Page 110 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late
“All right,” he said. “So let’s go look at this place. And if we have time, maybe we’ll still go to the rodeo and the fireworks.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Or maybe we’ll just go out to Courage Reins, see your momma and grandma, and do whatever the cowboys are doing.”
Henry knew that was what she wanted, and he’d do whatever he had to in order to give it to her. “How many minutes do you need to put a bag together?”
“Fifteen?” she guessed.
Henry took her across the road and kissed her at the bottom of her steps. When he pulled away, he murmured, “You have fourteen minutes.”
She laughed, and Henry backed up, deadly serious. “Clock’s ticking,” he said, and then he hustled home to pack a bag so he could take Angel away from this place.
Rescue her.
Bring her back to the surface where she could breathe—where they could breathe together.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
“We’re going to be gone for the whole weekend,” Angel said in her team meeting the first week of August. The month of July had passed with heat waves and firecrackers, new teams functioning well, and everything coming together at Lone Star. She and Henry had started looking at several places near Three Rivers and Stinnett, but nothing had really seemed like “their place” yet.
Henry wanted to attend the ranch owners’ luncheon with his friends, as he’d been going for the past several months by himself. When she’d asked him if couples go, he’d said no, but she was a ranch owner, so there was no reason she couldn’t attend.
He talked to his cousin and his friends, and of course, they had all said she should absolutely come. They had done some date nights with his friends in Three Rivers, and Angel really liked them.
She and Henry were leaving for Three Rivers in the morning. They would go to the luncheon, and then in the afternoon, they had a couple of appointments with a realtor to show them a few properties in Three Rivers.
Angel didn’t want her desperation to choke her, but it was starting to feel like if they didn’t find a house or a farm soon, she wouldn’t be able to get married in the spring—which was silly.
If they bought a place right now, someone would have to live in itbeforethey got married, and neither of them wanted to do that. Henry claimed that wasn’t true. They could let it sit—especially if they bought a fixer-upper—and he could work on fixing it and getting it exactly the way they wanted it before they married and then moved in.
Of course, he still hadn’t asked her to marry him. So Angel was making all kinds of future plans about marriage and houses, children, pastures for horses, attending ranch owner meetings with their friends, and she still didn’t have the diamond.
She trusted Henry, though. She believed in Henry, and she loved Henry, so she knew that was coming.
“We’ll be fine here,” Shad said. “You’ve been gone before.”
Shehadbeen gone before, and it had been luxurious and wonderful. “I’ll have my phone,” she said. “Henry has his phone. I know he’s met with his team already.” She glanced over to Levi, who nodded. “We don’t have many horses coming or going. Everything should be fine.”
“We’ll be absolutely fine,” Justin said. “Trevor’s doing great with the meetings. And I hate to say it, Angel.” He grinned at her. “But we don’t need you here.”
“Thanks,” she said dryly. She closed her folder, which ended the meeting. “Thank you guys so much.” She looked around the room. “Really, I’m going to give mid-year bonuses. They’re just a little bit late, but you guys….”
She stopped because her voice had tightened, and she couldn’t talk past that. She swallowed and fought for control, finally winning it. “You guys have really stepped up this year, and you’ve really saved me, and I want you to know that I really love and appreciate each of you.” She swallowed hard again,which actually hurt, and let her emotions rage through her. It was okay to feel things; they didn’t make her weak or unable to lead.
Justin reached over and covered her hand with his. “We love you too, Angel.”
“Yeah,” Levi said. “You’re doing a great job here.”
“Thank you,” she managed to push out. “All right, I’ve got to go get packed up. We’re leaving first thing in the morning.”
The men started to disperse, but Levi hung back, glancing at the others as they left. “Angel,” he said, once only they remained in the room. “Do you want me to check on your parents while you’re gone?”
“Yes, please,” she said. “I know Trevor doesn’t need it as often, but you’re right next door to him too. If you could just, I don’t know, pop by for something that maybe you don’t need just to see how he is.”
“He’s always fine when I do that,” Levi said.
“I know he is,” Angel said, and she was so proud of herself for getting to a point where she could ask a non-family member for help with her family. She thought she’d never, ever do that.
“My parents too. But it just gives me peace of mind to know that someone is looking after them when I’m not here.”
