Free An Adrien English Mystery: The Dark Tide by Josh Lanyon Page A

would one day be mine. I had held on to that box for two years, believing that I could wear my mother down.
    In the end, the cardboard box, pillow, and collar had gone in the trash, along with my dreams of dog ownership. And I'd gotten over it just fine. So would she. I picked up my plate, ate a bite of cannelloni.
    “This chestnut is nice-looking.”
    Nothing from Emma.
    “The Welsh pony?”
    She nodded. Pressed her lips still more firmly when they would have betrayed her.
    “Or what about the Welara?” For Lisa's benefit, I said, “That's an Arabian and Welsh pony mix. They're supposed to be very gentle.”
    Emma nodded bravely, her fingers clutching the photo of Adagio so tightly, it was starting to crinkle.
    Appetite gone, I set my plate on the table. “I'm not saying Adagio's not the right horse.”
    She gave another of those tight nods, wiped her nose with her hand, sniffed fiercely.
    “Emma, you're being a goose,” Lisa said sharply. “You're lucky that your father and I are willing to consider a pony.”
    Emma jumped up and ran from the room, ignoring Lisa's exasperated “Emma!”
    In the wake of a distant bedroom door slamming, Lisa turned to me. “I do not understand that child. You were never like this. Girls are so…so unreasonable .”
    “It's not going to hurt if I go take a look at this horse, right?”
    She paled. “Adrien, you are not well enough to ride. You know that.”
    “Yes, I know that.” I clamped down on my own impatience. “I'll have a look at Adagio and see if it's worth taking her out there for a test drive.”
    “She's had her heart set on that bloody nag from the minute she saw his picture. It's ridiculous.”
    “Yes. Probably. What's the harm in letting me vet him? Osseo Farms is a reputable breeder, and I like Arabians. If I were in the market for a horse, I'd be looking at Arabians.”
    “Are you sure you're not in the market?” my mother asked drily.
    I grinned at her, and after a moment she smiled reluctantly.
    Despite the flare-up with Emma, it was a pleasant visit. We sat in the large, shady backyard and drank lemonade and talked. Or they talked. Mostly I listened. And admittedly, I dozed off a couple of times as Lauren and Natalie discussed their romantic woes.
    Fortunately no one asked my opinion, because I believed Lauren couldn't unload her cheating, corporate-clone spouse fast enough, and Natalie's on-and-off boyfriend, Warren was a waste of space. Not that my track record was enviable, though with the exception of Mel, I didn't think I had ever kidded myself that my relationships were going to last forever.
    “Guy called here last night,” Lisa said, jolting me out of a somnolent contemplation of bees buzzing the purple clematis climbing up the redwood pergola. “Did he get hold of you?”
    “Yes.”
    Three pairs of eyes watched and waited.

    An Adrien English Mystery: The Dark Tide

    39

    “What?”
    Natalie said to the others, “I told you.”
    I asked shortly, “What did you tell them?”
    “That it's over with Guy.”
    I closed my eyes, raised my face to the sun. “You worry about your own love life,” I said finally.
    Not exactly a crushing rejoinder. Surprisingly, they left it alone.
    After a time, Emma came out to join us on the patio, and everyone carefully ignored the fact that her eyes and nose were pink. Bill arrived home, and cocktails were served—though none for me. I was looking forward to the following week, when I'd finally be allowed a glass of wine again. Not that I needed to be drunk to be around my family, but it didn't hurt to take the edge off.
    The only awkward time was when Lisa popped out with, “Darling, the house in Porter Ranch is still sitting empty.”
    “I thought you were putting it on the market?” I said.
    “This is a dreadful time to try and sell a house.”
    “Okay.”
    My bemusement must have been clear. She pushed a fraction harder. “Have you given any more thought to what we discussed?”
    “What did we