Page 47 (1/2)

"Nothing," Carter ht he could barely sleep thinking about the stray The ht about it, theHis Rusty God had sent hi Rusty was the answer to Carter’s prayer

"Wanna play soccer?" Tiet Cameron and Isaiah and--"

"No, thanks"

Timmy looked as dejected as Carter felt "It’s cold out here Let’s go inside"

"All right" Ti

When classes started, he had trouble paying attention to Ms Jensen Carter kept wondering what had happened to Rusty He worried that Animal Control had picked him up, and then worried that they hadn’t

Deep down, Carter knew that if Rusty was at a shelter, he’d at least be out of the cold And there’d be plenty of food for hi lunch today, just in case

After the recess bell rang, his friends dashed out the door, eager to put on their winter clothes and get onto the playground

"Carter" Ms Jensen stopped hied over to his teacher "Yes, Ms Jensen?" He thought about asking if she’d seen the stray dog recently, but then he re all right?"

"Yes, Ms Jensen"

"At home, I mean"

He nodded He wanted to tell her that his fa Christmas presents this year and that he’d lied to his friends He still felt bad aboutTiift under the tree would be underwear frorand well?"

"I’o outside now?"

"All right Oh, and thank your mother for the cookies she sent me"

"I will," Carter proround, Carter noticed that his teacher was still watching him No sooner was he outside with his friends than he saw Rusty Carter could hardly breathe, he was so excited

Rusty saw Carter, too, and even though one of the third-grade girls was offering hi shot across the schoolyard Carter knelt down to greet his friend Rusty licked his face and seemed as happy to see Carter as Carter was to see hied to sobbled it up and looked to Carter for more

"I’m sorry," Carter told him, and then because he was so ecstatic, he wrapped his ar He didn’t care that Rusty was filthy or that the sleeves of his winter jacket came away all muddy His mother would be upset, but even her displeasure orth the enjoy

"We can’t let Mr Nicholson see you," Carter warned, then ran over to where his friends were playing

Rusty followed Carter wherever he went When Mr Nicholson stepped into the yard, the stray quickly and quietly disappeared, just as if he understood

Carter turned around and looked for hi had gone into the trees that separated the schoolyard from the nearby houses

"Good boy," Carter whispered Rusty was no dummy He kneho his friends were--and his enemies

At lunchtime, Carter only ate his apple The rest he saved for Rusty Once again the ht, shining eyes that revealed his gratitude

Carter petted Rusty’s head, although his hand got really dirty What would happen to the dog over the holidays, when there was no one at the school? Who’d feed Rusty then? Who’d watch out for him? Carter already knew the answer No one After today, school was over for the year, and the yard would remain empty until the first week of January Rusty could starve by then

Holding the dog’s muddy face between his hands, Carter peered into his deep brown eyes Disregarding what his father had said, Carter whispered, "Rusty, listen, I need you to followblinked and stared back at him intently

"I take bus number seven Follow that bus, okay?"

Rusty cocked his head to one side

Carter didn’t knohat more he could do Disconsolate, he tried to accept that the dog wouldn’t understand him, no matter how many times he repeated the information After today, when the bus delivered Carter to his hoain Carter couldn’t bear to have that happen, but he had to prepare himself for disappointment

Because it was the last day before winter break, school was dismissed an hour early While Carter lined up with his friends for bus nu was nowhere to be seen, and once again Carter’s heart fell

"You wanna co down on the seat next to Carter

"No, thanks"

His friend seemed dejected

"Can I come on Monday?" Carter asked

"Sure" Tiht away "I’ll show you all my presents under the tree"

"Okay" Carter tried to s lots of gifts He wanted gifts, too--stacks and stacks of thele one for Rusty