A Price Worth Paying

Chapter Forty-one. A Box of Surprises.

A BOX OF SURPRISES

Sang had fallen asleep on the way back to Victor's, much to Sean's relief. They had had a wonderful morning wandering around the old house and gardens.

He had even convinced his Pookie to lie on a rug under one of the huge old trees for a rest. To his delight they had both dozed for a while. It reminded him of the first time she had come to him at the hospital, as he watched her sleep, and although they didn't have apple pie, fresh baked scones with raspberry jam and clotted cream more than made up for the loss.

They had laughed and talked and relaxed all morning, but he could tell she was starting to tire as they left, so when she slept he called Owen and warned him. They didn't need seven guys freaking out when they saw him carry an unconscious Sang in. Which left him to explain their change of vehicle he thought grinning. But even that turned out okay thanks to Owen.

It really had been the perfect time out of time, he thought, remembering holding her hand and cuddling under that tree. And if they'd had a kiss or two or three, well that was their business. So having to return may have sucked, but he knew everyone was anxious to see Sang.

He grinned to himself when she finally wandered out from Victor's bedroom because Owen's cat was firmly entrenched in her arms, and he clearly had no intention of being removed from them. He watched Owen hide his smirk as he saw his cat glare at the boys before butting his head against Sang and purring loudly.

"Hi Guys, look who I found!" Sang said as she wandered in smiling happily and indulgently scratching Xavier's ears. Fortunately, Sang didn't seem to require an answer, because several boys were too busy returning the cat's glare to give a positive response as she continued talking. "Did I miss anything? What are we doing?" Stopping abruptly when she remembered what they had done while she had been out with Sean.

Seeing her look of sudden confusion and knowing the reason for it Mr Blackbourne quickly stepped in. "We were debating dinner options for tonight, Miss Sorenson. Do you have any particular preference? We have one for pizza, three for Greek, one Indian, two seafood and two Chinese."

"Oh. Um, I don't really mind. I'm not really hungry at the moment. Probably not pizza though." "Sorry." She said looking at Nathan.

"Hey! Who said it was me?" Nathan protested smirking.

"I've seen your freezer, Nathan! It was a safe bet. Why. Was I wrong?" Sang grinned.

"Not the point, Peanut." He replied as several others started talking loudly to Sang about dinner, eating properly and choices.

Noticing her eyes widen as she clutched Xavier a little tighter, this time Sean stepped up quickly while Mr Blackbourne gave his Shut Up or Die look to the boys.

"So Pookie, you interested in opening those boxes in the corner today, tomorrow or next week?" Sean asked, grinning at her to take her attention from the now quiet group.

Looking at the pile of boxes in confusion Sang asked "Um. Why would I be opening them Sean?"

"Well, they are yours Pookie."

"I don't think so, Sean. I've never seen them before. Are you sure?"

"Your Mr Drummond sent them. He thought you might be interested." Sean replied throwing his arm around her and leading her over to the pile.

"What! All of them?" Sang exclaimed looking in disbelief at the pile as she carefully placed Xavier on the floor with a gentle pat.

"All of them." Sean smiled. "Come on, pick one."

Grinning Sang pointed at a large one at the bottom of the pile "Okay. That one please, Sean."

"Of course that one. Couldn't you have picked a small one from the top?" Sean grinned, quickly moving boxes to reach the large rectangular leather case at the bottom. No one noticed the cylinder that rolled down and away from the pile to land under a chair.