‘I don’t know, mate. I know nothing about dogs.’

Max was suddenly gushing with excitement. ‘I can help train her,’ he said. ‘I can come every night and feed her and play with her.’ He jumped up, knocking over his hot chocolate and stepping on the pup’s paw, making her yelp. ‘Oh, Bonnie,’ Max cried, picking her up and burying his face in her ruff, ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you.’

Leon’s guts twisted. The pup was sniffing around on the lawn now, tail up and wagging—she had no idea her future was being determined. But what would he do with a dog? He didn’t need one, even though the pup needed a home. He was away working all day; wouldn’t a dog require company? ‘I don’t have a fence,’ he pointed out.

‘I’ll help you make one,’ Max said. ‘Or maybe Bonnie can stay inside.’

‘She’s not house-trained, so she’ll shit and piss everywhere.’

‘That doesn’t matter. It’s not your house anyway. And Mrs Westbury’s dead. She won’t mind.’

But Leon would mind.

Max sighed and looked at him seriously. ‘Okay, then. I’ll clean up the poo.’

This made Leon laugh because, from the look on Max’s face, he could tell this was a significant commitment. ‘Really?’ he said.

The boy nodded. ‘Really. And we’ll build a fence next weekend. Mum will help. She’s good at that stuff. She used to live on a farm.’

Leon felt himself melting. What else could he do? He wished he didn’t have a conscience. ‘All right, then, I’ll give it a go. But if it doesn’t work out, I’ll have to give her to someone else. And remember, you said you’d help train her and clean up her poo.’

The kid leaped in the air, punching at the sky with his fist, even more animated than when he’d scored that goal yesterday. Clearly this was more important. But Leon had a sick sensation. A pup! How the hell was he going to manage that?

‘Oh, I’ve got this for you too,’ Max said, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket. ‘Mum said to give it to you. It’s for the forest festival. In case you want to go.’

Leon took the brochure; it had a picture of a log truck on the front. ‘Are you going?’ he asked.

Max shrugged. ‘We have to.’

‘Is it good?’

‘It’s all right.’

‘Okay then. I’ll go too.’

The boy’s smile was as big as the sky. ‘I’ll go get some dog food—Mum said you could have some.’

‘What about a collar?’

‘We don’t have one small enough. Mum said you could get one at the supermarket.’

Leon had the distinct feeling of being ambushed. The boy had an answer for everything.