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“Yeah, I guess. Give me one second.” I pushed off the covers and moved to the window as I pressed the phone to my ear.
“Hi, Anna.”
“Everything okay, Mom?” A slow twitch of fear curled tightly inside my stomach.
“Anna—I don’t know how to tell you this, but Java’s in pretty bad shape.”
My palm went to the window to ground me. I was ready to fall. “What?”
Adam was behind me in a flash, his hand on my back.
“Baby, he has a tumor. Doc Jones says we should put him down. He’s in a lot of pain, and he said the cancer has spread through his body, and there’s nothing we can do.”
“No . . . no, I don’t accept that.” I couldn’t raise my head or look over at Adam.
“Doc says we need to do this soon. This last week he’s gone from bad to horrible, Anna. It’s what’s best for him. He’s old and suffering.”
“When?”
“This weekend.”
“Wait for me, please.”
“Anna—”
I knew what my mom was going to say. We couldn’t afford for me to take an extra international flight, but I didn’t give a damn about money right now. “I’ll charge it to my credit card. End of story.” I rushed a hand to my face as liquid gathered in my eyes.
There was a long tick of silence from the other end of the phone.
“Call me back when you know your flight,” my mom finally agreed.
I couldn’t speak. I croaked out some form of goodbye and then turned to Adam, pressing my face straight into his chest. I cried harder than I thought possible. He held me tight, rubbing my back, trying to calm me.
“My horse is going to die,” I said, my voice breaking with tears.
“I’m so sorry.”
I pulled back and swiped at my face, sniffling. “I’m gonna go home today.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“What? No.” I moved away from him in search of my laptop to book a ticket. “I’ll go for the weekend and be back by Monday. Or Tuesday, at the latest.” I flipped open the laptop and powered it on, my fingers shaking as they hovered above the keyboard. “Will John have a problem with that?”
“I’ll talk to him, don’t worry about that. But, please, Anna—”
I faced him as the salty liquid dripped down my cheeks in a constant stream. “No buts, remember?” I choked out.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ANNA
My fingers slipped through Java’s thick, silky brown mane. He was lying on the ground, his legs crossed, moaning, even though the vet had given him some powerful painkillers. I’d never understood about a heart breaking until now. It was like someone had a fist around my heart and was squeezing tight enough to crush it.
Java raised his head, a black glossy eye on me. He nudged his face against mine, setting off the tears again.
I gently held his neck, hugging him as I cried.
“Anna, there’s someone here to see you.” My mother’s voice flowed softly through the air.
