FIONA HARRISON has been a freelance journalist, writing for a wealth of publications including the Sunday Mirror, Daily Express, Prima, Woman and Grazia for several years. Originally from Cornwall by way of Bath, this is her second novel, following on from A Pug Like Percy. She lives in Berkshire with her husband and when she is not writing can usually be found devouring other people’s novels.

Also by Fiona Harrison:

A Pug Like Percy

For pug loverseverywhere

Contents

Cover

About the Author

Also by Fiona Harrison

Title Page

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Four

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

There is nothing I enjoy more than catching the odd forty winks during the daytime. I am more than happy to curl up in most places, but my favourite has to be the large sunny kitchen at the home in Perivale I share with my gorgeous owner, Gail. It’s there I have a lovely basket placed between the oven and the door so I’m never too hot or cold. And it’s there I can always enjoy an undisturbed nap safely out of anybody’s way, complete with the blanket Gail lovingly knitted for me when she first adopted me.

Now, I was in my very favourite spot enjoying a cosy few minutes of sleep when an ear-piercing crash, bang and wallop had me jumping out of my skin. Getting uneasily to my paws, I looked up at Gail’s twinkling blue eyes, heart pounding.

‘Was that what I think it was?’ I barked, trembling.

Gail shrugged, her long, straight chestnut hair skimming her shoulders as she did so. ‘Only one way to find out.’

Together we trooped out of the sunshine-filled kitchen and into the hallway where the slightly sickly sweet fragrance of dried flowers assaulted my senses. It didn’t take long to discover the cause of all the trouble. There, by the front door, was my beautiful but mischievous four-month-old son, Hugo, surrounded by what could only be described as chaos.

My owner let out a gasp of horror as we both took in the mess that stood before us. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. Scatter cushions had been ripped to shreds, the stuffing from their innards covering the hessian carpet that lined the hallway. Elsewhere the vanilla and lime potpourri had been thrown across the doorway like confetti at a wedding, while large cream pillar candles had been chewed to nothing, wax deposited all over the wooden banisters and carpet. Quickly, footsteps raced towards us as Gail’s husband Simon, clutching their baby son Ben, and their teenage daughter Jenny appeared.

‘Is it Hugo again, Mum?’ Jenny piped up.

‘What’s he done this time?’ Simon sighed, his chocolaty eyes full of concern as he peered over Gail’s shoulder.

Gail turned to each of them, despair written across her face. ‘The house-warming presents, he’s destroyed Mum and Dad’s house-warming presents, they’re ruined.’

As Gail stood rooted to the floor in shock, Jenny rushed towards the box and frantically rifled through in a bid to salvage something.

‘You’re wasting your time, love,’ Simon called tightly. ‘Hugo’s done what he does best, ruined everything in sight.’

‘Don’t say that, Dad,’ Jenny replied, ever the optimist. ‘There has to be something here we can fix at least.’

But I knew Jenny’s efforts were pointless. Shaking my head, I walked gently towards my son who was now standing next to the box and looking proudly at his destruction. With his blond fur, black markings and dark eyes he was without doubt a real cutie, but every day he was always getting into trouble, and today, on this super special day that was important to the whole family, Hugo had managed to ruin it with his tiny paws all over again. ‘Look what I did, Dad,’ he yapped excitedly. ‘I never knew Gail had bought me so many toys.’

Fury rose, and I did my best to choke it down. ‘Those are not toys. They are gifts for Gail’s mum and dad. You were told that last night.’

‘Was I?’ Hugo asked, his brown eyes filled with innocence.

‘You know you were,’ I barked angrily. ‘I explained that today was a big day because Doreen and Eric were moving into their new house around the corner and that all of these things in the box were presents, ready to welcome them into their new home.’

‘But I thought you said they were toys for me,’ Hugo protested.

I opened my mouth ready to bark, when there was a knock at the door.

‘Oh Christ!’ Simon groaned, passing the baby to Gail so he could open the door. ‘That’s all we need.’

‘Simon,’ Gail hissed, as she cuddled the nine-month-old and kissed the fine blond hair that was springing up all over his head. ‘They’ll hear you.’

‘Don’t worry,’ called Jenny, who from her position next to the front door was peering through the little spyhole. ‘It’s only Sal and Peg.’

‘Well, don’t just stare at them,’ Gail said. ‘One of you let them in.’

Immediately, Jenny pulled the door open and smiled warmly at a small blonde woman with kindly blue eyes and a beautiful blonde pug standing on the doorstep.

‘Come in, guys!’ She beamed. ‘Welcome to chaos.’

As Sal stepped into the hallway she let out a low whistle as she took in the scene. As for me, I bounded over to my love, all thoughts of Hugo and his crimes temporarily forgotten.

‘I didn’t know you were coming over,’ I barked gently.

‘I suggested to Sal we lend Gail a paw,’ Peg yapped, greeting me with a lick to my ear. ‘Big day today, her mum and dad moving from Devon to London to help with the family.’

‘Since baby Ben and of course our Hugo arrived Gail’s been frazzled,’ I admitted. ‘I think she’ll be grateful for all the support her mum and dad can give now they’ll be closer.’

‘How things have changed since Gail adopted you from the tails of the forgotten all that time ago,’ Peg woofed with affection.

I realised that as always she was right, things had changed in the family, but it was all for the best. When Gail adopted me and brought me to the lovely semi-detached home she shared with Simon, little did I realise that their marriage was in jeopardy because they were both so worried about their daughter Jenny. The little girl was suffering from a life-threatening heart condition and needed regular hospital care but she pulled through, and now, Jenny is a very normal teenager with a perfect working heart.

‘I thought you might like a hand today, but I think you need a full-on clean-up operation instead,’ Sal exclaimed, interrupting my thoughts. ‘What on earth’s happened here?’

‘Good question, Sal,’ Peg barked, looking sharply at me and Hugo. ‘What has happened here?’

Gail sighed, as she pulled Sal into the kitchen. ‘Let me tell you while I make a coffee, I can’t even think about what that puppy’s been up to now. Honestly, Sal, it’s something new every day with Hugo, I never realised having a puppy would be such hard work.’

With that, the two women trooped into the kitchen, followed by Jenny and Simon leaving me and Peg with a very jolly-looking Hugo.

‘Mummy! Mummy! Look at all these toys Dad got me,’ he barked excitedly.

Peg eyed him beadily. ‘Don’t try that with me. I was here last night, remember, when your dad very clearly told you these things were gifts for Doreen and Eric.’

Hugo at least had the decency to look contrite as he gazed forlornly at the floor. ‘Sorry.’

But it wasn’t enough for Peg who deftly grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. ‘Are you sorry? Or are you just sorry we’re cross. I don’t know how many times your dad and I have to tell you, Hugo, you must do as you’re told.’

‘I didn’t mean to cause so much damage,’ he barked quietly as Peg released him from her grip. ‘I just saw all the things and wanted to play with them.’

‘But those things didn’t belong to you, Hugo,’ I yapped, the thread of annoyance still burning bright. ‘Last week we had to have this bark when you ran off with Ben’s toys. They’re human toys not your toys and Ben was very upset when you snapped his rattle in half.’

I cast my mind back to the memory of the resounding snap when Hugo broke Ben’s clown rattle into tiny pieces. The look on the infant’s face had mirrored Gail’s one of shock just moments earlier and then the tears had streamed down his little face. My heart had gone out to him, particularly as my son looked delighted with himself when both Gail and Simon told him off.

Peg and I had barked our frustrations out at Hugo last week and he had assured us there would be no more mischief, but he had managed to behave for less than a week. Something told me he enjoyed the attention he received from getting into trouble but I knew this wasn’t the way to get through life, something I had tried to teach Hugo. For the minute, I felt defeated and I slumped to my paws, needing a minute to gather my thoughts.

Hugo was my son and I adored him but there were times he seriously tested not only my patience but the patience of my family. When Peg and I learnt she was expecting pups last year we were over the moon. We both felt it was the perfect way to seal our love, and discovering we were able to find our litter good homes nearby, we were delighted as it meant we got to see them all almost every day at the park. Our daughter Lily went to Sal’s next-door neighbour, while our two other sons Roscoe and Ralph were taken in by a couple around the corner, who worshipped them as we hoped they would. As for Hugo, well, he was the tiniest little pup in the entire world but as the runt of the litter both Peg and I knew he would have difficulty finding a good home.

Gail wasn’t deterred, however, and she placed an ad across all the local social media sites pleading for someone to offer him a good home. Consequently, we were inundated with people wanting to take a look at Hugo. Every time the familiar chime of the doorbell sounded, I, Hugo, Peg, Gail, Simon, Jenny and even baby Ben, held our breath as we each hoped this would be the moment Hugo would find his forever home. Yet as people shuffled into the living room and took one look at my precious boy lying in his sheepskin-filled basket they reluctantly shook their heads. They all wanted a cute little pug to trot around after them. What they didn’t want was a dog who was all paws and squished face as he grew into his body.

I tried not to take it personally, but as a father I felt so cross on Hugo’s behalf. To me, he was a beautiful bundle of joy and I knew that when he was older he would be just as perfect as his brothers and sisters.

Sadly, nobody seemed to share my view and I lost count of all the people who uttered polite thanks, but no thanks as Gail showed them the door. I couldn’t help worrying over the boy’s future. As dogs it was our purpose to serve our owners and shower them with love when we found our forever home, proving the bond between human and dog was the strongest one on earth. Thankfully, Gail had finally stepped in at the eleventh hour and said we could keep Hugo until he was bigger, and look for a home for him then.

She had done this for me even though space was tight with a new baby in the house, which had meant Simon had been forced to give up the spare room, otherwise known as his man cave that he had once treasured. I had been beyond grateful to Gail and had assured her repeatedly with plenty of loving barks that Hugo wouldn’t be a burden. However, during the four months he had been with us, much as I hated to admit it, burden was the one thing he had become. He got into trouble every single day and no matter how many times I begged him to behave, my barks fell on deaf ears.

Looking at him now, still glancing at the mess he had made with a look of sheer pride across his face it was hard not to feel a sense of failure. I had taken it upon myself to show him the ropes, teaching him how to behave in a domestic environment. After all, nobody would want Hugo if he didn’t mind his manners, something he didn’t seem to understand. I myself knew more than anyone what it was like to be abandoned, and spending day after day hoping to find your forever home. My previous owner, Javier, had left me in the local shelter or the tails of the forgotten as it’s better known amongst the dog community. Although I had been well cared for, it was by no means a substitute for a loving family and I didn’t want Hugo to suffer the same fate. I had spent days performing tricks for would-be adopters and putting a brave face on my little snout as families adopted all my friends but left me behind. I had been broken hearted, until I met Gail, which was why I had made it my new purpose in life to get Hugo to grow up so he would find his own happy-ever-after.

I felt at the end of my lead with him. I glanced at Peg hoping she would have some answers, but she looked as worn out as me with it all.

‘Come on,’ she barked eventually. ‘The least we can do for Gail is to clear this lot up. And, Hugo, you’re helping.’

‘OK, Mummy,’ he said, bounding into action.

Together we worked, quickly pushing the potpourri into a big pile in the corner, and picking up the larger portions of the cushions into the box.

Suddenly, Hugo stood stock-still in front of me fixing me with a wide-eyed gaze.

‘What is it?’ I barked in frustration.

‘I don’t feel well, Daddy,’ Hugo grumbled.

I exchanged knowing looks with Peg. Was this yet another drama created by my son to get out of cleaning up after himself.

Peg dropped the bit of cushion she was holding and glared at Hugo. ‘How do you feel?’

‘Very, very, very sick,’ Hugo replied, his little voice lacking the vim and vigour of earlier.

I looked at Hugo again. I had to admit my boy looked green and, judging by all the candle wax and potpourri he had devoured, it was hardly surprising. I shook my head, waves of despair crashing over me as I realised that not only had my son cost my owner some gorgeous house-warming gifts but she would also need to pay for a weekend visit to the vet.

Chapter Two

It was several hours later by the time we finished at the vet’s and arrived at Doreen and Eric’s new home. To Gail’s credit she took the entire incident much better than I expected. Instead of having a breakdown when she realised Hugo needed an emergency visit to the practice, she burst out laughing, her eyes crinkling with mirth and wouldn’t stop no matter how much I barked.

At the vet’s, Gail, Simon and Jenny all had great fun explaining what had happened to Hugo. As Gemma, our vet, had a good look down my boy’s throat, I shuffled anxiously from paw to paw waiting for the diagnosis, the clinical smell of bleach making me feel even more agitated.

‘Is it serious?’ Gail asked anxiously, biting her nails as she waited for the verdict.

The vet said nothing for a moment as she tried to hold the wriggling pup still while taking his temperature.

‘Yes, does he need medication? Or even surgery?’ I barked desperately.

Gemma grinned at me as she removed the thermometer and patted Hugo gently on the head. As she turned to tap something on her computer keyboard, I pushed my anger to one side as I offered him a sympathetic howl. Even though it was clearly Hugo’s fault, he now looked so poorly lying there on the long black consulting table that my heart went out to him. Usually Hugo made a monkey of everyone when we brought him in for a check-up. He would jump in the sink, run across the computer, climb the furniture, and once he even got his head stuck in the window. But today it was as though as he was a different dog, he was so quiet and sad.

‘Well?’ I barked in frustration.

Gemma turned around and smiled reassuringly at us all. ‘The good news is, it’s not serious, Hugo doesn’t need any medication or surgery and this will all pass naturally.’

I let out a bark of relief. ‘Did you hear that, you’re going to be fine.’

Hugo cast me a baleful look. ‘I don’t feel fine, Daddy.’

Simon sighed as he looked from me to Hugo and then back to Gemma. ‘When you say pass naturally, you mean Hugo is going to be going to the toilet a lot is that right?’

‘Not necessarily a lot, but perhaps a bit more than usual,’ Gemma explained. ‘It’s nothing to worry about, although Hugo might be a bit uncomfortable. All he’ll probably feel like doing is sleeping.’

Jenny pushed her brown hair behind her ears and smiled. ‘He does that a lot anyway,’

‘Like father like son.’ Gail chuckled, ruffling my ears affectionately. ‘Do we need to do anything else?’

‘No, just keep an eye on him.’ Gemma grinned, writing something on her pad. ‘Bring Hugo back in a couple of days for me to check he’s on the mend. He shouldn’t take a turn for the worse but if he does we’ll have a poke about.’

‘I don’t want to be poked about, Daddy,’ Hugo woofed with worry, as Simon scooped him up from the table and thanked Gemma for her time.

‘Well, let this be a lesson to you,’ I barked. ‘Now, one of us will have to look after you instead of helping Doreen and Eric. Honestly, Hugo, it’s vital we dogs put humans first rather than ourselves.’

‘Sorry, Dad,’ he yapped as we walked outside into the sunshine. ‘It won’t happen again.’

I barked nothing as I breathed in great lungfuls of fresh air, enjoying the scent of something other than bleach. Whatever Hugo yapped in his defence, I had a feeling that this, or something very like it, would happen again.

*

An hour later, all of us, together with a sleepy-looking Hugo, were inside Doreen and Eric’s lovely new bungalow. Instead of the candles, cushions and potpourri Gail had planned to give her parents, she had resorted to a huge bouquet of gerberas and chrysanthemums from the flower shop on the High Street. After presenting them to her mum, Doreen professed to adore them and immediately put them in pride of place in the front windowsill.

Doreen and Eric’s new house was only a ten minute walk from Gail and Simon’s and was what I heard lots of people describe as a new-build. I had never been inside a bungalow before and wasn’t sure what it was. Yet my quick scamper around with Doreen as she gave us all a guided tour told me that the only difference between a house and a bungalow was that there were no stairs. It was, it appeared to me, like Sal and Peg’s flat, just a bit bigger and with a huge garden they didn’t have to share with other people.

Watching my owner’s lovely mum and dad proudly take us from sunny room to sunny room, I glanced at each of them, noticing the happiness they basked in. Doreen was petite with hair in a neat bob and a warm, open face. As for Eric, well he was the double of Gail, with his chestnut hair that was now almost grey all over, and friendly, welcoming face that always made me feel at home.

As well as the huge garden there were three bedrooms, a bathroom, glass like in a greenhouse that Doreen reliably informed us was a conservatory, whatever that was, along with a huge kitchen and a funny-looking worktop that stood in the centre of the room.

‘That’s my island,’ Doreen told us proudly, as she brought the tour to a close.

‘It’s beautiful, Mum.’ Gail smiled.

‘So pretty,’ breathed Jenny.

‘Very nice,’ put in Sal, her blue eyes filled with admiration as she stroked the dark surface. ‘It’s lovely how it matches the slate tiles.’

‘Well, you wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?’ chirruped Doreen, her silver hair gleaming in the sunshine-filled room.

‘You wouldn’t, dear,’ Eric grumbled good-naturedly at his wife. ‘Shall I make tea?’

Doreen nodded her assent. ‘Good idea. Let’s all go through to the living room before we get stuck into some unpacking.’

As we turned to follow Doreen out of the room, I couldn’t help wonder if I was missing something. I turned to Peg who was standing in the doorway with Hugo beside her.

‘I thought islands were things surrounded by water,’ I yapped in curiosity.

Peg nodded sagely, her blonde fur jiggling almost as much as her lovely jowls. ‘They are. That’s why you never want to get stuck on one. Unless it’s England of course, that’s quite big.’

I turned back to the island and looked at the floor and tiles suspiciously.

‘I’ve got it!’ I barked in excitement. ‘Doreen’s going to put the water around the island separately.’

‘That’s why it’s important the tiles match,’ Peg put in wisely. ‘It all makes sense now.’

‘Does that mean we’ll go on boat trips then, Daddy?’ Hugo asked, his pace matching mine as we joined the others in the lounge. ‘Will I need to learn to swim?’

I nodded. ‘I think there’s every chance you’ll need to do that, Hugo. But don’t worry, us pugs are natural swimmers, you’ll be doggy-paddling around Doreen’s island like there’s no tomorrow.’

Pleased to have solved that little problem, I looked around. There was no denying it, the place looked as chaotic as Gail and Simon’s when we left it.

There were boxes everywhere, all piled on top of one another in various states of disarray. Some were half open, some had contents like duvets, pillowcases, lampshades and even cutlery spilling out and some had been emptied, flung to a corner of the room, to be dealt with some other time.

I looked across at Peg and saw her glance at the upended cardboard. She was rather partial to curling up in a box for a nap, just like me. For a moment I imagined the two of us snoozing the afternoon away nestled in the warmth of each other. But no, there was work to do. Shaking my head to free myself from such thoughts, I glanced up at Gail, who rewarded me with a beaming smile, just as Doreen came through from the kitchen. She was clutching a tray piled high with tea and cakes and I saw with delight Eric appear just behind her, carrying goodies for all us pugs.

‘Water and a bone for you all,’ he said, setting the treats on the floor.

‘Thanks, Eric,’ I woofed along with Peg.

We turned to Hugo to remind him of his manners. Only to find he had started on the chewy treats already.

I opened my mouth, about to tell him off, when Peg beat me to it.

‘Hugo, that’s enough,’ she yapped. ‘Do not show me and your father up in public. You know you don’t eat a treat without saying thank you.’

At the sound of the sternness in his mother’s bark, Hugo dropped his bone to the floor in horror. I could see the fear radiating from his eyes.

‘Oh, Peg, don’t be too harsh on him,’ I whined, my heart full of concern for my poor boy. ‘He’s poorly, he’s not himself.’

Hugo rewarded me with a gentle rub on my snout as he looked apologetically at his mother who was settled by the fireplace.

Peg gave me a lick as she gestured for Hugo to continue. ‘Maybe you’re right, Percy. Perhaps I am being too hard on him. But, honestly, why is he so badly behaved all the time? Is it us? Are we doing something wrong?’

Before I could answer, I saw Hugo had lost interest in the bone and was charging up and down the living room, wagging his tail, scampering through the boxes.

‘Hugo!’ I ordered. ‘Calm down.’

Only my barks fell on deaf ears once more as Hugo darted over to Doreen, who had her hands full of teacups, and jumped up at her.

‘Easy now, love.’ She smiled down at my son. ‘You nearly had me over.’

Hugo didn’t reply. Instead, he charged away from Doreen and rushed over to Eric who was sitting in a chair by the windowsill trying to do the crossword he had found wrapped around a plate.

‘Eric! Eric!’ Hugo barked playfully, sitting at the older man’s feet.

Eric lowered his paper and beamed at my son affectionately before scratching his ear. ‘Hello, Hugo. Heard you ate some potpourri. Can’t say I blame you, it’s all it’s good for.’

‘That’s what I thought!’ Hugo replied, thwacking the floor with his little tail.

‘Did us a favour, boy. Can’t abide the stuff,’ Eric grunted with alarming honesty, causing Simon to burst out laughing.

‘What did I tell you?’ he chuckled, turning to Gail. ‘I said Eric wouldn’t be interested in all that smelly nonsense!’

Jenny sighed and shook her head in mock-exasperation at her father. ‘Dad! It is not nonsense, it’s stuff to make your house pretty.’

‘You tell him, Jen.’ Gail giggled, as she sat cross-legged on the floor and bit into one of the cupcakes her mother had laid out on a plate.

‘So did I really do you a favour, Eric?’ Hugo barked, his eyes shining with pleasure at the thought of one of his actions doing someone a good turn.

‘You can knock a bowl of potpourri over for me anytime.’ He smiled and gave Hugo one last affectionate pat on the head, before turning back to his crossword.

Clearly moved, Hugo jumped up onto Eric’s lap, determined to give Gail’s dad a cuddle filled with gratitude. Yet the sudden movement left me wide-eyed with horror as, despite Hugo having the best of intentions, my boy had jumped on top of Eric’s lap with such gusto he sent the vase filled with Gail’s fresh flowers cascading all over Eric.

‘Oh you dammed dog!’ Eric howled, clearly soaked through. ‘What were you doing?’

‘Is it like the island?’ Hugo barked excitedly. ‘Will I need to swim?’

I rushed over to my son, determined to get to Eric’s aid, but was beaten to it by Doreen, who handed her husband a towel.

‘It was only an accident wasn’t it, Hugo?’ Doreen crooned, picking up the flowers that now littered their new living-room carpet.

‘An accident that could have been avoided if Hugo hadn’t been charging about the place,’ Eric fumed, drying his navy chinos off. ‘Honestly, this dog’s a menace.’

‘He’s not that bad, Dad.’ Gail bridled, as she, Sal and Jen helped Doreen replace the flowers in the vase.

In that moment I loved my owner more than I ever thought possible. Even after all Hugo had done today, she was still defending him.

‘Hugo, come here now, please,’ I ordered from my place next to Peg. ‘Just stay out of the way while Doreen and Eric sort themselves out.’

Obediently, Hugo did just as I asked and, as I gave him a lick, I exchanged a worried glance with Peg. There was no way our son would find his forever home with behaviour like that.

Jenny sat next to Sal on the edge of Doreen’s brown leather sofa and grinned at us. ‘Don’t feel too bad, you guys, it’s hard being a parent.’

Doreen let out a low chuckle as Eric returned to his crossword and she took a seat next to her granddaughter. ‘Know all about it do you, chicken?’

Jenny shrugged as she bent down to kiss my head. ‘No, ‘course not, but I know Mum and Dad had a pretty tough time when I was sick. It can’t be easy raising a family, that’s all I’m trying to say.’

‘Oh bless you, child.’ Doreen smiled, kissing Jenny’s cheek. ‘Why weren’t you more enlightened at this age, Gail?’

Sal roared with laughter. ‘Yes, Gail, why weren’t you more enlightened?’

I looked up at Gail and watched as she spat her tea everywhere. ‘What’s that supposed to mean, Mum?’

‘Nothing.’ Doreen sniffed. ‘Just our Jenny has a very wise head on very young shoulders.’

‘You’re not wrong there,’ Sal agreed, smiling at Jenny.

‘Very true,’ I barked in agreement.

Gail raised an eyebrow. ‘And while it might be true, Mum, if you want a hand getting these boxes unpacked I’d start singing my praises, and possibly Sal’s as well as Jenny’s if I were you.’

‘Fair enough.’ Doreen chuckled, her green eyes radiating the same kindness as her daughter’s. ‘You know I think the world of you, you’re my favourite child!’

‘I’m your only child,’ Gail said, returning her grin. ‘I’m so happy you’ve moved here, it’ll be wonderful having you and Dad on the doorstep.’

Getting to her feet, she pulled her mother in for a hug.

Doreen returned her daughter’s hug, and rubbed her back as if she were no more than Ben’s age. ‘And it’ll be wonderful for us having you so close by. We’ve missed you.’

‘And we’ve missed you,’ Jenny cried.

She rushed towards her mum and gran and wrapped her arms around them. I gulped, I didn’t want to miss out on a family hug. Together with Peg and Hugo, we bounded towards the women and pushed our noses into their laps and knees, much to their delight.

‘They’re everywhere.’ Jenny giggled in delight.

‘Oh you dogs are gorgeous.’ Doreen smiled, bending down to smother us with kisses.

‘And we think you’re gorgeous,’ Hugo barked, licking her hand.

‘But not as gorgeous as Peg and Gail,’ I barked loyally.

Gail beamed down at me, and planted a sloppy kiss on my snout. ‘Percy, you’re the best boy in the entire world.’

I howled in delight. There was nothing nicer than being surrounded by family.

As we broke apart, Sal glanced balefully at a box marked ‘outdoors’. ‘Shall I take this out to the garage?’

Doreen flashed her a grateful smile as she got to her feet. ‘Thanks, love.’

‘And I should get cracking as well.’ Gail smiled, as she finished her second cupcake. ‘Where do you want me?’

Doreen handed her daughter a pair of scissors and gestured to a box with black writing all over it. ‘The pots and pans are in that one,’ she explained. ‘Can you give your father a hand with them in the kitchen. He knows where everything goes.’

Nodding, Gail picked up the box and turned to Eric who was still engrossed in the paper.

‘Are you ready, Dad?’ she asked.

Eric glanced up from the crossword in surprise. ‘Ready for what?’

‘To help me unpack the kitchen stuff,’ Gail replied patiently.

Eric looked blank as he scratched the bald patch on top of his head. ‘If you want, love, though I don’t know where any of it goes.’

‘You do,’ sighed Doreen in exasperation. ‘We discussed it not half an hour ago!’

‘Did we?’ Eric narrowed his blue eyes in confusion.

‘Yes! What’s wrong with you?’ she grumbled. ‘You’re always forgetting things these days.’

‘Am I?’ Eric asked, his blue eyes rich with surprise.

‘Yes!’ Doreen sighed again.

Gail raised her hand in between the two of them.

‘Come on, you two, there’s no sense arguing now. Dad,’ she said, turning to Eric, ‘why don’t you come and help me with all this. I’m sure that together we can work out where everything’s meant to go.’

Eric put down the crossword and obediently got to his feet. ‘All right, love.’

Together they trotted off to the kitchen leaving Doreen alone in the living room. As she set her teacup on the coffee table, she sank her head into her hands.

Watching the rise and fall of her shoulders, I suddenly realised she was crying. Turning to Peg, I gave a little bark of worry and we padded across to the elderly woman.

Getting nearer, I saw her body was wracked with sobs. I was dumbstruck. Doreen always put a brave face on things and I had rarely seen her cry, not even when Jenny was so poorly. She was known for her strength, something Gail had relied upon when they had faced difficult times.

Exchanging worried glances with Peg, we did the only thing we pugs can do in times of crisis. We used our tongues to mop up Doreen’s salty tears, determined to be there for as long as she needed us.

‘Do you think she’s all right?’ I whined quietly to Peg in between licks.

‘Fine,’ she yapped in reply. ‘She’s probably just upset because she’s tired with the move. It’s very distressing you know, upending your home.’

As Doreen’s cries became quieter and she stroked each of us in turn, I moved my head and crawled onto her lap to show her how much I loved her. Breathing in her warm, homely scent, my doggy instinct fired on all cylinders as something told me there was something very wrong indeed.

Chapter Three

The next morning I woke to what I could only assume was all hell breaking loose. Opening my eyes and sitting bolt upright in my basket in the kitchen, I tried to make sense of the scene playing out in front of me.

Gail was standing at the stove, balancing a screaming baby Ben on one hip and heating his bottle with the other hand. At the table, Jenny was bellowing into her mobile phone, making plans to meet a friend at the cinema, while Simon was sat at the pine kitchen table engrossed in paperwork and furiously typing away at his laptop.

Blearily coming to, I looked around for Hugo, but he wasn’t in his basket or in the garden. Anxiously, I padded out of the kitchen and into the sitting room. Even though it was the middle of summer Hugo loved nothing more than curling up on the sheepskin rug by the fire, but he wasn’t there and neither was he anywhere upstairs.

Returning downstairs, anxiety gnawed away at me as I wondered where Hugo would go. He was still poorly, so he couldn’t have gone as far as the park and, besides that, he knew never to go there alone. There was a chance he could have gone to see Peg, I thought, but again, he had never been there on his own, and I knew that the times we had visited he hadn’t taken in the route as he had constantly yapped all the way there.

A creeping sense of horror coursed through my fur as I started to imagine all the places he could have gone and all the things that could have happened to him. Just as I was imagining Hugo being eaten by a hungry pack of wolves, or abducted by a Cruella De Vil type, the house phone rang, interrupting my nightmare.

‘Oh you’re kidding, Mum,’ Gail gasped into the receiver, still jiggling Ben on her hip.

There was a pause before she spoke again. ‘We’ll be right over, and again I’m so sorry.’

I watched with interest as she hung up the phone and turned to Simon.

‘You’ll never guess what’s happened.’

‘I dread to think looking at the expression on your face.’ Simon grimaced, glancing up from his computer.

‘Hugo has just turned up at Mum and Dad’s,’ Gail explained with a sigh.

Simon raised an eyebrow. ‘On his own?’

‘On his own,’ Gail confirmed.

The family fell into silence as they contemplated this news leaving me to consider what I had just heard. On the one paw, I felt a huge wave of relief crash over me as I realised my little boy was now safe. But on the other what was Hugo thinking of? Fury ate away at me as I realised how little he had learnt since being under my charge. I had told him repeatedly never to go anywhere alone, but here he was not only disappearing before my very eyes but bothering poor Gail’s parents just as they had moved in.

‘But how did he get there?’ Jenny asked eventually, putting her phone down for the first time that morning.

Gail looked pointedly at Simon. ‘I guess through that cat flap we’ve never got around to fixing.’

‘Ah.’ Simon winced. ‘Sorry, I’ve been meaning to mend that for ages. I will get on to it, I promise.’

‘It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is Hugo is safe,’ she sighed. ‘I said I’d go and get him, but I’ve got to get Ben down for his nap and then I said I’d take Jenny into town, to buy her some new shoes.’

‘That’s OK, why don’t I just go on my own?’ Jenny suggested.

‘Because you’re fourteen, young lady, and I’m not letting you run amok with my money!’ Gail admonished.

Simon stood up and shut the lid of his laptop. ‘I’ll go then. Me and Perce can pick up the whippersnapper and while I’m there I’ll see if your parents need anything doing.’

The relief on Gail’s face was palpable. ‘Would you? Oh thanks, Si, that’s such a help.’

Simon grinned, as he walked across to his wife and kissed her on the cheek. ‘My pleasure,’ he told her, before turning to me. ‘Come on then, mate, let’s rescue Hugo before he destroys Doreen and Eric’s place like he does here.’

*

Simon had barely finished knocking on the door before Eric flung it open wearing a big grin, Hugo in his arms. I glanced in astonishment at them both, never before having seen one or the other quite so content.

‘Hi, Eric,’ Simon said evenly, stepping into the hallway. ‘We’re here on a rescue mission, heard Hugo had been bothering you.’

Eric chuckled and clutched Hugo tightly to his chest. ‘Nonsense, it was a very pleasant surprise to see this one in the kitchen earlier. Little so-and-so must have got through the conservatory door.’

‘I’m very sorry, Eric,’ I barked seriously as I followed Simon inside. ‘It won’t happen again, will it, Hugo?’

As Eric set Hugo on the floor, my son hid behind the older man’s trousers. ‘Sorry, Dad, didn’t mean to make you worry.’

‘So why did you?’ I barked grumpily, as we followed Eric down the long hallway and into the kitchen. There was still mess everywhere with half-unpacked boxes all over the place.

‘Sorry the house is a bit of a tip,’ Eric apologised, filling the kettle. ‘We’re still up to our eyeballs and Doreen’s had enough so she’s popped to the shops for a coffee and a break.’

Simon settled himself on one of the high chairs at Doreen’s island while Hugo stood next to Eric, almost as if he was waiting for him to issue his next instruction. ‘That’s the other reason I thought I’d pop by, see if there’s anything I can do.’

Eric smiled at his son-in-law as he reached for a pair of mugs, tripping over Hugo in the process. ‘Oh sorry, Hugo, didn’t see you there.’

‘That’s OK, Eric,’ my son barked, wagging his tail.

Turning back to face Simon, Eric scratched his head. ‘Sorry, Simon, what were we saying? Honestly, I feel as if I can barely remember anything at the minute with this move.’

Simon chuckled, the frown lines on his face crinkling around his eyes. ‘I can’t say I’m surprised. Moving gets the best of all of us. No, I was just offering to lend a hand.’

‘That’s very good of you, Simon, but Hugo here has just been helping me sort through a load of boxes and we’ve got a lot done, haven’t we?’ Eric grinned, bending down and pulling a tomato from his pocket to give to Hugo.

I watched in amazement as Hugo ate the fruit greedily from Eric’s palm.

‘I didn’t know you liked tomatoes,’ I barked in astonishment from my position by the doorway.

‘Oh yes!’ Hugo yapped, licking his lips and looking up at Eric, clearly hoping for more. ‘Eric gave me one from the greenhouse yesterday and it was delicious. Today, he found another handful had grown overnight and fed them to me.’

I was barkless and at a loss to know what to do. ‘Just come over here,’ I ordered, as Eric pushed a mug of tea in front of Simon.

‘What is it, Dad?’ Hugo asked, nearing my side.

‘I want to know what possessed you to go running off like that,’ I yapped quietly.

‘I wanted to check on Eric and Doreen, Dad,’ Hugo barked. ‘I heard you bark you were worried about Gail’s parents. I thought I could come and help them for you.’

A rush of love surged through me, at my son’s thoughtfulness. With each passing day, I was beginning to see glimpses of the dog I knew he could become. But, as always, he hadn’t got it quite right. My mission to help him was far from over.

‘You can’t just dash off without barking something,’ I told him gently. ‘It was a lovely idea to help Gail’s parents but you’re too young to do these things on your own.’

Hugo hung his head in sorrow. ‘Sorry, Dad. I was only trying to help. But listen, I’ve got to tell you something. I think you were right about something being wrong with Eric and Doreen. He keeps forgetting things, Dad. Earlier on he kept saying to Doreen that he was going to go bowling and she kept telling him that he couldn’t do that any more as they didn’t live in Barnstaple any longer. He got so cross, Dad, he went out into the garden for a walk around the tomatoes and then he gave me some and then he seemed OK again.’

I shook my head impatiently. I realised Hugo meant well but the fact was that running off, causing people to worry, was not what a forever family would be looking for in a dog.

‘Hugo, I know that you acted with the best of intentions today so I don’t want to go on at you too much. But dog obedience is so important and it’s vital I start to see some from you. Do you understand?’

Hugo nodded. ‘But didn’t you hear what I said about Eric and how he forgot where he lived? It was a good job I came, Dad. I made him remember I’m sure of it.’

I let out a sigh. ‘Let’s just drop it, OK. Now not another bark, do you hear me?’

‘Yes, Dad,’ Hugo yapped forlornly.

‘Good, now let’s get ready to get you home. You need to rest after all that rubbish you ate yesterday.’

‘Yes, Dad.’ Hugo sighed again.

I rubbed my nose against his to show he was forgiven and then watched him settle at Eric’s feet. Surprise ebbed away at me that they had forged such a close bond already. Watching Eric reach down and fondle Hugo’s ears I felt a pang of regret. The duo seemed so close. What a shame he couldn’t do that with someone able to offer him a more permanent solution.

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