Chapter 10
In reality, Athena knew she should have slept soundly. Her current setup was better than she’d had in months, perhaps even years. She had a door that she could lock. She had access to food. The temperatures were regulated.
Ironically, there were some things she didn’t like at all.
The noise, for instance. For a house with a lot of people, it had been far too quiet. She could even hear the thumping of her own heart and it was just as annoying as the dripping sound of a faucet. There were no rushing cars, no screeching strays, and the occasional argument between a set of lovers couldn’t lull her to sleep like they normally did.
The soft ticking of the clock on the wall was quickly adding to her growing headache. She couldn’t stay in this room much longer. The problem was that there wasn’t any light coming through her window. She didn’t know how early the cowboys on this ranch got up in the morning.
Athena paced at the foot of her bed, chewing on the irritating hangnail that had come free on her finger. The mild pain it caused wasn’t enough to distract her from her current predicament. She glanced at the suitcase on the floor. Every single thing that Henry had bought for her was perfect. She didn’t know how he’d done it, but even the cowboy boots he’d gotten her fit her like they were meant to be hers.
She’d been telling him the truth when she said she didn’t want the clothes and the suitcase. The way she led her life made it nearly impossible for her to move from place to place with that much stuff. What would happen if she needed to leave it somewhere to do something? The more she had, the more likely it would get stolen.
And at the same time, she couldn’t argue with his logic. People could live out of suitcases.
Athena sighed, moving across the room toward the window to peek outside. She didn’t see anyone. Maybe it was too dark to work, even for a family of cowboys. She wouldn’t imagine that horses enjoyed being out in the dark. There were too many critters that could run under nearby bushes to put them on edge.
Resuming her pacing, Athena’s thoughts returned to Henry and the questions he’d asked last night. Was she going to leave? She really didn’t know. At this point it would be easy. She could sell some of the items that Henry had given her and that would be enough to get a fresh start.
Unfortunately, the thought of leaving this place already left a bad taste in her mouth. What was with that? She didn’t have any connection to the folks on this ranch. This wasn’t her home. Henry was nice and all, but even he wasn’t enough to keep her here.
Liar, a voice in her head seemed to argue. Henry was the most decent guy she’d met all year. Granted he was also maybe one of two men that she’d given at least fifteen minutes of her time to.
While it would go against every rule she’d set for herself, staying was starting to sound pretty good. What if she decided to stick around just for the current season? She could get to know Henry a little better—as a friend. And maybe she’d even be able to ride one of the horses.
That black horse she’d seen the other day was definitely at the top of her list of reasons to stay. If she thought Henry was interesting enough to stick around for, then that horse was the cherry on top.
Athena stopped her pacing. If everyone was still asleep, then there was no one stopping her from going down to the barn to check out that horse. She had a feeling that if she’d wanted to interact with the black beauty, there would be plenty of pushback about her decision from the Keagan family. Now might be the only chance she had to check on that horse and see what he was really like.
She snatched her coat from the bed and shoved her arms into the holes, then hurried down the stairs as quickly as she could while at the same time making sure she wasn’t going to wake up any of the residents.
The second her boots touched the ground, she took off running. In this moment, surrounded by the ranch property and only the two buildings on the premises, she could understand why people would choose to live in a place like this.
There was something about the wide, open spaces and the knowledge that if push came to shove, these people would be able to survive when they were knocked off their feet.
Athena made it to the barn and strode toward the horse she couldn’t stop thinking about. Before she reached the stall, he poked out his head. She skidded to a stop and glanced toward the entrance of the barn. This horse could bite. She’d never interacted with an animal of this size.
He blinked at her and tossed his head. This big, beautiful guy didn’t appear to be dangerous. Her concerns could be in her head.
She reached out with a shaky hand, and he tossed his head again, blowing out a hard breath. Athena pulled back quickly and stumbled back a step. The horse’s ears twitched to the side and forward again. His nostrils flared and he blinked again.
“Hey, there,” her voice squeaked as she spoke. “What’s your name?” Athena took another step forward, hand outstretched. “I’m not gonna hurt you. It’s okay.”
This time he didn’t move. She paused when she was a few inches away, her focus flitting to his mouth and then back to his eyes. Those brown eyes were so similar to Henry’s, it was uncanny. He nickered and then snorted, causing a smile to appear on her lips.
“Shh. Shh. Shh. We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention.” Her hand gently touched the horse’s nose, and she brought the other up to his jaw. “Boy, how did you get to be so beautiful?”
He stepped closer and nudged her. She couldn’t tell, but it felt like he had relaxed slightly. It was as if the whole barn had heaved a sigh of relief.
Athena scratched and nuzzled the horse, letting all her worries slip away. The longer she stood there with this gentle beast, the more she realized that she didn’t want to leave. For the first time in her life, there was a place she wished she could call her own.
Deep down, she knew it would be impossible. Sure, she could give in to this feeling and allow herself to stick around for a little longer than she normally would, but leaving would be inevitable. It always was.
She pulled back from the horse after kissing him on the nose. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Slowly, she made her way back from where she’d come. Several of the animals poked their heads out, no doubt curious if she was here to feed them their breakfast. Someone would be out soon. Athena had expected someone to come out while she was here, but no one had showed.
She got to the doorway and glanced toward her newest friend. The black beauty had retreated into his stall, but she’d come visit him again tomorrow morning. Athena turned to leave and collided hard with a tall, firm body.
A gasp ripped from her throat as she stumbled backward a few steps. Her eyes flew to the offending silhouette and locked with none other than Henry.
His features were pinched, and he looked like he’d had a rough morning. “What are you doing out here?” he demanded.
“I…” Her voice trailed off, small and defensive.
Henry jabbed a finger toward the house. “I went to check on you and imagine my surprise when I found that you were gone! You left all the stuff I got you except that coat and those boots. I thought you’d left!”
She flinched at his hard, tight voice but forced herself to meet his accusatory gaze.
“Please tell me you didn’t sleep out here. Hudson would flip if he found out that you were staying in a stall when I refused to let him have the bedroom.”
Athena shook her head. Her initial surprise and anxiety slipped away, leaving behind the stubborn attitude everyone hated. “Of course I didn’t stay in the barn. I came out here to be with the horses. At least they don’t judge or yell at me.”
His head reared back slightly. “I wasn’t—”
“Yes, you were. You were angry. I’m sorry I wasn’t aware that the room and board came with the stipulation that I have to tell you my location every second of the day.” She moved to get past him, but his hand shot out and grasped her upper arm. She stood by his side, not wanting to meet his fiery stare but finding it impossible to avoid.
Henry’s hard gaze softened if only a little. “I wasn’t angry.” There was a hint of pleading in his husky voice. “I was worried.”
She tore her arm from his grasp. “You could have fooled me.”
“Athena,” he murmured.
“You don’t have to be worried,” she continued. “I can take care of myself.”
He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “I wasn’t worried about… that’s not what I meant…” Henry shook his head. “I didn’t want you to leave yet.”
Athena froze. She set her sights on the landscape that surrounded the barn rather than Henry as she tried to wrap her head around what he was trying to say. Was it possible that he had grown attached to her in the short amount of time she’d spent with him?
No, that was ridiculous. He didn’t know her. He had no reason to care for her. This was all just a big ego boost for him.
“Are you?” he whispered.
“Am I what?” she whispered back.
“Are you going to leave?”
Her eyes cut to meet his. The side of her that loved to be contrary wanted to tell him where to shove it. She wanted to tell him he didn’t have a say in what she did or didn’t do. Most of all, she wanted him to know that his weird interest in her was unwanted and creepy.
But those thoughts weren’t entirely true.
She liked the idea of someone being worried about her—someone who would notice if she was gone. And if she were completely honest with herself, she’d grown attached to him.
“I don’t want to leave,” she found herself murmuring. “Not yet.”
His eyes did the strangest thing. One second they were dark, flooded with concern. Then in the next second, they brightened a few shades. She’d never admit to seeing glitter in those eyes, but if she were that kind of person, that’s exactly how she would have described it to anyone who would have bothered to listen. “Really?”
Athena shoved aside those peculiar, warm, fuzzy feelings and rolled her eyes. “Don’t get too excited. I thought I’d stick around a little because I realized I sorta like… horses.”
He lifted a single brow and glanced into the barn. “You like horses.”
She nodded. “I find them much better company than humans.”
Henry’s hand flew to his chest, and he stumbled back a few steps in mock injury. “Your words wound me.”
Athena let out an exaggerated groan and stomped off toward the house.
“Breakfast is almost done!” he called after her. “Get yourself a plate before my brothers eat it all.”
She waved a hand in the air to dismiss him, but the closer she got to the house, the wider her smile became. He’d asked her to stay. Okay, maybe not specifically, but he didn’t want her to go and that was just as good.