Page 24 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

“Great.” He took a breath, his passion for the 3D printing clearly evident. “I’d like that too.”

Angel looked to the western sky as the sun steadily sunk into the horizon, which swallowed it up inch by inch until it was half sun, and then only the very tippy top, and then nothing.

Henry sighed. “There’s nothing better than a Texas sunset.”

“There sure isn’t.” Angel couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken the time to watch the sunset, and she sure was glad that she’d done it tonight. She had no idea what she and Henry would do tomorrow, what time they would leave to get back to the ranch, or any of it. But right now, it didn’t matter. Right now, she had rice pudding, the gorgeous rays of the sun shooting up from beneath the land, and Henry’s hand in hers.

For right now, that was enough.

Chapter Seven

Finn Ackerman walked into the farmhouse through the back door, tossing his gloves on the table beside it before he did. He expected Edith to be in from her she-shed by now. She didn’t write very often during the day, but she was on a deadline with her editor and needed to get this book done in the next couple of weeks.

Finn’s half-sister, Libby, had been dating a man named Rusty Jackson for the past several months, and she finally decided that he was worthy enough for her to bring home and introduce to the family. However, she didn’t want to overwhelm him with the enormity of people at Three Rivers Ranch, something Finn really understood.

There were a lot of cowboys working his family ranch. Heck, just his mama could be overbearing by herself, though he loved her dearly.

So Libby brought Rusty to the ranch on Saturday and introduced him to Momma and Daddy, Grams and her new husband, and Uncle Pete and Chelsea. On Sunday, they had lunch together.

She wanted to do something a little less formal, with fewer people and off Three Rivers Ranch, so she’d asked Finn if shecould bring Rusty to meet him and Edith for lunch today. Since Henry was in town, she’d invited him and Angel too, but Finn wasn’t actually sure if they were going to come.

“Hey,” Finn called. “Anyone here?”

No one answered, which meant Edith was still out in her writing shed. It didn’t matter. She’d gotten a recipe from Momma and put something in the crockpot last night so that it could slow-and-low cook all night and this morning. All they had to do was shred some lettuce, chop up some tomatoes, get out the tortillas and cheese, and they’d have burritos.

Finn washed up in the sink, going all the way to his elbows because he’d been fixing fences and moving chickens that morning. A minute later, he had just gotten the tomatoes out of the basket when Edith walked in.

“Oh, hey, baby,” she said. “You’re here.”

She carried Theo on her hip, and Finn grinned at the little boy and took him from her.

“Hey, baby,” he cooed at his son. “What are you doing with Mama out there?” Theo had red cheeks, no smile, and a little blank look in his eyes.

Finn guessed that he had just woken up. “Did you just get up from your nap?” he asked. “Were you being good for Mama so she could write?”

Theo once again just stared at him as if he’d never heard Finn’s voice before, never learned English. Finn leaned down and kissed his son on the cheek. “You’re the best boy. Let’s put you with your toys for a minute so Daddy can help Mama get lunch ready.”

He started to move into the living room just as the front door opened, and Libby walked in.

“Hey,” she said brightly. “We’re here.”

“Come on in.” Finn detoured away from the playseat where they put Theo when they couldn’t hold him. He could sit up onthe floor just fine by himself, but he tended to crawl around and get into things Edith didn’t want him to get into.

Finn moved over to Libby and gave her a side hug. She was the oldest child of Momma and Daddy, their first biological child, born when Finn was eight years old. She was headstrong and confident, responsible and hardworking, smart and beautiful, and Finn loved her with his whole heart.

“Hey, Libby,” he said, hugging her tightly with Theo semi-mashed between them. “How are you? How was the drive over?”

“It was great,” she said. “It really is faster on horseback. It’s incredible.”

A man crowded into the doorway behind her, and Finn backed up so that they could come into the house properly.

“This is Rusty,” Libby said, reaching for him and taking his hand in hers. She smiled at him with all the glory of the sun and stars, and Finn saw that she was in love with him. He prayed desperately that Rusty would be just as in love with Libby as she was with him because she hadn’t had the best luck with men.

Libby looked over to Finn, something bright and hopeful in her expression. “This is my brother, Finn.”

Finn stuck out the hand that wasn’t holding his son. “Hey, Rusty,” he said. “Welcome to Legacy Ranch. It’s great to meet you.”

“It’s great to be here,” Rusty said. “This part of Texas is so beautiful.”

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