Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

H enry Marshall felt thrown back in time. Walking into the same huge classroom with stadium seating for the luck-of-the-draw moment when he may or may not be chosen for a position at Lone Star, the biggest and best boarding stable in the Texas Panhandle.

If Henry had any hope of doing his farrier apprenticeship somewhere besides Three Rivers, he had to be here. Had to jump through these hoops. Had to play this game.

He was tired of the rigmarole, that was for dang sure. Still, he'd put in his number, because Lone Star and his farrier academy had started a lottery system for how they chose cowboys to come work at their facility.

Henry had gotten a partial placement last summer, during which he'd learned a ton. He needed more practical experience, with the best farriers out there, and Lone Star had two veteran farriers who'd been doing hoof and horse care for thirty-plus years each.

Bard White himself was a force to be reckoned with, as he'd started in horse husbandry with his daddy at Lone Star, and he'd complete his farrier training at an elite academy in Tennessee before coming home to run the family business.

The old man had aged quickly, and he simply couldn't keep up anymore. His daughter, Angel, had started taking on more administrative roles, but she herself wasn't a farrier. She had one brother who'd suffered a fall several years ago and had recovered as much as possible. He wasn't quite right in the head, and he walked with a cane on good days and two crutches on others.

Henry had helped the man into the saddle more than once last summer, and he liked Trevor a whole lot. He could still ride like no one's business, and he trained cutting horses with the best of them. Somehow, his brain could still do that, but there was no way Trevor could handle the complicated schedules of two dozen farriers, the financial strain of the stable, the billing, or anything like that.

Angel White did that, and Henry wasn't surprised at all to find the gorgeous blonde standing inside the classroom, at the long counter that ran across the front of the huge room. Henry joined the throngs of cowboy hopefuls, wishing there was some way of getting this job other than having good fortune.

He'd been praying for it, and he'd even gone so far as to ask his family to pray for him to get an apprenticeship at Lone Star too. If he did, it wouldn't be a summer-only position like last year. It would be at least a year, with the option to discuss further training once he officially graduated from his program.

"Howdy, Angel," he said, tipping his hat at the woman as he approached. She was exactly his type on the surface, but she'd bitten off the top of a volcano as a baby, because she could spew some serious fire when provoked.

Not that Henry had provoked her last summer. Or ever.

She simply ran a tight ship at Lone Star, and her expectations were so high, he could blast off to the moon and not reach them.

"Henry, hey." She actually gave him a smile this afternoon, and Henry's heart did a backflip. He needed to rein himself in, because Angel had a boyfriend she'd been seeing for at least six months.

He'd learned of the man last October, after his summer internship had ended, and as February had just dawned, and given the way Angel had squealed in the grocery store when Henry had seen her with her boyfriend, he was estimating the six months. Could've been five or even seven. But not longer than that.

She didn't wear a diamond ring, and Henry found himself wondering what it would take to lasso her, pull her closer, and get her to wear his diamond.

Such thoughts startled Henry. He'd not given much thought to dating for marriage. He dated for fun. To have a social life. To get out of the dorm room at night, away from the other cowboys, to find relief from his own thoughts.

But now that he was almost done, his thoughts had started to shift. The last few women he'd been out with he'd found insipid, and the loud laughter and quick fun he'd so enjoyed in the past had dulled considerably.

He hadn't imposed another female fast on himself; he simply hadn't found anyone interesting to go out with.

But Angel….

He ducked his head and headed up the steps to a row with a couple of his friends. Jake would be done with his program in a few months too, and Henry knew he wanted an apprenticeship with Lone Star too. Everyone in the room did. Cedric wouldn't be done for another year, and he was here for the internship announcements.

"Take your seats, please," a man announced, and anyone who hadn't found a place quickly did so. The chatter and conversation died, and Henry couldn't help watching Angel. She seemed tense and on-edge too, but he wasn't sure why .

Her place in life was secure. It was his—and everyone else's in this room—who'd thrown their life into the air the way jugglers tossed up balls, and they were all praying they'd get caught on the way down.

"Welcome to our apprenticesehip and internship assignment meeting," the man said. "We have representatives from three facilities here this year." He beamed down the row at them. "We have Davey Castle from Castleton Breeds."

A tall man in an even taller cowboy hat stepped out from the other end of the counter. "He's looking for four apprentices this year, and if you filled out the application packet completely, including the three essays, he considered you."

Henry had done the whole packet, figuring it could only expand his opportunities. He didn't want Castleton, though. He'd take it if he had to, but it was over in Lubbock, a town Henry didn't particularly enjoy.

Smaller population, drier conditions, too far to go home and do his laundry on the weekends. Or just escape back to his momma's comfort and good cooking when he needed to.

"We've got Angel White representing Lone Star," the man continued. "She's only doing internships this year, guys. I know that's a?—"

"Wait," someone called out. "I thought there were apprenticeships there too."

Angel steadfastly kept her eyes on the man up front, one of their instructors, a man named Calvin. Henry's heart beat faster and faster, trying to claw its way between his ribs. No apprenticeships at Lone Star? Why was he even here?

"Lone Star only has room for one full-time apprentice," the man said raising the hand not holding the mic. "The Whites have selected that person and requested a meeting with them; they will not be announcing any apprenticeships at this meeting."

Murmurs of dissent ran through the crowd, and Jake elbowed Henry. "Did you get notified? Was it you?"

Henry's jaw tightened as he folded his arms, a lame attempt at keeping his simmering anger inside. He couldn't even trust himself to speak, so he just shook his head.

"Me either." Jake sighed. "Maybe they'll take me as an intern again this year."

Lone Star was known for doing that, and Henry decided to stay for that reason alone. No sense in marching out when his number could be pulled for the internship. It wasn't what he needed to graduate, but it would be better than nothing.

Calvin announced the next facility looking for apprentices—a huge horse ranch up in Oklahoma. His cousin Libby seemed to like living there, but Henry wasn't as willing to branch out as she was.

He suffered through the internship announcements, the apprenticeship announcements, at Castleton. He didn't get anything.

He leaned forward as Angel announced their full-time internships at Lone Star. His number didn't shine on the screen, but Jake jumped to his feet, both fists in the air. "Yes!" he shouted.

He wasn't the only one celebrating. Cedric had gotten a full-time internship too, as had several others.

Henry's anger started to bloom, and he'd need to call his momma as he started the drive back to Three Rivers. It would take the whole hour to vent out all the negativity inside him.

Especially when he didn't even get a part-time internship from Lone Star, and nothing from Oklahoma.

The auditorium started to empty, and Henry sat there, feeling hollow and completely abandoned. How was it possible that he'd gotten nothing?

He had top marks in his classes. An excellent recommendation from Bard himself at Lone Star. And not one other facility wanted him? He had all the required hours to move into being an apprentice. He'd had to scrape and call random ranches to get those hours too.

He'd worked incredibly hard to get this far. And now what?

He was supposed to sit here and accept defeat?

Henry hung his head, but he had more dignity than to cry in front of everyone. Well, almost no one now, as most people had left the classroom .

Dear God , he prayed. This hurts too much.

His fingers tingled with it, and his chest felt so, so small. Not big enough for his lungs to expand properly, and air became the wrong thing to breathe anyway.

He had to get out of here before someone saw him wallowing. He got to his feet, but they too had turned numb inside his cowboy boots. Somehow, he made it down the steps without falling, and as he approached Calvin, a horrible, bitter desperation spewed from him.

"Did I mess up my application packet, sir?" Henry swiped his cowboy hat from his head, his pulse one big pounding of a bass drum now. "I wasn't—I mean, I'm not the best or anything, but I didn't get anything."

Calvin looked up from his tablet, surprise in his expression. "Yes, yes, your paperwork is in the office," he said.

Henry blinked, sure Calvin hadn't heard him right. The man went back to his tablet, clearly distracted—and disgruntled—and Henry looked out the double-wide doors. "Okay," he said. "Thank you, sir."

"Congratulations, Henry," he said "Everyone was impressed with your application."

Henry turned back to him, so many questions firing through him, but Calvin's phone rang, and he answered it with, "I'm coming right now," before he brushed by Henry and left the room.

Henry followed him, more confused than ever. "If my application was so great, why didn't I get anything?" he wondered.

The office teemed with people, and Henry really didn't want to be among the celebrators. He didn't wish them any ill will, but he didn't want to exist among their smiling faces, the high-fives, and the inflated egos.

If you'd gotten something, he thought. Yours would be the biggest one.

And it would be. And Henry knew he needed to pull on the reins on his ego, humble himself, and figure out what to do next. His momma had told him never to apologize for his big personality. She said it came from Daddy, and that was one of the things she loved most about them both.

He'd find the right thing for him, she'd promised. The right career. The right place to be. The right woman for him.

He hovered out of the way, trying to get his bearings. One by one, the victors got their paperwork and settled in to fill it out. Henry finally stepped forward to the girl there—Mandi.

He sucked in a breath. "Oh, hey," he said.

"Henry Marshall," she said back. He'd dated her best friend last fall, and well, that had not gone well. Mandi clearly didn't like him, and she simply sat there without giving him any further directions.

He had no idea what to say. "I…. "

"He's with me," a woman said, and Henry's attention flew up and behind Mandi.

Angel stood there, and to his complete surprise, she motioned him forward. "Come on, cowboy," she said. "I don't like to be kept waiting."

Henry practically fell down in his haste to step past the table Mandi manned and toward the little room where Angel filled the doorway. After all, he had a few choice words for her, and his big personality would absolutely allow him to say them all.