Chapter 4
FOUR
“I can handle being moral support. I’m quite good at handling women.”
Some would call me crazy for taking advice from the Devil, but I registered Alligator Bait for four additional races, one of which would automatically qualify her for the Kentucky Derby should she win.
I went to bed anticipating a busy day of running errands, caring for my animals, and checking in on Ashley.
The next morning, aware my neighbor had the day off, I headed over to her place armed with extra eggs and fruit. Rather than take my wagon, I brought my old beater to spare myself from going out twice.
With luck, I’d lure the woman into my vehicle, take her to the feed store with me, and see how she liked horses. If she could handle grooming my grain guzzlers, then I’d pitch her helping out around my place in exchange for produce from my gardens.
Once some of my chickens plumped up and no longer laid many eggs, I’d offer a bird or two when it was time for them to serve their next purpose.
I knocked, and rather than set the bounty down and bolt for the next property, I waited. After a few moments, a yawning Ashley, wearing rumpled clothes with more than a few tangles in her brown hair, cracked open her door. “Oh, Crystal. Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, but I have extra eggs for you today, and I wanted to see if you might be interested in coming with me to the feed store. I have an urge to add to my flock, and I could use an extra pair of hands to get all the birds home.”
It took all of three seconds to realize why the Devil had dropped a hint my neighbor could use some tender loving care. The woman lit up at the invitation. “Really?”
I held out the carton of twelve eggs, waiting until she took it to wave the bag of produce.
Once she had the whole lot, I said, “Don’t worry about changing your clothes or anything like that.
We’ll be getting dirty. It’s a feed store, so nobody cares.
The ones that do care probably have never stepped foot on a farm in their entire lives.
Just put your hair up in a bun so you don’t get unspeakable filth in it. ”
Ashley bobbed her head, retreated back into her home, and scampered off. A quick peek inside warned me I’d have to step up my game, figure out how to get access to the place, and handle the cleaning for her until she got back on her feet.
Depression often involved apathy and helplessness, and little messes became big ones in a hurry.
I would not judge her for it, but I’d do what she couldn’t, making sure she had a comfortable place to stay until she conquered her personal demons and overcame her grief.
Her husband had been a good man, they’d loved each other dearly, and I understood why she might feel she couldn’t make progress without him.
Digging out my phone, I shot Isaac a text requesting that he help me gain access to Ashley’s home to clean it, warned him I was taking our neighbor to the feed store, and if the entry was a cluttered disaster, the rest of the place was likely worse.
Rather than text me back like a sensible person, the incubus decided to join the party, bouncing down the street with a spring in his step.
Someone must have had himself a good time for him to have that much energy.
How unfair.
Displaying a general lack of dignity, Isaac hopped onto Ashley’s porch, and he bowed to me with a flourish. “And why are we going to the feed store this morning, Queen of Fox Hunt Drive?”
I somehow resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the incubus’s inanity.
“Pullets. Apparently, I need absolutely worthless pullets in my life, and Lucifer promised I could acquire a bunch of sickly ones from the feed store. I’ll also be spoiling my grain guzzlers, especially as I signed the one up to at least attempt to earn her keep.
There’s a stallion I want, and to get him, I need to make Alligator Bait shame a bunch of other thoroughbreds.
And her previous owner is going to get it good at my hands.
” I allowed myself a rather vicious smile.
“I’m also on the hunt for a possible groom or two for the races. ”
“You’re making a lot of work for yourself, I see.”
Before I had a chance to respond, Ashley returned, and she had her purse with her. “Oh, Isaac.”
“Apparently, he also needs to go to the feed store, although I’m not sure what a pretty boy like him could possibly need from there.”
“I’m thinking about goats,” the incubus confessed. “The dwarf ones that are capable of reducing a pretty boy like me to a puddle of squealing joy.”
I raised my hand, touched my temple, and prayed for patience. Unfortunately, the feed store did have livestock, and dwarf goats were usually present for sale. “All right. We’re also going to a truck dealership. I need an upgrade.”
I couldn’t afford to wait for the Devil to make any purchases for me, not with three of us wanting to go shopping now.
We all stared at my junker; given a few more weeks, the damned thing might collapse into a pile of rust.
“I was about to offer my vehicle,” Ashley confessed. “But if we’re going to a dealership, and you need moral support, I’m sure we can handle that.” She gave Isaac a serious dose of side-eye. “Well, at least I can handle it.”
I reminded myself the woman needed purpose, and if I could rile her up using the incubus, I would.
Anything to beat the apathy and bring her a step closer to wanting to live life again would work nicely.
The incubus pouted. “I can handle being moral support. I’m quite good at handling women.”
Sometimes, the only way to contain the demon involved kicking him in the shins, which I did without remorse. “Just get in the car before I decide you’re staying home.”
Ashley claimed the front seat through the force of a glare, leaving the incubus to share the back with my boxes.
Was I the only actual adult on my street?
I feared so. Resisting the urge to sigh, I got behind the wheel, started the engine, and waited for my car to stop its whining and complaining to back out of Ashley’s driveway.
“Isaac, as I happen to know you’re a closet truck man, I need a big, manly truck that can haul at least three horses. ”
After a moment of thought, he directed me to a dealership thirty minutes away. “You want the largest non-commercial model they have. Those can tow the heavy trailers without an issue. Their biggest model can handle the massive livestock trailers, the kind that can cram twenty horses in the box.”
As my old beater only dreamed about having a navigation panel, I did as always, relying on my memory to get to the place, which was located on the other side of Lakeland. Fortunately for my sanity, Lakeland wasn’t all that large, although morning traffic could snarl anywhere in Florida.
“Where are you taking your horses?” Ashley asked.
“Alligator Bait wants to race, so I’ll be hauling her to a few competitions.
She becomes an absolute nightmare should she not get to race.
Buttercups? I can trust her to engage in carcass time.
Alligator Bait? She mopes and puts up a fuss if I don’t breeze her once a week at a minimum.
She’ll be getting all the breezing she can safely handle to condition her for competition.
I’m taking her as far as she wants to go. ”
“But aren’t all the primary racing horses colts?” my neighbor asked, her tone puzzled.
“Alligator Bait is larger than most of the boys, and her heart’s bigger, too. I will enjoy crushing their hopes and dreams beneath her hooves.”
Isaac laughed. “You’re going to feel guilty you have an excellent filly. But you do know no filly has ever swept the Triple Crown, right?”
I’d done my research on the three races, and fewer than twenty horses had won all three in the competition’s history.
“No filly has done it, and the number of horses who have done it is ridiculously low. The Belmont Stakes is the race that usually bars Triple Crown complete victory; it’s close to the Preakness, which makes it difficult for horses to recover sufficiently to win.
There have been well over a hundred races, and less than a percent of them have resulted in a Triple Crown complete victory.
It’s more common for a horse to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness but have a poor run at the Belmont.
That will win them the set of races as a whole, though, it’s just not a sweep.
” I shrugged. “I’m just giving Alligator Bait the chance to try.
” I eyed Ashley out of the corner of my eye.
“If you like the races, I need some help grooming the horses, and I can pay for your hotel, food, and everything you need while we’re traveling.
It’s going to be a lot of work keeping three horses happy on the road. ”
“Let me know when the races are, and I’ll see if I can help,” the woman promised.
Once again, I spotted the flicker of hope in her eyes. I’d abuse the Devil, but I’d make sure the woman could go to the races without her way of life being jeopardized.
“I’ll do that. Once I’m armed with my new truck, we’ll hit the feed store, we’ll make Isaac hold all my pullets on his lap, and we’ll grab lunch.
Actually, we’ll get lunch before we go to the feed store.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to want to eat right after handling a bunch of chickens. ”
Ashley nodded. “That sounds like a solid plan. I wasn’t expecting to go truck shopping today, but this beats my previous plan.”
I could guess her ‘plan’ involved staying at home and noticing every little thing her lost husband had touched or owned, her heart grieving every moment she stayed.
One day, she’d be ready to accept that he was gone, and I’d do what I could to get her through the process.
Until then, I’d do my best to give her reasons to look forward to tomorrow. It was both the least and most I could do for her.
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