Page 263 of The Texas Sterling Collection
Felix studied his boots to hide his blush. His domineering father made demands, but not the Sterlings. Joey encouraged him, both by what he said and what he did. “I hope I can live up to being a cowboy.”
“Leave it to me, cowboy.” Joey beamed.
Felix gazed at Joey’s beaming face and couldn’t help but smile back. “Which saddle do I use for Sparkle?”
“C’mon.” Joey scooped the air with his hand. “I showed you the tack room yesterday. Today, you’ll learn who uses which saddle, and you can pick from the others.”
In the tack stall, eight saddles rested on their mounts.
“This one is mine,” Joey put his hand on one, and this one is Pa’s,” Joey pointed. “Ma don’t ride much, but she likes the one with the flowers on it.” Joey motioned. “You can pick from any of the others.
Felix admired the saddles and picked one with a horseshoe pattern tooled into the leather. “I like this one.”
“Take it, and a blanket from that stack." Joey pointed. "You know what to do, right?”
“Yep.” Felix grabbed a blanket, slung it over his shoulder, grasped the saddle, and carried it to Sparkle’s stall.
Joey kept an eye on Sparkle as Felix saddled him. Sparkle stayed calm and stood still. “You do have a kind of magic with horses, Felix.”
Felix tightened the cinch. “What do you mean?”
“Sparkle is always skittish with the saddle. You did the entire process, and Sparkle didn’t move.”
Felix patted Sparkle’s shoulder. “He’s a fine horse, Joey.” Sparkle turned his head and nudged Felix. “See? He likes me.”
Joey laughed. “Like I said, you’re magic, Felix. Now let’s ride the ranch.”
They rode out of the barn east toward the meadow Felix had admired earlier.
“I still can’t believe how easy you saddled Sparkle. You handled him like a pro.” Joey guided Lightning toward the meadow. “And Sparkle acted like you saddled him for years.”
Felix reached down and patted Sparkle’s neck. “Like I said, he’s a fine horse. I find it hard to believe your dad thought I couldn’t handle him.”
“We bought Sparkle a few years ago because he came from good breeding stock. We thought he’d make a fine ranch horse, but he didn’t take to Pa, Jacob, or me. Then you come along, and he’s a different horse.”
Sparkle nickered, as if he understood he was the topic of conversation. “I’m glad he likes me, Joey.” Felix took in the ranch. “How far does your ranch go?”
“You see that mesa?” Joey pointed to a tall flat-top ridge about three-quarters of a mile to the north. “Our ranch takes in about a quarter mile of that mesa. Jacob and I used to go up top to get away.”
“It doesn’t look accessible, Joey. Such steep sides.”
“The trail up is winding and steep, but the horses can make it. I haven’t been up since Jacob left. We’ll go up someday. You can view the entire ranch from there, and it’s my favorite place to get away and think.”
“I’d like that, Joey.”
“Let’s ride over to the spring.” Joey pointed with his left arm. “Then we’ll circle to the grazing herd before returning to the house for lunch.” Joey moved his arm in an arc to the left, indicating where the herd grazed.
“I didn’t realize the ranch had a spring. That’s for the cattle, right?” Felix wanted to learn about ranching, hoping his question didn’t make Joey laugh.
“That…and it’s a fantastic place to swim when it’s hot.” Joey grinned at Felix with a gleam in his eye.
Felix caught Joey’s gleam and turned away. “I never did much swimming. I never learned how.” He found Joey magnetic but tensed at the thought of swimming with him. Felix never took his clothes off in front of other men. He figured Joey meant swimming in the buff. Andthatthought made his man parts tingle. His brow furrowed as his father's stern face popped into his head.
“The water is only about three feet at its deepest point, so it's not deep enough to swim, Felix. Perfect for sitting on the bottom and enjoying the cool water, though.”
“I suppose I can sit in the water. Can we try later this summer?” Felix tensed at the prospect of being almost naked with Joey. He remembered seeing Joey nearly naked last night when he came to his door and how the sight aroused him. He shook his head to dispel the thought and the tingle in his man parts.
“We’ll do that, Felix. Jacob and I used to splash around a lot, having a great time. I’ll show you how to have fun in the water.”
