Chapter 6

The phone rang.

Tibbit let out a muttered curse, then reached for the handset. Oh, the flack he used to get from his friends and colleagues for still using a landline in this day and age, but he hated the idea of giving out his cell number.

“Hello?”

“Is this the vet clinic?”

His reply was not instantaneous, the raspy quality of the voice causing bewilderment. Tibbit cleared his throat. “Um, yes, this is.”

“Do you make house calls?”

“Not normally, sorry.”

“Oh.”

One word, something in the way it was uttered tugged at his heart. “Is there some reason you wouldn’t be able to come in?”

There was a pause. “I’m housebound.”

Tibbit conjured an image of a man in a wheelchair with a cat or small dog curled up on his lap. His gaze slipped to the clock on the wall. If he shifted his next appointment he would have a bit of time so he inquired about the address, jotting it down on a handy notepad.