Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

T he pinch in Henry’s lungs loosened as he went around the corner and his childhood home, the big Courage Reins building, and the beauty of Three Rivers Ranch spread before him. He did love this place, and the longer he stayed away and worked somewhere else, the more fond he became of it when he returned.

He turned down the long driveway and pulled out of the way so he didn’t block Paul or Daddy. Paul had decided that he would drive himself and Brielle to Waco. He had invited Henry to ride with him, but Henry wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

He needed to have a serious conversation with his momma and daddy, but he didn’t want to do it with Rich in the truck. Perhaps he could find a way to get his youngest brother to go with Paul and Brielle, and he would go with Momma and Daddy.

He’d barely dropped from his truck when his family streamed from the farmhouse. “There you are,” Momma said, and while she surely didn’t mean to make him feel like he was late, that was exactly what she accomplished.

“I’m not late,” he said. “We’re not leaving for ten more minutes.”

“We’re loading up now,” Daddy said, and he handed Momma her canvas bag full of who-knew-what. She brought it on every trip they took, and Henry had seen her pull books from it, crochet yarn and needles, and even puzzle books. She liked to have her hands busy in the car, and it took seven hours to get to Waco.

“All right,” Henry said, and he turned to get his bag out of the back seat. Rich helped Daddy load the cooler into the back of his truck while Paul put his bag in his vehicle.

“Who you ridin’ with?” Henry asked Rich, and his youngest brother shot a look over to their momma.

“I’m gonna go with Paul,” he muttered. “Don’t feel like riding with them.”

Henry shouldn’t have felt relieved that someone else in the family didn’t always get along with Momma and Daddy exactly right, but he did. He grinned and said, “Great. I’ll go with Momma and Daddy, so they don’t have to go alone.”

“It’s fine,” Momma said. “You boys do whatever you want.” She was used to being the only female in their family, and she lifted her chin high. “I can handle myself.” She pinned Rich with a steely glare. “And Rich, if you can’t handle an adult conversation, then you need to figure out how to do that. Maybe going with Paul and Brielle will help you.”

“I heard you the first time, Momma,” Rich griped, and he stomped around Paul’s truck, tossed his overnight bag in the back of it, and climbed in the passenger seat. Paul looked at all of them with wide eyes and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him.”

And of course he would. Paul was steady and strong and rational—and he usually got along great with Momma and Daddy.

Henry added his bag next to the cooler and helped Momma lift hers up. “You can really ride with them too,” she said.

“Don’t need to,” Henry said. “Besides, I want to talk to you and Daddy about something.”

Daddy paused at the corner of the truck and looked at Henry. “About what?”

“Not right here,” Henry growled at him, lifted the tailgate, and then helped Daddy pull back the cover so that their stuff wouldn’t get rained on, blown around, or dusted as they drove to Waco.

He sat in the back seat while his parents got situated in the front, and they let Paul lead out. Henry didn’t say anything until they reached the highway, and then he said, “It’s real good news about him and Brielle. They sure seem happy.”

“You haven’t met her yet, have you?” Momma asked, her mood completely different now.

“Not yet,” Henry said. “But I’m sure there’s gonna be plenty of time for us to get to know each other.” He and Paul had both been invited to the next luncheon here in Three Rivers, but with Henry taking this time off, he didn’t think he was going to be able to make it.

Dawson would host in June, and that would be an easier drive, as Henry could take the back roads south to the southern ranches instead of having to come all the way into town and then go north again.

Of course, not everyone could make it to every luncheon. And Henry didn’t own a ranch here in Three Rivers, so he already felt out of place. Alex did, as did Finn, Paul, Dawson, and Link, and he was happy that they’d formed a little crew of men their own age, doing similar things with their family ranches that they could talk to each other about and support one another.

His daddy had always had his best friend—Uncle Squire—and they had a whole host of cowboys at Three Rivers they could rely on. It reminded him a lot of Lone Star, except Three Rivers Ranch raised cattle and Lone Star boarded horses.

“You better start talking,” Daddy said. “It’s a long drive.”

Henry glanced up to the rearview mirror and found his father watching him, not the road. “I’m thinkin’.”

“Makes me nervous when I know you got something to say, and you’re not saying it.” Daddy looked away, but everything about him remained relaxed, comfortable.

Henry wished he could experience all of that in this moment. “You really don’t trust me at all, do you?” He chuckled, and added quickly, “I know you do.”

“Of course we do,” Momma said.

“I just said I know you do,” Henry said. He heaved in a breath and then let it all blow out. “Listen. This is not a big deal. It’s nothing serious or anything.” He rolled one shoulder that had been aching since a particularly tough re-shoeing a couple of weeks ago.

“I mean, it is serious. It’s not nothing, but it’s not like I’m moving across the country or anything like that. I’m still going to graduate, so you guys can relax a little bit.”

The wheels kept rolling, and Henry tried to get his thoughts lined up.

“So this is a woman thing,” Daddy said, no question mark in sight.

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, if it’s not school-related and it’s not job-related—we already know you’re staying at Lone Star for another year—it’s gotta have something to do with a woman.” Daddy’s piercing eyes met his in the rearview mirror again, and Henry held them this time.

“Yeah, all right,” he said. “I’m dating Angel White.” Just like that, the confession came right out. He didn’t trip over his tongue. He didn’t feel nervous about it. He wasn’t embarrassed.

“I told you he was dating her,” Momma said, swatting at Daddy’s shoulder.

“I wasn’t when we came,” Henry said, just for clarification. “That’s about when we started.”

“I thought there was a no-dating rule at your ranch,” Daddy said.

“There was,” Henry said. “But Angel’s in charge now, and she changed it.”

“Hm.” Daddy hummed, and Henry realized for the first time that he’d picked up his humming habit from his father. He loved his father, he did, but he had worked to become his own person inside the parameters of what his parents had taught him.

And he’d never realized about the humming.

“Why is that a bad thing?” Henry asked. He didn’t understand why everyone seemed to think he and Angel together were a bad idea.

“She’s your boss,” Daddy said. “Whether there’s a rule or not. It’s awkward. It’s complicated. Makes everything harder.”

“Does it?” Henry asked, genuinely confused. “Because being with her doesn’t feel hard. Talking to her isn’t hard. Seeing her isn’t hard. In fact, it’s easier because we’re right there together. I don’t have to drive forty-five minutes to Three Rivers to see her, the way Paul does to see his fiancé, or thirty minutes to Amarillo to meet up with some girl in college.”

His chest felt like someone had wrapped him in rubber bands. “She’s a year older than me, and I don’t get why everyone thinks this is a big deal.” He realized that he’d spewed out all kinds of things, and both his momma and daddy did him the courtesy of sitting silent for a moment, and then another, and then a whole minute.

The silence in the truck smothered him, and despite the speed at which Daddy drove, Henry pressed the button to roll down his window. A horribly loud whooshing noise entered the truck, along with the summer heat, and Henry immediately put his window back up.

“Who else thinks it’s a big deal?” Momma asked.

“Well, Bard does,” Henry said. “Obviously, he’s the one that instituted the no-dating rule. And you know what? Angel is the only woman at that ranch, so that rule was made specifically so that she wouldn’t date the cowboys at Lone Star.” He scoffed and looked out the side window, “Which is utterly ridiculous. Who does he think she’s going to meet, and when? She works fifteen hours a day at that place, and then falls down dead at night.”

He shook his head, wishing he hadn’t gotten so frustrated so fast. He took a long breath through his nose and held it for a moment, trying to infuse some reason into his mind.

“Well, he must have a reason if he doesn’t want the cowboys dating his daughter.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t want cowboys dating his daughter,” Henry said. “That’s it, Daddy. That’s the reason. He thinks it’s a distraction. He thinks it causes drama.”

“Well, it might,” Daddy said.

“Yeah, it might,” Henry could admit. “But so far it hasn’t.”

“It’s only been a couple of months,” Daddy said.

“Yes, exactly,” Henry said. “It’s only been a couple of months. But you know what? You and Momma didn’t date that long, and we see each other all the time—and I’ve known her for years, so it feels like we’ve been together longer.”

“Are you feeling serious about her already?” Momma asked, her voice tight and airy, as if she was trying to pretend like she didn’t care.

“You know what, Momma?” he said. “I am. I know you guys think I’m a total wild bull, moving around from woman to woman, thing to thing, but I’m really not. I did a whole degree at Amarillo State, and now I’ve done an entire farrier program. I know how to stick with something, and I’ve grown up a lot since being at Lone Star.”

“No one thinks you’re a wild bull, Henry,” Momma said.

Henry looked over to Daddy, but he kept his eyes on the road. He’d served in the Army with Uncle Squire at Henry’s age, and he adored horses with his whole soul. He was softest when with an equine, and Henry had some of his best conversations out in the barn with his dad.

“I like her,” he said again.

“That’s great,” Momma said.

“And she seems to like me too,” he said. “And I really don’t understand what people see when they look at me and they look at her and they think, ‘Oh, there’s something wrong here.’ Doesn’t feel wrong to me.”

Daddy shifted in his seat in that way he did when he had something he wanted to say and wasn’t sure how to get it out. Henry gave him the space to think and organize, and finally Daddy said, “If it doesn’t feel wrong, Henry, it’s probably not wrong.”

Henry wasn’t sure why he’d needed that reassurance, but he had, and he specifically needed it from his parents. From Daddy. He started nodding and couldn’t stop. “Thank you, Daddy,” he said. “I’m not a total moron.”

“No one thinks you’re a total moron,” Daddy said at the same time Momma said, “Stop saying stuff like that, Henry.”

Henry sighed and watched the landscape roll by. No, he didn’t really believe his parents thought he was stupid, but things got piled up and felt so…weird sometimes. “I just…sometimes it’s hard when you feel like every decision you make is being questioned. I don’t like feeling like that.”

“No, I can’t imagine you do,” Daddy said. “No one does. We’ve all been there, though, son. There was a time in my life when I literally questioned every single thing I was doing. Should I stay at this ranch? How do I get these nonprofits going? Heck, I lived in a tent on the side of an unfinished house during a terrible storm, and let me tell you, I questioned everything then.”

“That was just you being bull-headed, by the way,” Momma said. “You could have stayed at the homestead just fine.”

Henry grinned because he’d heard this part of his parents’ love story before. Momma had built Daddy the website of his dreams to make-up with him, something Henry found very sweet—and which obviously Daddy had too.

“It’s just that Justine and Bard didn’t seem too happy either,” Henry said. “And I’m trying to figure out why, what you guys see that I don’t.”

“Oh, so they know?” Daddy said.

“Yes, sir,” Henry decided he didn’t have to humiliate himself by saying he and Angel had been caught kissing. “Angel’s in charge now, Daddy, and she’s changing the employee handbook. There is no rule against dating at Lone Star anymore. And we’re going to make an announcement together to all the cowboys there. We’re grown-ups. We can handle this.”

“Of course you can,” Daddy said. “And Henry, you’re a really good grown-up.”

Momma nodded along with him, and Henry once again found that he needed this specific reassurance. He needed their vote of confidence, even though the people giving it to him loved him no matter what.

“Thank you,” he said. “Like you said, Daddy, it’s early. It’s new. It’s been two months. Who knows what will happen? All I know is I want to keep dating her. I want to keep getting to know her. I want to keep being with her.”

“That’s sweet,” Momma said. “I’m so glad, Henry.” He was too, mostly because the conversation was out now, and he wouldn’t have to stew over it for the next seven hours as they drove to Waco.

They all seemed to realize the conversation had run it’s course, and after a couple more miles, Henry asked, “You guys know what Paul and Brielle are going to do after they get married? Where they’re going to live?”

“They haven’t decided yet,” Daddy said.

“What are you going to do if Paul moves to the Hill Country?” Though he sat in the back, he saw his father’s grip on the steering wheel tighten, his jaw mirroring the movement.

That meant he didn’t know. Henry decided not to push it. He also didn’t volunteer to come back to Courage Reins. John wouldn’t, he knew that, but Rich might, and Henry just wanted to see how things would play out before he threw such a hairpin into his own life.

“All right,” Momma said. “Can we talk about something a little more fun now?” She turned all the way around in her seat and looked at Henry, her eyes aglow.

“What’s that?” he asked cautiously, an inkling of what she wanted to talk about in his mind.

“Your graduation party,” she said with pure glee.

Henry groaned. “Momma, I don’t need a graduation party.”

“Yes, you do,” she said, her smile faltering slightly. “Everyone needs a graduation party when they graduate.”

His aunt Kelly, who ran Three Rivers Ranch steadfastly and perfectly alongside his uncle, loved parties and loved planning them. By the gleam in Momma’s eye, she’d been partners in crime with Aunt Kelly for far too long.

“I already graduated from college once,” he said anyway, knowing this fight would be lost.

“Well, you have that nice ranch where you work,” Momma said. “It has tons of space, and we’d like to get to know Angel a little more too. We could just do a picnic at your cabin and invite all the men.”

“Lone Star already feeds all the men all the time,” Henry said. “And we’d need more room than a single cabin.”

“Great,” Momma said without missing a beat. “Then we’ll sponsor this dinner. There’s got to be other men there graduating.”

Henry couldn’t lie and say there weren’t, so he simply gazed at his mother, feeling all the fondness and all the love and all the sacrifice that she’d done for him over the years and said, “All right, Momma. I’ll talk to Angel about it.”

She grinned, clapped her hands together, and said, “It’s going to be so great, Henry.” She turned around and faced the front again. “Do you want me to order those meatball subs that you like from Papa Kelsey’s?”

Henry’s mouth watered, because he could use a meatball sub right this moment. “Yeah, sure, Momma. That would be just fine.”

“Is Angel going to come to your graduation?” Momma asked next, and Henry felt exactly the way Daddy did when he squeezed the steering wheel and pressed his jaw together. He didn’t answer the way Daddy did.

And Momma said, “Oh, I see.”

What she saw, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t put anything past her. “It depends,” Henry said. “On whether or not the men at Lone Star know we’re together by then.”

Momma hummed this time, and for some reason, that tickled Henry’s funny bone, and he chuckled. That broke the mood in the truck, and Daddy reached to turn up the volume on the radio. Country music played through the cab, and Henry settled back into his seat for the long drive, bringing up his phone so he could text Angel that he’d told his parents about them.

It went decently well , he told her. Though they didn’t seem happy about it in the beginning, same as your parents.

I’m glad you told them. Can’t wait till you get back to the ranch.

Henry couldn’t wait for that either, and he sent her INACH 3 , and she sent him the very best text in return: I got you, cowboy 3