Grace peered into the bush. “There’s something in there.” She knelt down and gently pulled the branches apart. Grace gasped. “Oh, Jack! Look!” A tiny tortoiseshell kitten was crouching between the fallen leaves. It stared at Grace and Jack with wary blue eyes.

  To Simba, the most loyal

  and loving Golden Retriever in the world.

  “Tiny! Fetch!” Grace swung her arm back and threw the ball as hard as she could. It bounced across the frosty lawn and rolled under a bush. Tiny, the family’s large white dog, chased after it.

  Jack, Grace’s twin, laughed as Tiny scrabbled under the bush for the ball. His bottom was stuck up in the air, his fluffy tail wagging hard.

  “Where’s it gone, eh, Tiny?” Grace ran over to help as the dog wriggled further under the bush. She heard a loud hiss, then Tiny yelped and hurriedly backed out.

  Jack came running. “What happened? Did he get stung?” he said, examining Tiny’s face. The big dog was pawing at a little scratch on his nose.

  Grace peered into the bush. “There’s something in there.” She knelt down and gently pulled the branches apart.

  “Careful, it might be a snake,” said Jack, squatting down next to Grace.

  Grace gasped. “Oh, Jack! Look!” A tiny, tortoiseshell kitten was crouching between the fallen leaves. It stared at Grace and Jack with wary blue eyes.

  “It’s so cute! I wonder where it’s come from,” said Jack.

  Grace crawled closer. The ginger, black and white kitten shrank away at first but after a few moments it edged forwards to sniff Grace’s outstretched hand. Grace carefully caught hold of it.

  “Ouch! Its claws are like pins,” she said, backing out of the hedge. “I think it’s scared of Tiny.” The kitten wriggled and twisted in her hands. It seemed to be trying to climb on to the top of Grace’s head.

  “I’ll put him in the house,” said Jack.

  “And I’ll take the kitten to our shed. Meet me there,” said Grace.

  Grace and Jack had a shed at the bottom of the garden where they ran their animal rehoming service, Forever Homes. The nine-year-old twins made it their mission to find any dog or cat the perfect owner, and, until they did, the animal lived with them.

  As Jack took Tiny back to the house, the kitten relaxed into Grace’s neck. “You’re tickling me!” she giggled.

  Grace entered the shed and let out a happy sigh as she looked at the photos on the walls of all the pets she and Jack had rehomed. Carefully, she stepped round the crate of cat and dog toys and sat on a bean bag with the kitten in her lap.

  “You’re so pretty!” Grace stroked the kitten’s soft head. The little cat had tiny black ears that pointed straight up like a pixie’s, a black and ginger face, and its tummy was like a half-moon of white fur. Its front paws were white and its tail was black and ginger. It purred as Grace stroked it.

  “You like that, don’t you?” Grace said. The kitten rubbed its face against Grace’s hand.

  Jack came in quietly, so as not to startle their little visitor. “Hello, puss-cat. What were you doing in our garden?” He stroked her too. “She must be a girl, mustn’t she, because she’s a tortoiseshell?”

  Grace nodded. She and Jack knew a lot about animals and both knew that tortoiseshell cats were nearly always female. “She’s got an identity tag on.” Grace found the fish-shaped name tag. “She’s called Luna. That’s cute. Do you want to hold her, Jack? She seems to love being cuddled.”

  “Hello, little pusskins,” said Jack, taking Luna from his sister. He stroked her gently and checked the back of her tag. “It says she belongs to Susan Peters. That’s Mum’s friend! She only lives four doors up. We should take her home.”

  “Susan can’t have had her for long,” said Grace. “Luna is so tiny, she can’t be much more than eight weeks old.”

  Jack reached into a cupboard. “I’ll get the pet carrier, just in case we meet any dogs on the way.”

  Luna didn’t like the look of the pet carrier. It took ages and lots of cat treats before they managed to coax her inside.

  “We’d better tell Mum where we’re going,” said Grace as they walked towards the neat-looking building where their mother ran her doggy day care business, Top Dog.

  “Hello, you two.” Mum smiled as they stamped their wellies on the mat. She looked in the pet carrier. “What have you got here? Another kitten to rehome? What a cutie!”

  “She’s not a Forever Homes kitten. She belongs to Susan Peters. We think she might have got lost,” Grace explained. “We’re about to take her home.”

  “Susan did say she was getting a new kitten,” Mum said. “OK, take her back, but don’t be long. Dad’s cooking dinner.”

  Grace and Jack hurried along to Susan’s house. As they crossed her frozen front garden, they saw Susan’s other two cats watching them. One was a large tabby and the other was a fluffy tortoiseshell.

  “They’re checking us out,” whispered Grace as they waited for the front door to open.

  Jack nodded. “They so are. The tabby hasn’t even blinked yet.”

  The door opened and Susan Peters looked at Grace and Jack in surprise. “Hello, twins, is that a kitten? I hope you’re not going to ask me to rehome it! I’ve only just got a new cat. My daughter bought her for me as a surprise. She meant well,” she added with a sigh.

  “Actually, this is your kitten,” said Grace, holding out the carrier. “We found her in our garden.”

  “Oh, my goodness!” Susan peered into the carrier. The kitten mewed at her and Susan tickled her with one finger through the bars. “How did you escape from the garden, Luna?” She smiled at the twins. “Thanks for bringing her back. Please, do come in.” As Susan stood back to let them into the hall the tabby and the tortoiseshell rushed past her. They charged upstairs together, knocking over a box of Christmas decorations on the bottom step. Grace felt Luna shrink into a corner of the pet carrier.

  Susan sighed as she put the decorations back in the box. “Poor Luna. She’s such a timid little thing. Teddy and Tabitha terrify her. They can get very boisterous when they play. I thought the garden was safe but I’d clearly better check the fence for gaps.”

  “How old is Luna?” asked Jack.

  “Ten weeks. She’s adorable but I don’t think this is the right home for her. She really needs to be the only cat.”

  Grace and Jack exchanged a look. It wasn’t unusual for them to know what each other was thinking, but this time even Susan guessed too.

  “Of course! Your pet rehoming business!” She looked at them. “Might you be able to find a new home and owner for her? Someone with no pets? I don’t think it’s fair to keep her here with my two terrors.”

  “Yes, we definitely can,” said Grace and Jack together.

  Susan smiled sadly. “I’ll miss her but I think it might be for the best. Should I ring your mum first?”

  “Mum will be fine,” said Jack. “We’re not looking after any other animals at the moment. We do need you to come round to sign the paperwork, though. You have to officially give Luna to us.”

  “Of course! I can do that now, if you like. I’ll just get Luna’s things. She has a new bed and you can have her bowls and toys. Hopefully, it won’t be too difficult to find a lovely owner for her.”

  Grace peeped inside the cat carrier. Luna was hiding right at the back. “We’re going to find you somewhere quiet to live, Luna.”

  “A home where there aren’t any scary big cats,” Jack agreed.

  Grace grinned. She couldn’t wait to start finding Luna the perfect new home!

  Susan looked sad as she said goodbye to Luna in the Forever Homes shed. She bent down to the pet carrier. “Bye, little one,” she whispered. As she left, she said, “You’ll let me know when you’ve found a home for her?”

  “Of course,” said Grace and Jack together.

  The little portable radiator that Mum had given the twins for the shed meant it was lovely and cosy, and last weekend they’d put up red and gold tinsel to make it look festive. Jack settled down to make some notes about the kitten in the Forever Homes notebook while Grace tried to coax Luna out of the pet carrier. Having not wanted to go in, the kitten now didn’t want to come out again!

  “Here, Luna.” Grace held out a fish-shaped treat. The little cat’s nose twitched but she stayed huddled at the back of the carrier.

  Jack watched her. “Very timid,” he said, writing in his book. “We already know that Luna needs a quiet home where there aren’t any cats or dogs. I guess that also rules out big families with lots of noisy children.”

  “She’s coming out, Jack!” Grace whispered. She sat very still as Luna padded out of the pet carrier and stared round at her new surroundings. Jack watched quietly from the beanbag. After a bit, Luna was brave enough to start to explore. She walked around them and sniffed at Jack’s foot. Jack’s shoulders trembled as he tried not to laugh.

  “Hello, little kitty.” Grace reached out her hand. Luna rubbed against her fingers and purred.

  Jack stroked Luna along her spine and the kitten arched her back. Jack grinned and picked up his pen. “Loves attention,” he wrote.

  Attracted by his pen, Luna climbed into his lap and began to knead his jeans with her claws.

  “Ow! Ow! Ow!” winced Jack. “I think she likes me.” He pushed the notebook away. “Get one of her toys out, Grace. Let’s see if she’s playful.”

  Grace pulled a mouse with a long tail out of the bag of things that Susan had given them and wiggled

it in front of Luna.

  The kitten jumped from Jack’s lap and pounced. Grace giggled and pulled the mouse across the floor. Luna chased after it. “OK, I think you can write down that she loves to play!” said Grace. She teased Luna with the mouse and the twins laughed as the kitten darted about trying to catch it.

  Suddenly, the door banged open. Cold air rushed into the shed as Amelia, the twins’ thirteen-year-old sister came in. Luna hissed in shock. Her fur bristled and her tail stuck up in the air like a furry loo brush. She fled under the desk.

  “Shut the door!” Grace gasped, worried in case Luna tried to escape.

  Amelia frowned but shut the door behind her. “Dinner’s nearly ready,” she said. “You have to come and lay the table.”

  “You frightened Luna!” said Jack crossly. “You should have knocked first, not just barged in.”

  Amelia raised her eyebrows. “Maybe next time I won’t bother telling you dinner’s ready. Who’s Luna, anyway?”

  Grace crawled under the desk, then backed out slowly with Luna in her hands. The tiny kitten stared up at Amelia with wide eyes.

  Amelia’s grumpy mood melted away as she saw the cute kitten. “Awww, she’s gorgeous. Doesn’t she like people, though? Why’s she so scared?”

  “She’s really shy,” said Grace. “You can stroke her if you want.”

  “But gently,” warned Jack.

  “Durrr, I’m not stupid,” said Amelia, pulling a face at him, but as she turned to Luna, her voice softened. “Hey, little kitten, do you want to come to your Auntie Amelia for a cuddle?” She tickled Luna under the chin and the kitten allowed herself to be handed over. Amelia held her close. Both she and Ollie, the twins’ older brother, loved animals, even if they weren’t quite as animal-mad as the twins.

  “We need to find her a home with no other animals and no young children,” said Jack.

  “I’ll ask around,” said Amelia. “All my friends are obsessed with cute cat videos.”

  “Oh!” said Grace. “That gives me an idea. Ms Drew was looking at pictures of kittens on her phone when we had wet play last week. Maybe she’d like to adopt a cat? She seems like a quiet person.”

  “Good idea,” said Jack. “She’s really nice. Let’s ask her tomorrow!”

  The following morning, Grace and Jack arrived in school early and went straight to their classroom. Their teacher, Ms Drew, was marking books at her desk.

  “Hello, twins,” she said with a smile. “You’re early today. How can I help you?”

  Grace explained while Jack pulled a photo of Luna from his bag and showed it to Ms Drew.

  “She looks gorgeous,” said Ms Drew. “But you’re too late, I’m afraid. I went to see a litter of kittens just a few days ago and chose one. I’m so sorry. Much as I’d like two cats, I really don’t think I can manage it.”

  “It’s OK, miss,” said Jack with a sigh. “Luna needs to go to a home where she’s the only cat anyway.”

  “I promise if I hear of anyone else who wants a kitten I’ll let you know,” said their teacher.

  Grace and Jack nodded and went outside to join their friends, who were running round in the playground to keep warm.

  Chloe was sliding across the icy ground as if it was an ice rink. She had only joined the class a few months ago but she and the twins got on brilliantly.

  “Guess what?” she said. “I’m going to go to that new theme park on Saturday, the one with the Monster ride. It’s a triple loop helter-skelter.” Words seemed to rush out of Chloe. Her curly hair was sticking out in all directions and, as always, she couldn’t seem to stand still. “My mum’s godson, Freddie, is coming too. He’s eight. His parents have to work and he doesn’t have any brothers or sisters to play with so he gets he’s lonely. I haven’t seen him for ages. I hope he’ll go on the Monster with me! We’re going to ask your mum if she can look after Tilly so she’s not on her own all day.” She grinned. “I bet Tilly would love to go on a helter-skelter if she was allowed!”

  Tilly was a cheeky cockapoo with wavy cream fur that the twins had rehomed with Chloe a while ago.

  “Wow! Lucky you! Ollie’s taking me and Grace to the theme park but not until the summer,” said Jack.

  “I wish I was going this weekend. I can’t wait to go on the Monster,” said Grace.

  “I like the teacups best,” said Jack.

  “Boring!” said Grace.

  Chloe giggled. “I love all the rides but I hate going to theme parks on my own. It’s going to be fun having Freddie with me.”

  Just then the bell rang and the children ran to start the line for their class.

  The rest of the day went by quickly. Grace and Jack hurried home, eager to check on Luna. As they burst into the kitchen, they saw Ollie, their seventeen-year-old brother, standing by the curtains. He swung round when he heard them, his eyes widening guiltily. He spread his arms.

  “What are you hiding?” Jack demanded.

  “Nothing,” Ollie said quickly.

  “You so are.” Grace lunged and prodded him in the tummy

  “Oof!” gasped Ollie, doubling over. The twins saw Luna clinging to the curtain, halfway up, her eyes wide and her whiskers trembling. “I didn’t mean to frighten her,” Ollie said quickly. “I got this great idea for a tune and I was drumming it out on the table. I didn’t know Luna was under there until she ran up the curtain!”

  “Oh, Ollie!” groaned Grace. “Help me, Jack. I think she’s got a claw stuck.”

  “Poor little Luna,” Jack soothed, while Grace stood on a chair and unhooked Luna’s claw. When Luna was free, Grace lifted her down.

  “No drumming until we’ve found Luna a new home.” Grace gave Ollie a hard stare. “Promise?”

  “I promise!” said Ollie meekly. He reached out and stroked Luna. “I didn’t mean to frighten her. This house is pretty noisy. I hope you find a new home for her soon, where she’ll have peace and quiet.”

  “We do too,” said Jack, stroking Luna’s soft head.

  The next day at school, Ms Drew called Grace and Jack over.

  “Have you found a home for your kitten yet?” she asked. The twins shook their heads. “Oh good! My friend Helen’s looking for a cat.”

  “Luna’s very timid and needs a quiet environment,” said Jack, wishing he had his notebook so he could interview Ms Drew properly. “Could your friend provide such a home?”

  Ms Drew hid a smile. “Well, Helen lives with her elderly father and there are no young children or pets in the house.”

  “That sounds perfect!” said Grace.

  Jack frowned at his sister. He wished she’d remember they had to do things properly. “Your friend and her father will need to pass our Forever Home checks before we can say for sure,” said Jack seriously. “And we will have to do a home visit in order to make a proper assessment.”

  He took a card from his school bag. On it was the Forever Homes paw print drawn in sparkly gel pen and their phone number.

  “Thanks,” said Ms Drew. “I’ll give it to Helen and hopefully she’ll get in touch.”

  “Thanks, miss!” said Grace, as Jack nodded in approval.

  The twins went to sit down. “Helen sounds perfect for Luna!” said Grace in excitement.

  Jack tutted. “She might be, and I hope so too, but we won’t know until we meet her and do a home visit.”

  Grace crossed her fingers tightly. She fell in love with every single pet they rehomed. It was always hard to let them go but at the same time she knew they couldn’t keep them all. It would be brilliant if Ms Drew’s friend could give Luna her Forever Home.

  After school, the twins got a call from Helen. She asked if she could come around to see Luna that evening.

  “Can she, Mum?” asked Grace, covering the phone with her hand.

  “Of course,” Mum replied. “But you’d better tidy the kitchen up first.”

  By the time Helen arrived, the twins had cleared the kitchen and put Luna in her carrier to keep her safe.

 

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