“We just finished breakfast,” Sofia said. “Maybe later.”
Darcy should have considered that. Not wanting Lara to be too disappointed, he said, “I’m sure Sofia would like to see how well you ride. How about I get the tack while you show the boys the right way to approach a horse?”
“OK.” Lara went through the instructions and Darcy jogged over to the tack room. When he returned, both boys and Josh were stroking Starlight.
“Who wants to brush her?” Darcy asked.
Todd laughed. “Why do you brush a horse?”
“Because she gets dusty,” Lara told him and launched into an explanation on how to care for a horse.
Darcy smiled through the pang of loss. He could hear his father’s words as she spoke. Bill had always insisted each of his children knew how to care for the animals.
When Starlight was saddled, they stood outside the yard while Lara demonstrated barrel racing. Next to him, Sofia gasped. “Isn’t she too young for this, Darcy? It’s dangerous.”
“All sports can be dangerous, Sofia,” he replied. “But see the joy on her face.” Lara finished the course and slowed Starlight, trotting over to them.
“Can I do that, Dad?” Todd asked.
“I think it takes practice,” Josh answered.
“I can lead them around the yard if they want a ride,” Darcy offered.
“That would be great. Thanks, mate.”
On the opposite side of the yard, Lara’s pet sheep trotted under the fence towards them. Lara dismounted. “Did you see, Mum? Uncle Brandon and Faith are teaching me how to go faster.”
“Brandon’s back?” Sofia asked.
“Yeah,” Darcy said.
“Sheep!” Trevor hollered.
Lara took his hand. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Flotsam and Jetsam.” Todd joined them and the boys exclaimed over the oily wool. When they returned, Sofia asked, “Do you still lasso?”
“Not as part of a competition.” But he liked to practise because every now and then, he needed to catch an animal to treat it.
“Are you a real cowboy?” Todd exclaimed.
Darcy chuckled. “I wouldn’t call myself that.”
“But he kind of is,” Sofia stage whispered.
Darcy’s face heated.
“You should show them, Dad. Lasso one of the sheep.”
The boys jumped up and down, pleading with him to show them, and Darcy couldn’t disappoint them. “Let me get a rope.” He grabbed some from the tack shed, tying the knots and looping it through. He hadn’t lassoed anything for an audience in a good long while, and nerves hummed over his skin as he swung the rope, getting the rhythm with his wrist to make sure it flattened at the right place.
“You’ve got this, Dad.”
He chuckled, loving her encouragement. With the next rotation, he let go and the rope sailed over the sheep’s head and he pulled it tight. The sheep trotted a few steps away and then stood still. The boys applauded and Darcy released Jetsam.
“Can I have a go?” Todd asked.
Both boys were a bit young to get the wrist motion, but Darcy spent a few minutes showing them and giving them a go. When Todd got frustrated, Josh said, “Did you want to try riding?”
The distraction worked, and Darcy lifted Todd into the saddle and showed him how to hold the reins.
