Page 58 of Trickster King

“Will do. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Jessica hung up, and I put my phone away, focusing on drawing slow and deep breaths. Exhaling in a controlled fashion helped, and once I had a firm grip on my nerves, I gave the stallion my undivided attention.

I suspected his starved state played a huge role in his docility, but I also suspected the animal lived for moments where people showed him attention, good or bad. I loved the attention seekers in my barn, as they often spearheaded glorious equine chaos.

Jessica would likely insist all of them go to one of my rescue ranches, but I’d campaign to get one of them a stall in the royal stables.

As the stallion seemed alert despite his condition, I clipped on a lead line and released him from the crossties. While weak and shaky, the animal followed me willingly enough, and I beelined for Hawkins, taking care to go at the horse’s pace. “What do you know about this boy?”

“He’s a former bronco who took to lying down rather than working, and the rodeo operators decided to try to starve him into cooperating. He refused. The rescue, while they failed at rehabilitating the horses, got someone into the circuit so they could bail the animals out. They made an offer of a hundred a head for them, claiming they would take them to slaughter.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you telling me there are papers for these animals?”

“The rodeo operators were not the brightest crayons in the box, and this is their first run at organizing a circuit. These animals were in their test batch, apparently.” Hawkins inhaled, and like me, he took his time with the exhale. “We have a paper trail.”

I allowed myself a smile, one promising more than mere justice for the horses. “The rescue meant well, so as long as they give us all the intel from this circuit, they’ll receive pats on the back. Did they charge you for the animals?”

“No. They asked for my recommendation. This was beyond their abilities, and they realized they can’t afford the vet bill. Buying the horses tested their budget.”

“Issue a proper bill of sale for the animals, give them twenty-five percent profits so they can rescue other horses, and teach them how to be a proper rescue. I’ll pay you back on top of the fee to take them off your hands. I’ll give you the number for our stable; that way, if you get another case like this, you can go straight to us. Our stable can send over our vets. Severe cases of abuse need to be addressed immediately.”

“We’ve already gotten word about the mandate on pregnant mares, and I’ve checked all my mares. We have two that are bred we hadn’t been told were bred. I’ve already banned them from any meat market sales. We’re going to split the barn based on if the animals are eligible for butchering or not.” Hawkins pointed at the far end of the barn at a series of chutes and stalls. “That’ll be our butchering section for horses, and I expect we’ll be down to ten percent our normal volume for horses. This isn’t a bad thing; your incentives for cattle breeding and diversity will have a much higher number of animals coming through here.”

“Down to ten percent?” I raised a brow. “How many head of horses come through here a year for butchering?”

“A thousand, give or take. I hired a pair of trainers to work with the behavior dumps so they can work as ranch horses. Ranchers are going to need a lot more horses to keep up with the cattle demand, and it’ll keep a lot of them from the block.”

I hadn’t anticipated that response, and I considered the stallion with interest. The horse stood quietly, and I took the time to reassure him. “Do you think this lot can recover to the point they can work a ranch?”

“It’s entirely possible. He’s only four.”

I flinched, as we only begun saddling horses at four if they passed their health checks. The ones we did saddle early were given special care to make certain their spines developed fully and without injury. “All right. His name is Angel because that’s how he’s behaving right now. I am hopeful I can turn him into a devil by the time I’m done with him, though.”

“I’ve heard you like trouble in your barn.”

As being angry would hamper my ability to work with the horses, I forced myself to grin, and I nodded. “Everyone else would be happier if I didn’t like the devils so much, but if a horse isn’t causing trouble in my barn, is that horse truly happy?”

Hawkins chuckled. “Despite appearances, some horses do like peace and quiet. Still, I’m sorry this is getting dumped on your head. But the reality is? If you can’t save them, nobody can.”

“Let’s get this boy loaded into the trailer and see how the others do, and then we’ll have a look at the paperwork. I expect there will be some arrests by morning, as this is not allowed in my kingdom.”

“You’re going to be taking out an entire illegal circuit,” he warned. “That’s going to be a lot of angry, greedy folks.”

“If I don’t have a prison large enough to hold them all, I’ll make one,” I swore. “And by the time I’m through with them, they’ll live to regret their decisions. I don’t believe in cruel and unusual punishment, but I do believe in justice. What happened to these animals is cruel. What will happen to these crooks will serve as a warning for generations to come. Texas does not allow this.”

“As it shouldn’t.” Hawkins gestured for me to lead the way. “I know an auctioneer who has rehabbed horses who were in similar condition, so after we get them loaded up, I’ll give her a call. She can send her program to you. I’ll also spread around your stable’s phone number so everyone knows where to call if we get horses who shouldn’t be going to the meat market.”

“Include young, good horses,” I suggested. “I’ll have an angry wife when I run off to pick them up, but they won’t be going to the meat market on my watch.”

“If you’re willing to pay seven hundred per head, I can guarantee they’ll skip the market altogether and find their way to your ranch. We’ll sort transport when the time comes.”

I would need to step up my game if I wanted to pay seven hundred for each young, good rescue. “Let’s call it age four and below, horses of good breeding without deformities. I’m not stopping the meat market sales for deformities that can’t be resolved; I understand that will happen despite my horse’s situation.”

“Your horse is very lucky to be alive, and she’s very much the exception,” Hawkins agreed. “She’s a good mare, too. She still tossing you twins?”

I heaved a sigh. What’s the Story, Morning Glory insisted on throwing twins whenever we took our eyes off her for even a second, resulting in an entire herd of her sons and daughters mowing down my pastures. “The first time, my nerves were shot. The second time? My wife stomped around the palace cussing because they were, once again, too poorly positioned to do anything about it.”

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