Page 297 of The Texas Sterling Collection
“Good. Now, as for chores. You will help Joey clean the barn every afternoon. You will be the primary cowboy responsible for riding fences. If you find an issue you cannot fix, you must tell Joey or me you need help with repairs.”
“Yes, Pa. Primary rider of fences.”
“You will help Joey with herding cattle when needed. Joey will tell you when he needs help, and you should be ready to help him when asked.”
“Yes, Pa. Help Joey with herding.”
“Finally, you will spend as much time with Joey as possible. You two have a rare and valuable connection. I don’t want to see either of you down in the dumps because I know something is wrong between you when that happens. If I see that, I’ll pull both of you into the parlor, and we’ll talk. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Pa. Spend time with Joey.”
“Good. Now that we have that settled, I expect you to be 100% Sterling. Your name will always be Bonner, but your insides will be Sterling. Be true to the family, and the family will be true to you.”
“Yes, Pa. 100% Sterling.” Felix grinned.
Grover reached over and tousled Felix’s hair, smiling at his adopted son.
“Dig in,” Mabel said. “Don’t let your breakfast get cold. I need my men to get plenty of nourishment for their hard work.” She smiled at Joey, then Felix.
Joey took a forkful of scrambled eggs. “Felix, today I’ll teach you to shoe horses.” He shoved the food into his mouth.
Felix munched on a piece of homemade bread slathered with apple butter. “I never learned to shoe horses, Joey. Father always used Mr. Gunderson, Blackfield's blacksmith and farrier.”
“You’ll do fine at it.” Joey cut a slice of ham and lifted it to his mouth. “You’re a fast learner.”
“I have a good teacher.” Felix scraped his plate with his bread, getting every last morsel.
* * *
After breakfast, they went to the barn. Felix remembered seeing the farrier stall on his tour on the first day. Joey took him into the stall and showed Felix the tools, explaining the purpose of each.
As they left the stall, the toe of Felix’s boot kicked something. “Look, Joey,” Felix pointed to the floor. “Two horseshoes together.”
Joey followed Felix’s pointed finger and smiled. “I think one horseshoe is me, and one is you. We’re hooked together, like the horseshoes.”
Felix picked up the two shoes. “Can I keep these? They will always remind me of you and me.”
“Let’s put them in our room so we can both remember.”
Felix hung the horseshoes over the stall wall and removed his hat. “Joey?”
Joey came to Felix. “What?”
Felix leaned in and pressed against Joey’s lips for a brief jolt of pleasure. “I love you,” he whispered, stroking Joey’s cheek with his free hand.
“Me too,” Joey said. A grin crawled across his face. “Now, let’s learn about horseshoeing.”
Joey pulled one of the horses into the farrier stall. They spent the morning checking, repairing, and replacing shoes. Felix didn’t realize the front hoof was more round while the back hoof was more oval. He learned a lot about hoof anatomy that he didn’t know. It was an essential part of becoming a rancher. Soon, he was ready to try his hand.
“We have a colt that isn’t yet broken. We need to shoe her before we break her, so I’ll let you do that.” Joey brought in the new horse.
Felix tackled the task. Joey stood aside, offering assistance when needed. Soon, the horse had new shoes and was ready to be broken. Felix beamed at his new skill, and Joey grinned back at him.
When lunchtime arrived, they bounded into the kitchen to the hearty aroma of beef stew simmering on the stove.
“Smells great, Ma.” Felix turned to wash up.
“Sure does.” Joey nudged Felix with his hip. “Are we about ready to eat?”
