dangerous snakes, but she did face danger in the form of men in bad suits carrying guns.

As she drove by more beautiful pastures framed with freshly painted black fences she grew more and more bitter. “Come on girl, don’t do this.” She shook her head and tried to push down the feeling of anger working its way up to the surface. She had been sleeping in her car and Kenna had been living in the lap of luxury. She had been gathering information out of garbage cans while Kenna was getting home cooked meals and hugs from Betsy.

Dani made herself take a deep breath and let it out slowly. She rounded a corner and went over a hill and her jaw clenched in anger when she saw the most amazing white house sitting in a perfectly landscaped yard flying a blue and white UK flag. All the bitter thoughts came rushing back in. The freezing nights she had slept in her car, the constant worry she’d be caught at any second, ugh! She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

“Relax. Down green monster, down!” She said to herself as she took nice long deep breaths. She put the car in gear and made her way to the front door. Ringing the bell her heart kept pounding louder and louder as she waited for the door to open.

She heard some pounding and finally heels clicked on hardwood seconds before the front door was thrown open. Kenna stood in the doorway, her mouth frozen in the middle of the H for hello. Her hair was put up, but her shirt was untucked and her skirt wasn’t quite straight.

“Hey girl. Ready for work?” She grinned, some of the anger burning off. She looked down and saw the purple Pradas she and Kenna had joked about in one of their emails, “Hey! Didn’t you promise me those shoes?”

She saw the tears start in Kenna’s eyes and was pulled into a fierce hug. She had guessed right, Kenna had been spending a lot of time with Betsy. She hugged her back and guilt washed over her for being so bitter and jealous of Kenna when it was obvious Kenna had been worried about her. However, she was having a hard time banishing all ill thoughts.

Dani pulled back, “So, where can a girl find a place to stay around here?”

Kenna burst out laughing and put an arm over her shoulder, “I know the perfect place.”

Chapter One

Kenna pulled Danielle inside and lead her to the kitchen. “Looks like things are going well for you.” Dani noticed the granite counter tops and brand new shiny stainless steel appliances as Kenna poured two cups of coffee into new stoneware mugs.

“When one door closes another one opens. I was just lucky enough to walk through it” Dani watched Kenna talking with her hands and saw the sparkle on her ring finger.

“Whoa girl! What is that on your finger?” She grabbed Kenna’s left hand and stared at the massive emerald cut engagement ring.

“I’m engaged!” Kenna squealed. “Will asked me just a couple of weeks ago. Now you can be my maid of honor! Please say you will.”

Dani smiled and nodded her agreement. They had talked about getting married quite a bit on their lunch breaks or when they were working late. Dani knew even though Kenna was smiling and happy, a piece of her was hurting. One night, she had told Dani that with the happiness of an engagement, the sadness of missing her family would surely come. Jealousy and anger arose within her as she looked around at the cute, cheerful yellow curtains hanging over the windows and the crystal vase filled with roses sitting on the kitchen table. All this time, all this work... and Kenna has been doing nothing. Nothing but hooking some rich man into marriage. No, that's not right. Kenna would never do that. Man, she really needed to get a grip on herself.