Chapter 29
The floorboards creaked beneath Henry’s feet as he paced just inside the front door. On the other side of that wall, Athena was talking to her sister. There was no telling what they were discussing or if Athena would be willing to speak to him when they were done.
He itched to yank that door open, march down those stairs, and tell her they had unfinished business. She’d left him without so much as a word. He deserved to know where they stood.
But then he had to remind himself that she’d chosen to leave. There was no clearer message than that. She wanted him out of her life, and he should just learn to accept it. He stopped his pacing and strode toward the window nearby. The two of them were gone.
His heart dropped and he hurried to the door to open it. Once out of the house and on the porch, he could see two figures wandering through a nearby pasture. The yearning he felt to go to her, to confess all his feelings to her was so strong that he thought he might not be able to contain himself.
Athena had come back. That had to mean something. She hadn’t known that Rachel was here. Did that mean she’d come back for him? His head was taking him in so many different directions that it was making him dizzy. For the first time in a long time, he didn’t know what he should do.
Hudson materialized around the house, whistling a tune until he noticed Henry. He stopped and his relaxed demeanor shifted in the opposite direction. His frown appeared before the rest of his expression followed suit. “What’s the matter now? Please don’t tell me you fell for the girl’s sister. Did she leave?”
Henry glowered at his brother. “No, she didn’t leave. And why would you even ask me that?”
“Ask you if she left?” Hudson mumbled as he headed up the stairs. “Because—”
“No. Why even ask me if I like Rachel? You know I have feelings for Athena.” Henry’s gaze never left the two women as they continued to shrink from view. “I want her back.”
“Back?” Hudson laughed, finally reaching the top step. “You guys weren’t a couple. I mean, I could tell you guys liked each other. But you weren’t together.” His eyes searched Henry’s, and he froze. “You’re kidding.”
Henry ignored the derisive tone in his brother’s voice. “She’s back, you know. Athena came back.”
Hudson spun around and stared out at the field where Henry had been keeping an eye on them.
“Rachel was just about to leave, and… she was just… there.” He placed his hands on the railing, hoping that doing so would keep him balanced. He still didn’t know what he was going to do when they came back. He couldn’t let her leave without talking to her, yet he didn’t want to push her away again.
His brother hadn’t uttered another word, though he remained by Henry’s side. The two of them watched the interaction, which was so far away neither one of them had a prayer of knowing what was going on.
“Do you think… she might have come back for me?” Henry needed someone to pull him off the ledge. He needed someone who could look at the situation without bias and tell him whether or not he was dreaming.
“Maybe,” Hudson said.
Henry gave him a hard look. “If she wants to stay, I don’t want you to say a single word to her about it. As far as I’m concerned, she’s part of this family.”
Hudson rolled his eyes. “Just because she came back doesn’t mean I’m going to like her.”
“I didn’t say you had to. I said you don’t get to make any snide comments about the way she left. Do I make myself clear?”
“Whatever. I don’t care. It’s not like she’s going to stick around. That’s the way she’s lived her life up to this point. Old habits die hard. I would bet her sister tells her they can go off and be a family again, and we never see them again.”
Henry’s head whipped around to watch the girls once more. He hadn’t thought about that possibility. Athena might not want to stick around here now that she knew there was a place where she could belong again.
His hands tightened on the railing, the square edges digging into his hands. He could only hope at this point. That was all he had left.
Hudson patted him on the back. “Good job, brother. You reunited a family. Maybe they’ll be smart and realize they don’t belong out here in the country. Clearly, they’re bred for the city, and we all know how well that turns out.”
“What are you talking about?” Henry muttered with derision.
“I’m talking about a city girl and a country boy. They just don’t mix. Oil and water, you know?”
Henry spun to face his brother, catching him off guard and making him stumble back a few steps with a nervous laugh. “Hey, I didn’t make the rules. I just notice them.”
“Will you just get out of here?” Henry demanded. “It was so much nicer when you weren’t hovering.”
Hudson lifted both hands with a laugh. “Fine. I’ll go. One condition. If Athena stays, her sister isn’t allowed. We’re not a home for lost souls. And as far as I’m concerned, they’ve worn out their welcome.”
Henry took a threatening step forward and Hudson hurried back another two steps. “I’m just saying, is all.” With one more chuckle, he disappeared inside, leaving Henry to deal with his worries all on his own.
* * *
Henry couldn’t bringhimself to go inside again after Hudson left. The girls only wandered back to the house when it got a little too dark to see them anymore. They stopped by Rachel’s car, speaking in hushed tones.
He remained standing on the porch, his sharp gaze watching their every move. This was it—the moment of truth. Athena could get into Rachel’s car and they could drive away together without her saying a single word to him.
His whole body felt like a coiled spring, ready to dart out at a moment’s notice so he could speak to her one last time. His body ached with the tension that went from his shoulders all the way to his toes. The dull pounding in his head hadn’t abated since Hudson left him in peace.
Athena reached out to hug her sister and then they pulled back. Rachel glanced toward him and gave him a little wave, to which he nodded. They spoke again softly, and then Rachel opened the driver’s side door. Athena stepped back as the car started and pulled away from the house.
Rachel’s taillights shrank with the growing distance between them, and Athena didn’t turn toward the house. It was too dark for her to walk anywhere. She hadn’t gotten in the car with her sister. That meant only one thing.
As if Athena could hear his thoughts, she turned to face him. Even in the shadow of the night, she was beautiful. The porch lights cast a soft glow on her face, but he couldn’t read her expression.
Athena wrapped her arms around her middle and stared at him, not saying a word. It was familiar, the way she watched him—much like when they’d first met. Henry couldn’t help but smile at the memory as he pushed himself away from the house and moved toward the edge of the porch.
“I take it that you two hit it off,” he called out to her.
Athena shifted her weight from one foot to the other and then looked off into the distance. “Rachel is…”
“She’s pretty amazing.”
Her eyes met his again. “Yeah. She is.”
He moved down one of the steps and stopped so she would be able to see he was giving her space. “She’s been looking for you a long time.”
“Yeah, I know.” Athena squinted, though there were no bright lights. It was as if the pain caused her features to do that. Either pain or guilt. Then again, he could be entirely wrong.
“Where did she go?” Henry asked, coming down another step.
Athena gazed at him again. “Henry, I need to tell you something.”
Once again, he stopped, frozen on the stairs. He wasn’t brave enough to move closer nor ask her to continue.
Her brows pulled together, creasing deeply between them. “I was wrong.” Athena shook her head and tightened her arms around herself. “You were right to go looking for her, and I was mistaken to think that she would be like all the people I’d met in my life who did me wrong.” Her voice broke, and his heart right along with it.
Henry shook his head and hurried closer to her. “You didn’t know. How could you?” Without thinking, he pulled her into his chest. His arms wrapped around her so firmly that neither of them would be able to escape from his embrace. “There was always a chance that you were right. But we never know until we do the work to find out.”
She buried her face into his shoulder and her voice grew muffled. “I should have listened to you.”
He chuckled. “That’s where you’re wrong. I should have listened to you.” He pulled back and her chin tilted upward so she could look at him. “I should have respected your boundaries. Trust takes time to build, and I didn’t listen to you. I should have done more to open a discussion with you before I sent off that message.”
She blinked several times, releasing a tear down her cheek. “That wouldn’t have helped. I know it deep in my soul. I was too stubborn, and I know it.” She smiled through her tears. “I’m so glad you found her.”
He watched her closely, praying that wasn’t the only thing she’d stuck around to say. He couldn’t push her. He knew better than to do that now. So, he waited and sent another prayer heavenward.
Athena nibbled on her lower lip and looked away as if his gaze was too much for her to bear. It felt like an eternity for her to finally meet his gaze again. When she did, her face blushed a deep scarlet color. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“About what?” he whispered.
“About the way I left.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I shouldn’t have left the way I did. I should have said something to you. I should have—”
He placed a finger on her lips. “I’m just glad you’re back.”
“You are?” she whispered.
“More than you will ever know,” he whispered. “If I had known where you went, I would have come after you. I would have begged you to come back. I would have told you—” Henry cut himself off. The words were on the tip of his tongue. He could tell her now, tossing aside his worry for any consequences. Or he could wait and give her the space she might need. Henry swallowed hard. This had to be the hardest thing he had done thus far.
“You would have told me what?” she pressed.
Henry shook his head. “There’s plenty of time for that. Right now, all you need to worry yourself about is that I’m glad you’re back and I don’t want you to leave again.”
A small smile touched her lips. “I’m not going anywhere. That is, as long as you’ll have me.”
“Where else would you go?” he questioned. “This is your home.”
Her smile warmed him from the inside out. She leaned into him once more, resting her cheek against his chest. “Actually, I met someone.”
He stiffened. She’d met someone new? He’d lost his chance already?
“His name is Christopher Billings, and he lives one town over. He gave me a job and a place to stay, and—”
“I love you, Athena. And I can’t hold it in any longer. I don’t want you to leave because I’m madly, deeply in love with you, and these last two weeks have been torture.” Henry pulled away from her so she could see his eyes. “I don’t want to lose you again, and that’s why I’m telling you this.” He held his breath. This could go either way. What would it be? Would she run, or would she stay?
Athena’s eyes drilled into him—the wait far more painful than his confession had been. Then she stood on her toes and her mouth captured his in a firm, unyielding kiss before it softened into something more sensuous. “I love you, too, Henry,” she murmured against his lips. “I think I always have.”
His heart soared in that moment. Nothing else in his life would compare to this.
Athena loved him.