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couple, who turned away.
    I felt disappointed with the day so far. Even though I was with Caitlin, I’d hoped to find somewhere fun to hang out. Not the kind of fun that involved farting competitions, drowned kittens, and grumpy people like Liam and Poppy.
    I sighed. ‘In Bristol, there were awesome places to hang out. Cinemas, cafés, loads of cool shops.’
    ‘Same in Swindon,’ said Caitlin. She shrugged. ‘Maybe this
is
it. Maybe as that boy said, welcome to Trump Town.’
    ‘If you can’t beat them, join them,’ I said and did a fake burp.
    Caitlin did the same, only hers was louder.

Chapter Five
    Love at First Sight
    Mr O’Neill gave Caitlin and me a lift back from the village. As we pulled up the drive, I could see one of the stables doors open, and Mum, Dad and Josh bent over something inside. ‘What’s going on?’ I asked, as the three of us traipsed over. Caitlin had spotted Josh, so there was no stopping her. Gross. Mum had her glum face on. Uh-oh. I hoped she hadn’t been arguing with Dad again.
    I soon saw what they were looking at. It was the most adorable white-gold puppy in a basket. ‘Ohmigod! He’s
beautiful
,’ I said as I knelt down to put my hand in to stroke his soft fur.
    ‘He’s a she, a golden retriever,’ said Dad.
    ‘Can I hold her?’ I asked, bouncing on my knees with excitement. Dad glanced at Mum and she rolled her eyes, then nodded. I opened the basket and the puppy crawled out, looked at all the faces staring down at her, then leaped on to my knees. She was so cute I could hardly breathe. She put her paws up on my shoulders and started licking my face with great enthusiasm. I gave her a cuddle and she wriggled happily in my arms.
    ‘I think she likes you!’ said Dad.
    ‘Who is she? Where’s she come from?’ I asked, snuggling into her fur again.
    ‘A woman brought her here this morning. She’d only had her a few weeks then heard that her mum is ill so has had to go away to take care of her.’
    ‘To New Zealand,’ added Josh. ‘She might not be back.’
    ‘Apparently word has got round the village that we’re running an animal rescue centre.’
Ah, so that explains the glum face
, I thought.
I’d better not say anything about Rosie in the café saying the same thing.
    Too late.
    ‘It’s true,’ said Caitlin. ‘We were in the café in the supermarket and the girl behind the counter said the same – that Silverbrook Farm is an animal rescue centre.’
    Oops.
    Mum let out an exasperated sigh. ‘You have to stop this rumour, Richie,’ she said, ‘before it gets out of hand.’
    I looked down at the puppy, who had settled herself on my knees, her tail wagging like mad. ‘But what will happen to her?’
    ‘Not just her,’ said Dad. ‘Since you left this morning, a little boy brought a bird with a damaged wing, and some kid on a skateboard brought a kitten that he found by the river. Unthinkable that someone would try to dump a poor defenceless kitten, isn’t it?’
    Mr O’Neill nodded. ‘But lots do.’
    ‘We saw him,’ I said. ‘He was arguing with a girl from our school.’
    ‘Did you tell him to bring it here?’ asked Mum.
    I glanced at Caitlin. Both of us had gone red. ‘Not exactly. I . . . er . . . I did tell him we weren’t a rescue centre, but he seemed to have heard the rumour too.’
    Mum let out a deep sigh. ‘So you
did
tell him to bring it here?’
    ‘Er . . .’ I tailed off.
    ‘Where’s the kitten?’ asked Caitlin, saving me.
    ‘In one of the stables,’ said Josh. ‘Dad’s already looked at the bird. It’s in the clinic and it’s going to be fine. Great, isn’t it?’
    ‘No,’ said Mum. ‘It’s
not
great. Am I the only person around here with any sense? Animals and birds need feeding, need warmth. We can’t keep them. It’s a clinic, not a sanctuary.’
    ‘Actually, could I take a look at the cat that was brought the other day?’ asked Mr O’Neill, then gave Caitlin a wink. ‘Caitlin won’t shut up about it