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He studied her—more than usual. His gaze was something else—deeper somehow. She couldn’t remain still under his watch and ended up shifting her weight several times before he finally spoke. “You said you worked for a ranch out at Copper Creek?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“I haven’t been out there myself, but Penny has. She was curious who it was you worked for.”
Athena swallowed hard. She’d been prepared for this question when she’d arrived at Christopher’s address. She’d figured he’d want her references. But now that she had the job and he was starting to look into it more, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to know. “Their last name is Keagan. I don’t believe they have a name for their property. But they probably will eventually. They’re growing.”
Christopher rubbed his jaw. “Keagan does sound familiar.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if you heard about them. They’re a fairly large family. Close, too.” She smiled. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They stick together no matter what. You would really like them.”
“Sounds like you liked them, too.” Christopher tilted his head, still watching her as if he expected to catch her in a lie or something similar. “Remind me why you chose to leave.”
Her heart stuttered. This conversation was not going the way she thought it would. When Christopher had hired her, he’d only asked a few non-intrusive questions. What was with this third degree? “I’m sorry,” she said quietly, stopping her work. “Is there a problem? Do you want me to leave?”
Christopher chuckled. “Heavens, no.” He returned his hat to his head and leaned one side of his body against the wooden stall door. “You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to, but I can’t help but get the feeling you’re not supposed to be here.” His expression grew more pensive by the second. “It’s not that I don’t want you here. You’re a wonderful employee. The question is, do you want to be here?”
She stiffened as her defenses skyrocketed. “Haven’t I done everything you asked? Didn’t I prove I was more than capable of—”
He held up a hand. “I’m going to stop you right there. This isn’t about your capabilities. You clearly have a gift with animals. I have never seen Hazelnut take to someone as quickly as she took to you. Clearly, you’ve discovered your calling.”
“Then why—”
Before she could get her full question past the edge of her lips, he cut her off again. “I’ve been around the block once or twice, so believe me when I tell you that I know when a person is running from something. It might take me a little longer to figure out if what they’re running from is actually dangerous to them or if it’s something they need to face.”
She dropped her eyes, now understanding what he was trying to say. He knew her heart was somewhere else. Somehow, he’d figured out that she couldn’t stop thinking about the Keagans, but more specifically, she couldn’t stop thinking about Henry.
When she arrived, she only briefly mentioned them. She told herself that Christopher didn’t need to know how much they’d managed to get past her defenses. To him, they would forever remain a reference if he chose to contact them. Thankfully, it didn’t appear that he’d done that because she had a feeling if Henry knew, he would have been out here by now.
“Athena, if deep down there is somewhere else that you feel you belong, then there is no sense in running from it. Eventually, everything catches up to you.” Something in the tone of his voice caught her off guard. The way he said it was almost as if he’d been through the wringer and back.
Christopher hadn’t been overly forthcoming about his own past when he’d hired her. He kept to himself much like she did. Most days, they didn’t say more than a few words to one another. It had been nice not to feel pressured into forming anything more than a working acquaintanceship. Unfortunately, now her curiosity had been piqued. But no way would she ask him to share—mostly because she didn’t want to do any of that herself.
The man in front of her tilted his head. “I want you to know that there will always be a place for you here. It might have only been two weeks, but it’s safe to say that I feel a connection to you.” The smile returned to his face. “It might be strange, but that’s how it is.” He straightened, lifting his chin as he appraised her. “This will be the last and only time I bring it up. If you feel you have some unfinished business elsewhere, I will not fault you for going back there to figure it out. Stay. Go. The choice is yours. Just promise me you’ll listen to that little voice telling you where you think you belong.” He gave her a short nod and then turned and strode toward the barn entrance.
Athena stared at him, feeling as though another spirit had entered her body to poke around before taking off without explanation. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. It was more like a light had been turned on in a dark room.
Was he right? Could she return to the Keagans’ ranch and pick up where she left off?
Probably not that. She had left the premises without telling Henry goodbye. With how close they’d been getting before she’d left, he deserved more than to have her stop by and expect him to forget what she’d done.
Athena needed to apologize. She needed to get closure if that was where this was heading. How could she start a new life if this guilt and pain continued to hang over her head like a rain cloud?
The answer was simple. She couldn’t.
She let out a shaky sigh. Well, that was just great. Now she had to tell Christopher that she wasn’t going to stick around. Hopefully, he was as understanding as he had made it sound. And at least she knew she had a place to go if Henry chose to push her out of his life permanently.
27
Henry
Henry stood at the back window and stared at the lone figure in his backyard. From behind, Rachel looked a lot like Athena. They had similar builds and hair color. Even their bone structures were so close he wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference—except he’d traced Athena’s face in his dreams every night since she’d left. The nuances of her features were forever etched in his memories.
Hudson sidled up beside Henry and motioned through the window. “It’s been two weeks. When is she going to give up?”
Henry scowled at his brother. “This is the closest she’s come to finding the only member of her family. She gets to stay as long as she wants. Maybe if you bothered to talk to her, you’d see she’s not so bad.”
Hudson huffed, shaking his head. “Haven’t spoken to her yet, and don’t ever plan on speaking to her. She’ll give up when she realizes it’s a lost cause and she’ll leave. Then we’ll all be better for it.”
