When he was in town, he was regularly rude and drunk and mean.

So my mother, aunts, Amy, and I stole Jane Austen. We knew that Doc was off the island because we asked his neighbor, Mr. Jennings, if he would keep an eye out. Mr. Jennings, who had offered to buy the horse from Doc Haurley because he was so upset about her condition, agreed to be our coconspirator.

Mr. Jennings called us when he knew Doc was headed off the island, and we headed over as stealthily as we could hauling a horse trailer. I called to Jane Austen. She didn’t move, her head down, bones out. We went over to pet her. She jerked away, frightened. I gave her an apple and called out gently, and she ate it right up, then another apple, and a third. We led her to the trailer by dropping hay along the way. She, slowly, with what seemed like great pain, got in.

We drove her in the trailer to a vet’s on Lopozzo Island, as Marco had not arrived yet.

The vet was appalled and called the animal cruelty line. The vet said Jane Austen was suffering from a long list of things she never should have suffered from. We left her with the vet for several days. The animal cruelty inspector came out, took photos, and Doc Haurley was arrested. He went to court and was fined and put on probation. His other animals were taken from him, including his prized but abused hunting dogs, which Amy and Mr. Jennings adopted. He also had to pay the vet’s bill for all of the animals, which was substantial. He was not allowed to own animals again.

We took Jane Austen home. I named her Jane Austen because I love Jane Austen and have read all of her books twice. If there was a time machine, which I am not embarrassed to say I do dream about, I would get in it and go and be Jane’s friend.

Within a month Jane Austen was a new horse. She was heavier, shinier, happier. When I walked the property, she followed me around like a dog, only there was no leash. We fed her hay and apples, and she liked her salt lick. We fixed up the barn and gave her a lovely stall, but most of the time she was outside, as she liked watching the other animals.

Shakespeare was rescued because the vet called us from Lopozzo Island and asked if Jane Austen wanted a gentle horse friend. Jane did want a friend! We named him Shakespeare because I read Shakespeare out loud in college each time I was trying to avoid paralyzing anxiety or panic attacks or a horrible scene filled with sand and flames that kept burning through my mind. There was something about the cadence that calmed me down.

Shakespeare was an old racehorse that was going to be quietly turned into glue. We went and got Shakespeare. Then Shakespeare and Jane Austen fell in love. They played in the meadow, they ran, they strolled. They do not write plays or books, but their love is true.