Page 50 of Trickster King

With her, how could I be anything but happy? “I love you.”

“I love you, too. Go camping, explore the center, and get in that rest and relaxation you need. I’ll talk with the folks here about better scheduling time off for us. We’re useless if we keep going down from various ailments.”

“Infants are not ailments,” I reminded my wife.

“They’re not infants. They’re food-thieving tyrants. Address them appropriately, Patrick Laycal!”

I laughed. “And how are our food-thieving tyrants doing?”

“They have accepted many offerings of yams and chicken in recent days, and this pleases them.”

If yams and chicken was what my wife wanted, I could provide. “If I’m not done here before your supply wears off, I’ll ask someone to deliver another batch. And if that isn’t possible, you can bring the children out here. We’ll camp in a hotel and use someone’s kitchen to make certain my most beautiful queen and our food-thieving tyrants are appropriately fed.”

“We should be okay for two weeks, but after that, things might start getting sketchy.”

“I think you’ll be fine. After all, aren’t you the one who bet my back would give out after three days?”

“If you make it even a week with going camping, I’m going to have to up your reward. That’s the main reason I agreed. I know you. I know your back. One night of camping will have you skittering home to me.”

I narrowed my eyes. No matter what, I would last a week, and I’d smile the entire while, no matter how badly it hurt. “You’re on, woman.”

“You’re going to regret that, Pat.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Laughing, my wife told me she loved me and hung up, allowing me to enjoy my victory. Once I stowed the phone, I turned to Randy and said, “My wife thinks we’re going camping, Randy. And she approved us going camping.”

Eddie’s eyes widened. “Dad, camping involves sleeping on the ground with bugs.”

“We’re going to camp in a hotel, but we’ll get everything we need for a fire pit and pretend we’re sleeping on the ground. In reality, we deserve soft, fluffy beds when we aren’t running around the kingdom unchecked, wild, and free.”

His eyes still wide, Eddie regarded Randy, waiting for confirmation the insanity would become a reality.

“Sure, why not? What could go wrong?” the RPS agent said, bowing his head. “I’ll make the arrangements with the RPS so you can go gallivanting across the kingdom unchecked, wild, and free.”

Today was going to be a good day, and tomorrow would be even better. With that settled, I turned to Jerrod and said, “Let’s get to business. Daylight’s burning, and I want this sale closed as soon as possible.”

TWELVE

I wouldn’t hold my breath, though. I liked living.

We finished the paperwork by midnight, and in the morning, the process of notarizing the sale of the center would be completed. I understood I utilized more than a few loopholes to finish a month ahead of when most would be able to complete the sale. It took until two in the morning to go over the paperwork confirming that through refusing to pay for the repair work to the pastures, they were going to lose the horses for five hundred a head.

To my disgust, every owner involved had signed the agreement to release the ownership papers to the center. Jerrod took care of updating the ownership records. Tomorrow, the entire herd would be mine with a few extras tossed in, good animals Jerrod wanted to see fly and believed might in my hands.

Thanks to the RPS working on my behalf, I was able to head to the nearest hotel, shower, take my assortment of medications, and crash out without a fuss. Randy got me up at ten so I could navigate the perilous waters of property ownership.

Geoff had managed to wrangle the other property owners so I could buy all three in one fell swoop. As punishment for cheating on how long it took for properties to be typically sold, I swore I’d make the one ranch a prime example of how the overly rich and influential might do good for their community. With a little luck, I’d guilt the entirety of Texas into joining my humanitarian efforts.

I wouldn’t hold my breath, though. I liked living.

By lunch, I had the deeds for all three properties in hand along with notarized agreements on when the current occupants would either leave or be hired by myself or the crown. My email amused me, as the RPS’s HR sent more than a few messages my way indicating I was a cruel and terrible tyrant.

Each and every horse in the RPS had an employee record, and they did not appreciate having to onboard hundreds of horses along with the staff from the center. I ultimately replied with a promise that nobody would get upset if it took longer for the grass guzzlers to be properly registered; they had to pass their health checks anyway.

Once I dealt with all the paperwork, I returned to the center, eager to meet a horse to take on a ride around the ranch needing the stock evaluated. Upon hearing the purpose of the outing, he brought over a dainty bay mare, her body a rich red and her points darker than coal. I whistled at her coloration, which would turn heads any time someone caught a glimpse of her. “She’s a beauty, Jerrod.”

“She wants to be a Grand Prix champion, but she’s on the small side. The problem is this: she’s one of the best jumpers I’ve ever seen. She jumps too high.”

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