Page 92 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

But…Henry didn’t see it, and he wasn’t sure if he didn’t see it with Angel, or if he didn’t see it at Lone Star, or if he didn’t see it because it was the combination of both Angel and Lone Star.

Could he really just insert himself into their family as if he’d belonged there his whole life when he hadn’t?

The questions continued to roar through Henry as he returned to his cabin, grabbed lunch, and then headed out to the stable to go through his paperwork for the week. He didn’t often file it on time, and he used his days off to get that done.

He’d put in a request to move his days off to Sundays and Thursdays, so he could attend the rancher luncheons every first Thursday of the month with his friends. He hadn’t heard if that had been approved yet.

As he shuffled through paperwork, he finally got a text from Angel that said,It was nice to sit by you today. Trevor wants to know if you’re doing anything with Palermo later this afternoon. If so, he wants to come, and I told him you would text him.

Henrywasgoing to work with Palermo later that afternoon, and he would definitely text Trevor so he could come over. He wasn’t exactly trying to make Palermo a therapy horse, but Palermo needed some rehabilitation from an injury, and he had been helping Henry as much as the horse.

He’d mentioned it to Angel, and she must have told Trevor about it.Second, Angel said,I’ve rearranged your days off to Sundays and Thursdays as you requested.

For some reason, that made Henry’s whole soul light up, and he took it as an answer from God that he needed to be closerto Three Rivers. He needed to be closer to family for some reason. He needed to maintain those friendships with Finn, Alex, Dawson, Oliver, Walker, JJ, and Link.

But why?he wondered as he reread Angel’s text. No answer came then, but Henry knew it as well as he knew his own face. He looked up and saw that face partially reflected in the glass in front of him.

“All right, Lord,” he said. “I’m trusting in the direction.” He hated how he had to constantly step into the dark, but that seemed to be the path God wanted him on.

So Henry prayed right then and there that God wouldn’t lead him to the edge of the cliff and let him fall off.

Chapter Thirty-One

Angel turned in a slow circle as Willow galloped around the arena on her horse. “Pull her head up,” she called to make sure the girl had her grip on the reins right. Willow wasn’t a new rider, which Angel was grateful for because she wasn’t sure if she had the patience to deal with a brand-new rider this summer.

The girl and equine continued to move, and Angel enjoyed her time in the sun, calling instructions and watching as horse and human learned to work together. The horseback riding lesson ended, and Angel went to take the reins as Willow got down. “You’re getting really good,” she told the girl, a fourteen-year-old who lived only a few minutes outside of Stinnett.

“Thanks so much,” Willow said. She grabbed onto Angel and hugged her. She always had sunshine and spirit pouring from her, with a wide smile, pale blonde hair, and the skinniest arms and legs that Angel had ever seen on a human being.

“Next week, we’ll see how she does with the jumping, okay?” Angel said.

“All right,” Willow said.

“In the meantime, make her keep her head up every day when you’re riding this week,” Angel said, beaming at the girl as she stepped back.

“Okay.” Willow took the reins from Angel and led the horse toward the stable. She’d brush her down, and her daddy was probably waiting for her by now. Willow brought her horse with her, but all of Angel’s others used horses right here at Lone Star.

Angel cleaned up and headed back to her house for the evening when she got a text from Levi.Huge shipment for you just arrived, he said.I thought about putting it in your office and then realized it was probably too big.

“A huge shipment?” she wondered aloud. She texted him quickly.What do you mean a huge shipment?

Oh, not all of this is for you. Never mind, but there are still a few boxes. It says it’s from Sundown Printing.

Angel’s heartbeat shot through her body, ricocheting off the sides of her veins as adrenaline pumped through her. “Sundown Publishing,” she said to herself. “Those are the employee handbooks.

Oh, I know what those are. Her fingers trembled as she typed out each letter.They can go in my office if they’ll fit.

Yeah, there are only three boxes, he said.These others are for something else.

Angel should care what else was getting delivered to the ranch, but she didn’t. It wasn’t her job to care anymore, and she had good, competent people over every aspect of Lone Star. She didn’t have to know what every little thing was—or where to put it.

I’ll put them in your office, Levi said.

Great, Angel said.Thanks, Levi.

She did take her training tools back to her house, but she only tossed them onto her back deck. She wanted to see this new employee handbook as soon as possible. Despite the urgency hammering through her to get to her office, she took a few moments to text Henry.

Can you come to my office right now, please?

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