Twirling Tails #7 Read Free

here.”
    Storm’s midnight blue eyes glinted and a few tiny sparks flared in his light brown fur. “It is done.”

    â€œReally? Wow! Well, I’d better get back to practice now. Let’s go.” Kirsten put Storm down on the tiled floor and he trotted at her heels as she went to rejoin the others.
    Kirsten felt really tense. Even though Storm had told her that he was invisible, she couldn’t quite make herself believe it and kept expecting someone to notice him. But when no one did, Kirsten relaxed and took her place in line.
    As she began twirling her baton, Kirsten’s heart lifted at the thought of the magical little friend who was sitting watching and her worries about whether Helena was trying to get friendly with Tracy faded for the time being.

Chapter THREE
    â€œWhat an absolutely gorgeous puppy!” Kirsten’s mom said. She bent down to stroke the tiny puppy’s low-set ears. “I think he’s a Border terrier. Imagine you just finding him wandering down the main road all by himself like that.”
    â€œMmm. Weird, wasn’t it?” Kirsten said vaguely.
    â€œWhat did Tracy say? Didn’t she want to take Storm home with her?” her mom asked.
    â€œI didn’t walk home with Tracy. She rushed off the minute practice ended. I guess she had to meet her mom from work or something,” Kirsten told her.
    Mrs. Blake raised her eyebrows, but didn’t comment.
    â€œAnyway, Storm’s one lucky pup to have found us, isn’t he? He told me that he—” Kirsten stopped quickly as she realized that she would have to be a lot more careful about keeping Storm’s secret. “I . . . um . . . mean, he obviously needed a home. And I thought he could stay with us,” she finished quickly.
    â€œWell, we’re certainly used to looking after strays.” Her mom smiled and bent down to pick Storm up. The little puppy whined and began licking her all over her face.

    Mrs. Blake laughed. “Thanks, Storm, but I’ve already showered today! I like his name. It really suits him,” she said to her daughter. “I’ll call Paws and let them know that we’ve got a puppy that needs a permanent home. We’d better put a note by the newsstand, too, just in case an owner’s looking for him.”
    â€œGood idea,” Kirsten agreed, feeling confident that no one was going to be claiming this particular puppy. “And if no one comes for Storm, we could keep him forever, couldn’t we?” she said in her best pleading voice.
    Her mom frowned. “You know the rules, sweetie. We take care of animals until they can be adopted. If we kept every stray, we’d be overrun with cats and dogs.”
    â€œOkay,” Kirsten sighed, knowing that she’d have to be satisfied with that for now, but she secretly promised herself to work hard to change her mom’s mind. “I’ll take Storm into the kitchen and get him some food. I bet he’s really hungry.”
    â€œFood?” Storm barked eagerly, his ears twitching. He started squirming to be let down.
    Mrs. Blake smiled as she placed the wriggling little puppy back on the floor. “I could swear he understood every word you just said!”
    Kirsten bit back a grin as she went out with Storm ambling after her. “If only Mom knew how right she was!” she whispered to him.
    In the kitchen, Kirsten scooped canned dog food into a bowl and stood watching as Storm scarfed it down in about half a minute.
    â€œThank you. That was delicious,” he woofed, licking his chops clean.
    After she’d washed his bowl, Kirsten let Storm out for a short run in the garden and then got herself a drink and some cookies.
    â€œLet’s go to my room and I’ll show you where you can sleep,” she said, heading toward the stairs. On the way, Kirsten popped her head around the living room door and spoke to her mom and dad. “I’m