Page 14 of Wyoming Homecoming


Font Size:  

“Very bad,” was the reply. “It metastasized. It’s in her internal organs as well as the bones.”

Cody just sat there, looking at him, uncomprehending. “But you can treat it...”

Dr. Shriver leaned forward, his hands locked together on the desk. “Do you want the truth or sugarcoating?”

Cody took a long breath. “The truth.”

“I can do chemo and radiation. We have the facilities for it. The cost will be in the thousands of dollars. And at the end of it, Anyu will still die, but it will mean coming in often for treatment. Besides that, there’s the issue of pain.”

Thousands. Of course he’d pay it. He had savings he hadn’t spent. He’d do anything to prolong her life. Anything!

Dr. Shriver saw that in his lean face. “Sheriff Banks,” he said quietly, “she’s in pain. A great deal of it. Animals hide that from other animals in the wild. They hide it from humans as well. So by the time we find it, many times it’s too late to stop it. And even then, it can metastasize in such a little amount of time.”

“If it were your dog, that you loved, what would you do?” Cody asked tightly.

“I’d take her home and let her live out the rest of her life the way she wanted to,” came the quiet reply. “I wouldn’t put her through the treatment, which will only prolong her life, not save it.”

Cody looked at him. “How long?”

“Maybe six months. Maybe a great deal less.”

There was a pause. “How will I know, when she needs to come back here...”

Shriver got up and put a hand on the lawman’s shoulder. “You’ll know.”

Cody got up, too, feeling older than his years and absolutely drained of life. “Six months. Well, I’ll make it the best six months she’s ever had,” he said after a minute. “I’ll spoil her even more rotten than I have.”

Dr. Shriver smiled. “That’s exactly what I’d do.” His blue eyes were sad. “I lost my golden retriever about five months ago. She was fourteen years old. My sister and I passed her back and forth, but she’d been staying with me for the past year. It hurt like hell to give her up.” He met Cody’s eyes. “I know how it feels. I’m sorry. If there was anything that would cure her, I’d do it.”

“I know that.” Cody paused. “Thanks. Can I take her with me now?”

“Of course. I’ll give you a couple of medicines that will help with the pain,” he said. “We have our own in-house pharmacy. I’ll have one of the girls fetch Anyu for you while I’m getting the drugs. If you need anything, I’ll be here,” he added.

Cody forced a smile. “Thanks.”

HEPUTTHEbag of medicines on the back seat and Anyu on the front seat beside him. She didn’t look as if she had a care in the world. He hugged her, frightened of a future that would leave him totally alone. Anyu was all he had. She was everything!

But miracles happened. She might recover, he told himself. She might even go into remission. It wasn’t hopeless. Maybe the tests were wrong. He ruffled Anyu’s fur. He’d give her the meds, of course. But the doctor might be mistaken.

“We’ll go home and eat chili and watch wrestling,” he told the pretty fluffy dog. “How would you like that?”

Her blue eyes laughed at him.

He smiled. She was a constant source of joy to him. He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t! Maybe he could manage the cost of the radiation and chemo. He’d think about it for a few days and decide what to do. It was a situation that required serious thought.

He took Anyu home and they settled on the sofa with his homemade chili and a soft drink, watching wrestling. It was a great way to shake off the job for a few hours, kick back and relax.

He was halfway through the second match when the phone rang. Anyu started howling. He laughed. She always did that when the phone rang.

“Sheriff Banks,” he said tersely.

“Sheriff, can you come into the office?” his newest employee, a young deputy, asked.

“What’s up?”

“Well, we’ve sort of got a, well, a murder...”

“How the hell can you sort of have a murder?” Cody demanded, furious.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
Articles you may like