Page 102 of The Cowboy Who Worked Late

Henry read his father’s text, a measure of disgust choking in the back of his throat even as he tried to swallow it away. Of course, he could help with the equine therapy appointments the next afternoon. He simply didn’t want to. He hadn’t come back to Three Rivers Ranch to help with lessons.

I know you don’t want to, Daddy said, as if reading Henry’s mind from miles away.But Roscoe quit, and I sure could use your help. We’ve had an influx of appointments since Grams can’t stop talking to everyone at the hospital about how amazing it is to recover with horses.He added a laughing face emoji, and that did make Henry smile.

Grams had been up and about and recovering really well lately. She should be coming home later today. Henry currently worked at Three Rivers Ranch, lending an extra pair of hands to Beau Peterson, the foreman, who needed some horses fed.

If there was anything Henry could do, it was care for horses. He honestly didn’t mind helping with the equine therapy either. All he had to do was greet a patient, get them to the right horse, take care of the horse after, and make sure the person felt like a million bucks. It was essentially the same operation as Lone Star, with some slight variations, obviously.

I can do it, he texted really quick and then shoved his phone in his back pocket. Once Grams got out of the hospital, she and his step-grandpa were planning to come out to the ranch so that Aunt Kelly and Momma could take care of her better.

She had pulled way back from the bakery she owned in town, obviously, since she’d spent the last seven days in the hospital. Grams had the infrastructure, the employees, and the managers to do that. Henry automatically thought of Angel, of course, and how now, if she’d had a stroke or been injured, Lone Star would be taken care of as well.

His heart hurt physically for a moment, because he missed her so bad. Henry had never felt like that about anyone before, and in talking to Paul, he realized that he was falling in love with Angel.

You might already be there, he thought. Love wasn’t a destination. It wasn’t somewhere he arrived and then stayed forever. He knew it had different layers and different meanings in different situations with different people, and that it could grow and change and expand and protect.

Henry wanted it all, and he wanted it with Angel.

He finished his chores for the morning and went to check in with Beau. “Anything else?” he asked as the man stood against the fence, a trio of mini donkeys in the field in front of him.

“They have the best view on the ranch,” Henry said, and Beau chuckled.

“They sure do.” They both turned around and leaned against the fence, gazing off into the southern distance.

“You can almost see Finn’s place from here,” Henry said. It was too far to actually see, but facing in the right direction, Henry felt like he could.

“Beautiful morning,” Beau said. “I don’t think I need anything else.”

“You sure?” Henry said. “If I’m not working here, I have to go back to my momma’s.” He chuckled as the blueness of the sky threatened to bleed all over Henry’s vision. “The jobs she has for me are far less fun.”

He’d actually polished silverware the other day, and he certainly didn’t want to do another household task like that.

Beau grinned at him. “You can check with Charlotte. She might have something for you to do in the barn.”

Charlotte was Beau’s wife and the barn manager here at Three Rivers Ranch. They had a lot of horses that they used for roundup and herding, and she took care of all of them. Nothing nearly as large as Lone Star, but enough to warrant a full-time person.

“I’ll check in with her,” he said.

“We’ve got a few interns this summer,” Beau said. “She’s whipping them into shape real good, so there might not be much.”

Henry nodded. “I’m sure my daddy has something.”

Beau chuckled. “I’m sure he does. He’s had a couple of men quit on him recently.”

“Yeah,” Henry said. “That’s what he said.” Guilt swept through him that he hadn’t wanted to help his daddy with the equine therapy. “All right.” He pushed himself back to standing, not really wanting to work at all today. “I’ll go check.”

He reached to shake Beau’s hand. “Thanks for the work, Beau.”

“Henry, I’d take you any day,” he said.

Henry grinned at him as he left. Since he could, he found a shady spot out of the way where his daddy wouldn’t stumble upon him. He texted with Levi for a few minutes, sent a few messages to his crew, and then leaned his head back against the side of the barn.

“Lord,” he exhaled, “I love it here, but I don’t think this is where I’m supposed to be. Help me get back home.” He wasn’t sure where home was, but right now it was in a cabin that he shared with someone else at Lone Star, where he was dating Angel White.

“Help me get back to Angel,” he said, and he let his mind open completely. Such a thing hadn’t happened very many times in Henry’s life, but that morning, he felt, heard, and understood so many things about himself, things that had brought him to this point, things that allowed him to be where he’d been for the past year.

He wasn’t perfect by any means, but he’d changed a lot, and God let him know that those changes had been for the better. Henry closed his eyes and sighed, relief rushing through him. Sometimes it felt like such hard work to be Henry Marshall—to be good, to think about his family, to compliment others, to take care of Angel, and to stay close to the Lord. Sometimes it almost felt like drudgery. He whispered, “I don’t want it to feel like that. I want it to feel joyful.”

I can help you with that, God whispered, and Henry smiled.

---