All the King's Horses Read online

  By

  Katherine Rhodes

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All the King’s Horses

  All rights reserved.

  Copyright 2017 © Katherine Rhodes

  Cover by JRA Stevens

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author / publisher

  Contents

  Chapter One

  A beginning for Lucia

  A beginning for RJ

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sable Hunter’s Hell Yeah! World

  About Katherine Rhodes

  Writing as J. Rose Alexander

  Chapter One

  A beginning for Lucia

  “NANA! NANA!”

  Lucy ran across the field, pigtails flying and her new pink dress smeared with the black dirt and sand-colored clay of the soil. As the little girl drew closer, she could see the tear streaks on her filthy face.

  “Nana!” She halted and stared up at the woman with her own coal black eyes. Slowly, Lucy opened her hand and showed her the sad reason she was crying.

  A small rabbit, probably not more than a few weeks old, rested in her hands. It looked fairly untouched, but Sofia could feel the little creature’s pain.

  As could her sweet Lucy.

  “Oh, princesa, I’m sorry. Give him here.”

  Lucy turned the small animal over to her grandmother, waiting. But as soon as Sofia had the animal she knew there was nothing she could do for it. But she understood why her granddaughter was weeping. Probably the victim of a fox attack, the tiny bunny was in excruciating pain—and that pain had drawn in her kindhearted, magical girl.

  “Lucy, he’s too hurt,” she said. “He’s in a lot of pain, and I can’t fix that.”

  “Make it stop, Nana. Can you make it stop?”

  “You know that means the bunny won’t be alive anymore, right?” Nana didn’t know if she really understood what was going to happen.

  “He’ll die anyway, won’t he?”

  Sofia nodded.

  “Then make him stop hurting. Please.”

  With a tug on the magic that rested in her old bones, Sofia gently stopped the small bunny’s heart, and a moment later, the pain that had hung in the air was gone.

  “I didn’t really want him to die, Nana.” Lucy’s voice was soft and small.

  “I know, princesa. I know. But sometimes the very best thing we can do it make sure something doesn’t suffer. And like today, that means helping them cross the bridge.”

  “Bridge?” She was curious.

  “Hmm. Have I never told you about the rainbow bridge? It’s the bridge that animals take to heaven. And all these little animals you save, and help, and love will wait for you at the foot of the bridge and you will lead them over when it’s time for you to go to Heaven.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. They wait for you.”

  “Nana, you’re going to have a zoo in Heaven!”

  Sofia laughed. “Ah, amorzinho, I certainly hope I do.”

  “Will you teach me more magic, Nana?”

  “As much as I can, lindeza.”

  “Sit, Lucy.”

  Mama was not pleased. Her face was red and splotchy. But it was Daddy who asked her to sit. Nana Sofia stood in the door, watching. She looked angry as well.

  “Lucia, your mother tells me you’ve been using your magic.”

  “Sim, Papa. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with that. Applejack was having—”

  “You used your magic in front of the farm hands, Lucy,” mama cut in, her voice angry. “In front of Keith and Don. You helped Applejack through a birth she shouldn’t have lived through. Why did you do that?”

  Lucy was confused, scared. “She was in pain, Mama! I helped her! The foal was born healthy, and Applejack is a good mother. Why would I not have helped her?”

  “In front of the hands!”

  “I told you she wouldn’t understand, Lizette. She doesn’t know, and you’re frightening her.”

  “You were forbidden from teaching anyone!” Lizette snapped at her mother. “You know that! The Bragança line only agreed to this because you would stop the magic with you! Now the staff thinks my daughter is a bruxa!”

  Sofia stared at her daughter. “Always negative with you. Why a bruxa? Why not a feiticeira? Why not just someone who is good with animals? I had no idea the Lusquinos and Bragança lines would create someone as strong as Lucinho. She must learn, or she will be wild. Dangerous.”

  “You are wild and dangerous!” Lizette yelled. “No more magic, understood? Do not ever show anyone what you can do!”

  With a nod and barely contained tears, Lucy took off out the door, across the green lawns, through the row of perfect trees until she made it all the way to the barns.

  Crashing through the doors, she ran for Applejack’s stall, where the big, sweet Appaloosa was nursing her tiny, wobbly foal. She brayed, threatening the intruder, but once she saw it was Lucy, she backed down. Lucy threw her arms around her neck and nuzzled the horse, taking a deep breath of her fur. Applejack wasn’t smelly like some of the others. She had a sweet smell that helped Lucy calm down and not cry nearly as hard.

  How had saving Applejack been wrong? She had a baby that needed her, and if she hadn’t helped, the pretty horse would have died. But she helped Applejack slow her contractions so Keith and Don had a chance to move the foal into the right place.

  And she was yelled at for helping the horse.

  “You did nothing wrong, Lucy,” Dad said, walking into the stall with Nana. “You did a good thing saving Applejack. I know you love her. That’s not why Mama is mad.”

  “I saved her. I don’t understand.”

  “It’s your magick, lindeza. She doesn’t want people to know you have it. Other people react to magic in three different ways. One is like us, our family. It’s there as a part of who you are. I don’t even think about it.”

  Nana broke in. “Another is to ask you for favors through your magic. Constant and annoying. And some people do not ask for kind things, nor they ask nicely. They demand and force you to do it. We do not want that for you.”

  “The last is the one your mother fears the most. That people will call you and treat you as a bruxa. A witch. They will think you’re evil no matter how many times you show them you are good. She doesn’t want you to be thought of as evil. So no more magic, okay, Lucy?”

  “I can’t just shut it off, Daddy. It doesn’t work like that.”

  “I know, lindeza. But I want you to do your best. For your mama. Please?”

  Lucy thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “For Mama, only. People shouldn’t call me evil. But if Mama thinks they will and it bothers her, okay. I’ll stop.”

  Duarte leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead, and nodded at Nana. He walked out of the sta
ll with a careful thump of Applejack’s flank.

  Nana leaned down. “Someday, you’ll find a place where you and your magic are welcomed, princesa. Someday. Remember that. Your heart will know.”

  * * *

  A beginning for RJ

  THE PHONE RANG, JARRING HIM AWAKE. Groping on the nightstand, RJ managed to grab it and answer it. He wasn’t sure the noise that came out of his mouth was English.

  The answer, however, was universally understood.

  A weeping, quiet voice came through. “RJ?”

  He sat up, fully awake. “Addison? Where are you?”

  “At the hospital.”

  “Are you all right?”

  “My foot is broken and I’m a little banged up, but I’m alive.”

  “Which hospital?”

  “Mercy General. RJ, please don’t tell Mom yet. Can you come here? Sign all the papers?”

  “Yes, lemme talk to the nurse.”

  There were phone changing hands noises, and a woman’s voice came on. “Mister Miller?”

  “Yes, Robert John Miller. Addison Simone is my younger sister. I have power of attorney, and I authorize all fair and necessary medical treatment. I’ll be there in about forty-five minutes.”

  “Please remember proof of PoA, sir.”

  “Not a problem.”

  RJ dragged on his pants and headed for the truck, hoping his mother was still sleeping. Addie had called his cell, not the house, so he was hopeful. And luck was with him, as forty-three minutes later, he pulled into a spot at the hospital.

  Directed through the maze that was Mercy General, he finally found his sister behind a curtain in the ER department.

  Her foot was elevated, and she had a purple bruise on her jaw. RJ stepped in and pulled the curtain closed.

  “That better not be from him hitting you, Addie.”

  “No. He had too much to drink and took out a dozen fence posts on the side of Red Ridge Road. He’s never hit me, RJ. He wouldn’t.”

  The curtain opened and a man in doctor’s scrubs walked in. “Mister Simone?” he asked.

  “Miller. RJ Miller. Addison is my little sister.”

  “Uh...”

  “I’m a legal guardian. I have the paper.”

  Nodding, he started in on what was going on. “Miss Simone’s foot is broken on three of the five tarsals. She has to be on crutches for the first two weeks. No questions asked. We can talk about a walking cast after that. The bruise is deep and we want to keep an eye on it. There are four stitches in her arm, but all things considered, Miss Simone is in good shape. Are you authorized to speak for Mister Simone?”

  “No.” RJ bit his tongue. He was ready to curse the useless asshole to hell where he belonged. “I’m assuming that if you’re asking, he’s here. When is my sister going to be discharged?”

  “As soon as we get the paperwork pushed through.”

  “Good, I’ll wait here with her. Doctor, Mister Simone is not allowed in a one-hundred-foot radius of me. Please keep that in mind.”

  The doctor nodded, clearly not expecting that, but made no comment. He wrote something on the file and disappeared through the curtain.

  The thirteen-year-old girl in the bed started crying. “RJ, did you have to tell him that?”

  “You are damned lucky I didn’t let myself fly off the handle, Addie. I told the doctor that so no one gets in trouble—including your idiot father. What happened?”

  “He was drunk.”

  “No shit.”

  “RJ!”

  He sighed and motioned for her to go on.

  “I tried to call a cab, but he grabbed my phone.”

  “What happened to our backup plan of the bartender?”

  “It was Pete’s bar.”

  RJ ran a hand down his face. Daniel Simone had once again endangered his daughter for a beer. “So, you got in the car with him.”

  “Pete kicked me out. I wanted to call a cab, but Dad had my phone, and Pete locked the door. I didn’t have a choice. It was Dad, or try to find one of his friends to drive me back to his place.”

  With a sigh, he patted his sister’s arm. “Well, the right choice as far as that goes, I guess. I’ll see if I can’t get the paperwork going.”

  “Mom’s going to kill me, isn’t she?”

  “No. Not you,” RJ said. “You’re going to have to fight for visitation, though. I’ll be back.”

  He walked out of the curtained partition and leaned against the wall where he could hear his sister crying quietly. RJ hated Daniel Simone, with all the hate a person could muster. He’d fucked his daughter up, fucked her over, and left her out to dry. All she wanted was a father who would love her and show her just an iota of affection. He’d hoped for the same thing when Daniel was his stepfather. He’d hoped that the man would quit drinking when Ellen told him she was pregnant. He’d hoped that he would realize what he was doing to the three of them.

  The day he hit RJ’s and Addison’s mother was the day RJ put his foot down. He was only ten, and he’d nailed the asshole in the balls with his ten-year-old fist. Daniel had grabbed him by the hair and dragged him out of the house—Ellen gave chase, pulled him away, and told Daniel to never come back.

  But Addie just wanted her dad. And it was hard to watch her get hurt, over and over, by him. But the judge couldn’t tell her no. RJ just hoped that soon Addie would realize Daniel Simone didn’t care one whit about her.

  Their mother was going to do everything she could to pull all unsupervised visits.

  RJ planned on helping. Once Addie was home and Ellen was calmer.

  Chapter Two

  “WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT HORSES?”

  “I’m hung like one.”

  By the icy daggers this raven-haired beauty shot at him, it was the absolute dead wrong answer.

  “Mister Miller, is that really the way you want this relationship to begin? I am here as a liaison to the da Silva Ranch, my family’s ranch, which has been breeding and raising horses since the tenth century. The majority of that time was spent in service to the kings and queens of Portugal. We have bred and raised some of the finest Arabians, Quarters, and Friesians, as well as shoring up the lines of Lipizzans. I am here to talk to you about a specific line of American Paint horse the da Silva ranch is looking to add to its stable. I am not here to talk about the size of your dick.”

  Tennessee let out a low whistle. “She is all yours, cousin. All yours.”

  With a slap on his shoulder, Tennessee McCoy left RJ Miller to deal with the lovely but really pissed off Lucia da Silva.

  Resetting his hat on his head, RJ cleared his throat. “Sorry, Miss da Silva. Pretty girls like you make me lose my head.”

  And, again, the wrong thing to say.

  Her anger blazed like the sun, and she raised a finger. “First, it’s Ms. da Silva. I don’t appreciate being called by a child’s title.” She flicked up another finger. “Second, if a pretty girl like me makes you think about your dick size vis-à-vis horses, and you feel you need to share that, I dare say our negotiations will be brief and I will take home a poor report about Double Down Ranch and a poorer view of the legendary gentlemen of Texas.”

  She turned sharply on her heel and headed for the stables.

  “Well, fuck me.” The words were grumbled under RJ’s breath, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. Reluctantly, he followed the pert little ass that had just deflated his ego and hard-on like a nail in a tire. He hadn’t wanted the woman here anyway, but Addison had just decided to be all-fired polite.

  And in fact, Addie was still being polite. She hit his arm hard and pointed after the spitfire. “You damn well better go apologize, RJ. She wants whole breed lines! This is thousands of dollars and a chance to get into some of the farms in New Jersey. Old farms. Old Families. Old frickin’ breed lines and money. Go apologize to the woman. Properly.”

  RJ rolled his eyes, even though he knew that his sister was right. She grabbed his elbow before he could get very far.
“Properly, RJ. Properly. Don’t tell her she’s pretty, and for the love of all that’s holy, don’t mention your penis again. Especially around your little sister.”

  Nodding at Addie, he took off at a clip across the lawns to the stables. The buyer, one Miss—Ms. Lucia da Silva—was just about at the stables. “Hold up a moment, ma’am,” he called.

  She paused, and there was no missing the roll of her eyes as well. He was going to have to start wrangling eyeballs instead of horses. However, that was her only reaction and waited for him patiently.

  “Ms. da Silva, I’m so sorry. That was rude. My manners get away from me sometimes, and I do apologize.”

  She considered him, and he could swear that she was looking down her nose at him. Finally, she acquiesced with a nod. “Apology accepted, Mister Miller. May we see your horses?”

  We? RJ looked toward the barn and saw another gorgeous, raven-haired beauty standing there with a black doctor bag and smirk. “Introduce us?” He opted for the more polite path this time.

  Ms. da Silva headed over to the young woman standing there. “Tee, this is RJ Miller, part owner of Double Down Ranch. RJ, this is my sister, Fatima da Silva.”

  She stuck her hand out. “Nice to meet you, Mister Miller.”

  “RJ. RJ is fine. Tee is it?” The woman—barely more than a girl—nodded. He turned back to her sister and gestured to the barn. “Ms. da Silva, shall we start with the American Paint?”

  There was no missing the hard elbow Tee drove into her sister’s side. A deep sigh followed the ‘oof’. “Please, call me Lucy.”

  “Of course, thank you.” He swept a hand into the barn and the women marched ahead of him.

  Two very cute backsides, but he was definitely drawn to the one on the right, which belonged to the angry one. Of course he would be. RJ never did anything the easy way, it seemed. Curse of the Miller name.

  Still, he was very proud of Double Down Ranch and was hoping that this sale would give them the little boost they needed in the purebred circles. He, Addie, and their mother had worked their fingers to the bone keeping the place up, improving it, and making sure their horses were healthy and disease free.