Free Cherry Blossom Dreams by Gwyneth Rees Page B

pretty illegal , huh?’
    ‘Um … maybe …’ I saw that he was taking his chewing gum out to offer me some – taking it out of the packet, I mean, not out of his mouth. ‘No, thanks,’ I said, then started worrying in case that sounded rude. Fortunately, before I could over-think the whole chewing gum thing, Rafferty spoke again.
    ‘So … if you like I’ll come to Blossom House with you now and help you look for your snake,’ he offered.
    ‘Really?’ I just about fainted on the spot.
    ‘Sure.’ Rafferty’s gaze was directed expectantly at me as he waited for an answer.
    ‘Well … OK,’ I said awkwardly. ‘Thanks.’ It was hard trying to sound casual. ‘I need to find Sean first though. He already went to have a look for Monty before school so he’s got the key with him. He’ll probably want to come with us.’
    I knew Sean would be in no rush to get home after the way Mum had torn into him when she’d got back from work the evening before. She’d been furious with him for showing her up in front of her clients and she’d shown no signs of forgiving him by breakfast.
    But when I found Sean in the playground he just handed over the keys and wished me luck. Zack had been off sick that day, so Sean was going round to his house straight after school to tell him about Monty.
    Before I knew what was happening, Raffy and I were walking to Blossom House together. Raffy was listening to music and every time I glanced sideways at him he looked perfectly at ease with the fact that he was totally ignoring me. At first I felt a bit alarmed by our lack of communication, but then I reminded myself that this could easily be the sort of ‘comfortable silence’ Mum always says is just as important in a relationship as stimulating conversation.
    At last we arrived outside Blossom House, where Raffy quickly put his earbuds in his pocket and gave the place his full attention.
    ‘Wow! This is amazing!’ he exclaimed as we walked together down the drive. ‘And you guys can really let yourselves inside whenever you like?’
    I nodded. ‘Follow me.’
    After we got through the side gate I paused with my back to the house to give him more of a chance to admire the garden. I was hoping he would make some comment about the cherry blossom trees. Don’t ask me why that was so important, but I knew that Raffy was going to go down in my estimation if he didn’t appreciate how beautiful they were.
    Fortunately he didn’t disappoint me. ‘Wow! This is really something! And there must be loads of fruit to nick later on, isn’t there?’
    ‘Well … no … you see, cherry blossom trees are ornamental – you don’t actually get any fruit.’
    ‘Really? That’s a bummer.’ He turned his attention to the house. ‘What a shame this whole place is just going to waste.’
    ‘I know,’ I said. I didn’t want to disagree with him. ‘But now someone’s about to buy it. That’s why we have to find Monty as quickly as possible. Before the house isn’t ours any more.’ Luckily Monty hadn’t made an appearance during Mum’s viewing the day before, and thankfully the couple weren’t interested anyway. But Miranda’s client had called her again this week to confirm that he was still very keen and was going to make an offer.
    As I led Raffy inside, I asked, ‘Shall I show you the room he escaped from?’
    ‘Show me the room you showed Lily yesterday,’ he said eagerly.
    I noticed that his eyes were everywhere as we moved through the hall and into the main reception room, where he immediately started wowing just like Lily had. He walked over to look in the mirror, then began to walk round the periphery of the room, hunching down to examine the skirting boards. I thought he was looking for potential snake holes until I realised he was inspecting the plug sockets.
    ‘What are you doing that for?’ I asked.
    He turned to me with a delighted sparkle in his eyes. His eyes were light brown like Lily’s but they had little