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Henry crossed his arms to prevent himself from shoving his brother back a step. The last thing he needed was to get in a brawl with the man. “So what if I was? It’s not affecting my work. It wouldn’t change anything.”
“But it will.”
He huffed. “Yeah? How’s that?”
“When she leaves,” Hudson muttered with a shrug. “Like I said before. She’s a drifter. You can’t deny that. She could leave at any given moment—any second now, something will get too hard and… poof. She’ll disappear into the night.” Hudson lifted his chin and a knowing smile stretched from one side to the other. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’re playing with fire, and I’m not going to help you dress your wounds when you end up getting burned.” With that statement, he spun around and headed for the barn door.
Henry glowered after him. Hudson didn’t know what he was talking about. He wasn’t dating anyone. He couldn’t see what was in Henry’s heart.
Athena was easy to fall for, and Henry didn’t regret a single moment he spent with her. He wasn’t going to let Hudson get to him. This was probably all about the bedroom and his wanting to be right about letting Athena stay.
Henry brushed off the feeling of unease as effortlessly as if it had been a fly landing on his shoulder. He wasn’t worried one bit. Athena had opened up to him. She’d shared more with him than she had anyone else—something just told him that she felt the same about him as he did about her.
Which was why he needed to do something sweet for her. He wanted to show her how much he cared, and the best way to do that would be to find her family.
His heart rang like the celebration of bells at a church. She’d told him where she’d been found. She’d told him her name. He’d already made a few calls and was waiting to hear back from them. If they didn’t get back to him by the beginning of next week, he’d be checking with them again.
There had to be something out there that could guide him to finding her birth parents—or discovering whether she had any siblings. He could already see the look on her face when he told her that she still belonged to someone. Something just told him that this would be the one thing to heal her past heartache.
Henry dove into cleaning up the saddle and brushing down his horse. The day was coming to a close and he hadn’t been able to observe the training session with Beast, but he had a feeling Athena would share every last detail like she usually did.
He couldn’t wait to see the light in her eyes. He craved hearing her laugh. If this wasn’t love, he didn’t know what was. Nothing could be better than the way he felt right here, right now.
When all his work was complete, Henry stepped out into the afternoon sun. He shaded his eyes, scanning the immediate area for the one person he wanted to see. He’d hoped to see her out visiting with any of the numerous people on the ranch, but he couldn’t catch sight of her.
It would be suppertime soon. She might be in her room. Or she could be out back. Athena seemed to prefer the quiet after a long day and watching the sun disappear behind the mountains. Often that was where he would find her. Finding an appreciation in the world around him hadn’t ever been on his list of priorities. After meeting Athena, that had changed.
Henry headed in that direction. It didn’t matter that they’d shared most of their time in each other’s company. His heart still thundered when he knew he’d see her again. He loved the way she would sit quietly without moving a muscle and allow herself to be immersed in the nature that surrounded them. It was getting easier for him to do the same.
Rather than walk through the house to get to the back, he made his way around. Doing so would prevent him from letting the back door bang shut upon his exit. As he turned the corner of the house, he paused. The worries of the world melted away upon seeing the profile of her face. Her eyes were closed, and her face was upturned so that the glow from the sun bathed her in a pretty golden color.
The warm breeze rippled through the overgrown grass in the back. Even after his family had taken all the time and care to fix up the house and the barn, no one wanted to take it upon themselves to maintain the back—which still looked like an overgrown meadow that belonged in a watercolor painting. They’d always had brightly colored flowers behind their house. Henry had always thought his mother was initially responsible for their appearance.
Unfortunately, they’d gotten out of hand and most of the backyard was covered in them. From bright, yellow-colored flowers that seemed to mimic sunflowers to the bluebells he’d always liked, he couldn’t blame her for preferring the place back here to any other.
He took a step forward and a twig snapped under his boot.
Her eyes fluttered open for a quick moment, and then she smiled as she allowed them to close. “I was wondering when you’d show up. I saw you come back from your trip with Hudson. How was it?”
Henry moved closer to her like a moth drawn to a flame. No, that was the wrong analogy. She was his siren, and he would do anything for her. “It wasn’t as fun as the ride we took last week.”
At that, she turned her face toward him. Her eyes locked with his and her smile deepened. “I should hope not.”
He stopped at the foot of the stairs, resting a forearm on the railing, reveling in her beauty. He still couldn’t believe all that had happened since they’d first met. “What did you do today? How did training go?”
She lifted one shoulder absently. “Sometimes I don’t see why you even want me out there. He’s such a sweetheart.”
He made a face. “You’ve seen first-hand when he’s gotten out of control. For some reason he only trusts you.”
“What are you going to do when it’s time for competition? I can’t be there in the arena with him.” She stood and moved down the stairs as if she were floating on a cloud itself. “We need to get him comfortable with the person who will be competing.”
Henry cocked his head to the side, his grin turning slyer by the second. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”
“Brielle said that Wade hasn’t decided if they actually want Beast to compete. Has he even thought about who would be riding?”
“I have a few ideas.” Henry climbed one step so she was at eye-level with him.
“I hope whoever it is will treat him with care. He’s a gentle spirit. One wrong move and he’ll hold it against them.”
