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“Charles,” I called, still staring at the open hatch above. “We have a bit of a problem back here!”

Chapter Five

By the time Charles and I discovered our two furry stowaways we were less than a half hour from our destination, which put us in quite the pickle.

“Obviously we have to take them back,” I tried to reason.

But he insisted that we stick to the schedule he’d already laid out, which meant we didn’t have the time to add a five-hour delay by circling back home to drop off Pringle and Octo-Cat.

“It will be fine,” he promised, even though I could tell that he, too, was unhappy about this particular turn of events. “They can hang back in the RV while we go do other things,” he added, then turned up the volume on our no-worries playlist. Frankly, I had lots of worries, but there was no point in hashing them out over and over again. Like Charles, I would just have to sweep my troubles to the back corner of my mind and do my best to have a good time.

We only had time to listen to a few more songs before we pulled into a little campground near the base of Mount Katahdin.

“Surprise!” Charles cried as he navigated to an open lot. Of course, I’d already figured out our destination a long time back but hadn’t let on.

“Mount Katahdin, the tallest mountain in the entire state. It’s supposed to be really beautiful here,” he continued. “The perfect place to kick back and relax, starting with a hike! After all, the name literally means, ‘The Greatest.’”

Hiking up a mountain was definitely not what I considered R&R, but at least I could be certain our furry stowaways wouldn’t try to follow us there.

Charles leaned over to give me a peck on the cheek.“You go get changed, and I’ll check in with the owner of the campgrounds to let her know we’re here.” He clambered up from the driver’s seat and almost skipped out the door, leaving me with the unenviable task of trying to find appropriate attire in a bag packed by my crazy nan.

I padded back to the bedroom where my suitcase sat waiting for me on a bed made with perfect, tight hospital corners. Octo-Cat and Pringle lay stretched out on either side of it, both dozing away as if they hadn’t a care in the world.

I clapped my hands together as loud as I could, startling them both awake.“Out,” I said when they turned their heads to me.

“You’re disturbing our nap,” Octo-Cat droned.

“And you’re disturbing my vacation,” I shot back.

“Do what you need to do,” Pringle said while Octo-Cat stood and turned in slow circles, padding at the bed.

I’d changed in front of my cat hundreds of times, but I didn’t feel comfortable getting undressed in front of the raccoon. Privacy was tricky business when it came to talking animals. Of course they didn’t view things the same way humans did, but the ever-observant Pringle could easily spot a weird mole or birthmark and then find a way to bring it up in every single conversation we had from that point on. I, for one, refused to give him that kind of power over me.

“Out,” I repeated, stamping my foot for good measure. When Pringle still didn’t budge, I took off my bathrobe and threw it over him, then picked up the bundle and set it outside the door, which I shut firmly behind me.

“Your pajamas don’t match,” Octo-Cat said. And because nothing could ever be easy, he’d now settled himself on top of my suitcase.

I picked him up and sat him back on the bed. He wasn’t happy about it, but at least I could trust him not to bite me.

Taking a deep breath in, I unzipped the suitcase, preparing for the worst assortment of clothes I’d long since relegated to the back of my closet. I hadn’t, however, prepared myself to find a bag filled with outfits that weren’t even mine.

I snapped a quick picture and fired off a text to Nan: Explain.

My phone rang a few seconds later. I picked up, and Nan’s words rushed out. “I had to keep it a surprise, and you were in your room right up until go time. I had no other options, so I did the best I could.”

“You do realize we don’t wear the same size?” I said, eyeing the suitcase warily.

“That’s why I picked stretchy things. Relax, you’re going to look fabulous!”

I let out a long sigh. At this point, I was getting very sick of everyone telling me to relax.“Okay. By the way, Octo-Cat is with me. Long story. Tell ya later. Gotta go,” I muttered before ending the call.

After rummaging through the bag, I found there were two choices here. I could choose from a couple different floor-length, form-fitting gowns, or I could wear Nan’s hot pink sweats with the word “juicy” written across the tush.

“Kill me now,” I moaned as I cycled through my options again and again, trying to pick the lesser evil.

“Ask me later after I’ve had my nap,” my cat answered unhelpfully.

In the end, I chose the juicy track suit, opting to keep my pajama T-shirt on top so that I could tie the jacket around my waist and hide the branded booty.