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He couldn’t help but read between the lines. As much as she wanted to be alone to protect herself, she wanted a family. She wanted her family.
“You know something funny? A part of me has always wanted my name to be Kira. It sounded so normal—like if I could just be accepted into the right family I would be happy.” Her brows furrowed and she frowned. “Kira Thompson.” Her eyes lifted to meet his once again. “See? Doesn’t get much more normal than that.”
There. He had her full name. He could call in some favors with the sheriff’s office and see what they could find about her past. She might not want him to do any digging right now, but she’d realize how important it was when he found something and she could finally find a connection to her real family.
“What’s that look for?” Athena studied him, suspicion in her eyes.
“Nothing,” he said. “I don’t have a look.”
Loud hollering saved him from having to give her a better excuse. They both turned.
In the corral, Beast appeared to have reverted to his old self. After a few weeks of being on his best behavior, he’d had enough.
Athena gasped, then charged in that direction without a moment’s hesitation. She moved so quickly that Henry had to sprint to catch up with her. Their conversation about her past and family was easily forgotten.
“Athena,” he warned, “we had a talk about this.”
“You had a talk,” she muttered. “I didn’t agree to it.”
“Not in so many words, but you haven’t been spending any extra time with Beast, either. I thought you’d decided that you didn’t want anything to do with the animals.”
She stopped suddenly and stared at him. “Do you want me to stay away?”
“That’s not what I said.”
Athena continued her fast pace. “Then I don’t know why you’re acting like this is a bad idea. I’m going over there to help. Your brothers need me.”
“Clearly, they need a lot of help, but are you sure—”
“You can’t have it both ways, Henry. You said that I have a gift. You agreed with Harley about it. Now you don’t want me to—”
Henry reached out and grasped her arm. “I want you to do what makes you happy. If that means getting in the corral and working with Beast, then I want you to be safe when you do it.”
She motioned to the corral. “We’re losing valuable time. I’m going in there, and if you want to come, then come. If not, then I’m sure someone else will.” Her voice came out strong and unyielding. This was the woman he’d met when she’d snuck into the barn. It was nice to see her make a reappearance.
Athena pulled away as if she could see the decision he’d made in his head. She darted toward the corral and through the bars. He watched in awe as Beast immediately reacted to her presence.
It was more than the way she moved or the way she spoke to him in hushed tones. Henry had the feeling that if she’d been dropped into the corral blindfolded, the horse would have calmed simply by seeing her.
Hudson and Daniel were the ones working with the animal today as others watched on. Currently, they were moving away from the animal as Athena approached. All Henry could do was watch from the sidelines.
Someone nudged him in his side, and he jumped. Annabel let out a heavy sigh. “I have a feeling that Beast isn’t going to cooperate much unless Athena is there working with him.”
“Good luck with that one. She seems to prefer staying out of the spotlight.”
“Not when she has to come to the rescue.”
They both watched the scene unfold then Annabel continued. “Do you think you could convince her to give us a session every couple of days at the bare minimum? I know the guys would appreciate it.”
“I don’t know,” Henry said. “Sometimes I can see how much she wants to be there in the thick of it, and at other times she seems to retreat into a shell of herself.”
“She’s still new. Give her the benefit of the doubt. She’ll come around.” Annabel patted him on the shoulder and then headed toward the barn, leaving him to watch the woman he couldn’t help but admire.
Athena had come from literally nothing. All she had were the clothes on her back. How could she not see the raw talent she had with animals? She was a regular horse whisperer.
With Beast settled, Athena hurried toward Henry. Her face was flushed and her eyes were bright. “Did you see that?”
He nodded, preparing himself to tell her what Annabel had requested but was thrown off when she threw her arms around his neck.
