Page 94 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

“All moody and upset that we haven’t told everyone here at the ranch.”

“Iamupset that we haven’t told everyone at the ranch,” he said. “I just hadn’t figured out how to tell you that yet.”

She stepped back, feeling some of the coldness coming from him. “Well, you just did. I told you I was waiting for the employee handbook.” She picked up the one he’d thrown on the desk and put it back on the top of the box. “And now they’re here.”

“So we’ll tell everyone?”

“I’m thinking Monday,” she said.

“But why?” He pressed in a step closer to her, moving in behind her. The scent of his cologne mixed with leather and the scent of metal he used in the horseshoes, and Angel loved the smell of Henry.

“Why do we have to wait until Monday?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “It just feels like a good time.”

“Tomorrow’s a good time,” he said. “Roll call.”

“I just thought maybe we’d have a plan first.”

“Yeah,” Henry said. “The plan is to stand up there and tell them, ‘New employee handbook. Oh, and PS, it doesn’t have a no-dating rule, so date anyone you want.’”

“That just doesn’t make any sense,” she said with a smile. “I’m not going to call attention to any of the other rules in the book.”

Henry let out an exasperated sigh. “I know, Angel, but this one has to be addressed. Because wearedating. Because you told your daddy you would.”

“I know. You’re right.” She leaned back into him, and Henry finally put his arms around her. “I just—maybe we can use the weekend to make a plan.”

“All right,” he said. “I’ll see if I can sneak over tonight.”

“You haven’t come one night this week.” She turned in his arms and looked up at him. “You’ve been so mad you haven’t been able to come over at all.”

“No,” he said. “I’m not mad. I’ve just been thinking about a lot of things.”

“Yeah, you said that at church too. And when I texted you about it, you never said what was on your mind.”

“Sometimes a man likes to work through some things before he tells everyone.” A half smile kicked up the side of his mouth. “You’re so nosy.”

He leaned down and touched his lips to hers. Angel remembered that he had not closed the door when he’d come in, so she didn’t kiss him long. “It’s not being nosy,” she whispered to his collar. “It’s called wanting to know what your partner is thinking.”

“Oh, is that what we are?” he said, his head ducking as he moved his mouth along her neck. “Partners?”

“Yes,” she said stubbornly. She couldn’t hide the tremor in her voice from his touch.

He straightened. “Okay. I’ll try to get away tonight. And just so you know, it hasn’t been my choice that I haven’t been coming. The new housing situation is still….” He paused for a moment, obviously trying to find the right word, and said, “Don and I are still trying to figure out how to live together.”

A lot of the transitions that Angel had made at the beginning of the month had not been easy for everyone. Henry had a new team with one man who didn’t particularly like him, and Levi had moved into Flint’s cabin, which meant Henry had gotten a new roommate. Don was one of their summer interns, and he still had three semesters of coursework left at Sherman Academy before he would even be eligible for an apprenticeship. He was inexperienced, and in Henry’s words, “whiny and needy.” Angel wished she’d known that before the random generator had picked his number.

“Well, I miss you,” she said, revealing as much as she dared to reveal right now.

“I miss you too, my angel.” He kissed her again, somehow knowing that she didn’t want to go on and on. He pulled back after only a few strokes. “I’ll text you once I see how things are tonight.”

“Okay,” she said.

Henry backed up a couple of steps, said, “Okay,” and turned and left her office.

She waited until she couldn’t hear his cowboy boots against the cements, and then Angel strode back over to the box of employee handbooks and picked up the top one.

She was going to go ask Trevor what he would do, and then Daddy, and show them the employee handbook at the same time. They’d both be interested. And maybe, just maybe, they’d both have some great advice for how Angel could stand up in front of everyone and tell them that she and Henry had been dating since February.

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