Chapter 26
Living on the street wasn’t going to cut it anymore. That much was certain. As Athena’s gaze swept from one side of the street to the next, she no longer viewed the dark corners and dumpsters as hiding places. She could no longer see herself sleeping under the stars.
The Keagans’ ranch had ruined her.
Athena adjusted the backpack strap on her shoulder and slowed as she stopped in front of a small country store. Sundance was the next town over and was about as big as Copper Creek. She would have come to this town next if Henry hadn’t convinced her to stay.
If she hadn’t gotten so used to Copper Creek, she would have thought she was in the same town—except for one thing. In the middle of this town was a large statue of a bronze horse. She turned toward the country store window and peered past the help wanted sign to the displays and advertisements.
Mostly, there were signs and pictures. Who would want their food to be in the sunlight for most of the day? Regardless, the pictures alone were enough to make her mouth water. It had taken her two days to make it to this town. The first night, she’d slept beneath a tree in a field, which was the reason for the crick in her neck.
She heaved a sigh, knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to get anything of substance until she had the money to pay for it. Her days of scrounging in garbage bins were behind her. She never thought she’d miss the warm bed or the people she had come to think of as her family.
Athena shut her eyes tight and turned away from the window. She wasn’t going to think about that anymore. She’d left for a reason. If anyone didn’t belong on that ranch, it was her. She couldn’t stick around when she could tell she wasn’t good enough.
Maybe one day that could change.
Until it did, she would move forward in whatever way made the most sense. That meant she was going to look for a job. Athena opened her eyes and found the help-wanted sign again. She’d never worked in a place like this. The handful of jobs she’d had when she was younger were mostly retail. It couldn’t be that different, could it? Granted, it wasn’t as good as the job she had working with Beast, but this would be a start.
She shifted her backpack once more and then headed inside. While it was quieter than she expected, it was about as busy as she thought it would be for a small town like this one. Athena hovered by the entrance and hesitated. She didn’t know what to say or who to ask for. She hadn’t exactly applied for the job she had at the Keagan property, and she had no references to speak of.
Athena nearly backed out of the store, but an older, plump woman came around an aisle and stopped. Her eyes swept over Athena, and she smiled. “I don’t believe I’ve met you before. Are you new? Or just passing through?”
Her throat closed up. Too many years she’d spent unwilling to speak to anyone she didn’t know. It had taken a lot to open up to Henry’s family. But she was a new person—smarter and stronger. Athena clasped her hands together, then nervously pointed to the sign in the window. Fidgeting wasn’t a good look, but it was better than remaining silent. “I saw that you needed some help.”
The woman glanced toward the sign and then frowned. “I’m so sorry, hun. We just filled that position.”
Athena didn’t think she’d ever feel disappointed about losing the opportunity to work. The thought of sleeping out on the street made her feel sick inside. She blinked, hating the way her face filled with fire. “Oh, okay. I’m sorry—”
“But Christopher Billings is looking for some help around his farm. It’s a small one, but his ranch hand just moved to the city.” Her smile returned. “Do you have any experience with animals?”
She nodded quickly. “Yes. I do. I just left a job working with animals.” The heat in her face remained. The woman probably wanted to know why she wasn’t still working for them. “I left because it was time to move on. It wasn’t anything bad.”
The woman chuckled, and that’s when Athena realized she was oversharing. Shoot! Why couldn’t she find a happy medium? Either she couldn’t talk, or she was overdoing it. The woman held out a piece of paper on which she’d scribbled the address. “He’s getting on in age, but he’s still able to do enough to keep it running. You’d probably only be needed to help with day-to-day chores.”
Athena nodded again. “I can do that.” She held up the paper with a smile. “Thank you.”
“Of course, dear. Good luck!”
Someone halfway through the store called out, “Penny! The produce guy is out back and needs you to sign for the delivery!”
Penny thumbed behind her. “That’s my cue. Maybe we’ll see you again.”
“I hope so,” Athena said. She watched Penny walk away, then glanced down at the paper in her hand. She grinned. This was a lead. And if she knew anything about farms around here, the people were more willing to offer a place to stay. Whoever this Christopher Billings was, he was her shot at finding her new normal.
* * *
Two weeks later,Athena trudged into the barn leading a large, brown chestnut mare. She still couldn’t believe she had been hired. She got to spend time with the animals. Her boss was the nicest old man she’d ever met. And she’d even been given access to a one-room cabin out by the barn. Everything had worked out.
Well, almost everything.
There was a hole in her heart that she couldn’t fix. With each passing day, it seemed to grow a little bigger. Each beat of her heart felt more hollow than the last, and she knew exactly why that was.
The horse nudged her from behind when she slowed her steps, urging her forward. Athena stumbled and shot a warning look at her. “You’ll get your treat when you’re all brushed down and not a second sooner.”
“Hazelnut’s giving you a hard time again, huh?”
Athena glanced up at the low voice to find Christopher sauntering toward them. He held his cowboy hat at his side, revealing his full head of white hair. She smiled and said, “I have a feeling you’ve spoiled her.”
“That may be,” he said with a chuckle. “But what do you expect?” He stepped aside when Athena moved forward. “You do really well with her.”
“Thank you.” She beamed at the compliment. “She’s a good horse.” Athena pushed open the wooden stall door and guided Hazelnut inside, then worked at taking the saddle off so she could give the horse a good brushing. She sensed more than saw Christopher hovering near the doorway as she worked, and she glanced up at him with curiosity. “Do you have anything else you want me to do today?”
He studied her—more than usual. His gaze was something else—deeper somehow. She couldn’t remain still under his watch and ended up shifting her weight several times before he finally spoke. “You said you worked for a ranch out at Copper Creek?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“I haven’t been out there myself, but Penny has. She was curious who it was you worked for.”
Athena swallowed hard. She’d been prepared for this question when she’d arrived at Christopher’s address. She’d figured he’d want her references. But now that she had the job and he was starting to look into it more, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to know. “Their last name is Keagan. I don’t believe they have a name for their property. But they probably will eventually. They’re growing.”
Christopher rubbed his jaw. “Keagan does sound familiar.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard about them. They’re a fairly large family. Close, too.” She smiled. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They stick together no matter what. You would really like them.”
“Sounds like you liked them, too.” Christopher tilted his head, still watching her as if he expected to catch her in a lie or something similar. “Remind me why you chose to leave.”
Her heart stuttered. This conversation was not going the way she thought it would. When Christopher had hired her, he’d only asked a few non-intrusive questions. What was with this third degree? “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, stopping her work. “Is there a problem? Do you want me to leave?”
Christopher chuckled. “Heavens, no.” He returned his hat to his head and leaned one side of his body against the wooden stall door. “You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but I can’t help but get the feeling you’re not supposed to be here.” His expression grew more pensive by the second. “It’s not that I don’t want you here. You’re a wonderful employee. The question is, do you want to be here?”
She stiffened as her defenses skyrocketed. “Haven’t I done everything you asked? Didn’t I prove I was more than capable of—”
He held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there. This isn’t about your capabilities. You clearly have a gift with animals. I have never seen Hazelnut take to someone as quickly as she took to you. Clearly, you’ve discovered your calling.”
“Then why—”
Before she could get her full question past the edge of her lips, he cut her off again. “I’ve been around the block once or twice, so believe me when I tell you that I know when a person is running from something. It might take me a little longer to figure out if what they’re running from is actually dangerous to them or if it’s something they need to face.”
She dropped her eyes, now understanding what he was trying to say. He knew her heart was somewhere else. Somehow, he’d figured out that she couldn’t stop thinking about the Keagans, but more specifically, she couldn’t stop thinking about Henry.
When she arrived, she only briefly mentioned them. She told herself that Christopher didn’t need to know how much they’d managed to get past her defenses. To him, they would forever remain a reference if he chose to contact them. Thankfully, it didn’t appear that he’d done that because she had a feeling if Henry knew, he would have been out here by now.
“Athena, if deep down there is somewhere else that you feel you belong, then there is no sense in running from it. Eventually, everything catches up to you.” Something in the tone of his voice caught her off guard. The way he said it was almost as if he’d been through the wringer and back.
Christopher hadn’t been overly forthcoming about his own past when he’d hired her. He kept to himself much like she did. Most days, they didn’t say more than a few words to one another. It had been nice not to feel pressured into forming anything more than a working acquaintanceship. Unfortunately, now her curiosity had been piqued. But no way would she ask him to share—mostly because she didn’t want to do any of that herself.
The man in front of her tilted his head. “I want you to know that there will always be a place for you here. It might have only been two weeks, but it’s safe to say that I feel a connection to you.” The smile returned to his face. “It might be strange, but that’s how it is.” He straightened, lifting his chin as he appraised her. “This will be the last and only time I bring it up. If you feel you have some unfinished business elsewhere, I will not fault you for going back there to figure it out. Stay. Go. The choice is yours. Just promise me you’ll listen to that little voice telling you where you think you belong.” He gave her a short nod and then turned and strode toward the barn entrance.
Athena stared at him, feeling as though another spirit had entered her body to poke around before taking off without explanation. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. It was more like a light had been turned on in a dark room.
Was he right? Could she return to the Keagans’ ranch and pick up where she left off?
Probably not that. She had left the premises without telling Henry goodbye. With how close they’d been getting before she’d left, he deserved more than to have her stop by and expect him to forget what she’d done.
Athena needed to apologize. She needed to get closure if that was where this was heading. How could she start a new life if this guilt and pain continued to hang over her head like a rain cloud?
The answer was simple. She couldn’t.
She let out a shaky sigh. Well, that was just great. Now she had to tell Christopher that she wasn’t going to stick around. Hopefully, he was as understanding as he had made it sound. And at least she knew she had a place to go if Henry chose to push her out of his life permanently.