Page 88 of The Wisteria Tree Cottage

Star shook her head.

Bear looked around. They weren’t near any treehouses for him to be able to direct her. In fact he had run through the trees in such a rush he couldn’t exactly pinpoint where he was.

‘She’s fine, I promise, I’ll be back at your house soon,’ Bear said. They didn’t need Meadow wandering aimlessly through the dark woods too. He put the walkie-talkie back in his pocket.

‘Star, thank god you’re OK. We’ve all been so worried. What are you doing out here?’ Bear moved very slowly towards them just in case any sudden moves upset Snuggles.

‘I heard barking and when I looked out the window I saw Snuggles. You said we need to catch him sooner rather than later because of his poorly leg and you said that maybe some dog toys or a ball might be the way to do it, so I took one of my balls and came outside. He loved it. I thought if I played with him for a bit he might let me catch him. We were running and playing together and I didn’t realise how far I’d gone and when I tried to go back home I got lost and scared, then I fell over and hurt my ankle and couldn’t get back up. But Snuggles lay down with me and he’s kept me warm.’

‘Oh Star.’ Bear moved closer, kneeling down. Snuggles eyed Bear but he clearly could tell he didn’t mean either of them any harm. ‘You shouldn’t have come out here alone in the dark. And how would you have caught him, you don’t have a lead or anything like that?’

‘I didn’t think of that, I just wanted to help Snuggles.’

Bear smiled. ‘Let me look at your ankle.’

Star indicated which one it was and Bear gently felt around. Nothing seemed out of place so it was more likely to be a sprain than anything else.

‘You better tell your mum you’re OK, she’ll want to hear your voice,’ Bear said, offering out his walkie-talkie.

Star pressed the button. ‘Mummy, I’m OK, Bear is here and Snuggles is here too.’

‘OK, honey, I love you,’ Meadow said, her voice clearly tearful.

‘Right, let’s get you home.’ Bear stood up and then lifted Star so she was sat on his hip.

‘What about Snuggles?’ Star said.

‘I haven’t got a lead either, but maybe he might follow us. He seems attached to you.’

‘He looked after me, Bear, we need to look after him as well.’

‘We will. I think we need a new cooler name for him though. How about Hero?’

Star smiled. ‘I like it. Snuggles didn’t really suit him anyway. Come on, Hero.’

And whether it was the new name or whether the dog would have come anyway, Hero was quick to follow as Bear started walking through the trees.

After a short while, Bear spotted a few treehouses and joined the main path that led through the trees, starting to recognise where he was.

‘Was Mummy angry?’ Star said.

‘I think probably more scared than anything,’ Bear said, taking another path that would lead them to Wisteria Cottage.

‘I didn’t want to wake them, I thought I’d only be outside for a few minutes,’ Star said.

‘I’m sure your mummy and daddy would prefer that you wake them than for you to go outside alone in the middle of the night and they could have helped you catch him.’

Wisteria Cottage came into view and Bear could see Meadow pacing around at the bottom of the steps. God, his heart hurt just looking at her. They had to sort this out between them, he refused to believe this was over. But she had called him when she needed him so maybe all hope wasn’t lost.

Meadow spotted them and ran flat out across the wood to meet them.

‘Oh my god, Star, I was so worried, what were you thinking?’ Meadow said, as Bear passed Star into her arms. Meadow hugged her tight.

‘I wanted to help Snuggles,’ Star said, her voice muffled against her mum’s chest. ‘I mean Hero. Me and Bear renamed him. When I fell over, Hero stayed with me and kept me warm until Bear found me.’

‘Well, it sounds like they are both heroes,’ Meadow said. She looked at him. ‘Thank you.’

‘I’m always here for you,’ Bear said.

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