Page 68 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

That seemed to break the ice, and Henry said, “Yeah, of course it is. And no matter who you picked, Angel, we’re going to support them—and you.”

She looked at him and found the utmost sincerity in his eyes.

“That’s right,” Levi drawled from across the table. “Everyone here is deserving. Whoever gets the positions, we’ll all rally behind them.”

“Thank you,” Angel said quietly, though that had been the culture that she, Daddy, and her granddaddy before him had cultivated.

Henry went back to his phone, and Levi said something to Copper down the table. Angel glanced across to Levi. With Shad moving into the farrier foreman position, that left one of their three master farrier positions open, and she and Justin hadchosen Levi for it. He had been a full-time skilled farrier working with apprentices at Lone Star for two years now, and while it might be a little bit early to advance him, as Angel looked at him and he gave her a healthy smile, a warm blanket settled around her shoulders, letting her know that she’d made the right choice.

Two seats down from him sat Zane, another full-time farrier. She’d moved him to a greeting position, and she’d had to promote somebody else from captain into that position. That would be Brent Howsman. She glanced down the table toward Henry’s side but didn’t see Brent.

So many changes, she thought, and another flutter of nerves winged its way through her body.It’s going to be fine, she told herself as she finished her potato salad and moved to the brisket.

“Here you go,” Henry said. He placed a bottle of barbecue sauce in front of her. “You like the sweet kind, right? Or is it the spicy?” He looked down the table. “Hey, Copper, hand us that spicy sauce.”

“I like the sweet,” Angel said. “It’s fine.” She waved off the spicy sauce just as her phone dinged. She’d set it next to her plate in its usual place so she could glance at it whenever it went off. If she needed to answer, she’d pick it up.

Heat filled her face, zooming from her toes up her legs through her torso and straight to the back of her mouth when she saw Henry’s name there and the lettersINACH.

That had started out as code for “I need a cowboy hug,” when Angel needed him to slow her down, help her, or simply be in the same room with her to soothe her.

It had morphed to “I need a cowgirlhug” whenever Henry wanted to come to her office, or he’d figured out a way for them to meet off-site.

In the past week or so, it had morphed into simply an acronym that meant “I’m coming over tonight.” She supposed they could have changed it toICOT, but they hadn’t. And Angeldidn’t dare look at Henry, just in case her face had turned the color of poppies.

She flipped her phone over and clued into the conversation happening next to her. She didn’t have to contribute to it to be more present, and she did want to be present. These family-style dinners three times a week fed the culture here at Lone Star. The men here really did support each other. And it was really hard to have misunderstandings go on for too long or people who didn’t get along super well when they ate together three nights a week. That didn’t mean everyone got along spectacularly, and Angel feared that with her shake-up, she may have teamed up people that would cause some discomfort in the beginning. Angel had gotten comfortable with being uncomfortable, and she expected her men to do the same.

Something popped into her mind, and she turned to Henry and said, “Oh, your leave of absence is approved for your brother’s graduation.”

“Great,” he said. “Thanks.” He’d be gone Thursday through Monday next week, and he’d invited her to go to John’s graduation with him. Angel hadn’t known how to answer initially. She wanted to be with Henry off the ranch. But showing up to such an intimate family event?

She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Henry had said he had not told his parents that they were dating, and when she challenged him with, “Well, what are you going to tell them when I show up for John’s graduation?” he’d remained silent.

They both knew that couldn’t happen, even if they wanted it. Angel’s mind shifted to his graduation. He hadn’t asked her about coming yet, and she wondered if he would. She and Daddy sometimes attended the graduation at Sherman Academy, especially if they had an intern there who was becoming a master farrier, which took quite a few years.

Flint was getting his master’s certificate this year, and in fact, he wasn’t returning to Lone Star come June. He had another job opportunity in Central Texas, and he was taking his family and moving there. She could perhaps use that as a reason to go to Henry’s graduation this year, but she kept that tucked under her tongue for now.

Angel managed to eat her dinner, and then she headed back to her office with snakes slithering through her bloodstream to get the last several packets ready for tomorrow morning’s announcement.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Henry and Levi walked over to roll call by six-thirty the following morning. They clearly weren’t the only ones nervous and early. At least half the cowboys that lived and worked at Lone Star had already arrived. They stood around in clumps of two or three, most of them not talking, but every once in a while, one of them would say something and the others would nod or agree. Then silence would descend again.

Flint had built a proper stand for Trevor that didn’t have steps, but instead, a ramp. The man could get up that far easier, and he had something to hold onto the whole way.

“This is terrible,” Levi muttered, just as he had last night at dinner. Henry had gone to see Angel last night, but he’d made a promise to himself with every step of the fifteen-minute walk that he wouldnotask her for any of the names of the men in new positions. He didn’t want to know if he’d gotten one. He didn’t want to know if Levi did. Well, he did, but he didn’t want to ask her, and he hadn’t.

Six-forty came and then six-forty-four, and finally six-forty-five arrived. Trevor moved awkwardly up the ramp to start roll call, his helpers right there next to him and Justin at his side as well. The current foreman of the ranch stayed on the ground andfolded his arms, making his biceps and shoulders look beefier than they already were.

He was an excellent horseman with a decade of age and experience on Henry. He was the barn manager at Lone Star, and Henry reported to him about his horses, but he’d never really worked with the man outside of that capacity. Bard and Angel obviously trusted him, and because they did, Henry did too.

Trevor started the day by saying, “Thanks for showing up on time. We know a lot of you are real nervous about today’s announcements, and we’re not going to prolong things and make them harder for you. Angel is just finishing up a few things in her office, and then she’ll be right out. I’ve asked Justin to give you a little insight into how this process went and some behind-the-scenes knowledge of the decisions that were made.” He looked down to Justin, who finally put a smile on his face.

“It’s a great Friday morning, men,” he called, and he clapped his hands once. Everybody clapped back at him, including Henry, and plenty of feet shifted left and right. Henry could barely swallow. His nerves assaulted him, and he wasn’t even sure why. He’d felt like his interview had gone well. He told Angel he was going to come back for another year, and she said she’d prepare his contract, that they’d be glad to have him.

He’d celebrated with his family on the group text string they shared, and he expected his momma to have a little gift for him when he went home for John’s graduation next weekend.

“All y’all have been here for at least a year,” Justin said. “Some of us a lot longer. If you know Angel White at all, you know that she pours everything she has into this place, into this job, into your lives, into her family’s life, into the land, into the horses. The only reason she’s announcing the jobs today is because I made her. Otherwise, she’d have endured three more sleepless nights before she finally did it on Monday. No matterwhat you hear, you’re valued here. Every one of you.” He paused and surveyed the crowd, the emotion streaming plainly across his face.

---