Page 67 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

Angel’s printer whirred every few minutes as she finalized documents and printed them. She needed a much longer table, but she managed to put together Shad’s foreman folder as well as the welcome greeter folders before someone knocked on her door.

“Come in,” she called. She stood at the table, stuffing folders for Zane and Copper, so she could easily turn and see who was coming in. Henry entered, a bright smile on his face, matching the way his white cowboy hat tipped up into a grin as well.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he said, all the swagger in the world in his voice and in his step. “You realize you’re missing dinner, right?”

Angel blinked at him. Surely she hadn’t forgotten that tonight was one of their three weekly dinners where they fed everyone.

“What day is it?” she asked.

Henry laughed and said, “Thursday, baby.” He took her into his arms, but he hadn’t closed the door, and an alarm bell rang through Angel.

“Henry,” she whispered, “The door’s open.”

“Hm. It sure is,” he said as he leaned down and inhaled the scent of her skin along her neck. “And everyone’s at dinner except you.” He raised his head and looked at her. “Well, and now me.”

He pressed his lips to hers in a closed-mouth, chaste kiss. “Do you need to finish up? Can I help you with something? Everyone’s wondering where you are.”

Angel could stand in the circle of his arms for a good long while, but her stomach did tell her that she needed to eat. And she could print out the team lead and captain positions tomorrow.

“I can come now,” she said.

Henry reached over and turned off her computer. “Great, let’s go.” He held her hand for the few steps it took to get out of the office, but then he dropped it as he led the way outside, and down the path to the backyard of the farmhouse.

Sure enough, tables had been set up for the thirty people who ate there three times a week, and the combined scent of pulled pork, barbecue chicken, and smoked brisket rode on the air.

At least the catering arrived, she thought.Without any help from you.She’d ordered the catering, of course, and she did love Chuckwagon Dinners and their smoked meats and delicious Texas sides they brought once a month.

“There you are,” Levi said as Angel arrived at the table where Henry had obviously been sitting.

“Found her working,” Henry said, and he flashed a smile that didn’t look too flirty or too romantic or like they were anything more than friends.

Angel smiled at the men sitting there and said, “Just lost track of time. I’ll go grab some food.”

On her way to the long table that held all the proteins and side dishes, her stride got interrupted as someone whistled through their teeth. The loud, shrill noise cut all the conversation, and Angel turned to find Justin standing on a chair.

“Now that everyone’s here,” he boomed, graciously not looking over to Angel. “I just want everyone to know that roll call is going to start fifteen minutes early tomorrow. Please be gathered in front of stable one at six-forty-five instead of seven. Miss Angel will have a lengthy announcement about the newpositions here at Lone Star, and anyone moving into a new role will receive the information they need at that time.”

He grinned at her then, and Angel suddenly felt like the entire world’s eyes had landed on her.

“All right,” Justin said, clapping his hands. “Get back to eatin’.”

All the cowboys in the group clapped back at him, the slapping sound of it hanging in the silent air. Angel stood there for a moment, and while a few conversations broke out and the energy in the air had definitely doubled, she felt like she had been stripped of all her clothing and now stood naked in front of everyone who worked at Lone Star.

Not only that, but she’d have to go back to her office and get the packets printed and ready for tomorrow morning—fifteen minutes early—or she’d have to get up really early to finish that work. Irritation burned through her as she caught Justin’s eye, his grin wide as he came toward her.

“You’re mad, aren’t you?” he asked with a chuckle, but he certainly didn’t care if she was.

“Who says I’m going to announce the leadership positions tomorrow?” she grumbled as she headed toward the food table once again.

“I just did,” he said. “Because I knew if I didn’t, you’d obsess over it for the whole weekend, and you don’t need to do that.” He’d become firmer with her since she’d been to Three Rivers, since she’d talked to Daddy about getting new positions, since she’d told Justin that she needed another foreman on the farrier side and had asked him to help her staff more leadership positions at Lone Star.

She’d been grateful for all of that, as he was several years older than her and had plenty of experience in barn management and equine care.

She didn’t confirm or deny that she would obsess for the next three days until Monday morning, and she figured a Friday morning roll call was as good a time as any to announce the leadership roles. They still had roll call on the weekends, but they all worked a reduced schedule. And with the new positions in place, she wouldn’t have to work hardly at all on the weekends.

“Those new positions don’t start until June first,” she reminded herself. She still had six weeks of carrying everything at Lone Star. But suddenly the load wasn’t so heavy, because she really was bringing on an excellent team to help her, to take Lone Star into the future, and to ensure that the boarding stable would continue to provide excellent care for men and equines alike for many years to come.

She got her food and returned to the table where Henry had saved her seat. She sat between him and Caleb. Everyone around her went silent, and Angel stared at her potato salad as she pushed it around on her plate, finally stabbing a chunk. She looked up and said, “It’s done, guys. It’s decided.”

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