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There on the sofa were Dad, Chloe and Sienna, all fast asleep. Isla’s dad was slumped against the back of the sofa, making tiny snoring noises. Sienna and Chloe were curled up halfway across his lap, and between them was Silky, adding her own purry little snores to the mix. The tabby kitten was on her back, and she’d slumped slightly into the gap between Isla’s dad’s legs. All her paws were in the air and it made them look massive. She was so funny that Isla had to smile, even though she was worried about what Hailey was going to say.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_39]

“I was going to bring her back to you,” Isla whispered. “But then I realized they’d all gone to sleep, so I thought I’d wait till they woke up. My mum’s gone for a run and Dad’s supposed to be making dinner, so it wouldn’t have been much longer. Sorry… Hey, don’t cry!” She puther arm round Hailey’s shoulders. “It’s all right. Silky’s OK. I’m sorry, I should have brought her back straight away.”

“It isn’t that,” Hailey sniffed, and then pulled Isla gently out into the hallway. “I’m only crying because she looks so sweet.”

Isla shook her head, not understanding.

“She’s so lovely and I don’t want her to go back to the shelter,” Hailey explained. “She’ll be all on her own in one of those pens and she’ll hate it. I know they’re brilliant at looking after the animals but it’s not like having a real home.” More tears ran down her cheeks. “She might even like the shelter better than our house because she’s been so scared and that makes me feelawful!”

“She knows you love her,” Isla said, giving Hailey a hug. “It’s only Pickle she doesn’t like. Do you really have to take her back there?”

Hailey nodded.“I told Mum what happened yesterday and that made up her mind. We have to let Silky go because it’s not fair on either of them. There’s going to be times when there’s no one in the house to make sure they aren’t fighting and we can’t always keep them separated. It just won’t work so we have to send her back.” Hailey gave a shuddery sort of sigh. “I’m almost looking forward to it. Poor Pickle, he’s been so miserable. At least he’ll be happy again.”

“I know you’ll really miss her, but Silky won’t be at the shelter for long,” Isla said, trying to look on the bright side. “She’s so gorgeous, someone’s going to adopt her straight away.”

“Do you think so?” Hailey asked hopefully. “There were so many cats there, Isla. It was really sad.”

There was a rustling from inside the living room and Isla’s dad appeared at the door with a sleepy Silky cradled in his cupped hands. “I think this might be yours,” he said to Hailey, holding out the kitten. Silky gave a huge yawn and blinked at Hailey.

“Yeah…” Hailey took Silky and cuddled her close. “I’d better take her home.” She sighed. “For now, anyway.”

“What’s up?” Isla’s dad looked between the two girls, eyebrows raised.

“They’ve decided that Silky’s got to go back to the shelter,” Isla told him. “Pickle hates sharing his house.”

“Max is already asking if we can have a tortoise instead…” Hailey said, rolling her eyes. “He reckons Pickle won’t mind a tortoise. Max thinks he might even ride on it – he’s seen a video of a cat riding a tortoise.” She smiled at Isla and her dad. “Thanks for looking after Silky so well. I wish you could keep her instead.”

Isla caught her breath. She hadn’t thought of it – she couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it. Mum had said she’d like to have a cat if they could persuade Dad. And Dad had just told her and Sienna and Chloe how good they all were with Silky. He’d had Silky curled up on his lap asleep for ages, like a born cat owner! She stared at him pleadingly.

“Well…” Isla’s dad looked at Silky, who was climbing on to Hailey’s shoulder and sniffing at her hair. “I suppose we could think about it. I mean, we’d have to talk to your mum, Isla. Your parents too, Hailey. And I’m not sure what the shelter would say about Silky swapping owners…”

“They’d be glad Silky’s got a new home, Dad. I’m sure they would!” Isla felt like jumping up and down. Was he actually saying yes?

“Can we?” she whispered. “Please can we?”

“I’m not promising,” Isla’s dad said slowly. “But … I don’t see why she has to go back to the shelter to be honest. I should think it would be upsetting for her. She’d be better off staying with us.”

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Hailey swallowed hard and carefully unwound Silky from her hair. She handed her over to Isla, and Isla could see that she was trying not to cry again.

“You’ll be able to see her all the time,” she said quietly. “She’ll still be a bit yours. We can share her.”

Silky was settling into the crook of Isla’s elbow, as though she was meant to be there. She yawned again and Isla leaned down and rubbed her chin over the top of Silky’s head, loving the velvet feel of her fur.

“I’ve got Pickle,” Hailey said. “I expect he’ll sleep on my bed tonight.”

Isla nodded and tried not to look too happy, but it was hard. She was imagining Silky sleeping on hers.