Page 289 of The Texas Sterling Collection
“Oh…I didn’t know he would be in town.”
“He says he is competing in the rodeo this afternoon. Calf roping, I believe he mentioned.” Helen could hardly wait to see Felix compete.
“Your brother doesn’t know anything about roping.”
Helen detected an annoyed edge to her mother’s voice. “Apparently, he learned all about it from Joey Sterling. I think we should at least go and watch him compete.” She tried not to sound defensive.
“You’re probably right, dear,” Hattie sighed. “Winston, run up to Father’s store and let him know. I’m sure he’ll want to watch Felix compete.”
“Yes, Mother,” Winston scurried off toward the town square.
Chapter Sixteen
At three o’clock, the crowd migrated to the rodeo arena a quarter-mile from town. The stands filled up as the young men lined up to enter the competition. Joey and Felix stood first in line.
“Calf roping,” they both announced. The man organizing the rodeo wrote down their names and assigned each of them a number.
“Calf roping is the third contest,” he said. “Contestants wait over there,” he pointed to an area north of the arena. “You can watch the rodeo until time for your event.”
Felix never attended a rodeo. A tall fence surrounded the arena. He and Joey stood with their boots on the bottom rung, hanging over the top to watch the action. Fans packed the stands, and the contestants for the first contest waited at one end. The judges sat in a box at the end of the arena, high enough to see everything. The announcer used a giant megaphone to be heard above the crowd. When the contest began, a large iron triangle rang to signal the start and end of each participant’s turn. The crowd’s roar and applause helped make the events more exciting, but Felix was nervous.
“Joey, I’m a little scared,” Felix said. “Are you sure I’m good enough?”
“Hey…you’re the best. You’re much better than plain old good enough. I’m scared too; scared you’re gonna beat me.”
Felix resisted a sudden urge to hug Joey. He knew Joey felt the same way. There would be enough time for hugs later.
The calf roping competition arrived. The contestants went in alphabetical order, with Felix first. He and Sparkle waited at the gate. The iron triangle clanged. The calf ran into the arena. Felix gigged Sparkle, and he shot out like a bullet, straight for the calf. Felix readied his lariat. He threw, and the calf fell over as its back legs caught in the loop. Felix tied the rope to the saddle, and Sparkle maintained the tension as Felix hopped off and tied the calf’s legs before throwing his hands in the air. The iron triangle clanged again. “Eight seconds…a new arena record,” the announcer shouted through the megaphone. The crowd roared, whistled, and applauded as Felix removed the hat Joey gave him and waved it at the fans. He hopped back on Sparkle, released the rope, and rode out of the arena.
Joey and Grover waited.
“Amazing ride, son.” Grover smiled, taking Sparkle’s bit for Felix to dismount.
“I thought the announcer said eight seconds. Can that be right?” Felix asked.
“Eight seconds is right, Felix. You set a new arena record.” Joey beamed. “My fastest time last year was ten seconds. It will be hard to beat your record.”
Felix was breathless. The Sterlings kept telling him he had learned roping well beyond expectations. He felt so good he thought he might explode, and the grin on his face would not go away.
A series of riders took their runs after Felix. Ten seconds, twelve seconds, ten seconds, eleven seconds, and fifteen seconds. Nobody even came close to the time Felix accomplished.
Joey stood waiting for his turn. “You're gonna do great, Joey,” Felix beamed. Joey could beat his time. For Felix, competing was enough.
Joey and Lightning waited at the gate. The iron triangle clanged. The calf ran into the arena. Joey gigged Lightning, and he shot out of the gate, heading for the calf. At the last minute, the calf cut right. Joey threw his lariat and caught only one calf leg. He tied the rope to the saddle and hopped off as Lightning maintained tension. Joey grabbed the calf and threw it to the ground before he wrapped the calf’s legs and threw his arms in the air. The iron triangle clanged again. “Nine seconds. Second place.” The crowd went wild, and Joey waved his hat as he hopped back on Lightning, released the rope, and rode out of the arena. Felix and Grover waited with huge smiles on their faces.
Grover took Lightning’s rein, and Joey jumped off the horse and ran to Felix. They hugged the life out of each other. Neither cared what the crowd thought. They placed first and second and needed the physical connection.
“I love you, Felix,” Joey whispered in Felix’s ear. “I’m so proud of you for getting first place.”
“I love you too, Joey,” Felix whispered back. “Thanks for being such a fantastic teacher.”
They broke their embrace and turned to wave their hats at the crowd.
A man approached them. “Mind if I take a photograph of the two winners?”
Felix eyed Joey, who nodded. “We will want to keep the photographs to remember this day.”
“I will never forget this day, Joey, but I’m okay with having a photograph made.”
