AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She threw her hands down at her sides and focused on her breathing. “It doesn’t matter. Like you said. I was seriously considering it. I just wanted to do a little more research on that computer you guys have. I don’t want to walk in blind to something like this.”
He was so quiet that she was forced to open her eyes to see if he was still there. When her gaze met his, she flinched. There was pain there—pain she’d caused. Suddenly, she felt so much smaller.
It took almost all her remaining energy to mutter, “Sorry I got mad at you.”
His expression didn’t change.
“I didn’t mean any of it.”
Still, he didn’t move.
Athena let out a sigh. “Can we just forget that this ever happened? We can talk to Brielle at the next training session and see what she thinks. If she thinks I would be a good fit, I’ll start training. But if she’s found someone else…” Athena shrugged. “Then that gives us our answer. Deal?”
He nodded.
Henry had never been the quiet one. It was surreal to be the one doing all the talking. Had she broken his spirit? Great. She’d snapped at him. That wasn’t okay. This was his home, his property. She’d always known that it wasn’t a good idea to overstep, and that was exactly what she’d done. Now he was really going to get tired of her. Would he kick her to the curb over one outburst? She hoped not.
She wrapped her arms around herself and offered him a small smile. “I hear they’re having pizza for dinner tonight. Do you want to steal a few pieces and sneak them out to the barn?”
His expression softened, but something remained in his eyes that she couldn’t place. He nodded, drawing her attention away from that haze. “I think we could do a lot better than that. I bet we can steal a whole bottle of soda, too.”
“Sprite?”
“The very one.” He glanced over his shoulder briefly and then spun to face her. Without giving her warning, he pulled her into a hug. It was exactly what she needed at that moment.
And another point went to Henry Keagan.
19
Henry
Henry could see the distrust come back with full force, but that wasn’t what bothered him most. All of Athena’s cumulative experiences had made her who she was. He wasn’t trying to change her. That wasn’t what this was about.
Athena was great the way she was.
There were only a few things he wanted to do to make her life better. He could tell how much she loved working with Beast. He could see the connection they’d made, and it wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen before. Athena had a gift, and that gift could be used to do so much more.
If only she would acknowledge that she could be great in the arena. She could hold her head high and show everyone that it didn’t matter where a person came from; they had a family here in Copper Creek. He didn’t care what he had to do to convince her. He was going to help her see that she belonged here.
Not only did she belong here, but she belonged to someone. He’d gotten a little closer. In his email this morning, he’d gotten some information regarding a couple of children who had been misplaced around the same time that Athena had. There was a chance she had siblings.
Of course, he wasn’t going to tell her any of this. She would only be disappointed if it turned out that she had been an only child. But every time he caught her watching him with his brothers, he could sense something beneath the surface waiting to be set free. She still wanted that belonging. It was more than belonging to a town. It was belonging to someone else.
He couldn’t explain how he knew—he just did.
When they’d successfully gotten their food and slipped off to the barn, they snuck up into the loft to eat. He pulled out an old blanket for them to sit on, and they used a small lantern to light their little picnic.
Athena took her first bite and moaned with delight.
“You’ve had pizza before, haven’t you?” Henry laughed.
“Sure, everyone has had pizza,” Athena said absently. “But I can’t remember the last time I had fresh pizza. It’s always been day-old, cold, or tossed in the garbage.”
He made a face, one that caught her attention and made him feel guilty for not being able to control it.
“It wasn’t like I ate pizza straight out of the garbage can. I’m talking about the stuff that was left behind in pizza boxes.”
When he didn’t respond right away, she continued.
