Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
The following morning, Felix woke to Joey standing over him, stroking his hair.
“Morning, cowboy.” Joey’s soft voice came with a smile. “Time to do chores.” Joey leaned down for a quick kiss, then strolled out the door. “See you downstairs.”
Felix hopped out of bed in a flash. He washed and dressed before bounding down the stairs. Waking up to Joey energized him.
“Morning, everyone.” Felix beamed as he walked into the kitchen.
“Well, someone is in a fine mood this morning.” Mabel hugged Felix. “No need to ask if you slept well.”
“You sure are perky this morning, Felix.” Grover set his coffee mug on the table. “Ranching life must be agreeing with you. When you first arrived, I wondered if you would survive.”
“This is a new world to me, Pa Sterling. I enjoy ranching much more than I thought I would. I would rather work on this ranch than in my father’s store.”
“Now, hold on, Felix. I hate bursting your bubble, but your father expects me to return you to Blackfield. He’s counting on you.”
“Pa Sterling, yesterday you told me becoming a man was about people as much as anything. Well, I’m a people too. Don’t my feelings count?”
“You bet. But don’t forget who planted the seed that gave you to the world. You owe something to your family.”
“I won’t forget, Pa Sterling.”
Mabel served scrambled eggs, sausage, homemade bread, and fresh apple butter for breakfast. “Felix, what are you and Joey up to today?” she asked as she put eggs and sausage on his plate.
“I’m not sure what Joey planned.” Felix gazed across the table at Joey and smiled.
“We need to take the wagon over to the Bowden place and pick up more hay.” Joey took his plate from his ma and set it in front of him. “The loft is getting kind of bare. We only have five bales left.”
“You’re in a better mood this morning, son,” Grover said. “Did you figure out what bothered you?”
“Yeah. Me and Felix talked last night. It’s helpful to have someone my own age to talk to. He helped me understand things differently.”
“I’m glad you two are back on solid ground,” Mabel said. “I don’t like seeing either of my two young men unhappy.”
“We’re good, Ma Sterling,” Felix said.
“I agree with your plan of going to the Bowdens today.” Grover slathered apple butter on his bread. “I’ll give you money for the hay and help you unload when you get back.”
“Ask Mrs. Bowden if she has any spare early peaches,” Mabel said. “They have quite an orchard, and she usually has ripe fruit by now. I can make us a fresh peach cobbler.”
“I’m all for that.” Felix forked his last piece of sausage and lifted it to his mouth.
“How did the roping go yesterday, Joey?” Mabel asked. “You stayed so quiet at supper, we didn’t hear how Felix did.”
“Felix and I had fun roping yesterday,” Joey said. “He learns fast, and I think he’s going to be a competitor to beat at the 4th of July Rodeo this year. It’s one of the toughest, and it just got tougher.”
Felix eyed his empty plate. Joey never mentioned how well he did yesterday. He thought he did okay, but he focused on Joey’s sad mood. His chest warmed at Joey’s words of praise.
“Wow. Congratulations, Felix.” Mabel began gathering the empty plates. “If Joey says you’re that good, then you’re one of the best in the county. Your father will be impressed with that.”
At the mention of his father, Felix’s stomach knotted. “I hope so.”
“C’mon…let’s go. We need to hitch a team to the wagon, and with the trip over and back, loading and unloading the hay, and putting it in the loft, we have a full day ahead,” Joey said.
They put on their hats and bounded out the back door.
* * *
The Bowden Farm was about five miles south of Sterling Ranch. As they rode off the ranch, Joey found Felix preoccupied with something. “What’s wrong, Felix? Talk to me.”
“Why should I? You wouldn’t talk to me yesterday.”
“Aw, c’mon,” Joey elbowed him. “I did finally talk to you.”
“Yeah, you did.” Felix sighed. “Everything was fine this morning until Pa Sterling mentioned my father, and my world came crashing down.”
“Your father has quite a stranglehold on you, doesn’t he?”
“As soon as Father came up in conversation, my stomach tied in knots, and I almost lost my breakfast.”
Joey shifted the reins to one hand and reached over to put his arm around Felix’s shoulders. “Remember what I said last night?”
“Which thing?”
“I said, let’s enjoy the time we have. You’re a member of our family now. You’re old enough to live your own life. While you’re with me, live it as my best friend and brother and my parents as your parents.”
Felix shook his head. “That’s fine, Joey, but I can’t forget about my family in Blackfield. I need to go back to my father at the end of the summer. I don’t have any other options. We kinda talked about this last night, but it hit me hard at breakfast this morning.”
Joey fingered the hair on Felix’s neck. “But this summer, we’re a team. You and me.” He grabbed Felix’s hand and kissed his knuckles.
“Thanks.” Felix smiled. “The one amazing thing my father did was send me out here. I didn’t want to come at first and figured I would hate it. Boy, was I ever wrong.”
Joey wanted to kiss Felix at that moment. He hoped Felix wanted to kiss him, too. He felt Felix’s arm slide around his waist, tugging him to the center of the wagon seat. They rode along in silence, hip to hip, enjoying the closeness and admiring the beautiful summer day.
As the Bowden farmhouse and barn came into view in the distance, Felix drew back his arm and slid to his end of the bench. Joey did the same. As they approached the farmhouse, Mr. Bowden stood on the porch and waved.
Joey returned the wave and steered the team around the east side of the house. “Howdy, Mr. Bowden.”
“Howdy, Joey. You need a load of hay?”
“Yessir.”
“Pull on back to the barn.” Mr. Bowden kept pace with the wagon as they neared the hay barn. “Who’s this young feller you got with you?”
“This is Felix Bonner. He’s working on our ranch this summer.”
“Ah, yes. I heard about you working the ranch, Felix. It’s nice to meet you.” Mr. Bowden gave a short wave.
“Nice to meet you, too, sir,” Felix said.
The barn doors were open on each end, so Joey steered the wagon inside.
“You young men help yourself to the bales on this side.” Mr. Bowden motioned to the right, tugging on his gloves to lend a hand.
Joey and Felix jumped down. Felix pulled his gloves from his back pocket and tugged them on. Joey did the same. “Mr. Bowden, why don’t you work on the wagon helping position the bales, and Felix and I will toss them up,” Joey said.
They worked steadily, tossing bales onto the wagon while Mr. Bowden arranged them in neat layers.
A couple of hours later, Mr. Bowden hopped off the full wagon. “Pull the wagon around to the trough so the horses can drink before the trip back, then you two come up to the house for refreshments. I’m sure you’re both thirsty. I think Erna may have cookies, too.”
“Sounds great, Mr. Bowden,” Joey said. “We’ll come to the house in a minute.”
Mr. Bowden waved and headed out of the barn as they climbed on the wagon. Pulling the wagon through the barn and over to the watering trough, they let the horses drink their fill while they hurried to the porch.
“Y’all take a seat,” Mrs. Bowden poured them tall glasses of liquid refreshment. “Help yourself to the cookies.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bowden.” Felix grabbed a cookie, then sat on a long wooden bench along the porch railing on the east end of the porch. Joey grabbed a cookie and joined him, sitting on the other end of the bench.
She handed a full glass to Joey and one to Felix. “You’re the Bonner boy, right?”
“Yes’m. I’m Felix.” He took the glass and downed half of it, a sweet drink tasting like peaches. “This is good, Mrs. Bowden. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome, Felix. It’s a peach drink I make from soft peaches.” She took her own glass and settled into a chair. “Your father owns Bonner Store, as I recall. I bet he misses you.”
Felix wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Father sent me to Sterling Ranch for the summer.”
“Turns out he’s a natural-born rancher,” Joey said. He wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve after downing half his glass.
“It sounds like Felix is an able substitute for Jacob,” Mr. Bowden said. He handed his empty glass to his wife for a refill.
“I've enjoyed having someone to help with the chores.” Joey glanced at Felix and caught his beaming face. “And me and Felix have gotten to be friends.”
Mrs. Bowden passed the cookie plate, and each cowboy helped himself to another. Sugar cookies were Felix’s favorite.
They finished their drinks.
“We'd better head on back.” Joey stood and handed his glass to Mrs. Bowden.
“We still need to unload the bales,” Felix said as he handed his glass over. “We sure do thank you for the drinks and cookies.”
“Oh, ma said to ask if you had any spare early peaches,” Joey said.
“I sure do.” Mrs. Bowden set the empty glasses on a tray. “You two go out to your wagon, and I’ll bring you a basket full.”
“Thanks.” Joey turned to Mr. Bowden. “What do we owe you for the hay?”
“Lessee…two bits a bale times thirty bales comes to $7.50. Add two bits for the peaches, and you owe me $7.75.”
Joey reached into his pocket and counted out the exact amount before they stepped off the porch and headed toward the wagon.
The horses raised their heads as the two approached. They climbed on, and Joey steered the wagon around to the side of the house. Mrs. Bowden waited for them with a quart of early peaches. “Tell your Ma these ain’t as sweet as the later varieties, but they’ll make a tasty cobbler.”
“Yes’m.” Joey took the basket and set it on the floor between them. He tipped his hat. “We’ll see you next time.”
“Felix, it’s nice to meet you.” Mrs. Bowden waved them off.
About halfway back to the Sterling Ranch, Felix wrapped his arm around Joey's waist and lay his head on his shoulder.