Lara went slowly back into the house, trying to think what to say. Her dad was making a cup of tea and the puppy had got up and was wandering round the kitchen, sniffing thoughtfully at the cupboards. Lara went to lean against the counter next to her dad.

  “Do you think … maybe … we could keep him?” she blurted out.

  Her dad laughed. “I was wondering how long that would take.”

  “But he’s so sweet! And Oliver likes him.”

  “We don’t want two dogs.”

  “I do!”

  Her dad sighed. “I can see that.”

  “Oliver would love having company while you’re working,” Lara pointed out. Her dad worked from home and Oliver would lie behind his chair looking mournful and hoping for walks.

  “Mmm. Maybe.”

  “I don’t think it would be any more work having two dogs instead of one.” Lara put her arms round her dad’s tummy and hugged him. “I don’t want him to go to the shelter, Dad. He seems really shy. I think he’d hate it there.”

  “I know. I just never planned on having more than one dog…” Lara’s dad looked down at her. “I’ll think about it, OK?”

  “Yes!”

  “I’m not promising anything, Lara…”

  Even though Dad kept telling her not to get her hopes up, Lara couldn’t help it. Jet was so sweet and he seemed to get on really well with Oliver. And he was almost house-trained. Well, he might have made a puddle on the kitchen floor, but only because Lara hadn’t realized in time that he wanted to go out. He was losing his nervousness around her dad too. He actually sat next to his chair during dinner and Lara was sure that Dad was pleased, even though he said the puppy was just hoping for some sausage.

  Lara hadn’t meant to call the puppy Jet in front of Dad but it slipped out, and Dad agreed it was a great name for him. Lara was sure he wouldn’t have said that if he didn’t want to keep the little dog, would he?

  “I think I’ll take Oliver upstairs to sleep in my room tonight,” Dad said as Lara was saying goodnight. “Then we can let Jet stay in the kitchen. I don’t want to leave the two of them alone together overnight, just in case.”

  “They’d be OK!” Lara protested.

  “Probably,” Dad agreed. “But I don’t want to take the chance. They’ve only known each other a few hours. We’re just being sensible.”

  Lara nodded. “I suppose you’re used to sleeping on your own, aren’t you,” she said, tickling Jet under his silky chin. It was the only bit of him that wasn’t black – a perfect little white splotch down his front. The puppy closed his eyes blissfully and one of his back paws tapped against the floor over and over.

  Dad laughed. “You’ve found his perfect scratching spot. But it’s bedtime now. Sleep well, sweetheart. Don’t worry, I’ll look after him. And I’ll make sure he goes out in the garden before I go to bed.”

  “Night, Dad. And … thank you!”

  “I’m still not promising!”

  Lara hurried upstairs, thinking that she was going to behave perfectly, just in case. No reading with a torch under the duvet tonight. She curled up in bed, imagining Jet in Oliver’s basket downstairs. She smiled to herself, thinking of the tiny black dog in the middle of that huge basket.

  She wasn’t sure what time it was when she woke up – her heart was thumping and she’d been having a strange dream about … about … she wasn’t sure what, but it had been scary, and someone was crying.

  Then the crying came again, from downstairs.

  Jet! She must have heard him whining and the noise had become part of her dream. Lara slipped out of bed and hurried downstairs as the pitiful cries grew louder.

  Jet scrabbled at the kitchen door when he heard footsteps. Someone was coming! They had to let him out. He’d been dozing but he couldn’t settle properly in that big basket. He needed to get back to his place – the alley and the bins and the pile of old cardboard boxes. He knew that space. He was safe there. Here, everything was strange.

  As the door opened, he shot through the gap and raced along the hallway, still whining. Then he sat down by the locked front door and began to howl. He wanted to go home!

  But Lara came hurrying after him, murmuring gently, and the man was coming down the stairs too. Jet whimpered. He couldn’t get out of here and he wasn’t even sure why he wanted to. Not when there was food and a warm bed and people who patted him and spoke gently to him and scratched his ears. Things just … weren’t right.

  “Hey, shh. It’s OK. Come on.” Lara coaxed him along the hallway and Jet followed her wearily, settling back into the basket. She wrapped the blanket over him, shushed him again and then crept away. Jet watched the kitchen door close behind them, the thin bar of light shrinking away to nothing, and he tried to sleep.

  “Do you think he’ll be OK?” Lara asked Dad worriedly as they went back upstairs.

  “He’s just getting used to a new place. Go to bed, sweetheart, you’ll be tired in the morning. Night.”

  Lara wrapped her duvet round herself, trying to listen for noises downstairs – there were a couple of whimpers, but that was all. Maybe Dad was right and Jet just needed to get used to the kitchen? She rolled over and fell asleep again almost at once.

  This time, she dreamed she was hurrying down the stairs to Jet but she couldn’t get there – the stairs seemed to go on and on forever, and he kept on crying. She woke up with a gasp and nearly screamed as Oliver licked her hand.

  “What are you doing?” she whispered, patting him. “I thought you were sleeping in Dad’s room. Oh…” She could hear it now – sad little whining noises from downstairs. “Did Jet wake you up?” She climbed out of bed, more slowly and sleepily this time, and stumbled down the stairs to the kitchen with Oliver loping after her.

  “Oh, Jet. Can’t you sleep?” she whispered. This time the puppy didn’t shoot out of the door, he just crept towards her beating his tail, looking miserable and somehow as though he was saying sorry. “It’s OK. It’s weird being in a new place. It took me ages to get used to my room at Mum and Jake’s house.”

  Lara gave a huge yawn and sat down next to the basket. It was nice and warm here by the radiator. “Go on, in you get,” she said, patting the cushion in the bottom. The puppy looked uncertainly at Oliver, but the bigger dog climbed in first and leaned his head over the side to rest on Lara’s knee. Jet followed him, snuggling up on top of Oliver’s paws, and closed his eyes.

  “Lara! Have you been here all night?”

  Lara blinked sleepily at her dad and then looked around in surprise. She was still sitting on the kitchen floor, huddled against the radiator. She was chilly and stiff … but there was a little black dog snuggled asleep in her lap.

  “Oh – he was in the basket before. He went to sleep on me!” she whispered, her eyes shining.

  “Yes.” Dad sighed. “And you both look gorgeous. But he didn’t go to sleep in the basket by himself, which is what we were hoping for… I’m exhausted and I bet you are too.”

  Lara didn’t say anything. It wouldn’t be a good idea to tell Dad that Jet falling asleep in her lap was just about the nicest thing that could have happened. At least not right now…

  “You’d better go and get ready for school,” Dad said. “Hello, pup,” he added as Jet opened one eye and peered up at him. “Come on. Do you want to go out in the garden?”

  Oliver surged up out of his basket as Dad unlocked the back door and the two dogs headed outside together. Dad and Lara stood by the door staring after them, smiling.

  “They get on really well…” Lara pointed out.

  “I know. Go and get ready for school!”

  Jet sat adoringly by Dad’s feet while they were eating their toast for breakfast, and Lara could tell Dad liked it.

  “Can Jet come to school with us?” she asked hopefully as she put on her jacket. If Dad was still set on taking the puppy to the shelter today, this would be the last time she’d see him. She didn’t want to say goodbye to him just yet.

  Dad looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure. I don’t suppose he’s used to a collar and lead. But I don’t want to leave him on his own and it’s probably not a good idea to leave him and Oliver together… Yes, OK then. We’ve got Oliver’s old collar somewhere, it should just about fit.”

  “It’s in here, I’m sure it is.” Lara rooted about in the basket of gloves and scarves and other random bits that lived under the coat hooks. “Here!” She handed the battered old collar to Dad and held Jet, who was trying to climb into the basket too. The puppy shook his ears, confused, as Dad fastened the collar around his neck. He gave the lead to Lara. “Be careful, OK? If he pulls a lot, I’ll take him.”

  Lara nodded, biting her lip. It felt as if Jet was really theirs … but he wasn’t.

  “I get the feeling I’m going to end up carrying him,” Dad murmured, but Jet didn’t seem to mind the collar as they headed down the path and out of the gate. He pulled a bit, but he was happy to follow Dad and Oliver and his tail was wagging.

  Lara gave Dad an anxious look as they came to the alley, wondering if the puppy would try to dash off down there. Dad put a hand on Jet’s lead too, just in case. But Jet just stopped and looked down it, his ears twitching. Oliver circled back and sniffed at him and the puppy set off again, as if it meant nothing at all.

  Lara walked proudly up to the school gate with Jet, then gave his lead to Dad and crouched down to pat him and say goodbye. “You were so good!” she whispered. “Bye, Jet. Bye, beautiful.” She looked up at Dad with a pleading look on her face.

  “Two dogs, Lara. It’s a lot of work. Especially if he’s not going to settle at night.” But even as he said it, Dad was tickling Jet behind the ears and smiling.

  “You brought him with you!” Amelia came hurrying up beside them. “Oh, he looks so cute in a collar and lead! Are you going to keep him?”

  Dad sighed and Lara shook her head. “I don’t think so. Come on.” She grabbed Amelia’s arm and hurried into school without looking back. She didn’t want to see Jet and Oliver and Dad watching after her.

  “It won’t be like he’s a stray again,” Amelia pointed out. “They’ll feed him at the shelter and make a fuss of him. He won’t be hungry any more.”

  “Yeah.” Lara nodded firmly. “He’ll probably really like it there.” They’d been talking about Jet on and off all day, and Amelia had been doing a brilliant job of cheering Lara up. It was sort of working…“It’s going to be weird walking past the alley, though,” she added as she slung her backpack over her shoulder and they made for the door. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk past it without checking for a puppy now.”

  “I know! Hey – your dad’s here. I thought we were walking back on our own?”

  “We were.” Lara caught her breath. “Do you think… Yes! Look!”

  Dad was there, just outside the gate, with Oliver sitting patiently beside him. And next to them – dancing about and tying himself in knots with Oliver’s old lead – was Jet.

  “You didn’t take him to the shelter!” Lara yelled as she dashed towards her dad. “Are we keeping him?” She bent down to stroke Jet and he bounced up at her lovingly. He was trying to lick her nose and wag his tail and say hello to Amelia all at the same time. Already he seemed so different from the scared little dog they’d found the day before.

  Dad grinned at her. “I rang Valley Animal Care but the lady I spoke to sounded a bit worried about where they’d put him. She said they were really full. So … I thought we’d try keeping him a bit longer. He’s been so good today. He went on a long walk with me and Oliver at lunchtime and then he fell asleep on my foot while I was working.”

  “You see! You love him!” Lara said triumphantly, and Amelia laughed.

  Dad held out Jet’s lead and Lara took it, then she offered it to Amelia. “Do you want a turn walking him?”

  Amelia took the lead, beaming, and they set off down the road. Lara saw quite a few people smiling at the two dogs as they went past – Oliver was so big that he made Jet look even littler.

  “We just have to hope he settles better tonight,” Dad said.

  Lara nodded. “I know. Maybe he could sleep in my room?”

  “Oh, you’re so lucky,” Amelia sighed enviously.

  But Dad shook his head. “Sorry, Lara. He’s not totally house-trained and your room has carpet. He needs to stay downstairs where there are hard floors.”

  “I suppose,” Lara said reluctantly.

  “But maybe both he and Oliver could be in the kitchen tonight,” Dad suggested. “They seem to be getting on really well. Hopefully that’ll help.”

  “We could put Oliver’s upstairs basket in the kitchen too, in case they want a bed each,” Lara agreed, smiling at Jet as he walked along beside Amelia. She couldn’t believe how good he was being.

  “I hope it goes OK with him tonight,” Amelia said, handing Jet’s lead back as they reached her front door. “He’s such a good dog. I bet it was just first-night nerves or something.”

  Lara smiled at her. “I’ll tell you tomorrow!”

  At bedtime, Lara carried Oliver’s spare basket downstairs, and then hurried back up for an armful of soft toys.

  “What are those for?” Dad asked as she brought them into the kitchen.

  “I thought we could make the basket feel a bit smaller,” Lara explained. “It’s so big and Jet’s so little. If we put these round the edge, it won’t seem so big to him.”

  “Good idea,” Dad agreed. “I hope none of them are your favourites, though. He might eat them…”

  Lara shook her head. “No. They’re just the ones that live in the box under my bed.” She started to line up the toys around the inside of the basket so there was just a little Jet-sized space in the middle. The puppy stood next to her, peering in curiously. When she’d finished, he climbed into the basket and sat down, surrounded by teddies. A couple of them were bigger than he was.

  “There!” Lara smiled. “You’ll be cosy now. Sleep well, Jet.”

  Dad laughed. “I think Oliver’s jealous. He wants a bear too.”

  Lara dashed upstairs and came back with an old toy dog, and Oliver snuggled down with it tucked under his chin. She went up to bed feeling hopeful – both dogs looked so comfy with their baskets next to each other and all those toys.

  But in the middle of the night she and Dad were woken by a miserable howl.

  Dad was already heading downstairs when Lara came out of her room. “Go back to sleep, sweetheart. You don’t need to get up.”

  But Lara followed Dad anyway. She couldn’t leave Jet making such sad noises. The puppy was waiting by the kitchen door again, whimpering. As Dad opened the door, he tried to wriggle past them and dash along the hallway to the front door.

  “What is it, Jet?” Dad asked, picking up the puppy and gently stroking his back. “Are you scared?”

  Jet whined again and Oliver made a sleepy sort of groaning noise. “I know,” Dad muttered. “I feel the same way. Come on, pup. Bedtime.” Carefully he put Jet back into the basket. Lara tucked the toys around him again and then they crept out of the kitchen.

  The sad whimpering started when they were halfway up the stairs, and every so often there was a little howl. Dad sighed. “I think we have to try leaving him. It’s no good him thinking that we’re going to come and make a fuss of him every time he cries.”

  “But he’s so sad.” Lara peered over the banisters. The noises were making her feel awful.

  “You can’t sleep in the kitchen with him every night,” Dad said firmly. “Come on, Lara. You’re just going to have to put your duvet over your head.” He frowned. “I hope he isn’t going to wake up the people next door…”

  In the kitchen Jet sat by the door, scratching at it with one paw. Why had they gone and left him again? Oliver was there – he was asleep. Jet could hear the big dog’s soft breathing in the darkness. Oliver must feel safe here, safe enough to sleep. But somehow this place wasn’t right. It was too big. Too … different.

  Jet scratched the door again and let out a desperate wail. There was dark all around him, and it was all too cold and open and empty. When Amelia was there, patting him, he wasn’t so scared, but he hated being alone. He howled again, and again, and again…

  Dad was looking quite tired and grumpy the next morning. Jet had gone to sleep eventually but he seemed to have been crying for ages. Even Oliver looked tired – he didn’t leap out of his basket as soon as his dog biscuits hit the food bowl the way he usually did.

  “That was not a good night,” Dad said grimly.

  “No.” Lara stirred her cereal and looked hopefully at him. “It’s such a big change for him, Dad. Babies take ages to sleep through the night. Mum said I was dreadful at sleeping when I was little.”

  “Don’t remind me.” Dad shuddered. “At least he isn’t that bad.”

  “So … we’ll try again tonight? I could ring Mum and ask if she knows how to help a dog sleep.”

  Dad nodded. “He has to settle soon. You’re right – he just needs to get used to us.”

  Lara spent the rest of the day trying to think of clever ways to help Jet sleep.

  “Maybe he’d like a hot-water bottle?” her friend Jackson suggested at lunch. Lara and Amelia had told most of the class about Jet by now. “We gave our cat a hot-water bottle when we first got her. My mum said it was to remind Furball of sleeping next to her mum.”

  “He didn’t have his mum when he was sleeping by the bins, though,” Amelia pointed out.

  “I’m going to try everything,” Lara said. “Oh! Do you think he’d like a nightlight? Maybe he doesn’t like the dark? That alley had security lights at the back of the shops.”

  “It’s a worth a try,” Jackson agreed. “He’s a really cute dog. I’d love a dog like that.”

 

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