Chapter 2
Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!
Athena should have known better than to think that the nice-looking cowboy would forget about bringing her a drink. He’d been too curious. No one had spoken to her in over a month, and she’d been unlucky enough to bump into the one guy who was willing to say more than ten words to her even though she hadn’t responded.
Her face felt like it was on fire. Her skin crawled with anticipation of getting caught. The barn had looked like the perfect hiding place to camp out for the next few days, but she’d been wrong.
Maybe there was an exit on the other end of the building. She could wait until he lost interest in looking for her and she could slip out. But going that way meant she’d lose out on grabbing some food to go.
Her stomach growled despite inhaling three platefuls of food.
Athena placed a hand on her stomach and shut her eyes tight. If he heard that, he would find her. Currently, she’d managed to find a stall without a horse in it. There was fresh straw—enough she could curl up and actually get a good night’s sleep. Around here, most of the ranchers filled every stall with one kind of animal or another. This had been the first one that had some room to spare.
The cowboy’s voice loomed closer. “I know you’re in here. There aren’t many places to hide on our property. Maybe you could show yourself so I don’t sound like such an idiot?”
She shut her eyes even tighter this time and shrank down lower, leaning against the stall door. There wasn’t a single doubt in her mind that if he caught her, he’d send her away. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but she’d already been walking all day. She needed at least one night when she didn’t startle herself awake at the sound of a broken twig.
“Come on. If you think I’m going to just walk out of this barn with two drinks in my hands, you’re kidding yourself. I might not be the smartest one in my family, but I know enough to realize what it would look like to my brothers if I left like that.”
Athena bit down on her lip. He was getting closer. Each footstep he took made her heart beat a little faster. She’d gotten out of tighter situations. Maybe she could reveal herself and then hide around the back of the building when he wasn’t looking. No one was capable of staying interested in her for more than twenty minutes. She’d gotten the awkward silence thing down to a science.
Even as she was about to talk herself into standing up, her racing pulse and her weak legs refused to cooperate. The door behind her gave way and she fell backward with a thud. Hovering overhead, the cowboy stared down at her with what could only be described as curiosity.
Not a hint of amusement could be found in his eyes. There were two cups, one in each of his hands. He’d actually gotten them both drinks.
She blinked a few times, gathering her wits about her, then scrambled to an upright, seated position. Wrapping her arms around her legs, she leaned against the side of the stall. This was it. The moment the cowboy with curious eyes and a strong voice would request she either leave or return to the party.
Blood rushed in her ears and her hands tingled with anticipation.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an object moving toward her face. Athena gasped, her hand flying out to stop whatever it was. Her hand connected with something cold, and the plastic cup flew through the air and landed in the middle of the concrete floor.
She blinked rapidly and stared at the fallen drink with dismay before lifting her surprised eyes to the cowboy who was now crouched beside her.
He stared at the cup on the floor for what felt like an eternity, and then he chuckled. “Well, that’s one way to invite the ants to the party.”
Athena blinked again, this time with shock. The cowboy swiveled his head toward her, this time lifting the other cup by a fraction of an inch. “I’m going to give this one to you. Please don’t feed any more critters tonight.”
He had to be joking, right? This was all a big prank that he could tell the others later.
Only, he did exactly what he said he would and slowly offered her the cup. When she didn’t reach for it, he pushed it a little closer. “Come on, you’ve got to be thirsty. I swear I have no idea where you stored all that food you ate back there, but I didn’t see you drink a drop.”
Her mouth fell open. He’d been watching her. Shoot! She was getting careless. All it would take was one person noticing that she didn’t belong for her to get picked up by the authorities. She’d spent her fair share of time in lockups, shelters, and other places that the government thought she belonged. It didn’t matter that none of them held her for long, she still hated feeling trapped.
The cowboy groaned, shifting his stance so he was no longer crouching on his heels. “Will you just take the drink already? You asked for it, and I got it.”
Athena cautiously grabbed the drink from his hand, careful not to touch his fingers. She shifted so she could sit cross-legged and held the cup with both hands in her lap.
“See? That wasn’t so hard.” The cowboy adjusted the way he was sitting as well, choosing a similar position on the floor beside her. He nodded to the door. “It gets overwhelming, right? Hudson—my brother—doesn’t like the crowds either. I don’t mind them, but I can get why people try to avoid them. I think more and more people value the quiet these days. Too much going on in the world, so sometimes we just need a quiet place to think.”
Athena stared at this cowboy. He was right about one thing. He definitely talked too much. She shifted her focus to her drink, and her mouth watered. The cowboy had been right about the drink situation, too. Normally, she would have gone to the drink table first. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t drink too much because she wasn’t sure where she’d be able to relieve herself next. And filling up on liquid was empty calories. She needed her strength if she ended up having to leave in the middle of the night.
“You can drink it. I didn’t dose it or anything.”
Her head snapped up and she stared at him again. Why would he say something like that? Didn’t he know that by simply bringing it up, now she would wonder if she was at risk? Boy, she was slipping. Athena shook her head and placed the drink to the side. There was no way she was going to drink it now. If she was thirsty enough, she’d go drink out of one of the troughs they had for the horses.
The cowboy chuckled. “You don’t trust easy, do you?”
She gave him a flat look. A cheer erupted outside, drawing her attention. If the man would just go back to the party, then she could find a better hiding place.
“Can I ask you something?”
She rolled her eyes, though he probably couldn’t see her irritation starting.
“You weren’t invited, were you?”
This time her gaze slowly met his. Yep. The man had been watching her, probably since she’d arrived. In her defense, she hadn’t eaten anything substantial in over three days. Most of what she’d been able to get her hands on had come from dumpsters behind grocery stores and restaurants.
“You don’t have to tell me. It’s okay.” The cowboy leaned back on his hands and continued to watch her.
She squirmed beneath his shrewd stare. It honestly felt like he had figured out how to unlock the defenses she’d carefully placed all around her, and now he was going through all her private thoughts and memories. This was one of the reasons she didn’t talk to anyone. One sentence was all it took for someone to pass judgment on her. She couldn’t afford that.
Especially not right now.
He tilted his head and a wry smile touched his lips. “You weren’t going to sleep in here, were you?”
Her stomach churned to life. Now he was getting dangerously close to figuring out that she was nothing more than a drifter. She didn’t have a home—no means to care for herself besides stealing and stowing away on other people’s property.
“It’s okay if you were.”
She blinked. He was lying. No one liked the homeless.
“I just think you would prefer an actual bed to sleep in.”
Now she knew he was lying. There was absolutely no way he was talking about giving her a bed—not unless he wanted something in return. Athena scowled at him, ready to spit in his face. How dare he even think he could make such a request. She wasn’t that kind of girl. She had her standards.
When was this man going to get the hint and just leave? She had no intention of starting up a conversation with him and she wasn’t about to sell her soul for a nice, clean, cool mattress to sleep on.
He chuckled. “What is that look for? Did I say something to offend you? Because I can assure you, that wasn’t my intention.” He straightened up and then leaned closer to her, causing her to scoot back a few feet. Then he chuckled again. “Honest. I’m not going to do anything to hurt you.”
Her eyes swept over him from top to bottom. She’d been duped by men like him before. Just because he sounded sincere didn’t mean he was. The guy was probably like all the rest—a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The cowboy held out his hand and she stared at it like it was a venomous snake. He moved it closer, still. “Here, let me show you what I’m talking about.”
Her scowl deepened, and she shook her head.
“Would it make you feel better if I grabbed my sister and she came with us?”
Again, Athena shook her head. She wasn’t about to go anywhere that she didn’t have a clear escape plan. Even now, she was putting herself at risk. There was no back exit in the stall. She would have to use all her strength to push past this guy to get to her freedom.
Her heart leaped into her throat, thundering against the walls like a frantic hummingbird. She needed to get out of there before he did something terrible. Athena’s eyes dipped to the cup that sat untouched just outside of the stall. The cowboy already blocked her way, but maybe she could use the cup to her advantage.
Athena inched closer to him, being sure to avoid any form of contact with him. When he noticed her reaching for the cup, he dropped his hand and grabbed it. When he held it out to her, she took it. Her fingers wrapped around it firmly. There was only a brief moment of hesitation—one she hadn’t expected.
What if he was telling her the truth? She might be losing out on a chance to sleep in an actual bed. Athena shoved that hopeful thought aside. Nothing came for free. Not in this life and probably not in the next one. She swallowed the disappointment like the hard stone it was, and then with one swift motion, she tossed the contents of the cup at her assailant.