Timmy in Trouble (6 page)

“What is it?” Katie asked, peering a little reluctantly into the box. She had a horrible feeling Timmy had found something yucky. “Misty! Oh, Misty!” Katie whirled round. “Jess, Jess, come here, quick!”

Jess and Dad were just following them up the alley. “You’ve caught him,” cried Dad. “Thank goodness.”

“Yes, but look!” Katie picked Timmy up and hugged him lovingly. “Jess, come and see!” She stood back so Jess could get to the box. “Timmy’s found her. He must have sniffed her out. That’s why he ran off. He’s so clever.”

Jess dropped to her knees beside the box. “Misty!” she whispered.

Misty shot out of the box and Jess swooped down and picked her up.
Misty snuggled into Jess’s coat, purring so hard her sides were shuddering.

“Katie, he found her!” Cradling Misty in her arms, Jess turned to her sister and Timmy. “I can’t believe it…”

Timmy reached out from Katie’s arms, wriggling and wagging his tail happily, and amazingly, Misty didn’t snarl or hiss at him. She shut her eyes slightly as he licked her nose. She didn’t look as though she was enjoying it, but she let him.

“They’re friends!” Katie said in amazement.

Misty glared at her, as if to say,
Don’t push it
…

But it was true. And above them, the first Christmas snowflakes were starting to float gently down.

“Misty, Timmy, turkey!” Katie laughed at Misty and Timmy, both standing eagerly by their food bowls. “Just a little, look, it’s your Christmas dinner.”

“Get on and eat yours, Katie,” Mum said. “Dad’s nearly finished.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be having seconds,” Dad said with his mouth full.

Jess wasn’t eating very much either. Both girls just kept stopping and staring happily at Misty and Timmy wolfing down turkey.

“I hope Misty likes her new blanket,” Katie said, ignoring the roast potato she was waving around.

“I bet she will, look, she’s about to try it out. It’s a gorgeous present, Katie.” Jess smiled at her, and Katie grinned back. It felt like the first time in weeks that Jess had smiled so easily at her. The angry wall between them seemed to have just crumbled away.

Misty prowled thoughtfully over to the new pink, fleecy blanket that lay neatly by the radiator. Katie had bought it weeks ago on a trip to the pet shop. She’d seen how old and tatty Misty’s blanket had become, and had decided it was the perfect Christmas present.

Misty walked round it a couple of times, then graciously stepped on to it,
testing it with her paws. She lay down, the picture of a comfy, turkey-fed cat, and purred.

Timmy finished licking the last possible taste of turkey out of his bowl, and gave Misty’s bowl a quick lick just in case she’d left any. He sighed happily. Then he trotted over to Misty’s blanket, and gazed hopefully at her.

Misty gave him a resigned look.
If you must
, she seemed to be saying.

Katie and Jess watched, holding their breath, as Timmy whined eagerly, and snuggled down next to Misty, putting his nose next to hers.

Misty put a firm paw on one of his long, curly, brown ears. Clearly, if Timmy was on her blanket, he had to keep still.

Timmy looked up at Katie lovingly, and yawned. Two minutes later, both cat and puppy were fast asleep.

Jess put her arm around Katie’s shoulder, and Katie smiled. It was a perfect Christmas after all.

Holly Webb started out as a children’s book editor, and wrote her first series for the publisher she worked for. She has been writing ever since, with over sixty books to her name. Holly lives in Berkshire, with her husband and three young sons. She has a pet cat called Marble, who is always nosying around when she’s trying to type on her laptop.

Lost in the Snow

Lost in the Storm

Alfie all Alone

Sam the Stolen Puppy

Max the Missing Puppy

Sky the Unwanted Kitten

Timmy in Trouble

Ginger the Stray Kitten

Harry the Homeless Puppy

Buttons the Runaway Puppy

Alone in the Night

Ellie the Homesick Puppy

Jess the Lonely Puppy

Misty the Abandoned Kitten

Oscar’s Lonely Christmas

Lucy the Poorly Puppy

Smudge the Stolen Kitten

The Rescued Puppy

The Kitten Nobody Wanted

The Lost Puppy

The Frightened Kitten