Jess the Lonely Puppy Read Online Free Page B

fast, Jess, OK?”
    They slowly made their way back, with Chloe leaning on Maddy and Jess trotting obediently alongside her.
    Chloe’s mum was watching out for them through the front window. She looked worried.
    “Are we really late?” Chloe muttered.
    Maddy frowned. “A bit. And she wasn’t sure about letting us go, was she?”
    Mum flung open the front door. “Chloe, you promised me five—Oh no,what have you done?” She helped Chloe inside, and Jess and Maddy crept in behind them, not wanting to be noticed.
    “What happened?” Mum asked, getting down the first-aid box. She looked very upset – much more upset than she ought to be about just a scraped knee, Chloe thought.
    “Jess ran after a squirrel and I tripped,” she explained, trying not to make it sound too serious.
    “That dog again!” Mum said crossly.
    “She didn’t mean to hurt me! She was really sorry – she was whimpering,” Chloe protested. But she could see Mum wasn’t really listening.
    “She’s too wilful. I don’t know what we’re going to do with her,” Mum said, dabbing at Chloe’s knee with a wipe.

    “Oh, she isn’t really, Mum!” Chloe protested, giving Maddy a horrified look. “She’s lovely! She didn’t mean to hurt me.”
    Jess sat in her basket, her eyes swivelling between Mum and Chloe, shivering at the loud, upset voices. Mum kept looking at her as though this was all her fault. And Jess had a horrible feeling that it was.

Chapter Five
    Will smiled and shook his head as he spotted Chloe walking up the children’s ward, a big plaster on her knee. “I know you miss me, Chlo, but cutting your leg off so you can stay in hospital too, that’s just dim…Seriously, what did you do?”
    Chloe grinned at him. “I took Jess for a walk! Well, me and Maddy did.”She looked down at the plaster and shrugged. “But Jess wanted to chase a squirrel, and I tripped…”
    Will beamed. “That’s brilliant!”
    “Hey!”
    “Not your knee! Brilliant that you took Jess out. Thanks, Chlo. I’d been really worrying about her.”
    Chloe sighed and glanced over at her mum, who was talking to the doctor. “I’m not sure Mum’s going to let me take her out again, though,” she whispered. “She was so cross. Jess has been really naughty in the last couple of days.”
    Will thought for a moment. “Well, if you really can’t talk Mum round, perhaps you can wear off some of her energy in the garden. She loves playingfetch, and you could try hiding one of her toys and getting her to play hide-and -seek, that’s fun. Then maybe she’ll be a bit less mad.”
    Chloe nodded. “Good idea. Anyway, I might still get Mum to give in.”

    “You just need to stretch your legs, don’t you, Jessie?” Chloe murmured, stroking Jess’s silky black-and-white back, as they leaned against the sofa watching TV.
    Jess let out a huge sigh, as if in agreement, then slumped down with her head in Chloe’s lap.
    Chloe had spent ages persuading her mum that Jess had only tripped her upby accident. But Mum was still saying that she didn’t think it was a good idea for Chloe and Maddy to take Jess out again. Chloe was also worried about what her mum had said about not knowing what to do with Jess. What did that mean? She was scared that her mum might want to send Jess back to the breeder they’d got her from. Will would be heartbroken.
    And it wasn’t just Will. Chloe would miss Jess so much, too, she realized now. She was determined to turn Jess into the most perfect dog ever, so Mum wouldn’t want to get rid of her. But that meant they had to go out for more walks. Chloe was sure that Jess was only playing up because she needed loads more exercise, and the occasional shortwalks she was getting with Grandad just weren’t enough. She’d spent the morning playing in the garden with Jess, like Will had suggested, but she was sure that Jess really wanted more space for a good long run.
    Eventually, after a whole day of begging, Mum agreed to let