Chapter 9
“Hmm?” Henry took a bite of his chicken, reveling in the flavorful, crunchy texture. “What about her? Isn’t she the God of something or another?”
“The Goddess of Wisdom.”
“You know, I never quite understood what it was about the Greeks. What’s so great about having different gods represent different entities? I find it so much more realistic to have one, all-knowing, powerful being as my God.” He wiped at his mouth and swallowed his food, then snapped his fingers. “Except for that one god.” Henry continued to snap his fingers. “What was his name? He was the god of the underworld. That, I get. Because let’s face it. If you have a heavenly being who is watching over people from heaven, there has to be one… well, you know where.”
“That’s Hades.”
“Right, Hades.” Henry chuckled. “That was one of my favorite Disney movies as a kid. The blue fire for hair? Awesome.” Henry paused, then glanced at Sam. He wasn’t even sure why they were on this topic. “What were you going to say? When you brought up Athena…”
She dragged her eyes from him and stared at her plate again. “Athena,” she murmured again. “It’s my name.”
His body went cold. It was one of the strangest sensations. He couldn’t have heard her right. She’d already told him her name. He’d told everyone her name was Sam. Was she messing with him?
Her eyes met his again. “Actually, I don’t know what my real name is. Remember when I told you how I was found?”
Henry nodded slowly. “They found you on the side of a road.”
“Right.” She shut her eyes tight. “Actually, when they found me, they didn’t know what to call me, so they let my first foster family name me. Legally, I’m Kira…” Clouds of darkness filled her eyes when she opened them. “But I don’t go by that name anymore.”
“So…” he hedged, “you want to be called Athena.”
She stared hard at her plate again. “I don’t usually get called anything by anyone. Up until right at this moment, I’ve never told anyone my real name.”
Henry’s lungs seemed to freeze up. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Of course this could also be a lie. Sam—or Athena—whoever she was—could be trying to manipulate him. But something inside him refused to let himself believe it. He had a chance to be there for her in a way no one else had before. He couldn’t let this become a life-altering moment for the worst.
Athena let out a dark chuckle. “I don’t even know why I told you. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought I was crazy. Heck, you probably already think that.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy. I already told you… I think you’re brave. And smart.” Henry peered down at her, waiting for her to meet his gaze. “Athena,” he whispered. When she finally lifted her eyes, he smiled. “I think it suits you. Only someone with a name like that would have been able to survive this long.”
A tear slipped from her eye and dragged down her cheek. He hooked his finger and swiped it away. Athena released a laugh that could have been mistaken for a sob. “I don’t know why I’m crying. Something has to be wrong with me.”
“Nothing is wrong with you.”
“How do you know?” she demanded. “How could you possibly know that? I don’t even know how to sit at a family dinner without getting stage fright. All I’m good at is finding places to eat and sleep.”
“That’s more than a lot of people are capable of. Take my brother, for instance. He didn’t know where to sleep after you stole his room.”
For the first time, Athena released a genuine laugh. It was short, but the most melodious sound he’d heard thus far in his life. Henry joined in with her. “See? If you were crazy, we wouldn’t be sitting here having fun.”
She wiped at her eyes. “Who says I’m having fun?”
He shrugged. “I just know.” Henry picked up his chicken, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as she reached for her own. He’d call tonight a win. He couldn’t explain the feelings surging inside him; all he knew was that he was doing the right thing.
They ate in silence for several minutes before she put down a bare chicken wing and turned toward him. “Thank you for the clothes, but I don’t think—”
“You don’t like them?”
She blinked. “I didn’t say that.”
“So, you do like them. Tell me you tried them on. Because I seriously don’t think I could spend another afternoon in that shop picking out stuff for a person I don’t know.”
Athena bit back a smile, clearly trying to hide it, but she failed miserably. “I tried them on.”
“And they fit?”
“Yes, but—”
Henry heaved a heavy sigh. “Good. That’s a relief. I thought for a second I’d have to explain to Wade and Brielle that I’d jumped the gun and gotten you a bunch of stuff you didn’t want.”
“That’s the thing, I don’t—”
He frowned. “You don’t want them?”
“I do, it’s just—”
“Then I don’t understand why we’re having this conversation. You like the clothes. They fit. What’s the problem?”
“Will you let me get a word in edgewise? I was trying to say that I don’t think it’s a good idea to have all of it.”
“Why not?”
“It’s too much. What happens when I…” She pulled her lower lip into her mouth and chewed it. “…leave? It’s just not practical.”
“The heck with it being practical. If it fits in that suitcase, then you can take it. People live out of suitcases all the time.” Henry gave her a pointed look. “All I’m saying is you shouldn’t just throw out a good idea without trying it first.”
“And if I want to leave tomorrow? That doesn’t give me much time to test it out.”
He didn’t know what to say to that one. “Do you want to leave tomorrow?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” she whispered.
Henry got to his feet, plate in hand. “Well, when you figure that part out, how about you let me know? In the meantime, really make sure everything fits. I’m not sure about the return policy on most of it.” He took a step toward the door. “I’m going to turn in. I get up pretty early. You’re free to do whatever you’d like.”
Was there a chance that she might take her stuff and run? Absolutely. But something told him that he was getting through to her. Athena wanted a place to call home. Why else would she open up to him like this?
“Wait!”
He stopped.
“You’re going to bed?”
A wry smile touched his lips. “That’s what I said.”
“But… it’s still so early. How can you sleep when it’s light out?”
Henry chuckled. “That’s what drapes are for.”
Athena rose to her feet. “You’re just going to leave me alone to contend with your family?” There was an edge to her voice that wasn’t there before. He could almost hear the fear creeping to the surface.
“You had dinner with everyone. They didn’t bite.”
“I don’t know. Hudson seems to be pretty ornery about my presence.”
He leaned against the railing, understanding flooding his countenance. “You’re worried that they’re going to judge you. You’re giving my family too much credit. I told you about my parents. Everyone in that house has had to deal with varying degrees of judgment from people in this town. We’ve all overcome it. If Hudson doesn’t like you here, it’s only because he really wanted that room.” Henry chuckled. “I know, that sounds really stupid, but you will never understand until you have had to be raised in a family with twelve kids. Some days it was every man for himself—at least when it came to sharing with each other.”
“I suppose that’s one thing I can be grateful for.”
He stilled. “What’s that?”
“I never had to fight for anything like that. Did I have to find ways to survive? Of course. But even when I was in the foster system, there was always a clear line drawn in the sand as to what was and wasn’t okay for me to claim.” She gave him a sad smile. “It’s probably very different when you’re fighting a family member for something versus when you’re just making sure you have enough to move on to the next place.”
“Do you like that? Moving on to the next place?” Henry knew he was playing with fire. If he pushed too hard, it wouldn’t take much for her to withdraw from him. But every little bit of information he could get from her, the better.
“I wouldn’t say I like it,” she said quietly. “It’s all I’ve ever known. If you don’t stay in one place for too long, then you don’t grow attached to anything.” Her eyes darted to meet his and then dropped. “Or anyone.”
“Is that why you might leave tomorrow?”
Athena shrugged.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I hope you stay.”
He was about to move to the door when her soft voice stopped him in his tracks. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want me to stay? Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Is there something wrong with me wanting to do something nice for someone else?”
“No, but—”
His lips quirked upward. “Then stop fighting it, will you?” He motioned to the house. “You’ve got a roof over your head, food in your belly, and at least one person who cares if he sees you tomorrow.” Henry tugged on the doorknob, then paused before he looked over his shoulder toward her. “Goodnight, Athena.”
Henry wasn’t sure what would happen between now and the morning. Athena could very well slip into the night. Or she could go up to her room and turn in early. There were so many variables at this point in time. For now, he was going to choose not to dwell too much on the “what ifs” of the current situation.
He deposited his dishes in the kitchen, thanked his sister Charlie for dinner, and went straight upstairs to his room. Before he was able to shut the door, Brielle called out to him from the stairs. Henry stopped and poked his head into the hallway.
When she reached the landing, she grinned at him. “I wanted to tell you that I met Sam earlier today in the barn. She’s not much of a talker, is she?”
Henry nearly told her that Sam wasn’t Athena’s name, but he thought better of it. Now was not the time to destroy what little amount of trust she’d given him. Instead, he nodded. “Yeah, she has a hard time trusting people.”
“So, she talks to you?”
He nodded again.
“That’s good.” Brielle shot a look over her shoulder and then moved closer. “I know that she’s just here visiting you. I’m not going to ask you how you met or anything, but I was thinking it might be a good idea to hire her to help out around here.”
Brows lifting, Henry stared dumbfounded at the woman his oldest brother had married.
“What? Don’t you think that’s a good idea?” Brielle said.
“No. I mean, yes. I…” He shook his head as if that would clear it. “I was thinking the same thing. I even told her the same thing.”
“That’s great! I’ll tell Wade, and he can set up a meeting to discuss what we can afford to pay her.”
He held up his hand, but she was already heading down the stairs. Brielle would find out soon enough if Athena didn’t want to work for them. Either she’d leave, or she’d turn down the offer. No sense in drawing unnecessary attention to her. She’d already had a big day.