Page 63 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late
“Why do you think you’re not smart?” Henry asked.
“Well, I’m not graduating from Baylor,” Paul said in a normal tone. “I didn’t graduate in industrial engineering, and I’m not about to get my farrier certificate. In fact, I’m the only one who didn’t go to college at all. I just work the ranch.”
“There’s no ‘just’ about that,” Henry said softly. “I know loads of men who work ranches. They’re really good at it, and it means something to the people they serve and the work they do.”
“Yeah,” Paul bit out again, clearly inside his head on this issue, and Henry wasn’t sure how to help him.
“Well, you’re the smartest person I know,” he said. “Whenever I’m wondering what to do, I think, ‘What would Paul think? What would Paul do? How would Paul handle this?’”
“Oh, that’s just not true,” Paul said.
“It is,” Henry said. “You lead with a level head. You always say the right thing, and you always do what you’re supposed to do, even if you don’t want to.”
“Do you think that includes leaving the ranch and going to the Hill Country to be with Brielle?” Paul whispered.
Henry didn’t rightly know, and the stars that had started to come out certainly didn’t hold the answers. He took a breath of the night air, wishing the night would cool off, but it probably wouldn’t. “I don’t know, Paul. I wish I did, but I don’t know.”
“I don’t either,” Paul said. “I told Daddy about it a couple of days ago. I think he’s totally stumped; I don’t think he knew what to do at all.”
“Yeah,” Henry said. “Because I’m not there. John’s not there, and Rich is kind of….” He didn’t know what to put there that wouldn’t be demeaning. He loved his younger brother.
“A party animal,” Paul supplied. They both laughed, and Henry decided that summed up Rich pretty well.
“Yeah,” he said. “He’s young still. That’s what he is. He’s young still. Needs time to grow up.”
“Yeah,” Paul said. “But Daddy’s not sure he has time. He’s ready for someone to start taking over right now, so he can move into semi-retirement the way Uncle Squire’s gonna do by the end of this year.”
“Yeah,” Henry said. “I heard Libby was coming back.”
“Yep,” Paul said. “She’s got everything worked out with her job in Oklahoma. She’s going through the paperwork, and she should be here before Thanksgiving.”
“That’s amazing,” Henry said, and he had no desire to return to Courage Reins or Three Rivers and make it his permanent home. He thought about Angel, and there was no way she would ever leave Lone Star. She’d already taken it over. Anyone she fell in love with and married would live right here at Lone Star with her.
But do they have to?Henry wondered, and he wasn’t sure why his mind had come up with that question, nor was he sure how to answer it.
“Momma’s texting again,” Paul said. “She really wants everyone at John’s graduation, and she wants everyone at yours.”
“I know,” Henry said. “I’ll talk to Angel about it tomorrow. In fact, I can talk to her about it tonight.” His nerves suddenly itched at him to get off these steps and over to Angel’s. “I’ve got to go.”
“Yeah,” Paul said. “It’s getting late.”
“Yeah,” Henry said, as if he was going to go to bed next. “I’ll talk to you later, brother. Love you.”
“Love you too,” Paul said, and the call ended.
Henry got to his feet, stretched out his back and his legs, and then texted Levi.Family stuff is crazy right now. I’m gonna go for a walk for a little bit. Don’t wait up for me. I’ll see you in the morning.
Okay, Levi said.I’ll leave the light on. I’m going to bed now.
Okay, Henry said.
Anything I can do about the family stuff?
No, Henry said.But thank you, Levi.And he meant it, because Levi was a good friend and a good man, and if he could help Henry, he would. Henry had talked through some of his other familial problems in the past, and Levi had helped him have a level head going into certain situations and conversations with his daddy.
Now, Henry tucked his phone away and moved into the darkness, away from the lights coming from the cabins. The stables had automatic lights that came on when someone got too close, but Henry had been walking the line between the cabins and the stables, testing how close he could get before the lights flashed on.
The alley was about twenty feet wide, and if he just stayed in that area, he could walk in the darkness, no one would see him, and he could get to the back of the farmhouse that way. Angeljust lived another jog down the road from there. He’d walked it a few times now, planning on surprising her one night.
