Page 32 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

Henry nodded. “Yeah, he sure did. And he’s not happy, and you’re not happy, and Bard has a rule that we don’t go to bed angry.”

“Yeah, I know about Bard’s rules.” Shad folded his arms as he leaned back against the counter.

“And I know Levi’s probably not going to say anything more to you about it. And I’ve been really thinking about it. And I really think that I’ve been prompted to come here and say something. So here I am.”

“She’s an old horse,” Shad said.

“She still deserves good shoes.”

“Berniece takes a size that’s hard to get,” Shad said.

“Then let Levi order in bulk,” Henry said. “I’ll take Berniece. You don’t even have to manage her anymore. I’ll do it.”

Shad considered him, not quite angry but not happy either.

“I’ll get her the shoes she needs,” Henry said. “But that horse needs to be re-shod every two weeks. Her hooves grow fast. She gets abscesses, Shad. Levi has to dig the nails out, which causes pain. It goes against everything we do here at Lone Star. You have to see that.”

Shad nodded once, his jaw tight.

“I know you’ve got a lot going on with the new horses we’ve gotten in and all the boarding that’s coming up in March. They filled us up real full, and I can take on Berniece, because I know it’s a problem for you and Levi. And if it’s me and Levi, then it won’t be a problem.”

Shad said nothing, but Henry, with his mouth that never seemed to stop running, kept going. “I’m meeting with Bard this week anyway about Gilligan’s shoes, and I can talk to him about Berniece then.”

“You’re meeting with Bard about Gilligan? Why?”

Henry didn’t want to go above Shad. But he didn’t have to run everything past Shad. The master farrier above him was Clay, and Henry should run everything about every horse past him….

His rebellious streak immediately bumped against such an idea. He swallowed, trying to get his pride to go down, trying to get the words he wanted to retort to retreat. When they finallydid, he said, “Yes, sir. I’ll talk to Clay before I go in. Angel wants to be there too.”

Shad’s eyebrows went up. “Angel wants to be there?”

“Yeah,” Henry said, barely managing not to stutter over the word. “I talked to her a little bit about Gilligan when we were in Three Rivers this weekend. She said she’d like to be in the meeting with me. It’s something new that we haven’t done here at Lone Star before, and since she’s in charge now, she wants to be there.”

Shad once again didn’t say anything, and Henry would have killed to be able to get inside the man’s mind and know what he was thinking about him and Angel. Maybe nothing.

“How was she this weekend?” Shad finally asked.

Henry didn’t know what to say, because he didn’t know how Shad thought Angel should be. He wasn’t sure what persona Angel had been putting forth to him, and how Shad had perceived it. He didn’t want to say anything bad about Angel or make her feel weak or inferior if his words got back to her. She was their boss, after all, and she wouldn’t like him talking about her to Shad in the slightest.

“She….” He stopped and considered his words. “Is very busy here,” he finally said. “And it’s a lot for her to carry sometimes. At least I think so. I don’t know her that well; that’s just the gist I got.”

Shad nodded. “She works too hard, and that’s gonna catch up to her.”

Just because Henry agreed didn’t mean he had to keep talking about Angel.

“I’ll talk to her about passing off some of what she does,” Shad said. “She doesn’t have many friends, so if you can help too, I’m sure it’ll help.”

“Okay,” Henry said, and he thought his voice sounded semi-normal.

Shad sighed and pinned Henry with his steady gaze. “I know we all just want what’s best for that horse.”

Henry nodded quickly. “And if there’s anything I can do to get it, then I’m willing to do it.”

Shad came toward Henry and stuck out his hand. Henry took it as Shad said, “You’re a good man, Henry. I want you to take Berniece. Talk to Clay and Bard about her. See what we can come up with.”

Happiness surged through Henry that he had been able to say what he needed to say without saying too much, without throwing Angel under the bus, and without making Shad feel like he wasn’t good enough.

“You’re a good man too, Shad. I really enjoy working with you.” They shook hands, and Henry left the cabin.

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