Page 286 of The Texas Sterling Collection
Felix coughed, staring at Joey from his perch atop Sparkle. “Aggressive? You never said anything about aggressive.” He was okay with cows as long as he was on Sparkle. Getting off the horse and standing among beasts weighing as much as a ton intimidated him, especially when going after one of their young.
Joey guided Lightning beside Sparkle and reached for Felix’s shoulder. “Relax, cowboy. I’ll go first to show you.” He held the shotgun out to Felix. “If a mama cow gets agitated, fire into the air.”
“Agitated? What do you mean by agitated?”
“Once I rope the calf, check for any cows moving fast toward the calf. A mama will protect her young. Firing the shotgun into the air will frighten them.”
Felix took the shotgun. He never fired a gun of any kind. “Won’t all the cows run?”
Joey shook his head. “No, not usually.”
Felix examined the shotgun. “How do I fire?”
Joey grinned and reached for the shotgun. “First of all, never point the shotgun…or any gun…at something unless your life is in danger.” Joey pointed to the muzzle. “The shot comes out here.” He pointed to the trigger. “You pull the trigger to fire the shotgun.”
Felix nodded. “Okay.”
“Put the butt against your leg.” He pointed to the butt of the stock. “The shotgun kicks when fired, and you’ll feel it. But you have better control.” Joey positioned the shotgun to show Felix.
Felix reached his hand out for the gun. “Are you sure about this?”
Joey handed him the shotgun and grinned. “Relax, Felix. I’ve done this lots of times. I started helping Pa and Jacob when I was ten years old. The cows are protective of their young, but any loud noise causes them to scatter. Watch what I do.”
Joey spotted a calf, gigged Lightning. He guided Lightning toward the forlorn calf with the lariat spinning above his head.
Felix spotted an anxious mama and fired the shotgun into the air. Several cows bolted, including the mama cow. The herd stirred and lowed but did not scatter.
Joey tossed the rope, snagged the calf, and hopped down to pick up the calf. He was back in the saddle in no time, calf across his lap. He rode toward Felix, grinning. “See?”
“Yeah, not as hard as I thought.” Felix handed the shotgun to Joey and scanned the herd, now scattered a bit from the first encounter. He spotted a lost calf. “There’s one.” He rode into the herd, rope swinging above his head as he readied his throw. The cattle scattered, leaving the poor defenseless calf an easy target. Felix threw the lariat and scored the calf on the first try. It brayed as it tried to escape, but he tied the rope to the saddle horn and hopped off Sparkle. He picked up the calf and was back in the saddle in record time. He grinned as he guided Sparkle toward Joey.
Joey beamed. “Good job, Felix.” He placed the shotgun in the saddle holster. “Now, let’s take these calves back to the corral.”
They let the calves go in the corral, setting them near the water trough and the hay manger. They led the saddled horses into their stalls in the barn to cool off before they started practice.
“Let’s go eat lunch.” Joey thumbed toward the house. “The calves will calm down. Lightning and Sparkle can cool off. And we'll have full bellies.” He strode over to Felix in Sparkle's stall. “You were amazing today, cowboy.”
Two things made Felix feel wanted. When Joey complimented him, and when Joey called him acowboy. He always stayed a behind-the-scenes type of person. Now, not only did he learn about ranching, but he also learned to rope and excelled at it. “Thanks, Joey,” Felix beamed, tugging off his gloves and folding them over the top rail of the stall. He put his arm around Joey’s shoulders as they strode out of the barn.
They reached the house and entered the kitchen as Mabel finished preparing lunch. “You two hungry?” She dished up the chicken and dumplings.
“Yes, Ma,” Felix dropped the ‘Sterling’ from the name. He figured if they referred to him as a third son, he'd call them Ma and Pa. “It smells amazing.” Ma smiled.
“We’ve been out scoring calves,” Joey said. “Felix did great. We managed to rope two to use for practice this afternoon.”
Grover pulled out his chair and took a seat. “I’ll come out and be the timer. I want to see how my two sons are getting along.”
Felix smiled atmy two sons. He felt like part of a real family. A family where rules made sense. A family who treasured love. He remembered how he didn’t want to be here the first day and how different he felt now. He never wanted to leave. He inhaled the steam from the bowls of chicken and dumplings Ma set on the table.
Spoons clattered from the spooner as hungry men dug into the delicious lunch. Chicken flavor filled each spoonful of the rich and creamy broth. He never ate chewy dumplings, but these were amazing. Ma’s cooking satisfied a hungry appetite.
“The competition is next week.” Ma placed her own bowl on the table. “You two ready for the roping?”
“Yes’m. We have been practicing, and we’re doing good.” Felix spooned the thick broth into his mouth.
“You should have seen Felix out there in the herd this morning. He snagged a calf on the first try and hopped back on Sparkle faster than I ever saw anyone do it,” Joey boasted. “If a mama cow stood nearby, she didn’t have time to react before the calf straddled Sparkle’s back, and Felix held it across the saddle.”
“Unbelievable.” Grover ladled a dumpling into his mouth. He chewed, then swallowed. “You arrived a little over a month ago, Felix. How do you learn so fast?”
