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She snorted. “Sometimes big things come in small packages.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “I’ll have to take your word for it.” They continued staring at each other until Henry couldn’t take it any longer. “Does that mean you’ll go shopping with me? You can get some new clothes, maybe a bag?”
“I’m not helpless,” she snapped. “Have you considered that I have exactly what I want?”
He sized her up again. “Okay, then just a coat. I’m telling you, if you haven’t spent your winters here, then you’re going to regret not having one.”
“Who says I’m staying here that long?”
Henry blinked. She was right about that one. He’d assumed she was sticking around, but a person like Sam didn’t appear to be the type to stay in any place very long. “Oh,” he murmured.
She glanced up at him, and for a second, he thought he could see her defenses drop. But just as quickly as that occurred, they came right back up. “Fine. A coat. And maybe a new pair of shoes. These ones don’t fit right.”
He grinned, gesturing toward his truck. “Deal.” When she didn’t immediately head in that direction, he held out his arm in a crook.
She stared at it and then lifted a single brow when she met his eyes. “No, thanks.”
At least she was talking now. He had to take every win he could get.
“I hope you know this isn’t some sort of My Fair Lady thing. You’re not going to change my clothes and my hair, put on some makeup and make a new woman out of me.”
“My Fair Lady? What’s that?”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m just saying, I’m not going to be your puppet. And I’m not your project. And I’m definitely not your pet.”
“So we’re nixing the three ‘P’ words. No puppets, projects, or pets. Got it.”
They got to his truck, and he opened the door for her. She hesitated, then met his gaze again with narrowed eyes. “You never said why you were doing this.”
He shrugged. “I guess I don’t have an answer for you.”
Sam huffed. “I don’t believe that for a second. Everyone has ulterior motives. Even handsome cowboys like you.”
Henry grinned. “You think I’m handsome?”
Her cheeks filled with color, something not even a scowl could hide. She dropped her eyes and climbed into the truck. “One trip to town and that’s it.”
He shut the door with a chuckle and hurried around the side to climb in behind the wheel. When he closed his own door, she spoke again. “And you can tell your brother he won’t have to wait long. I’m not staying.”
Henry glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Maybe that would change.
6
Athena
Using her voice for the first time was a shock to her system—one she wasn’t prepared for even though she’d experienced it before. Athena wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d lost it all together. The tone and cadence sounded almost foreign. Thankfully her voice had been strong. She’d sounded sure of herself.
Unfortunately, the longer she sat beside him during their little ride, the more antsy she became. She stretched out her legs and stared at her shoes, tapping her toes together a couple times before she turned her focus out the window.
If she’d been honest with herself, she would have confessed that she could use some new clothes. She used to have a backpack with everything she needed, but it had been stolen one day while she was sleeping. Within it had been a change of clothes, some necessities, and what little cash she’d managed to save.
Without it, she felt naked. She wasn’t sure when or if she’d get an opportunity to replace it. Perhaps this was God’s way of making that happen and she’d been too stubborn to accept it. Athena shot a quick look in Henry’s direction. From the looks of it, his family seemed to be doing okay. He could probably afford to help her out.
That was her pride getting in the way again. She should have just accepted his offer without brushing him off. This was just one of the many reasons why she had told herself that talking to people was a bad idea. She’d put her foot in her mouth and now she couldn’t backtrack.
She hadn’t planned on staying put here, but the more that she thought about it, the more she realized she didn’t have any means to leave Copper Creek—not unless she wanted to resort to stealing money.
Nope, that wasn’t going to happen. She drew the line at money. Technically, she didn’t consider herself a thief, either. Everything she’d eaten or collected had usually been discarded. She prided herself on finding things she could use that weren’t actually trash.
