The broke old farmer bought the dying mare for $200. Then the millionaire arrived with a sheriff-and the horse hid behind the old man like she knew exactly who had hurt her

striking at the gate. She was standing in the thin shadow of her own body as if she had already stepped halfway out of the world.

He thought of Maggie in the hospice bed by the living room window, because she had refused to die in a hospital if there was any choice left to her. He thought of the last week, when her hands had gone weightless in his and continue reading …