Amish Treasures of the Heart by Sophia Grace Read Free Book Online

calf, he readied the lariat, swinging it as he dug his heels into Coal’s sides. The horse took off running, and Jackson swung the rope once and missed.
    Jake let out a sigh of relief, seeing that Jackson maybe wasn’t as good at everything the way he boasted—or that perhaps this was tougher than it looked. He hoped it wasn’t as difficult as it looked.
    Jackson swung one more time and pulled the rope tight over the head, slid off the horse, flipped the calf on its side, and wrapped the feet all in one swift motion. Then he threw his hands up in the air causing Will to call time.
    Jake’s heart raced, and he prayed he could pull off such a move, especially having never done it before. Perhaps, if he could, Jackson would have more respect for him, and stop teasing him so much. He made a mental note to be sure to slide from the horse as soon as the rope latched onto the head of the calf—that was if he could get it lassoed in the first place.
    Jackson let the calf go, puffing out his chest and whooping.
    “Let’s see you do that!” he challenged Jake.
    It was evident Jackson was pleased with himself, but with that first miss, it had taken him extra time to rope the calf, which would be to Jake’s advantage.
    Jake’s heart was beating fast after seeing the way Coal was with Jackson, and prayed the horse would be more calm for him.
    When Jake got into the pen, Coal was as calm as he always was with Jake, which in turn, calmed Jake’s nerves a bit. He immediately began twirling the ropes over-head and took a practice swing. Maybe he could do this after all. He steadied himself with his right hand and kept a loose grip on the lariat in his left, then, he nodded to Will to let the calf out of the pen. He clicked his heels gently against Coal’s sides and the horse took off faster than he had with Jackson. Swinging the lariat overhead, Jake let it go, looping it over the head on the first try.
    He slid from the horse as he tightened onto the head and flipped the heavy calf onto its side with a grunt and pinned him. He wrapped the piggin’ string around three legs and threw his hands up in the air.
    Will called time, and Jake felt confident he’d made better time than Jackson. More than that, he was so shocked he didn’t miss on the first try, his heart raced with excitement.
    He blew out a confident breath, smiling and breathing hard and fast. “Whew, that calf was heavier than I thought!”
    Jackson growled. “What was his time?” he asked through gritted teeth.
    “Two minutes, seventeen seconds! He beat your three-minute, four seconds, Jackson!” Will said with a smile. “He beat you by almost a full minute!”
    Jake couldn’t believe it; he’d beaten Jackson.
    Will congratulated Jake, the two smiling.
    Jackson was infuriated. He threw his hat down in the dirt and charged toward Jake “You hustled me!” he yelled.
    “How could I hustle you? You’re the one that challenged me!” Jake said with a laugh. “Why are you taking this so seriously? It was fun, and I learned something new! I’m happy I did it. Why can’t you be happy for me?”
    Jackson let rage fill him as he surprised Jake by taking a swing at him, clipping his nose just enough to sting.
    Jake stood back, swiping his nose with the back of his hand, and looked at the blood Jackson’s punch drew. “You know, I might not know as much as you do on this farm, but I beat you fair and square on that roping contest, and you’re a poor sport. You want a fight? I’m not afraid to fight you!”
    “I’d be happy to add a couple of black eyes to that bloody nose,” Jackson said with a chuckle.
    “You caught me off guard and got lucky, that’s all.”
    Ellie came running up. “I will not have any more fighting!”
    She had witnessed everything and at first, she figured the two were just messing around. She had hoped it was a sign they were finally getting along, but boy was she wrong.
    Ellie stepped between Jake and Jackson with her hands on