Chapter 25
Henry stepped from the barn for the third time that morning and stared at the house. Athena hadn’t come out yet. Apparently, she’d been madder than he thought. She’d come out eventually. She couldn’t stay holed up in that room forever.
That was what he kept telling himself, except there was one issue.
This was Athena. She’d been growing increasingly more antsy lately—more prone to getting defensive.
Something had shifted in the air. Henry didn’t want to admit it, but he could sense something different. Maybe he was in denial. He needed to get his mind onto different things until he knew for sure. And he wasn’t up for checking on her himself.
Hudson was headed this way from the supply shed, a toolbox in one hand and a box under his arm. He glanced toward the house and then back to Henry. “She’s gone.”
Henry stiffened, his focus shifting once more to the house. “How would you know?”
His brother adjusted the strap from his tool bag. “Because I saw her sneak out this morning.”
Henry charged toward Hudson, fury building inside. “You saw her leave and you’re only telling me now?”
“You didn’t ask.”
A groan burst from his lips. “I didn’t ask now.”
“No, but you were watching the house like a puppy that got kicked out for chewing on his owner’s shoe. We all know what you’re doing. You can’t tell me that you didn’t at least suspect this was coming.” Hudson stopped and stared at Henry expectantly. “Come on, you didn’t think she was gonna stay forever, did you? I thought you were smarter than that.”
Henry’s jaw tightened like a vise. He couldn’t afford to get Hudson worked up again. Not when they’d fought so much about Athena staying. Now that she was gone, it would look like he was just trying to get into a fight with him.
His hands clenched into fists, something Hudson didn’t miss. His eyes dipped to Henry’s sides and lifted again. Henry expected his brother to smirk, to rub it in, to do anything that would make it perfectly clear that he could say “I told you so.” But he did none of that.
Hudson’s shoulders dropped and he sighed. “I know it’s not what you wanted. I almost thought that she’d stay too. But sometimes, we have to accept that people leave. It’s what they do.”
“This isn’t the same thing that happened with Mom and Dad,” Henry ground out. “This is completely different.”
“I know. But that doesn’t mean it hurts any less. You tried. That’s all you could do.”
Henry’s heart trembled. No, it was his whole body. It was as if his very soul was being shaken by an earthquake, except everything around him was remaining the same. He shut his eyes to push the sensation out. “Why didn’t you stop her?”
Hudson snorted. “That’s not my job.”
“Then why couldn’t you bother to come get me?” Henry opened his eyes, his words coming through gritted teeth. “You could have at least let me know so I could talk to her.”
His brother almost looked sad. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think you need to. You can’t force people to do what you want them to. It wouldn’t matter how many conversations you might have with her—if she wanted to leave, that’s what she was going to do.”
Henry shook his head. “You’re wrong. If I had told her that I loved her, she would have stayed.”
Hudson’s brows shot up. Shock flickered behind his eyes, followed by something more accusatory.
That’s right, Henry hadn’t been open about his relationship with Athena. They’d kept the whole thing quiet. No one had known for certain if they were together, even if they’d suspected it. Shoot!
Henry lifted his chin and scowled at his brother. “I don’t care what you think. Judge me all you want. I love her, and I could see myself possibly being with her forever.”
Hudson frowned. He was definitely judging Henry; it was clear in his eyes. He wouldn’t have had to say a single thing and Henry would know exactly how he felt.
“We were working things out. Was it difficult sometimes? What relationship isn’t?”
Still, his brother stared at him like he’d committed a crime. “And yet she slipped out before most of us were awake. What does that tell you about the strangers you let into our home?”
Henry took a step toward him. “She wasn’t a stranger. She was good at what she did. I’m still not convinced that Beast will be completely calm for the next person who tries to ride him. Athena belonged here just as much as any of us.”
His brother snorted. “Until she’s married to one of us, she doesn’t belong anywhere on this property. She was a thief and a trespasser. She didn’t care about you or anyone else. If she did, she would have gotten to know us better.”
“That’s hilarious coming from you,” Henry said. “You don’t let anyone in. You would rather shut out the world than let anyone see you for who you really are.”
Hudson’s scowl deepened. “More people means more problems. It all started with that country club. It’s beyond me why everyone worships the ground that Shane guy walks on, but he’s the one responsible for all the extra traffic. People come here for therapy and then end up moving here. Have you noticed how busy it’s getting? There’s talk of putting in a new subdivision over in that area.”
“Good!” Henry snapped. “This place could use more people who can appreciate what it’s like living in a small town like Copper Creek. Maybe if there were more of them, you’d finally be able to brush that chip off your shoulder and accept that Colorado doesn’t just belong to you.”
They were now within inches of each other, having gotten closer and closer with each argument they spewed. Henry had a feeling that the only reason fists hadn’t gone flying was because Hudson still held the box and the tool bag.
Hudson might have been younger than Henry, but he was the same height and that leveled the playing field far more than Henry would have preferred. But at this point, he had far too much pent-up energy with nowhere to put it. A little scuffle might be just what he needed to get these feelings under control.
“Henry! Hudson! Get back to work.”
They both jumped and glanced in the direction of the barn. Brielle stood with her arms folded, her eyes sharp. She might not have grown up here, but she was the one they couldn’t help but respect. She’d weaseled her way into the hearts of every Keagan and then won them over. No one dared cross her, especially since she married Wade.
Her eyes flashed with warning. “I’m not going to waste half my day breaking up a fight and stitching you two up. If you want to have it out, wait until Sunday.”
Henry shot Hudson one last angry look, then shoved past him and headed for the house. He didn’t care if he had chores left unfinished. He couldn’t keep his head on right, and none of it would get done well anyway.
* * *
A few days had passed,and it felt like it had been an eternity without seeing Athena. Henry couldn’t spend more than five seconds near Hudson without wanting to rip his head off. His brother had made it perfectly clear where he stood. To make matters worse, everyone else had discussed her absence ad nauseam, and they all agreed that Henry had overstepped. Well, except for Harley. She thought he should have chased after her—a lot of good that would have done him.
For the first time in his life, Henry felt cornered. None of his excuses could sway his family to his side. It didn’t matter that he’d gone in search of Athena’s family for her own good. Since she’d requested that he stay out of it, then he should have done just that.
Henry didn’t miss the smug look on Hudson’s face when this topic had finally burned through to its end. His brother got everything he wanted. Athena was gone and he finally had his own room.
And on the other end, Henry lost everything he cared about.
Athena.
His choices had sent her away, no matter how right he felt he was. Hudson was right about one thing that Henry could agree on—Athena had the agency to choose what she wanted to do and there was nothing Henry could say to stop her.
Coming to that realization didn’t prevent Henry from obsessing over every agonizing detail of his relationship with her. He couldn’t help but wonder if giving her less direction would have made her feel less judged? If he’d opened up the conversation about finding her family, would she have listened to reason?
There were too many what-ifs in this scenario, and they only contributed to the detrimental state of his heart.
He spent most of his days avoiding his family, if only to prevent a conversation from starting up again. That’s what happened when there wasn’t anything interesting going on, and Harley was the worst instigator. There wasn’t a single conversation she had with him that didn’t end in her telling him to track her down.
Such was the conversation he found himself in currently as she prevented him from entering the house. “I’m sure you could find her. You’d just have to ask around. How far could she go?”
“I’m not going to chase after someone who doesn’t want to be caught,” Henry muttered, pressing fingers to his temples.
“How do you know she doesn’t want to be caught? Sometimes, that’s exactly what this means.”
Henry glowered at her. “That’s not Athena. And if it were, I wouldn’t be interested in her, because I don’t play games.”
Harley folded her arms. “All I’m saying is that if you never told her that you loved her, you don’t know how she would react. Sometimes, that’s all it takes for someone to realize that you’re meant to be together.”
“Will you just drop it? I get that your life is just like a fairy tale. Lucky you. But you know whose life isn’t? Mine. This isn’t some story where I can wave a magic wand and she will pull up in a bright red sports car to tell me she was a princess in disguise, and this was all a dream.”
Harley made a funny face and then smirked. “I think you’ve got your stories all twisted up and knotted like a ball of yarn.”
“I. Don’t. Care. Will you just…” His voice trailed off as Harley’s gaze locked on something behind him. He didn’t dare hope because doing such would only cause his heart to break further if it wasn’t her.
The sound of a soft engine filled the air, causing his curiosity to win over his resolve. He turned to find a bright red sedan driving up the road toward the house.
Harley laughed. “Maybe this is a fairy tale after all.”
“It’s not her,” he said.
“Maybe it is.”
He spun around to face Harley. “Don’t you have someone else you could pester? I’m sure your uncle could use an extra handout at your place.”
She shook her head with glee. “This is definitely more interesting.”
Henry huffed and headed down the porch stairs toward the car. He reached the driver’s side just as the door opened and a woman stepped out. She was familiar, but he wasn’t sure why. Something about her eyes and her nose threw him off guard. “Can I help you?”
She smiled warmly, shutting the door behind her. “I sure hope so. I’ve gone to at least three different properties so far today. I’m looking for someone named Henry Keagan?”
He stiffened. “That’s me.”
Relief flickered across her features. “Oh good.” She held out her hand toward him. “I’m Rachel. You emailed me a few weeks ago about finding my sister.”