box and bag of litter, in addition to cans of cat food and two bowls. She also offers us a cat backpack, which has a bubble-shaped clear window on the back.
“What the hell is that?” I ask.
Hannah squeals. “Oh, how precious! She can sit in it and look out while I carry her.”
I run my hand down my face. “That’s a little much, don’t you think?”
“I think it’s perfect.” Hannah takes it from the vet, who’s smiling as excitedly as Hannah is.
“Good luck with your new family member,” she says to us.
I don’t have the heart to tell her the truth—Hannah and I are just two people passing through each other’s lives for the next few days. And no way can I take in a kitten right now.
“What should we name her?” Hannah asks me as soon as we’re back in the truck.
“Nothing,” I say.
“Nothing? That’s an awful name. You mean because she came from nothing, right? I don’t know. I think she might develop a complex being called Nothing forever.”
“No, I meant nothing. Let’s not call her anything. We need to drop her at a no-kill shelter, Hannah. We can’t drive all the way to Chicago with her.”
Hannah’s face falls.
“A shelter knows more than we do about kittens,” I add weakly.
“I grew up with a cat,” she says. “And she had kittens. She gave birth in my bed while I was sleeping.”
“Seriously?”
She nods.
“Wow. That’s pretty amazing.”
“It was.”
And there she goes again—distracting me from making a practical decision.
“We can take her with us,” I hear myself say. “Once we get to Chicago, we’ll find a good home for her.”
I can anticipate what’s coming next. Sure enough, in three, two, one…
“She has a good home already.” Hannah kisses her head. “I’ll keep her.”
I jerk my head toward her. “Are you sure? That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“Maverick.” Hannah’s blue eyes fix on me. “This kitten came into our lives for a reason. We were meant to meet. I’m not going to throw that gift away.”
I swallow.
“She came into our lives by chance,” I say firmly. “Not necessarily for any particular purpose.”
“Chance means good fortune,” Hannah says. “And now that you say it, we were talking to your friend, Chance, when I spotted this kitty.” She breaks into a smile. “Let’s name her something that matches. Like Lucky.”
“Chance wanted us to name the kitten Chance,” I mutter. “Lucky is much better.”
Hannah laughs heartily. “So it’s settled then.”
And that’s how Lucky became the second surprise companion on my road trip that was supposed to be me and only me.
And while I pretend to be disgruntled, when I look over at Hannah cuddling with Lucky in the passenger seat, I can’t stop from grinning.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“Okay, we’re all set.” I step back from the tent.
We’ve got Lucky’s litter box ready for her in the back of the truck, which is parked as close to our tent as possible for any quick bathroom trip in the middle of the night. Lucky’s safely in her carrier next to Hannah, who’s minding the fire as our dinner cooks.
We picked up potatoes and burger patties at the store on the way into the campground, and after we got the food going on the grill, I set up the tent.
“Lucky’s got a good appetite.” Hannah shows me the bowl the kitten has already licked clean. “Like the vet said, she seems really healthy.”
“She’s lucky,” I say without meaning to throw a pun on the word.
Hannah breaks into a smile. “She is, right?”
I grin at her. “I must like picking up stowaways.”
She smiles wider. “It’s good for your soul, Mav. Traveling all alone would have been boring.”
I want to disagree with her, but as I watch her dish out our dinner and hand me a paper plate, I know she’s right. Spending this trip with a woman who does it for me in every way I can conceive of—it’s been far more enjoyable than if I’d made the trip by myself.
The three of us eat together as darkness falls. We put Lucky, still in her carrier, into the tent and close up the flap. The cross windows of the tent give good ventilation, and in this high desert, there’s a night breeze that makes the temperature comfortable.
Impulsively, I hold out my hand to Hannah. “Dance with me.”
Her eyes widen. “We don’t have any music.”
I reach for my phone and flip through my playlist. When I find a slow song, I press play.
“Now we’ve got music.”
She takes my hand and my other hand