Page 7 of In at the Deep End

The truth was way more complicated than that, but Owen saw no reason to share it. “Yeah.”

Jeff smiled. “You hear all these stories about bitter exes, and yet you and Cyn stayed friends. That’s amazing.” He sipped his tea. “So you divorced, you came out… What was your parents’ reaction?”

Owen let out a derisive snort. “I didn’t tell them. Besides, if they knew how I was living back then, they’d have both had heart attacks.”

“Er… how were you living? I’m afraid to ask.”

He chuckled. “Let’s just say I was catching up on lost time. And then in 2014, I met Ben. Cupid’s arrow, right into my heart.” He stared into his mug. “He died in 2020. So now it’s just me again. A situation I’m perfectly happy with, I have to say.”

“My condolences, though.”

Owen waved his hand. “Time is a great healer, isn’t that the line? And we had six wonderful years together.”

There was a knock at the door, then Callum stuck his head around. “Is it safe to come in with biscuits?”

Owen laughed. “Sure. Hey, do you remember me telling you about when I was a student, how me and a friend emptied a guy’s room while he was away for a weekend? How we took out every stick of furniture, every possession?”

Callum laughed. “Yeah. You were really into pranks, weren’t you?”

Owen pointed to Jeff. “Meet my co-conspirator.”

Jeff took a bow. “I blame your dad. He was evil.”

Callum grinned. “I think you were just as evil, judging by Dad’s tales.” He placed a plate of biscuits on the coffee table, then left them to it.

“He looks more like you than Cyn,” Jeff observed. “How did he react to his dad suddenly announcing he was into men?”

“I don’t think he really understood much at the time. But he was fifteen when I met Ben. They got on really well.” Owen got up and wandered over to the window. “Callum thinks I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with this place. Not the house so much, but the garden.” He knew it was an abrupt change of direction, but he didn’t want to talk about the past anymore.

Except there’s going to be a lot of that.

Owen was a survivor. He could cope with a little reminiscing.

Ben hadn’t survived.

Some days, Owen still wasn’t entirely sure why he’d been the one left behind.

“Your garden is bigger than ours.”

Jeff’s voice cut through the gathering fog of memory and pulled him back into the room.

“Yeah, Callum thinks I’m about to reduce it to a wasteland. Apparently I’m hopeless at gardening. So I guess I’d better start looking for a gardener—and a pool guy too.”

Jeff’s breathing caught.

Owen turned around. “Do you know someone?”

“Yeah, I might. Well, he doesn’t do it for a living, but he’s pretty experienced. Plus you’d be doing me a favour.”

He bit back a smile. “I’m intrigued.”

“Okay, let me explain. Matt is home from university. He’s been studying in Edinburgh. And right now he’s working on the final version of his dissertation for his master’s. He’s got a couple of months before he needs to hand it in.”

“Shouldn’t he be in Edinburgh for that?”

Jeff grimaced. “Maybe, but all rents hit an upward spike in the summer, especially with the Fringe right around the corner. He says he has online access to the University library, and as long as he emails chapters regularly and has video calls with his tutor, he’s gold.”

“Still not sure where you’re going with this.”