Read Online The Chosen Dead (Jenny Cooper 5) by M. R. Hall - Free Book Online

with it.’
    That was fine with her. After six years during which she had feared their relationship had broken irretrievably, there were finally signs that the damage was being mended.
    Loading his luggage into the boot of her car, Ross said, ‘Where are all the bags? I thought you were hitting the shops.’
    ‘Change of plan.’
    ‘Working too hard?’
    ‘Don’t worry – I’m learning.’
    She smiled and won one back from him. It was warm and trusting, the smile he had given her as a little boy.
    As they pulled away and headed west through the hectic traffic, Ross said, ‘You’re sure you don’t mind putting me up? I know you’re busy.’
    ‘You can stay as long as you like – it’ll be fun. How’s the new girlfriend – Sarah?’
    ‘Not that new – six weeks. She’s fine, and her name’s Sally. She’s gone to stay with her dad in Brighton for a bit – it’s complicated.’
    ‘Aren’t all families?’
    ‘Not like hers. He left her mum for another guy.’
    ‘All right, I concede. That beats even us.’
    ‘I couldn’t tell Dad. God knows what he’d say to her.’
    Jenny felt a guilty satisfaction at the thought that for the first time since she and David had separated, Ross might be seeing her as the closer ally.
    ‘I’d like to meet her. She’s welcome to stay any time.’
    ‘Cool. She’d like that.’
    Jenny waited for his mood to dip, as it so often did when they were alone together, but against her expectations Ross remained upbeat, giving her a full unprompted rundown of his term’s activities, his spell as an intern in a City bank and the complex love lives of his flatmates. As they made their way across St James’s Park and Hyde Park Corner towards Knightsbridge, Jenny allowed herself to believe that he was letting her back into the life he had excluded her from since the day she’d left the family home. They felt like friends again.
    London’s green western fringes were finally dissolving into the Berkshire countryside when Jenny found the courage to edge the conversation around to the subject of her own faltering love life. ‘Did I tell you I’m still seeing Michael?’
    ‘I think so,’ Ross said vaguely. ‘He’s the pilot, right?’
    ‘He used to be in the Air Force.’ She was a little hurt by his evident lack of interest. ‘I know you’ve only met him once, so I thought it might be nice if he came over this evening and said hello.’ She braced herself for a negative reaction, but again he surprised her.
    ‘Sure. No problem.’
    ‘Really? I can put him off to another day.’
    ‘What do I have to say? It’s fine.’ He touched her arm as if to reinforce the point, and Jenny couldn’t believe her luck.
    It was one of the few precious summer evenings when the air was perfectly still and warm. Waiting for Michael to arrive, Jenny and Ross sat outside at the weather-worn pine table, drinking wine and talking about his plans for the future. His tutor had suggested business school, and hinted that if he studied hard enough he might even win a scholarship. It seemed so recently that he had been a surly sixteen-year-old on the brink of throwing away his education, but having struck out on his own, he seemed to have found a passion. His innocent hunger for life was infectious.
    Michael’s car pulled up in the cart track at the side of the house only a few minutes after eight. He appeared clutching a bottle of wine and dressed in a clean white shirt and the navy linen jacket Jenny had bought him for Christmas. She felt proud of him as he approached. He was dark and slim and carried his masculinity easily, with no attempt to posture. He glanced at Ross and Jenny could see that he was self-conscious as he stepped forward to greet him.
    ‘Hi. Good to meet you again,’ Michael said.
    ‘And you.’
    They shook hands, Ross looking him squarely in the eye just as his father had taught him to since he was a small boy.
    ‘How was the trip to France?’ Jenny asked.
    ‘No