The Rescued Puppy

Chapter Two

They only made it just inside the park gates on that first walk, before Lucky started to drag on his lead and look up hopefully for a lift. Georgia and Adam took it in turns to carry the weary puppy home.

But over the next few weeks, a short walk every day soon stretched to two short walks, and then a quick run round the houses before breakfast and a proper walk after school, in the park or the woods. By the time Georgia and Adam broke up for the summer holidays, walks were his absolute favourite thing.

They celebrated the beginning of the holidays by taking a picnic tea with them to the woods. It was a gorgeous hot day, perfect for a long expedition. Mum took a folding chair, so she could sit down with a book while Georgia, Adam and Lucky raced around the woods, shouting and calling and playing hide and seek among the tree roots.

Lucky adored the woods. They were full of amazing smells, good places to dig, and sticks that Georgia and Adam could throw for him to chase. He had an extending lead now, as no one was sure about letting him run free just yet. But the absolute best thing about the woods was that they were full of squirrels. Lucky adored squirrels. They were fast, and they smelled interesting, and they bounced up and down when they scampered along. He was desperate to catch one. He’d never got anywhere near, but he wasn’t giving up hope. And there was a squirrel now…

Adam raced behind Lucky, laughing as the puppy pulled the lead out to its full length and galloped down the path, ears flapping as if he was about to take off. The squirrel was a plump, bushy-tailed one, and it wasn’t scared. It seemed to keep looking back to see how close the puppy was getting.

“Adam!” Georgia yelled worriedly. “Don’t let him catch it! He’ll hurt it! Or it might scratch him!”

But Adam was too far away to hear – or he just wasn’t listening, Georgia thought crossly as she dashed after them. She really didn’t want Lucky to hurt the squirrel.

But when she caught up with Adam and Lucky, she saw she needn’t have worried. Adam was leaning against a tree, panting, and Lucky was jumping up and down and scrabbling at the trunk, whimpering.

The squirrel was sitting on a branch halfway up, squeaking and chittering as though it was telling Lucky off.

“Didn’t you hear me yelling?” Georgia demanded. “What do you think he’d do if he caught it?”

Adam shook his head and shrugged. “No idea! I don’t think he knows either. Calm down, Georgie! He’s never going to get one.”

Lucky ignored them, staring hopefully up at the squirrel, as it danced up and down on its branch. Unfortunately, it didn’t look as though it was going to fall off.

By the time they trailed back to the clearing where Mum was sitting, they were all really hungry. They had brought Lucky’s dog biscuits with them, and a bottle of water and his bowl, so he could have a picnic too. He wolfed down the biscuits in about two seconds, and then stood staring at Adam’s tuna sandwiches as if he were starved.

Georgia giggled. “You should learn to like Marmite, Adam. He never wants my sandwiches.”

Adam shuddered. “Yuck.”

Mum slipped her cardigan off her shoulders, enjoying the sun. “Just think, this time next week we’ll be on holiday in Suffolk!”

Georgia opened her crisps and sneakily fed a very small one to Lucky. He wasn’t really supposed to have them, but she couldn’t resist those big, hopeful dark eyes.

“We’ve never been on holiday with a dog before,” Adam said happily, stretching himself out on the rug.

“It is right by the sea, isn’t it?” Georgia asked again. She already knew it was – she’d seen the photos in the holiday cottage brochure – but she liked to hear her mum say it.

Mum smiled over at her. “Absolutely next to it, Georgie. A little cottage just at the top of a cliff.”

“And we’ll be allowed to take Lucky for walks, all by ourselves?” Adam pushed himself up on his elbows.

“As long as you’re very, very careful and sensible.” Mum and Dad had discussed this with them when they’d first booked the cottage. It was in a conservation area, where there were no roads – just a little track that led up to the cottage.

Adam and Georgia nodded. They would be super-careful. They lived in a busy town, close to a main road that they had to cross in order to get anywhere, so Mum and Dad weren’t happy about letting them take Lucky out on their own at home. That was why they had looked for a holiday home situated in a quiet place. Cliff Cottage wasn’t far from a pretty seaside town called Woolbridge, but it was all on its own on a cliff, surrounded by footpaths. It was going to be brilliant.

“I’m going to start packing when we get home,” Georgia said dreamily. “We’ll have to remember to pack all of Lucky’s things, too. I wonder if there’s a pet shop in Woolbridge.”

Adam smirked. “So you can buy him another fancy collar?” Then he rolled out of the way as Georgia aimed a smack at him.

Lucky gave a little warning bark. He didn’t like it when they squabbled. He didn’t understand that they were just messing about, even though Georgia had tried telling him it was just what twins did. It seemed to him that they were really cross with each other. He looked from Georgia to Adam and back again, his eyes worried, and whined sadly.

“Sorry, Lucky.” Georgia wriggled over to him, and rubbed his ears and scratched his silky domed spaniel forehead. “It’s OK. We didn’t mean it.”

Lucky flopped down, head on paws, with a small sigh of relief. His eyes were closing, and within seconds he was asleep in the sun.