‘What if someone put him up to it?’

‘Not bloody likely. He knew what he was doing. Told me he didn’t like cigarettes. How’s that for guilty?’

‘Maybe he’s tried one, but so what? How old were you when you started smoking?’

‘Too bloody young, and Dad whacked me so hard I couldn’t sit down for a week.’

‘Did it stop you?

‘For a while.’

‘Not tonight, Shane. That’s all I’m asking.’

‘Well, I’m saying now’s the best time. Come on, Wendy. Get out of my way.’

‘Over my dead body!’

Max heard scuffling in the kitchen, and he hoped Mum wasn’t getting in trouble because of him. He opened his door a crack to have a look, and Mum and Dad were kind of wrestling. Then Dad chucked his can of Southern Comfort at the wall with a crash and it fizzed everywhere. Mum said, ‘Look what you’ve done. Now I have to clean up.’

Dad stomped outside and came back with another can. He sat on the couch in front of the TV with a mad look on his face, and Max knew it was up to him to sort things out. He slunk out of his bedroom and stood in front of Dad and said, ‘I’m really sorry, Dad. I won’t take any more cigarettes.’

But Dad’s face was cold, and he wouldn’t look at Max. ‘Have we got a cardboard box somewhere?’ he called out to Mum. ‘I’m going to deal with those pups.’

Max panicked because he didn’t know what Dad was going to do. Dad put down his can and stood up, and Max yelled, ‘No!’ Dad took a swipe at him. But Max dodged under Dad’s arm and ran outside. He was crying as he raced to the shed.

The pups looked up with their little ears pricked and their black eyes all frightened. Max jumped into the pen and tried to grab them, but they kept squirming away. He picked up Bruiser and then tried to grab hold of Patch, but the pups were too big to hold two at once, and he dropped them and they yelped. Rosie was standing up too with her teeth showing because she didn’t know Max was trying to save her pups. He heard the back door bang and figured Dad must be coming. He had to do something, but what?

‘Shane, please don’t,’ Mum was saying. ‘Please let’s talk about this.’

Max dropped to his knees and tried to scoop up the pups, but they were all wriggly. He dived randomly among them and wrapped his hands around one like a footy. It was Bonnie.

Then he heard Dad. ‘Put that pup down.’