Chapter 5 #3
“It’s a peril in this feed store. They have a pen in the back for livestock sales. I snagged the only horse they had, and once I have everything checked out, I’m going to be clearing them out of pullets.”
“We only have quarantined pullets right now,” the woman informed me, confirming the Devil’s intel.
“Even better. I’ll take the whole lot of them off your hands. It’s not your problem if I can’t get them back into good health, and they have a better chance with me than here.”
“I’ll call the boss,” she replied, snagging the phone and summoning Mr. Grinnold, the store’s owner.
I’d met him a time or two, and I liked him well enough.
While we waited, she worked on ringing everything up while the kid brought my new cow over and kept her contained. When Mr. Grinnold arrived, he chuckled at my pile of stuff and the animals. “Please tell me you’re not going to try to move a whole cow in your car, Crystal.”
I grinned at him, liking he acknowledged I absolutely would have put a cow in the back for the drive home.
“I bought myself a new truck this morning and a friend has a line on a loaner trailer for me to get everybody home. It’s the shiny one out front if you want to go have a look.
I hear you have a bunch of sick pullets. ”
He nodded. “The whole lot of them has bumblefoot, and while I’ve had the vet out, it’s not looking promising for them due to their age.”
Chicks and pullets tended to be a little more challenging to get through an illness compared to a fully grown chicken. “I’ll take the whole lot off your hands. What do you want for them?”
“Nothing. I can’t sell them as is. Don’t bother ringing them up, Theresa. I’ll adjust the store inventory manually and mark them as losses. Does your vet handle chickens?”
I nodded. “The clinic I use does, yes, and I keep my coops nice and clean. How many pullets am I taking home?”
“I’ve got fifty-two. They were shipped in poor condition in a truck with bad flooring, which is why they all got the infection. I’ve removed that supplier from my chain. They offered replacement birds but refused to guarantee better care for them in transit.”
Well, that would make my day interesting. In good news for me, I had a truck and would have a trailer soon enough. “Do you have my previous coop acquisition in the system? I’m going to need everything on it twice for that many birds coming in.”
I would be swimming in eggs, and I’d end up delivering an obscene number to my neighbors to keep myself from going mad.
Mr. Grinnold claimed the lead line for my new cow and said, “Earl, go find Arnold and ask him to bring up Crystal Culling’s file; there is an order from two months ago for a coop kit with modifications.
We should have everything in stock, and I’ll need two of that order gathered and brought out to her truck.
Bring an itemized list here so we can get it rung up. ”
The kid ran off to do as told.
Mr. Grinnold frowned, and his brows furrowed. “Are you going to need any help with the assembly?”
“I should be all right. It’ll just be a long day getting everyone settled, calling in the vet, and applying some elbow grease. The setup only takes two hours each, and I already have the land prepped.”
I hadn’t been planning to expand my chicken habitat right away, but it worked out. I expected to lose a few of them with so many ill, but losing a few beat losing all of them.
Death happened on farms, but I did my best to make certain all my animals had happy, healthy lives while I had them.
“Give us a ring if you need any help with the assembly, and I’ll send someone over,” he promised.
“If I need any help, I’ll do that. Thanks.”
With the rest of the store employees scattering to grab my unexpected acquisitions, Theresa moved to the register next to hers to ring the tall, dark, and handsome up. In more than a few ways, I envied the horse he’d be riding.
How unfair.
Lucifer picked that moment to make his appearance, and he had Isaac and Ashley with him. “The trailer is here, and I took the liberty of stealing your extra keys and hooking it up.”
I scowled, checked my purse, and sure enough, I was short a pair of fobs, which the Devil gave back to me. “You’re sneaky. How do I proof my purse against theft from you?”
“You don’t,” he replied with a grin. “Try not to worry. I’ll only steal from your purse when it directly benefits you in an immediate fashion.”
That left a lot of wiggle room for him to inconvenience me, but as he’d limited his maliciousness to directly benefiting me without a wait, I’d tolerate the abuse of my person. “I appreciate that.”
His grin widened. “I knew you were a smart one.” His attention drifted to the tall, dark, and handsome nearby. “How are you liking Florida so far, Yuless?”
What an interesting name. That Lucifer knew the man would cause me trouble, of that I was certain.
I already had trouble in plenty, including the threat of a dragon looming in the distance.
Rather than sigh, I accepted I would need to keep on my toes to make it through the next few months unscathed.
“It’s to my liking.” He held up the bridle he’d selected from the brand I’d recommended. “I’m taking riding lessons.”
“Why are you buying your own tack for riding lessons? They provide the tack.”
Yuless sighed. “I am being educated regarding horse care and ownership, and the cost of my first lessons involves purchasing my own tack. If I get along well with the horse, he’ll sell to me, and that includes better tack in the price.
I do not know why Hagnar talked me into this. He’s going to be riding, too.”
Lucifer chuckled, stepped forward, and patted Yuless’s shoulder. “Hagnar likes his games, that’s why. You’re in Florida. There’s a shocking number of horse owners here, although most of them favor thoroughbreds like the little boy Crystal has here. Cute, isn’t he?”
Yuless stared at my colt, and after a few moments, he nodded. “I can understand why people hoard horses. The little one is quite cute.”
“He’ll grow up to be a beauty, too.” Lucifer reached over and scratched my colt’s rump, which the baby animal seemed to appreciate, stretching out his neck and flapping his lips. “Are you going to be sticking around?”
“I’ll give you a call. I need to go pay a few friends a visit first.”
“Excellent. I’ll be waiting for your leisure, then.”
Yuless finished paying for his acquisitions, hauled everything outside, and left me questioning a lot about my life, including my dire lack of a tall, dark, and handsome I could get up close and personal with.
Once certain Yuless couldn’t hear me, I regarded Lucifer with a scowl. “Just get it over with. Break my heart. What’s wrong with him?”
Isaac burst into laughter. “He revved your engine good.”
I turned to the only help I might get, shooting Ashley a pleading look.
“I don’t blame you in the slightest. He is one fine gentleman. There has to be a lot wrong with him. Men that fine are always pieces of work. Since he has no flaws on the outside, they have to all be on the inside. There is no way a perfect man exists.”
“Hey,” both the Devil and Isaac complained.
“You’re not men,” I reminded the pair. “We’re discussing humans and questionable humans here, and neither of you are even remotely human.”
While the demon and the Devil sulked, they quieted down.
Mr. Grinnold chortled at the discussion. “According to my wife, I’m a busybody who could stand to spend a few more hours at home and a few less hours at work.”
“She’s right,” Lucifer informed him. “I recommend you leave work no later than four most days of the week and stay after four only on days where there are legitimate emergencies. Having a vet deal with sick chickens counts as a legitimate emergency. Watching your trained staff close is not.”
The feed store’s owner sighed. “I’ll let the missus know I’ll be leaving at four starting tomorrow.”
“Offloading the chickens with bumblefoot is a good reason to be late. Just tell her you were dealing with that emergency and then go home promptly.” Lucifer made a show of checking his watch. “You can leave as soon as we get the animals in the trailer.”
“I’ll let her know I’m going to be leaving early, then.”
I admired Mr. Grinnold’s ability to accept criticism and do something about it all at the same time. “Perfect single men don’t exist,” I told Ashley. “The wise women took the ones near perfection and trained them to become perfection after securing them in wedlock.”
Ashley eyed Isaac with interest. “Think that might work on an incubus?”
“Absolutely,” I replied, smirking at having gotten my turn to corner Isaac for a change.
“Just be prepared to do a lot of chasing. He’ll run so you’ll catch him, and he’ll pretend he’s looking for his next lay just because he wants some spice to go with his sugar.
Just train him to annoy you in the ways that starts your engine more often than not. ”
“That’s actually pretty solid advice,” Isaac admitted. “If I know I’m getting daily sugar, all I’m going to do is sprinkle in some spice to keep things interesting. It’s my sole flaw.”
Shaking my head, I waited for Theresa to finish ringing me up, paid thousands to perform my good deeds, and led my new colt outside.
With luck, I’d get the motley crew back to my place before the afternoon storms made a mess of my plans to get the chickens settled, called the vet, and figure out how the hell I was going to take care of an orphaned colt.