Page 24 of Dragon Her Heels

I fled, heading to the cashier so I could toss the first of my acquisitions into the bed of my truck and continue my rampage at the feed store.

* * *

The livestock pen at the feed store should have been safe enough to visit, but life had a way of screwing with me. In addition to the goats, a few young heifers, an older cow, and several donkeys, a gangly thoroughbred colt with a pale coat waited for salvation. According to the young man taking care of the animals, the colt’s mother had broken a leg in a freak accident and had been put down, and the owner had opted for a dump sale to the feed store in exchange for credits.

The colt wasn’t a racing prospect, hadn’t been bred to race, and the owner had wanted a filly, dooming the foal.

In good news, the colt was old enough to survive without his mother for a little while, although he would be forced into weaning early, which might impair his development. In better news, I could supplement the colt’s diet with goat’s milk if I wanted, and while not the same, it would suffice.

The feed store was bottle feeding with goat’s milk every hour or two to buy the little one some time.

It would be quite a few more months before I would have to worry about gelding him or separating him from my mares, assuming the grain guzzlers accepted their new friend with grace.

The problem would be transporting the colt.

I had the truck, but I lacked a trailer.

Shit.

Well, the Devil had wanted me to be selfish, so I put my phone to good use, dialing his number.

“How can I help you, Crystal?”

I waved at the kid running the pen before asking, “Do you know anybody with a trailer I can borrow for a few hours? There’s a colt at the feed store, and I’m going to be taking him home.”

He waved back and headed inside to get the paperwork needed for me to take the baby off his hands.

“You don’t also need a truck? I thought I was buying you a truck and trailer.”

“I bought that already today. I had a need, so I filled that need. That was a purely selfish acquisition, as I will be hauling Alligator Bait halfway across the country to race her. The colt is pure selfishness, too. I just don’t think I have time to buy a trailer and get this poor baby out of the pen today.”

“Sure, you didn’t want to buy the colt to make sure he has a full belly and the company of other horses tonight, as the only thing sadder than a lonely horse in a pen is no horses in your pasture.”

I reminded myself the Devil paid me well to like him. “Do I at least get credit for the truck?”

“Actually, yes. Good job. You haven’t demonstrated sufficient selfishness to worm your way out of the bonus, but you’re making progress.” The bastard then laughed at me. “I’ll handle your trailer needs. You’ll need to waste about an hour. How has the rest of your day gone?”

“Haven’t peeked?”

“I really haven’t.”

“Well, I’ve strongly hinted to Ashley that she should start sleeping with Isaac, which solves several of my problems nicely. They’re looking at the chickens, which I’m sure is going to cause mayhem should they decide to get any.” I considered the older cow, who had been separated from the heifers. “Make sure whomever you loan the trailer from doesn’t mind me hauling an old cow along with the colt. She’s a nice red, and the heifers look good enough they’ll probably find tolerable homes in a hurry.”

A pop announced the arrival of the Devil, and I yelped, dropping my phone. Lucifer caught the device, hung up, and offered it to me. “Efficiency is a good thing, and since I haven’t peeked, I’ll admit I’m curious.” He eyed the colt and the cow with interest. “Why is that colt here?”

“His momma died.”

“I’ll bring a nurse mare over to your place after I get the trailer situated. I know someone with a mare weaning off a foal, and she won’t mind the extra work. He’s at least two months shy of proper weaning, probably longer. He’s had sufficient goat’s milk, but you’re not wrong to want him in your pasture so he has a full belly and other horses around.”

Well, I wouldn’t have any need to indulge in guilt at bedtime at least. “What’s the going rate for hiring a nurse mare?”

Lucifer sighed. “That is not being selfish, Crystal.”

I stared at him. “Paying for services is just good business.”

“Fine. You can pay me through dealing with my advice regarding the colt’s training. You will also authorize me to get him registered with the jockey club. I’ll deal with the owner.”

As I had no idea how to go about training a colt, receiving advice seemed like a good deal to me. Registering the horse, which hadn’t been bred for racing, made zero sense to me, but I had no problems with the Devil wasting his time. “Is he going to be a stallion prospect?”