Page 90 of Iron Unicorn

I chuckled when my phone rang a moment later. “Hello, Rachel.”

“Oh, we’re being informal today, I see. What are you doing?”

“Want to learn how to train a horse?”

“Me? Train a horse?” my queen breathed.

Yep, King Patrick had gotten to my queen, and she would be as horse crazed as the rest of us in no time. “The little lady I just sent you a picture of is being sold for six grand. She’s over the height they want for Standardbreds, so she’s going for a pittance. She’ll make an excellent parade horse for you.”

She’d also be trained as an RPS horse with a twist. The horses we put under saddle for the monarchs always went above and beyond the regular call of duty. When I was done with the blood bay, she’d be the envy of the equestrian world.

I realized King Patrick and life in Montana had gotten to me, too.

“Where do I send the money?” Rachel demanded.

“I’ll put it on my card, and you can pay me back,” I promised, smiling at her enthusiasm. “I just didn’t want to spring a mare on you, but Joe said she’s fit for a queen, and upon having a good look at her, I agree.”

“And you’re where? Where’d you find this horse?”

“I’m at an Austin auction barn.”

My queen sucked in a breath. “One of the slaughter barns?”

I crossed my eyes, wanting to know who had taught my queen about the slaughter pens at auction barns. “I pulled a mare and her colt out of the pen, and the mare’s getting the medical care she needs. The other horses have cut tails.”

“Oh.”

Much like I would with a horse, I gave her the time needed to chew on and process my statement before saying, “There’s nothing bad to report about this auction barn, so you can relax. The only questionable pairing in the pen is off to the vet, and I will figure out where I’m stabling my freeloaders once I’m back home.”

“Ethan’s working on the stable,” Rachel announced. “You know the overgrown yard?”

The yard vexed me, as it was a ridiculous number of acres of wild growth we needed to monitor. “Unfortunately.”

“It’s being mowed as we speak, and we’re installing a new stable to augment our current stable. Our next step is to remove any dangerous plants for our horses. You’re getting those security upgrades you want, as they’ll be necessary for our horses. Ethan’s on board with our herd. Just let me know how many you’re bringing home.”

“I bought a quarter to train up as my next primary RPS mount. Right now, she’s a baby, but I’ll start working her on the ground as soon as I get her home.”

My queen laughed. “You sound so proud of your little baby. Just text me a picture of all your horses. Ethan says you should have four RPS horses, a parade horse, and a pet at a minimum.”

For a head of detail, four RPS horses made sense. A parade horse also made sense, although I suspected I’d be recruiting one of my Akhal-Tekes into service. “How many horses can the yard hold?”

“Ethan? Come talk to Terry, please. He’s buying horses. He found me a pretty horse!”

I chuckled at my queen’s commentary, and a moment later, Ethan said, “Escaped from the RPS, did you?”

“I really did. Eddie and Olivia are bidding on horses, and I’m saving myself the stress through making use of buyouts.”

“Good man. What’s this about a horse for Rachel?”

“Joe has a picture perfect but large Standardbred in the barn. I’m going to acquire her for Rachel to be trained as a parade mount. She’ll need it, and she’ll need a good, flashy horse. This lady meets the requirements.”

“I’m going with what my wife said, then. Keep the receipt, and I’ll pay you back. Standardbred, you said? I’m going to have to get a matching parade horse.”

I muted the phone and asked, “Hey, Joe? Are there any other good Standardbreds?”

Joe made a thoughtful sound, nodded, and said, “I’ll bring her over for you to have a look at.”

I unmuted my phone and said, “Joe thinks he might have one. She probably won’t be as good as Rachel’s, but he seems to know his horses.”

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