Page 52 of Dragon Her Heels

“Yep. Apparently, he has to keep his family from killing him. Crystal, are you aware there are four new horses in your pasture?”

“If you mean the Four Horses, yes. I sent them to beat up Lucifer after he broke my barn. I promised them grooming and treats and pasture time.” I laughed, shook my head, and headed for the utility shed where I’d stashed David’s cart and his harness, neither of which had actually seen any use yet. After setting Joy’s bed on an empty shelf and making certain she’d be safe while I was gone, I grabbed the harness, careful to keep the straps organized, one of his spare halters, and headed for the track pasture. Upon spotting me coming, the entire herd trotted over to see what I was about.

I dumped the harness on the fence, made use of the nearby gate, and took the time to give everyone pettings and kisses on their noses. Aware I had two open mares, I asked the Four Horses of the Apocalypse if they would be polite enough to keep their prowess to themselves until a later and planned date.

They huffed and puffed but bobbed their heads in agreement.

For my first task, I haltered David before dropping the line, his cue he needed to stand still while I worked. The big horse obeyed, which allowed me to go to work situating the straps on his back and buckle everything. When I’d bought the set, I’d practiced on the manufacturer’s dummy until my fingers ached and I had memorized the entire process, taking care to listen to the numerous tidbits of advice from the man kind and patient enough to deal with my novice mistakes.

Once I had him situated, I led him to the gate, humming a merry little tune as I went.

Yuless raised a brow when I rejoined them at the shed. “He’s large enough I feel like he could haul the trailer.”

I grinned. “When I saw him in the pen, I was amazed anyone would want to get rid of such a good boy. He’s a Clydesdale, and I think he even has good breeding, but I wasn’t really there to care much about his breeding. He’s gelded, so it’s not like his bloodlines actually matter outside of screening for health matters.”

Isaac eyed my horse with interest. “Gelding is not irreversible when your neighbor is an incubus. If you want him intact, that can be handled with ease. I’d only charge you some fruit for the work. Your orchard produces the best fruit.”

While Isaac met my requirements for being a provider of pie, his polyamorous ways were a deal breaker for me. Oh well. However, if I needed a breeding Clydesdale, and all he wanted was fruit from my orchard, arrangements could be made. “I’ll look over his paperwork and the breed’s needs and see if it’s better for the horses if he’s intact. If he is good for the breed, and I can get some mares, there’s no reason this can’t become a working farm for helping expand lines.”

“You just like horses,” Isaac reminded me.

I lifted my chin, sniffed, and backed David to the cart, once again ground tethering him so I could begin the tedious task of securing the cart’s poles to the harness.

Like with the harness itself, I’d practiced enough times on a dummy to be able to handle the task with my eyes closed. Once secured, I checked over my work, nodded my satisfaction, and gave myself—and David—plenty of space before clucking my tongue for my big giant of a baby and urging him forward.

The Clydesdale obeyed, and he pulled the cart forward with zero evidence of the contraption bothering him. After praising him, I headed for the house. “I wasn’t expecting to start off with the cart for hauling an emergency shipment of feed for my babies, but this works. Thank you for making the run to the feed store for me, Yuless.”

“You’re welcome. Lucifer did pay for it, but it would have been cruel to force you to go shopping after having your barn trashed. I am sorry about the barn. It was a beautiful building.”

It sure had been. “If Lucifer wants to survive the next few weeks, the replacement better be just as beautiful,” I grumbled. “But I will be putting a request for it to have two levels on both, especially if he gets me a cattle barn to go with the horse barn. I’m definitely open to having two barns for my various livestock. I’d also love a chicken barn, but that’s not on the agenda yet. I need a lot more money before I put together the equivalent of a chicken mansion.”

Yuless raised a brow. “Having seen their current chicken houses, they’re already in posh accommodations, Crystal.”

“They deserve only the best, for they are working chickens providing the entire street with eggs.” I pointed in the direction of the castle. “I’m just hoping the new batch of pullets will be enough to contend with a dragon’s appetite! Feeding the neighbors? That’s easy. Feeding an entire dragon?” I muttered curses and coaxed David to the gate, which wasn’t large enough to allow him to escape with the cart. If I wanted to take the cart out, I’d have to go around the back to the other side, something I needed to fix as soon as I had a bazillion dollars and wanted to cry over the bill to change the foundation wall. At least I could, with work and walking across the entire property, get the cart out.

The access road I would install for the dragon would make the task a little easier, too.

Once I ground tethered David, praised him for being a good boy, and reinforced my need for him to demonstrate some patience, I went to work loading the cart with the small bales of hay, bags of feed, and other supplies, including numerous grooming kits, an assortment of treats, and an animal carrier. When I picked up the carrier, it mewed at me. I lifted it, staring within to behold a quartet of young cats, two white and two black. “Yuless? Why are there cats here?”

“Lucifer said so. Apparently, it is a parental decree that you will have these cats or the Devil will be paying for his transgressions for a long time. And when it is Lucifer’s parent involved, that’s that. You’re getting the cats. At that point, Darlene unsheathed her claws and told Lucifer if the cats were not appropriately relocated to your residence, he would be gelded. He believed her, so you now have four cats. I believe these are to help contain the rodent problem your barn will be having starting immediately.”

I sighed. “There are zero mice in my barn, Yuless. There are also no rats. There are some elsewhere, where they’re needed for the ecosystem to thrive. These are now house kittens, and I will be teaching them that my chickens are not part of their meal plan. They can defend all residents of the estate and guard my chickens from anything that might get through my wards.”

“I tried to tell them I didn’t think you had any pests on the property. Not even mosquitoes dare to venture past a certain point—and you only have the mosquitoes because of the dragonflies, don’t you?”

I nodded. “I keep predator and prey relationships intact everywhere that isn’t specifically my space.” I headed towards the garage with my new kittens, opened the door leading in, and released the beasts, cooing at the quartet before giving them free rein to do as they wished. “I’ll make sure you have a litter box shortly, my sweet darlings. And if you make a mess, it’s just the garage, and it’s easy to clean. Tomorrow, we will go to the store together as a little family and buy everything you need.”

The kittens accepted my affection before the lot of them began the serious business of playing together.

I regarded the tall, dark, and handsome with wide eyes. “They’re so cute.”

“Are they as cute as your chickens?”

“I am going to need many an hour contemplating this. All babies are cute. I can’t help it. I see a baby anything and become overwhelmed with happiness.”

Isaac laughed at me. “You bought a bunch of baby chickens for their eggs, and because they’re your babies, you won’t eat or freeze them until they’re ancient.”

“I already bought the freezers for everything, too. The cattle will be an issue, although I’m going to be a little more inclined to eat them as they’re approaching old age. Chickens don’t live all that long, so I don’t feel badly about eating them once they hit the point they’re old and aren’t laying eggs much. Except for Joy, obviously. Joy will be given a proper bird funeral and buried as is appropriate for a house chicken.”