Page 115 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late
Angel grinned at him and said, “Thank you so much, Henry. I love it.”
It had cost him a lot, but Henry didn’t care. Angel was worth any price. Besides, his parents had helped him with the ring and told him that he didn’t need to pay them back. When he protested, they said they’d done the same thing for Paul, and they’d do the same thing for John and Rich, and to just take the money and not be in debt when he started his new life with Angel.
So he had.
He knocked a couple of times and then simply went inside, as his wasn’t the first truck there. Sure enough, Alex stood in the kitchen working, while Finn and Paul waited at the island, chatting.
“Hey,” Henry called, and everyone turned toward him.
“Hey,” Finn said, and he turned to come greet them. “How was the drive?”
Henry exchanged a glance with Angel and said, “Not bad at all.”
Over the course of the next several minutes, everyone arrived. Link came with Dawson, Conrad and JJ Walker, Ollie, and JJ’s best friend, Tate. They were all working at Seven Sonsthat summer, even Ollie, as ranching took a lot of hands, and it sure seemed like cowboys were in short supply around Three Rivers.
Once everyone had arrived, Alex said, “We’re ready.” He lifted the lid on a slow cooker, and the delicious scent of braised beef filled the air. “Brisket,” he said. “Nothing fancy. You can make a sandwich or tacos.” He pointed to the chips and the soft dinner rolls. “There’s coleslaw, and I ran to the bakery this morning and got mint brownies for dessert.”
“All right,” Finn said as he clapped his hands in excitement.
“We’ll eat first,” Alex said. “And then I want to talk about staffing issues.” He was a no-nonsense man, as was everyone there. They had busy lives, some of them with wives and children. No matter what, they had big ranches, and their daddies had big expectations for them. They certainly weren’t going to sit around not doing anything.
Everyone had met Angel before, so Henry didn’t need to introduce her. But once they’d all gotten their food and settled at the table, he glanced over to Alex. “What are you guys having?” he asked.
Alex had just taken a big bite of his brisket sandwich, and he leaned over and held up his hand as if to say,Give me a second.
Henry chuckled and said, “Sorry. I didn’t mean to do that right when you took a bite.”
“Let’s do news,” Link said, exchanging a glance with a still-chewing Alex. “I’m pretty sure that’s what Alex is going to say.”
They had started doing news more and more often at the beginning of their meetings, and no one protested. No one asked if they had to; they all knew they could pass.
“Misty is gonna have a baby,” Link said, smiles and sunshine pouring from every cell of his body. “She’s due at the end of February.”
“Oh, that’s amazing,” Henry said, adding his voice to the others congratulating Link on becoming a daddy soon.
“No new babies for us,” Finn said. “Edith is working on her book. We’ve got no news.”
“You always have something,” Paul said, shooting Finn a knowing look from across the table.
“Do I?” Finn asked innocently. Then he broke out into a grin. “Fine, we’re adding to our livestock. Edith is getting another cat—hopefully one who doesn’t meow constantly—and I’m getting a new horse.”
“That’s almost better than a baby,” Dawson quipped, and that sent a ripple of laughter through the cowboys. “No babies for us either,” Dawson added. “But we have a new crow who keeps showing up with Rocks and Nugget.”
“Oh yeah?” Alex asked. “What are you going to name this one?”
“Caroline wants to name her Beauty,” Dawson said. “And well, I just kind of let Caroline do what she wants with the crows.” He laughed, and Henry did too because Carolyn had wanted crows in their wedding, and she’d gotten them.
“Smart,” Ollie said, and the conversation turned to Angel, as she sat next to Dawson.
Panic ran through Henry. He didn’t wantherto tell them they were engaged.Hewanted to announce it. She glanced over at him, and he found the same fear in her eyes. He quickly raised her left hand.
“Angel and I got engaged,” he said.
A second of stunned silence filled Alex’s farmhouse, and then Finn whistled through his teeth in the loudest, shrillest celebration Henry had ever heard.
“Holy cow,” Link added.
“Look at that thing,” Dawson said. He grabbed onto Angel’s hand and grinned at the diamond. “Congratulations, you guys.”
