Page 117 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

She grinned at him and said, “It’s the best way to make sure that you find the right piece of property and that everyone knows who it belongs to.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Link asked, and that only made Henry tip his head back and laugh.

“Nothing,” he said. “Something our pastor said a few months ago.” He shook his head, so grateful for his place at this table of good men. “Oh, I have—” He looked at Alex, realizing his mistake. “Wait, you’ve got news.”

“If you’ve got something else, go ahead.” Alex’s plate was almost empty as he didn’t talk much. He did love hosting everyone at Coyote Pass, Henry knew that. He loved feeding a crowd, and he and Nikki had started hosting game nights just like Finn and Edith.

Henry wondered if he and Angel would do the same when they had their place. He wasn’t sure—they both worked around the clock, and it wasn’t just one of them. He had no idea what their days and nights would look like once they got married and had to drive home to a big three-story house they had to maintain.

“Angel and I found a place to live,” he said when Alex didn’t offer up the gender of his coming babies. “Offsite, away from Lone Star.”

“You’re kidding,” Finn said, his words full of disbelief “Where is it?” He became more animated, putting both hands on the table as his grin grew. “It’s close, right?”

“Just outside of town,” he said. “About halfway between here and Stinnett. It’s out on the Miller land.”

“Whoo-ee,” Link said. “Those are nice.”

“You know them?”

“Mitch told me about them,” he said. “He said there’s what? Seven or eight places out there?”

“Something like that,” Henry said. “The one Jerry showed us today is real nice. We told him we want to buy it.”

“That’s so great,” Paul said, reaching across the table to squeeze Henry’s hand. “I’m really happy for you, brother.”

“Same,” Finn said, and others echoed the sentiment.

All eyes then turned to Alex, and he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, almost like he was irritated he had to share his good news. “Well, Nikki is going to have a pair of boys.”

He finally grinned, and it lit up his face, the dining room table where they all sat, the entire house, and then the world.

“A pair of boys,” Finn said. “That’ssoamazing.” He clapped Alex on the shoulder and grinned around at everyone. “He’s not going to have staffing problems for long, guys.”

They laughed, and the conversation moved on to ranch business. Link had a lot of experience with staffing as he worked a big ranch and had to deal with cowboys moving in and out fairly often. Dawson, not so much though.

They did have someone who worked for them at the Rhinehart Ranch, but just one man, which was what Alex and Finn were looking at doing.

Paul dealt with a ton of staffing, and Henry wasn’t surprised to listen to him talk quite a bit about his experience in hiring everyone from secretaries who worked indoors, to licensed and certified counselors to work with people, to horse trainers, to groundskeeping, and everything in between.

Henry had almost no experience at all, but Angel spoke up plenty as she’d managed the staffing across the board at Lone Star for a couple of years now. Everyone treated her with respect and kindness, and she spoke as much as Paul. Every word she said brought more and more pride and love to Henry’s chest.

By the time they’d said their goodbyes and left Alex’s farmhouse, Henry’s heart felt like it might burst wide open. He made it all the way to the passenger door and opened it for Angel before he took her into his arms and said, “You’re incredible.”

She smiled up at him and giggled. “You think so?”

“Listening to you talk in there with all those ranch owners….” He shook his head slightly and grinned at her. “I love you so much. You’re so smart and so beautiful.” He reached up and brushed his hand through her hair. Though he knew it was fake, he hoped she could feel something.

“I’m completely in love with you, and I’m so glad you said yes to being my wife.” He kissed her right there with others pouring out of the house, and he didn’t even care.

She didn’t let him go on for too long before she pulled away and rested her cheek against his. Then she did the best thing in the world, the thing that sent shivers all the way down to Henry’s heels and back up to his head, the thing he hoped she would do for the rest of his life.

She whispered, “I’m completely in love with you, Henry Marshall.”

I think Henry is one of my all-time favorite cowboys. I love the way he helps Angel slow down, and how devoted to her, her stable, and his family he is. Please leave a review for them here.