Page 4 of Vow Of A Fox

A couple walked in, garnering Cassie’s attention as I slid into the back room.

I paced the length of the storage room, wondering what to say. When I had something in mind, I tapped his number and waited for it to ring. It rang a few times and then went to voicemail.

Perfect.

“Hi, Dr. Ben. So, you definitely didn’t reach Rosco’s owners. But honestly? I’m glad you called the wrong number because your message made my day. That poor puppy! But don’t worry, I have a feeling he’ll munch his way through thesehighstakes justfine. Wink. Wink.” I chuckled at myself for the pun, corny as it was. “Thanks again for the laugh.”

I hung up, feeling like that could have come off as slightly cringy but not caring in the slightest because it had made me laugh. My fox stirred, making herself known, and I realized I was grinning like a fool.

I didn’t know Dr. Ben Andrews, but he was the first man to make me smile like this in a long time, and he hadn’t even been trying.

2

BEN

Iturned off the lights as I exited the clinic, mentally cataloging the things I still needed to do that I hadn’t gotten to today.

Today had been a rollercoaster.

It started with a hyperactive Labrador puppy here for a well-check tearing through the exam room, then moved on to a cranky cat with a tooth in need of extraction, a dog with a parasitic infection that had us all deep cleaning the place after he left, and finished with Rosco who’d ingested an edible. The poor guy had come in wobbly and lethargic with panicked owners. They were here on vacation and let him roam around in the fenced-in backyard of their rental while they unloaded their vehicle, only to find him out of it once they were settled. He’d apparently found someone’s lost edible while in the backyard. Honestly, he’d been my most comical patient of the day.

My cell chimed, letting me know I had a new voicemail.

When had it even rung?

I pulled it from my pocket and placed it to my ear once I hit play, thinking it would be Rosco’s owners returning my call.

It wasn’t.

Instead, a woman’s sultry voice filled my ear. I stopped dead in my tracks outside the clinic door. The exhaustion I’d felt mere seconds ago morphed into amusement. Whoever this woman was, she had a sense of humor and the sound of her chuckle had me smiling wide. Either Jane had written down Rosco’s owner’s number wrong or I’d dialed it wrong. It didn’t matter. The call had brightened this woman’s day, and in turn, mine as well.

I replayed her voicemail once more as I climbed into my truck, shaking my head at how absurd and random it all was.

“All right,” I muttered, feeling a grin spread across my face. “Point to her for the pun added in there.”

I sat behind my wheel, debating if I should call her back or send a text instead. Calling her back might seem weird.

So, a text it was.

I tapped her number and opened a new text thread. My thumbs hovered over the keyboard while I thought of what to say.

“Keep it casual, Ben,” I muttered. “Just a simple thank you. She doesn’t need to know you’ve replayed the voicemail twice now.”

Hey, Dr. Ben here. Glad I could give you a laugh. And, honestly, if I had to accidentally call anyone, I’m glad it was you. Thanks for the top-notch pun—I needed that. Rosco’s on the road to recovery. I’m pretty sure he’s going to have some wild tales for his dog park buddies, though.

I hit send before I could overthink it, and as I tossed my phone into the cupholder of my truck, I realized part of me hoped she’d respond.

I shook my head, chuckling.

Normally, by this time of night, I’d have mentally checked out, already thinking about a quick dinner, getting a workout in, and having a cold one on my couch while watching whatever Icould find on tv before passing out to wake up and do it all over again.

Tonight was different, though.

Tonight, my thoughts kept drifting back to whoever the woman in the voicemail was and her sultry voice while I drove home. There was something refreshing about her, something that made the exhaustion of the day fade.

My phone buzzed. When I came to a stop at the next traffic light, I pulled it from my cupholder and glanced at the screen.

It was her.

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