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When they didn’t knock again, Athena moved to the door slowly so no one would hear her footsteps. Her hand gripped the doorknob lightly. Turning the knob, she held her breath. Whoever was on the other side of this door would likely insist that she join them for dinner. This was her chance. She could stop running. That’s what she wanted, wasn’t it?
Athena pulled the door open, then paused in confusion. The hallway was empty. She poked her head out and looked in both directions. Whoever had knocked hadn’t bothered to stay—unless they were hiding in an open doorway close by. Her feet shuffled forward, connecting with something hard.
She gasped, her eyes darting down to find a tray with a plate filled with her dinner.
Emotion bubbled up in her throat and she dropped to her haunches to get a good look at it. A chicken breast, mashed potatoes, corn, and a small salad. Stomach growling and mouthwatering, she glanced out into the hallway again even though she knew that Henry wasn’t going to be anywhere nearby.
He was giving her space.
Henry was a lot of things—and much too good for her.
Heart aching, she reached for the tray and retreated into her room. Seated on the floor, she picked at her food, allowing herself to take her time and revel in the flavors of everything that Henry had picked out for her.
The potatoes melted in her mouth, softer than they deserved to be. The chicken was so flavorful that she moaned with delight. Had she been eating downstairs with everyone, she might not have taken her time to experience every nuance of the meal. Henry would never understand what he had given her by bringing her meal to her room.
Well, this was just great. There was now one more reason for her to want to stay. And this reason was the biggest one yet.
Henry.
He was the closest thing she had to a family, and he didn’t even know it.
She couldn’t just let this be the way things came to a sudden stop when it hadn’t even gotten started yet. Her body warmed and a nervous smile touched her lips. Perhaps Henry would be the first person who could make her stop running. Perhaps he was the person she’d waited her whole life to meet.
And if he wasn’t?
Then there would be nothing stopping her from leaving again. Easy as that.
Athena took in a deep, shuddering breath and released it. Now was not the time. She couldn’t just track him down and tell him everything she’d realized in the last hour.
No, she’d wait until they could have a quiet moment together.
15
Henry
Henry should never have moved so fast. He stood out by the barn, unable to focus on his work. Every few seconds he glanced up at Athena’s bedroom window. It was still dark, but then of course it would be at this early hour.
She hadn’t come out of her room after he’d left her dinner. He’d hoped she would seek him out, but she’d remained confined. Now he just felt stuck. There was so much up in the air right now. He didn’t know whether he should ask her about what had nearly happened or pretend that it never had.
The three arguing voices in his head got to be so loud that it was all he could do to block them out, which was why he stood here in the dark wishing he knew the right answer. Two competing voices battled with each other while the third grew the loudest. There was a part of him that wanted to just wash his hands of her and the complications that would inevitably come with trying to win her over, but then there was another part that refused to let him give up so soon.
Athena was special. He’d seen it day in and day out. Did she come with her own special kind of baggage? Of course, but who didn’t? This particular voice demanded that he march right up to her and tell her how it was going to be.
The loudest voice in his head was the one that had won out over the others last night. It was the one that insisted he didn’t want to scare her off. It didn’t matter if she stayed or left. He wasn’t going to be the one to send her on her way because he was hovering.
Henry pushed away from the barn and paced in front of the door. He stared at that window, wishing the light would come on like it did most mornings as she got ready to meet him down here. He couldn’t be sure that she would, but he could hope.
He brought his knuckle to his mouth and bit down on it, his pacing growing more charged by the moment. Once upon a time Henry hadn’t cared if he found someone to love or if he ended up alone. Those were the simpler times of his life—times that he’d taken for granted.
It was different now. Something had changed and he wasn’t sure he was ready for it.
What if he went up there and knocked on her door just to see if she was coming?
Bad idea. She’d think he was being too clingy.
How could he get her to come down so they could just set things back to normal?
“What are we looking at?”
