Cocoa Read Online Free PDF Page B

hood.
    “I think I’ll take the Bean home,” Mom said to Charles, “now that Harry and Dawna are here. He could use an N-A-P.”
    “No! No!” yelled the Bean. “Don’t want to nap!” He started to cry.
    Mom rolled her eyes. “I guess he learned what N-A-P spells.”
    “If you go home with Mom” — Charles leaned down to whisper to his little brother — “I’ll helpyou write your letter to Santa later. How about that?”
    The Bean stopped crying for a moment and squinted up at him. “Okay,” he said finally. He waved his arms at Mom. “Let’s go, horsie!” Then he began to sing again. “Deck the halls with bells of jolly!”
    Mom rolled her eyes again, but she gave Charles a grateful smile. “I’ll come back to pick you and Lizzie up in an hour or so,” she said as she trudged off, towing the Bean on his sled.
    “Hey,” Harry said to Charles, “you’re looking pretty good on those skis!”
    Charles looked down at his feet. He’d almost forgotten that he still had his skis on. He smiled at Harry. “Thanks,” he said. “I guess I remembered how to do it.”
    “Rudolph’s Revenge is going to rule !” saidHarry, grinning as he gave Charles a fist bump. “This race is going to be so much fun.”
    “I hope Judge Thayer can be there to see us,” said Dawna. She turned to Charles. “That’s the goal he and I agreed on yesterday. He’s tired of the rehab center. I made him a deal: if he can walk well enough with a cane or ski pole so that he can come to WinterFest, then he can go home and finish his rehab there, with visits from me.”
    “Won’t it be hard for him to walk on the snow?” Charles asked.
    “They clear the paths pretty well,” Dawna said. “But actually, that’s part of the point. I can’t send someone home in winter if they can’t get around on ice and snow.”
    Charles nodded. Wow. Judge Thayer was getting better fast. Soon he and Charlotte were going to want to have Cocoa back. There was only oneproblem: Charles was beginning to wonder if that was a good idea. He had been thinking about it a lot, ever since he had met Judge Thayer and his wife.
    The thing was, when his family fostered puppies, their goal was to find each puppy a home. Not just any home, but the best possible forever home. Big puppies, little puppies, timid puppies, mischievous puppies: each one had his or her own personality. And for each personality, there was someone who was ready to love that puppy and give it a wonderful life.
    Charles felt terrible to even think it, but he was just not sure that Ernest and Charlotte Thayer were Cocoa’s perfect forever family. Cocoa was an active, energetic dog who needed to be on the go for hours every single day. She needed to learn some manners, but it wasn’t going to be easy to teach her anything until she calmed down a littlebit. She was a handful, just as Harry had predicted. Maybe she was just too much for two very old, frail people.
    But Charles didn’t know how to say so. How could he, just a little kid, ask someone to give up a dog they adored?
    “I wonder how Judge Thayer and his wife will feel when they see Cocoa,” Charles said. He saw Harry and Dawna exchange a look.
    “I’m sure they’ll be very happy to see her,” said Dawna. “But …” She didn’t finish her sentence.
    Harry looked down at the ground and nodded. Charles could tell that Harry and Dawna were thinking the same thoughts he was. “But the judge may have a major decision to make,” said Harry. “Not about whether someone in his courtroom is guilty or not, but about whether he and Charlotte will be able to keep Cocoa.”
    All three of them were quiet for a moment.
    Then Cocoa sat back on her haunches and barked.
     
    Hey, I thought we were going to have some fun here today!
     
    The serious mood was broken. Charles, Harry, and Dawna all cracked up. “Okay, okay,” Harry said. “You’re right, Cocoa. It’s time for some running and playing, isn’t it?” He reached