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He fiddled with his GPS until he found the nearest pet store and drove to it. After parking, he pulled out his wallet and handed her a hundred-dollar bill. The way he was dropping C-notes lately, his budget was going to take a hit. It was much easier when he brought in his own money, riding bulls.

“I’ll stay here with the kittens,” he said. “Is this enough to get supplies?”

“If I only get one carrier for them, yes. Don’t worry. I’ll make it work.”

“You guys are expensive,” he said to them. The orange and white one yawned at him. The rest of them were fast asleep.

Reba came back in a few minutes. The kittens roused when she placed them in the padded carrier. They gave a few token protests, but when she added in a felted mouse they were distracted enough to stop yelling.

Next stop was the liquor store. This time Shane went in and left Reba watching the kittens. “What kind of beer do you like?” he asked.

“The alcoholic kind.”

“Be specific or I might come back with sour fruit-flavored beer.”

“Beer-flavored beer,” Reba clarified with a smile that made him feel goofy.

He couldn’t wait to have a nice, relaxing evening with her. He made a beeline to the refrigerator section and grabbed a six-pack of an IPA and six-pack of an amber ale. When he came back to the truck, Reba said, “I ordered the pizza. Meatball okay with you?”

“Sure.”

She gave him the directions to the pizza place, and he swung by there to pick it up and then they headed back to the parking area where her Winnebago was. Parking alongside it, Shane said, “Grab the pizza. I’ll take in everything else.”

He brought in the kittens and their gear next and then went back out for the beer. The Winnebago was larger on the inside than he thought it would be. Reba had placed the pizza on a table and was setting up the two litter box pans next to a door he assumed was the bathroom. She put out a bowl of water and kitten crunchies before opening the door to the cat carrier. The four kittens stayed in there while Reba served him up two slices of pizza, but as she opened the beer, the orange and white one poked its head out.

“What are you going to name them?” she asked. “That one and the gray striped one are boys.”

“If I name them, I’ll get attached,” he said.

“They do grow on you,” she said. “I might be able to convince Dolly and LeAnn to each take one. LeAnn and Dylan live on a big farm with Lou when they’re not traveling. But Lou might not watch out for a kitten while they’re traveling to rodeos. Dolly has an apartment, but she’d be more inclined to get a pet sitter when she wasn’t home.”

“It might be easier to adopt them out to people at the rodeo event,” he said. But then the perfect names hit him. “The orange and white one is Huginn and the gray one is Muninn.”

“Why?” she asked.

“Those were the names of Odin’s ravens. Thought and reason is what it translates to.”

“I think that’s wishful thinking.”

“The two little girls should be Hildr and Sigrun, battle and victory.”

“Those sound more kitten-related. Is this a thing for you? Giving weird names to your animals?”

“You need to honor the animal with a noble name to have them grow into. Or does that sound weird?” Maybe he should just stick to stuffing pizza in his mouth.

“No, I get it. It’s like you wouldn’t want to name a puppy Puddles.”

Shane chuckled, feeling a warmth in his chest as Reba smiled at him. “Exactly. I want them to have strong names that reflect their personalities.” He took a sip of his beer and glanced over at Reba. “Speaking of personalities, I have to admit, I’m really enjoying spending time with you.” Being with her felt easy, natural, and right.

“I feel the same way,” she replied, looking bashful. “It’s nice to talk to someone who loves and appreciates animals like I do.”

He nodded in agreement, watching the kittens play with each other. “I think they’re starting to show their personalities now,” he said, gesturing toward Hildr and Sigrun.

They watched the kittens play, smiling at their antics.

“What’s it like being a traveling vet?” he asked, taking another slice of pizza. He liked the Winnebago. It had all the comforts of home, as well as the additions of personality that were better than the generic hotel rooms he stayed in while he was on the road.

“I like not being cooped up in an office, but other than that it’s pretty much the same. Although, I do spend more time with the animals than with their owners and most of the time I appreciate that.”