Page 77 of Trickster King

She rubbed my back. “I know, sweetheart. The kids will be coming later tonight so you can feed them dinner, but the RPS wanted me on hand because Randy thought you were getting a little rough around the edges. Good call on giving Eddie that gelding, though. He’s head over heels you trust him enough to care for that poor horse.”

“I should have given you more warning.”

“Oh, I had all the warning I needed. Your agents have been feeding me intel the entire time. You’re a delicate little flower when it comes to the rescues, and they didn’t want you wilting over this mess. You’re handling it better than they expected.”

Of course. I pulled away from my wife to eye Randy, who shrugged. Huffing, I decided to let it go. “I’m glad you’re here. I was going to send Senator Padrino out to play fetch.”

“You’ve run that poor man in enough circles. Leave him alone,” Jessica scolded, and she let me go and slapped her hand against my chest. “How is your back?”

To the astonishment of everyone, I’d escaped life relatively unscathed. “It has not yet turned traitor on me, so I might actually win for once. I even fell into a hole. Twice.”

“You should probably stop falling into holes. Randy and Geoff are going to need therapy if you keep it up.” She kissed my cheek and abandoned me to go introduce herself to Sunshine. “So this is the stolen horse?”

“That’s her. The owner is off showing Eddie and Geoff the ranch. I’m having the vets check for stolen animals at ten dollars a head. I don’t even know how many animals are out there. I’m going to let someone else herd them in. I will find more holes to fall into.”

“He really will,” Randy muttered.

My wife bounced out of the trailer, spun around me, and when she finally came to a halt, tucked herself against my side. “The food-thieving tyrants want their father to feed them lunch.”

“What about breakfast?” I replied in an amused tone.

“The RPS fed us fast food. I was just minding my own business, and Victor came in with a bag, handed it to me, and told me to enjoy before packing me into a helicopter and bringing me over.”

Victor would be my wife’s favorite person until I fed her lunch. “Randy, you know what to do.”

He laughed, raised his hand to his ear, and said, “His Majesty is going to need everything necessary to make the queen yams and chicken. Food-Thieving Tyrants have made their opinion known.”

I burst into laughter. “You gave them a call sign?”

“If yams and chicken are not provided, the queen becomes rather irritable.”

What the hell had been going on in the palace since I’d wandered off? As only a fool questioned his pregnant wife in a fashion that might be construed as an accusation of being unreasonable, I turned my head and kissed her cheek. “I missed you.”

“I know. Do you still need a few days to unwind? Randy said you’re sleeping well, and they’ve been trying to make sure you’re rested.”

“I could use a few more days of actual rest, but the rescues are stabilizing, so I think I can manage a road trip to go back to the palace unsupervised.” I kissed her again, sighing my pleasure over having her close again. “I promised Eddie we’d go shopping for a new bed, so we need to do that before I head home.”

“He’s growing like a weed. We’re going to blink, and he’s going to be a young man.”

And our daughter would be a young woman.

Then the rest of our children would grow like weeds, continuing the circle of life with unwavering dedication.

I wanted to throw one of Adam’s tantrums over my inability to halt their growth long enough for us to truly enjoy their childhoods. My failings as a father haunted me; no matter how badly I wanted them to grow up being just children, the reality of our rank shadowed their every step.

One day, I hoped I could change that. The reality of riding many horses would leave me chasing sleep. I only had so many hours in the day, and I needed to serve my kingdom as much as I needed to raise my children.

I would do my best, but I feared my best would never be enough.

“It’ll be all right, Pat,” my wife promised. “The aides promised the kingdom won’t come crashing down, so we can stay out here for a few days. We’ll stay for three, and then you can take Eddie back to the ranch, take him shopping for a new bed, and come home to me.”

Three days at the equestrian center without work in sight sounded like a miracle. “How’d you wrangle us three days, Jessica?”

“I showed them the pictures of your rescues and told them I didn’t have the heart to call you back. They then decided you needed me here more than the kingdom needed me there. So, they said they can hold down the fort for three days. I even got a few politicians dancing to my tune right now. They want those animals to survive, and they all agreed you’re their best bet. And I quote, ‘While he might be worthless at politics, he’s a king of horses. Let him shine. We’ve got this.’ I laughed so hard I ended up fleeing for the nearest bathroom.”

Ah. Morning sickness had returned in force, and the three days were more meant to figure out what she needed to eat to keep her food down. “The yams and chicken rebelled on you?”

“Not this time. It was beef.”

---