“Haven’t been in a real relationship in a decade. I’ve had a couple of short-term girlfriends, but right now I don’t have to break up with anyone, so I won’t feel guilty about dating you,” he said.

“You might change your mind when you get to know me. I’m Scottish, and I’ve got a temper. You might not even like me in a dating scenario,” she said.

“And I’m honest, so if I do, I’ll be up front with you, just like I’d expect the same from you. I just think it’s terrible to waste this attraction on something as trivial as age,” he said as they passed the WELCOME TO CLARKSVILLE sign.

It didn’t take long at the lumberyard to get the shingles and nails that he needed, and then they were off to the grocery store. That took more than an hour, with both of them taking a cart and filling half the list. Diana felt guilty when he whipped out a credit card to pay the bill, but Tootsie would have a hissy fit if they tried to sneak one past her.

They were on the way home and about to make the turn just before the Red River bridge to go back toward Scrap when Luke swerved to miss a cardboard box sitting right in the middle of the road. “Don’t like to run over things like that. Never know when a bunch of kids might have put it there with a chunk of concrete in it that will tear up the undercarriage of the truck.”

“Or else have filled it up with fresh cow crap so your truck will smell horrible for days. Whoa! Stop!” she squealed as she looked back in the side mirror.

He stomped the brakes and left a long line of black tire tracks as he came to a halt. “What is it?”

“I think there’s a baby in that box. I saw what looked like a little hand sticking out one of the holes in the side.” Diana opened the door and started running the city block back to the box.

Luke bailed out of his side, leaving the door wide open, and jogged after her, until he saw a car coming from the opposite direction. He stood in the middle of the road, waving both hands until it slowed down. Then he pointed at the box, and the car inched its way forward until the driver rolled down the window a little and came to a stop only a few yards from where Diana was kneeling.

“What’s going on? Y’all lose something from the back of the truck?”

“No, but someone left that box in the middle of the road, and there’s something alive in it,” he answered.

“Be careful. Someone put a skunk in a box, and my boyfriend stopped to see about it and got sprayed.” The window went back up, and the lady drove very carefully until she was past.

“Don’t open it,” Luke yelled.

But he was too late. Diana had already pulled the tape from the top and was throwing back the flaps. When he reached her, both her hands were inside the box.

“Good God, it is a baby, isn’t it?” he gasped.

“Not a human one, but it’s a mama cat that seems to be real tame, and she’s got three little babies that don’t even have their eyes open. We can’t leave them here, and we can’t just turn her loose on the side of the road, Luke. They’ll all be killed,” Diana whispered.

Luke rubbed the calico cat’s head, and immediately she began to purr. “Of course we won’t leave her. I’ll carry her to the truck, but if the flaps aren’t closed, she might get spooked and run away.”

Diana carefully pulled the tape back up over the flaps and held her hand on the top of the box as Luke took it to the truck. He placed it on the seat between them while she rounded the back end of the vehicle. The moment she was inside and the doors were closed, she opened one flap and started petting the cat.

“It’s okay, pretty mama kitty. We’ll take care of you and your babies. Why are you turning around, Luke? Is there a shelter in Clarksville?” she asked when she realized that he was doing a three-point turn.

“I have no idea, but I do know we’re going to need some litter, a pan to put it in, and some cat food. Maybe the kittens can stay in a dresser drawer with their mama. You rest in the truck with them while I run into the store and get what we need. We can’t leave them outside in this kind of weather. Never know from one day to the next if it’s going to be cold or if it’s going to rain. Aunt Tootsie will let us keep them in the utility room, I’m sure,” he said.

“You think we should call and ask to be sure sure?”

“Naw.” He grinned. “Better to ask forgiveness than permission. Could be that they’re just what she and Carmen both need right now, and they’d never know it if Tootsie said no before we even brought them in.”

It was only a fifteen-minute drive back to the store. Luke snagged a parking place close to the entrance and was in and out in less than ten minutes. They were easily going to get home in time for Diana to fry a pan of potatoes to go with the barbecue sandwiches.

“Everyone is going to fall in love with you,” she crooned to the cat as Luke got behind the wheel and started the engine. “How could anyone do this to such a loving animal?”

“They’re just downright mean,” Luke answered.

“You ever have a cat?”

“Yes, I did. A big old yellow tomcat that ruled my house until last year. One day I found him on his favorite blanket on the sofa. I thought he was sleeping, but the vet thought he probably died of a heart attack,” Luke said. “I love cats and dogs both, but a cat is an easier pet. Dogs have to be walked, and they don’t train to a litter pan.”

“I’m so sorry.” Diana removed her hand from the box and laid it on his shoulder. “What was his name?”

“Bouncer. He’d actually been my father’s cat, but when Dad died, I inherited him. He was eighteen years old, so he had a long, happy life and went fast, without much, if any, pain. I like to think that he just went to sleep and never woke up.” Luke turned back to the state highway again. “If Aunt Tootsie doesn’t want her or the kittens, I’ll take them home with me.”

And there’s another reason you should latch on to him in a hurry. He’s good with animals, and I can tell you that little kids flock around him, too. So don’t blow your chance at happiness. Diana could hear Smokey’s chuckle so clearly that it startled her.

Carmen was bored.

All the wood had been split. It wasn’t her day to cook, and she’d read the whole book that Tootsie had given her when they had first started on the trip. Yes, it had helped her put things in perspective and made her wish that she’d been home when Eli had arrived. The heroine in the book had put sardines in her ex-husband’s car when he came to take it away from her. Carmen would have just loved to have tucked some into Eli’s golf-club bag. Let his new pregnant woman, Kate, try to find what was stinking up her house for a week.