Page 97 of Iron Unicorn

“Good. We will not be telling Rachel about the big lick circuits. I’ll tip Pat off to check for a developing one. We explained what soring is, but if we tell her they use it to create a fake gait and then compete the horses? She’ll lose it.” Will heaved a sigh. “Three horses showing up at one time indicates a circuit in the making. Please tell me the horses could still walk.”

“They’ll need physical therapy, but they’ll be fine with time.” I suspected the horses hadn’t been shown, which had prevented some of the symptoms, including a horse’s inability to walk properly, no strength in the hind quarters, and heavily reduced mobility. “I’d try them all under saddle after getting vet clearance.”

“That’s better than I expected. As I happen to have your suit size, I can figure out your attire for your adventure. I’ll get someone to deliver it along with the other accessories you’ll need. What’s your plan for changing your features?”

I appreciated that Will understood the problems with my plan. “Makeup and some clay stuff that’s meant for burn victims.”

“I’ll put out some feelers to see if I can get you a good solution. I mean, you’ll need the makeup, but I’m not sure the clay will hold sufficiently. I’ll check into what they use for movies and see if we can get you set up that way. I can call in some favors, and I’ll present it as a prank.”

Some prank. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“Glad to help. If I’m doing the heavy lifting on this, nobody will even guess at what you’re up to. What color do you want your wig?”

“That’s a good question.”

“Let’s make you a blonde. You’ll mesh with the Texans better that way, and nobody will expect you to become a blonde beauty.”

“A beauty is a stretch,” I muttered.

“My sister says otherwise.”

His sister would drive me crazy. “Is it bad that I’m planning on reining her in with the promise she can watch me make her next figurine?”

“It saddens me that the ploy will work and you will have a cooperative hostage. How are you planning on taking Jessica out?”

“I’ll tell her I just finished handcuffing her husband to his desk along with an offer to run wild and free.”

Will snickered. “That stands a good chance of working, too. Keep me in the loop, and do be patient with my sister. It might take your impending return date to New York to get her to act at this stage. Maybe if I threaten to send her overseas on a long tour?”

“You could ask Rachel to plan blind dates,” I suggested. “Except only one of us would be blind to what’s going on.”

“If she doesn’t get her act together, I just might.”

I chuckled at the thought of the king getting rough with his sister and joining my team for a while. “How many kids did you end up adopting yesterday?”

“There was another helpful toddler in a group of kids that arrived yesterday morning. Mackenzie fell prey to the same behaviors I did. So, we’re going home with two boys who can’t help themselves and must assist with everything. We asked for this, Terry. The second boy is named Henry. In good news for us, Pieter and Henry are getting along great, and they are joining forces to help as much as they possibly can.”

“I wish you the best of luck with that, Will. You are going to need it.”

“But at least I can justify extra staff to help with the herd. We’ll probably survive. I’m concerned the rest of our kids will want to help even more. We’re going to go mad, but at least we’re going to go mad while smiling.”

“How are the rest of the kids handling the additions?”

“There was some confusion on how Mommy produced two new boys without a pregnancy, so we had to explain that they had mommies but they passed away. Then we had a wave of crying because our demonic entities disguised as miniature humans do love their mommy, and they had a mass meltdown over the thought of Mommy going away. It’ll be fine, but we’re going to have some issues. We’re happy to have the issues, but we’ve convinced the herd through reminders we call the nurse mares the foal’s mommy despite their other mommy having passed away. They understood that for the most part, although the younger ones are still a bit confused.”

“Were most of the kids adopted?”

“I am pleased to report that no children returned to the orphanages outside of picking up their belongings. The charity drive went well, too. Most of the service animals were purchased for the kids who needed them the most, although some families are opting to hire someone to train a service animal if needed so the training animals can go on to help other kids. Most of the families went by the recommendations of the orphanage and the trainers.”

“That’s good. I was told to get Jane a pony she can ride for physical therapy, so I did this. Can I impose to get the animal transported to Maine along with any training needed? The pony should be pretty bombproof as it is.”

“Absolutely not a problem. Send me the address where the pony is at, and I’ll make sure transport is handled. What’s on your agenda for the rest of the day?”

“Reading books and chasing down your sister when she inevitably runs from her talent evaluation.” I checked the time. “Lunch is on the agenda, too.”

“They should set her free for lunch, but they’ll use you as bait to make sure she goes where they want her to. Just do us all a favor and escort her back to her evaluation. She absolutely will run. She does not want more talents.”

“How about an officiated concentrated empathy bond?”

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