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When the telephone rang, Tiffany expected the caller to be Zane, but she was disappointed.
“Hello, Tiff?” Dustin asked through the fuzzy long-distance connection.
“Dustin? Where are you?”
“In Florida and, well, brace yourself for some bad news.”
Tiffany slumped against the pantry, the receiver pressed against her ear. Her fingers curled over the handle until her knuckles showed white. “What happened?” she asked, dread steadily mounting up her spine.
“It’s Journey’s End,” Dustin said.
Tiffany’s heart pounded erratically, and she felt as if her whole world were falling apart, piece by piece. “What about him?”
“He was injured. Just yesterday, while working out. From everything we can tell, he’s got a bone chip in his knee.”
“Oh, God,” Tiffany said, letting out her breath in a long sigh. When would it end? She ran shaking fingers through her hair and wished that Zane were with her now.
“It looks bad, Tiff. I think his career is over—”
“Before it really began.”
“We can retire him to stud.”
“I guess that’s about the only thing we can do,” she reluctantly agreed, her shoulders slumping. “Other than the knee, how is he?”
“The vet says he’ll be okay, but we’d better not count on him racing anymore. It wouldn’t hurt to have Vance look at him when he gets home.”
“How is Bob Prescott taking the news?”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. “That’s a little bit of a sore point, Tiff. I think Prescott ran him knowing that something was wrong.”
“No!”
“I can’t prove it.”
Tiffany felt sick inside. “Let me talk to him,” Tiffany demanded, rage thundering through her blood. The last thing she would stand for was anyone on her staff mistreating a horse.
“Too late.”
“What?”
“I fired him.”
“On suspicion?” Tiffany was incredulous.
“He’s been involved in a couple of shady things,” Dustin said. “I just didn’t want to take any more chances.”
“But who will replace him?”
“I’m talking to a couple of guys now. Big-name trainers . . . I’ll call you after I meet with them.”
“I don’t know—”
“Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll make all the arrangements to send Journey’s End home.”
“Wait. Before you hang up.”
“What?” Dustin demanded impatiently.
