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Dad came hurrying back with his torch. “Good dog. We’re coming now.”

Daisy could hear the other families coming along behind him, the children pointing Barney out as the dog who’d woken everyone up to rescue them.

“Is he your dog?” one of the boys that Oliver played football with asked her admiringly.

Daisy caught her breath, staring hopefully up at her dad. He nodded. “After this, I think he is,” he muttered. “I don’t care how big he’s going to get. He’s a little star.”

“They’re trained to be rescue dogs, aren’t they?” Mum said. “I suppose you can see why. Come on. We’ll work out how we’re going to manage when we’re in the dry.”

Daisy put her hand on Barney’s back. Her puppy’s back. Dad was holding her other hand tightly, as though he didn’t want to let her go.

Barney looked up at Daisy, and splashed forward into the water, head down, determined. He was going to make sure Daisy was safe, even if it meant going back across the river.

“It’s almost coming over the bridge,” Daisy said to Dad.

Dad nodded. “We need to tell them at the farm, fast. Then they can get round in the Land Rover over the other bridge, and make sure everyone’s OK.” He grinned at Daisy as they followed Barney off the bridge, through the water again to the path on the other side. “We’d better tell them we’ve got this little one, as well.”

“And that we’re keeping him?” Daisy said, hesitantly. Had Mum and Dad really meant it?

But her dad nodded. “And that we’re keeping him,” he agreed.

Daisy gripped the thick fur under her fingers even tighter. Barney looked up at her, his ears twitching with relief as they came out of the water at last. Holding his head up high, he set off down the path, leading them all the way to somewhere safe and dry.

“Look!” Daisy pointed further down the path – lights were coming towards them from the farmhouse, and anxious voices were calling. “It must be Julie. They’re coming to get us.”

Dad hugged her. “We’ll have to tell her she’s too late, Daisy. We’ve already been rescued!”

“I still can’t believe the river rose that quickly.” Julie shook her head. “It’s never been that high. We were lucky there were only a few tents close enough to be flooded.”

“Did everyone manage to get their stuff out?” Daisy’s mum asked.

Julie nodded. “It’s all drying in the stables. And most people are heading home today, like you, so they only had one night squashed up in our spare rooms, and the empty holiday cottage. I don’t think we’ll use that end of the field for camping again, though – it could have been so much worse.”

Daisy yawned, leaning against Mum’s arm. She’d spent the rest of last night sleeping on Julie’s living-room floor, wrapped up in spare blankets. She’d let Oliver have the sofa – she wanted Barney next to her, and she didn’t want him to get into bad habits. She wasn’t going to do anything that might put Mum and Dad off.

Barney didn’t look tired at all. His eyes were sparkling, and he kept twisting his head round to look at the collar and lead that Julie had given Daisy for him. She said they’d need them when they stopped to let him out on the way home.

Home! Daisy smiled to herself. She still could hardly believe it. Dad was packing the car now, carefully making a safe space in the boot for Barney. It meant Daisy and Oliver would have loads of bags round their legs, but they didn’t mind.

“I think we’re ready,” Dad said. “Julie, do you reckon he’s got enough room in here?”

Julie looked over. “He should be fine.” She smiled at Daisy. “I’m so glad he’s going home with you. It’s perfect.”

Daisy lifted Barney into the car, patting him gently as she took off his lead. “I can’t believe he’s really ours,” she told Julie, giggling as Barney licked her cheek. “Not just for the holiday, but for ever.”

***

Author bio

STRIPES PUBLISHING

An imprint of the Little Tiger Group

1 The Coda Centre, 189 Munster Road,

London SW6 6AW

First published as an ebook by Stripes Publishing in 2017

eISBN: 978-1-84715-469-9

The right of Holly Webb and Sophy Williams to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work respectively has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any forms, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.