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His exact words included everything.
Her heart soared to new heights at that thought alone. Henry Keagan, handsome and honorable cowboy, thought she was everything he ever wanted.
If she had been alone, she might have shouted her excitement to the sky. She would have done a happy dance like she’d done when she was a kid.
Athena had finally listened to her heart and allowed herself to do something that terrified her.
She’d allowed herself to fall a little more in love with a good man.
Her eyes closed and she hid her smile into his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent of the soap they used in the Keagan household. The blend of sage and something floral had been strange at first, but now all it reminded her of was sanctuary.
It was time to stop running.
17
Henry
“I’m telling you. It was like something out of a movie. Athena knows what she’s doing.” Henry pulled his saddle from the back of his horse and hefted it onto a stand. “She’s got this raw talent for reading that horse.”
Hudson snorted. “Okay, but just because she can work with the beast doesn’t mean she can work with all the animals.”
“We don’t have any other animals she would have to work with. Most of our animals are well-behaved. Are you saying that you wish we had more troublemakers?”
His brother shrugged. “All I’m saying is that maybe she’s not as great as you think she is. What do we really know about her? I mean, she lied about her name. She lied about her family.”
“She never lied about her family,” Henry shot back as he took a rag to the saddle to wipe down the leather. “She just never told you about her past. I can’t say I blame her, either. You’ve been sorta a jerk since she got here.”
Folding his arms, Hudson shot a dark look at Henry. “I just don’t have the love-sick goggles that you do. I swear, she could rob us blind in the middle of the night and you’d make excuses for her.”
Henry shook his head. This was the reason he hadn’t told anyone about their shared kiss last week. He’d finally felt like he was making some headway with her. Athena had agreed to work with Beast when they were doing their training exercises. Ever since that started, the horse had been on his best behavior.
He couldn’t believe that his brother didn’t see it. There was such a thing as a horse whisperer and Athena was it. Henry would bet his life on that fact, only they didn’t have any other animals to test his theory. For now, only Beast needed the help.
“So, what comes next?” Hudson cut into Henry’s thoughts. “Is she staying? Did you clear this with Wade? I don’t think we can afford to pay her to help out when she’s only keeping one horse calm. Does she have any other talents? From what I know, this is her first time even being on a ranch.”
“We don’t have to worry about that right now.”
“Why not? Once Beast is tamed, then what? It’s not like we’ll need her forever.”
Henry’s body stiffened. It wasn’t Hudson’s fault that he didn’t know how close Henry had gotten to Athena. But the idea of her leaving already left Henry feeling hollow. He didn’t want to consider a future where she didn’t stick around.
“Think about it,” Hudson continued. “She’s a drifter. For all we know, she’ll grow tired of being here and then she’ll take off and we’ll never see her again.”
“Then I guess you don’t have anything to worry about,” Henry snapped, whirling around to glare at his brother. “You can’t have it both ways. Either you’re worried about keeping her on, or you’re worried she’s gonna take off. Which is it?”
Hudson didn’t react. He schooled his features and his eyes narrowed. Then they opened fully and he shook his head with a bitter laugh. “I can’t believe you.”
Henry froze. Hudson didn’t know anything. He couldn’t. There was no chance that he’d seen or heard anything because Henry had been so careful not to let anyone know. Straightening his back and rolling his shoulders, he kept his glare trained on his brother. “What?”
“You like her.”
“You’ve said as much before.”
“Yeah. I was poking fun at the fact that the guy who, up until this point, didn’t have any interest in the opposite gender was willing to put up such a fight to keep her here. But this… it’s different.” Hudson tilted his head almost like a predator would while scrutinizing his prey. “You like her. I wouldn’t be surprised if you two have something going.” His eyes narrowed into slits. “Please tell me you’re not courting her.”
Henry snorted, but it came out choked and strangled. “Courting? What century are you living in?”
“You know what I mean. Are you dating her? Are you whispering sweet nothings into her ear and… falling for her?” Hudson moved closer. “Because that’s dangerous, you know.”
