AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Is that why you might leave tomorrow?”
Athena shrugged.
“Well, for what it’s worth, I hope you stay.”
He was about to move to the door when her soft voice stopped him in his tracks. “Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want me to stay? Why are you being so nice to me?”
“Is there something wrong with me wanting to do something nice for someone else?”
“No, but—”
His lips quirked upward. “Then stop fighting it, will you?” He motioned to the house. “You’ve got a roof over your head, food in your belly, and at least one person who cares if he sees you tomorrow.” Henry tugged on the doorknob, then paused before he looked over his shoulder toward her. “Goodnight, Athena.”
Henry wasn’t sure what would happen between now and the morning. Athena could very well slip into the night. Or she could go up to her room and turn in early. There were so many variables at this point in time. For now, he was going to choose not to dwell too much on the “what ifs” of the current situation.
He deposited his dishes in the kitchen, thanked his sister Charlie for dinner, and went straight upstairs to his room. Before he was able to shut the door, Brielle called out to him from the stairs. Henry stopped and poked his head into the hallway.
When she reached the landing, she grinned at him. “I wanted to tell you that I met Sam earlier today in the barn. She’s not much of a talker, is she?”
Henry nearly told her that Sam wasn’t Athena’s name, but he thought better of it. Now was not the time to destroy what little amount of trust she’d given him. Instead, he nodded. “Yeah, she has a hard time trusting people.”
“So, she talks to you?”
He nodded again.
“That’s good.” Brielle shot a look over her shoulder and then moved closer. “I know that she’s just here visiting you. I’m not going to ask you how you met or anything, but I was thinking it might be a good idea to hire her to help out around here.”
Brows lifting, Henry stared dumbfounded at the woman his oldest brother had married.
“What? Don’t you think that’s a good idea?” Brielle said.
“No. I mean, yes. I…” He shook his head as if that would clear it. “I was thinking the same thing. I even told her the same thing.”
“That’s great! I’ll tell Wade, and he can set up a meeting to discuss what we can afford to pay her.”
He held up his hand, but she was already heading down the stairs. Brielle would find out soon enough if Athena didn’t want to work for them. Either she’d leave, or she’d turn down the offer. No sense in drawing unnecessary attention to her. She’d already had a big day.
10
Athena
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.
