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kidney tests were normal.

      “No fever,” Mac said. He had raised his head to look at Kit when he spoke. “He needs to stay quiet for a while, and he probably won’t feel like doing much running around for some time.”

      “When should I bring him back here?”

      He wanted to tell her tomorrow—just so he could see her again. But that was stupid and juvenile. Besides, she’d never fall for it. He heard himself saying, “You’re on my way home. I’ll be happy to check him out in two or three days. I’ll give you a call…” He felt his face flame.

      She laughed. “Just come by. If the Jeep’s in the driveway, I’m home. What symptoms should I worry about with Kev?”

      “Worry about a sudden rise in temperature, inability to urinate, whimpering…never mind that one—Emma can tell you if he cries. If he does, get in touch with me immediately.”

      “Can I use a regular thermometer?”

      “Right. But tie a string around the end of it before you insert it. You don’t want it to get lost. Normal for a dog is about a hundred and one. You should worry about general malaise. I’ll send you home with a bag of special dog food, but you can get it cheaper at your local pet store.”

      “One thing, Doctor. I know this is going to cost a fortune. I really hate to ask, but is there any way I can space out the payments over time? Or even do some work here at the clinic to help pay my bill? I’m strong as an ox and I’m not afraid of hard work. And I’m really good with computers.”

      Now her face was the one that was flaming. He could tell she hated asking him. The Saturday surgery and the aftercare would add up to a hefty sum. She was probably on disability if her accident was work-related. Maybe she was hanging on with welfare and ADC.

      He realized he had no idea what she did or how she had been hurt.

      “Don’t worry about it. We’ll work something out.”

      Nancy came toward them. “Little guy going home with you? Big’s going to hate that. He’s fond of him.”

      “Big’s fond of everything that walks, flies or swims.”

      Nancy touched Kit’s arm so that Kit looked at her. “I overheard what you two were saying.”

      Kit sighed. “Money’s pretty tight. I’ll pay my bill, I promise, but sometimes I can’t pay all at once. I wish I could get a part-time job, but I really don’t even know where to look. I have to pick Emma up at school unless I make arrangements. It’s not easy finding a job where I don’t have to hear. I can’t clerk in a convenience store or anything.”

      “What do you do all day now?” Nancy asked.

      Kit’s blush intensified. She had that clear, pure redheaded skin that showed the movement of every corpuscle. “I…get my daughter off to school, and pick her up, do housewifely things and exercise and shop.”

      “You’re probably getting bored.”

      “Getting bored? I’ve been bored out of my mind for the last three months. I can only take so much daytime television, even with closed captioning. And I never did learn to knit.”

      Mac realized he’d been cut out of the conversation completely. Kit could concentrate on only one person at a time. He felt annoyed that Nancy had butted in until he heard what Nancy had to say next.

      “You said you could use a computer?” she asked.

      “I type about a hundred words a minute, actually. You have no idea how much paperwork I had to fill out before my accident.”

      “Impressive speed.”

      “But anybody can use a computer.”

      “Not Dr. Mac,” Nancy said. “He’s a dinosaur.”

      Both women looked at him with pity. He made a face at them and pulled Kevlar closer.

      “So how would you feel about scrubbing cages and mopping floors?” Nancy continued.

      “Since when have you been the Creature Comfort human resources manager?” Mac asked.

      “You’ve been muttering about hiring a part-timer. And Mabel’s been telling everybody for a month that if she doesn’t get somebody to take the computer work off her hands she’s going to quit.”

      “When did she say that?”

      “Oh, about every day. But you veterinary types never listen to us peons.” She turned to Kit again. “You could come in after you take your daughter to school, and leave in the afternoons in time to pick her up. You’ll probably start by scrubbing cages or taking the animals for walks. We never know from one day to the next what we’ll be doing. Are you physically all right? Except for the hearing, I mean?”

      “Absolutely.” Kit’s face lit. “But could I bring Kev?”

      “Don’t see why not. He doesn’t fight with other dogs, does he?”

      “No, and he loves cats. He lives with one.”

      Nancy turned to Mac. “Well, how about it, Doctor?”

      “We’ll have to discuss it at the staff meeting tomorrow morning,” he said, although he knew in his heart he would press to have Kit hired. It had nothing to do with the fact that she stirred his blood. She was a woman who needed a hand up. Maybe it was time to be Mr. Nice Guy. It would certainly make a change.

      “Well, peachy,” Nancy said, lifting her eyes to heaven. “You do that.” She took Kit’s arm. “In the meantime, Dr. Mac’s got one more cat to spay.”

      Kit gathered up Kevlar, put his harness on him gently and lowered him to the floor. He sat at once and looked up at her expectantly. “Home,” she said.

      He stood and walked off at her heel.

      “Now that’s the kind of dog to have,” Nancy said.

      “Pretty high-handed, aren’t you?” Mac jabbed.

      “Absolutely. You know how she went deaf?”

      “No idea.”

      “Me neither. But I’ll sure find out.”

      Mac pressed his palms against his eyes. “Okay, where’s this cat?”

      “There isn’t one. I just said that because if you don’t have at least some peanut butter crackers and potato chips out of the machine, you’re going to pass out facedown in somebody’s intestines.”

      “What about you?”

      “I brought myself a healthy lunch. Turkey sandwich and an apple. I just finished. You might consider packing yourself a lunch. Or don’t you do that sort of thing?”

      “Even I, Miss Mayfield, can make a turkey sandwich,” he said and headed for the conference room.

      As he munched his peanut butter crackers, he remembered that he’d promised to drop by Kit’s house in a couple of days to check on Kevlar. In the meantime, he could consult with his partners about trying her out on a part-time basis. The scrubbing and cleaning part of the job required no special skills. She said she had the computer skills already. Why not give her a chance?

      MAC HAD PROMISED to check on Kevlar. Tonight— Wednesday—was the night. He nearly lost his nerve when he saw a dark-green van parked behind Kit’s Jeep. Then he told himself that since this was a purely professional call, and since he couldn’t have telephoned ahead to let Kit know he was coming, he’d simply ring the bell and assume she wasn’t having a party.

      The instant the bell sounded, he heard Kevlar’s bark from inside the door, and a moment later, Kit opened it.

      “Dr. Thorn?” She sounded surprised.

      He felt tongue-tied and dry-mouthed. Ridiculous. He drew himself up to his six feet four.

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