Page 29 of Animal Instincts
Joss snorted. “True, on both counts. Being gay was part of it, of course,” he added, after a moment’s silence. “Kids can be vicious little bastards, and I got bullied for it at school. It was insidious. Name calling and digs, stuff scrawled on the toilet walls or notes stuck on my locker.”
Next to him, Oliver shuddered.
“Christ, I remember all that. I also got thumped a few times, until one day I lost it and hit back, and ended up breaking the kid’s nose. But I shouldn’t have retaliated like that. I suppose. I was suspended from school for the rest of the term.”
“I can’t imagine you hitting anybody.”You’re gentle and kind…
“So what happened, with the kids at school?” Oliver asked, after a couple of minutes silence.
“Gran dealt with them. She’s mellowed, but she was fiercely protective of me. I can still remember every moment of it. It was my thirteenth birthday, and instead of running into the kitchen for my birthday cake and presents, I tried to creep upstairs. Of course, she caught me and could see I’d been crying. Needless to say, she winkled it all out of me.
“She was furious and disgusted — not with me, she said she’d always known I was gay — but with the other kids. She didn’t cut any corners, went and tackled the bullies head on. If she did it now, she’d probably be arrested. After that, I didn’t have any more trouble, but it did kind of set me apart from most of my school mates. It was at that point I properly realised that I didn’t fit in with most people in the village, and never would, and I started to think of a world beyond what the Harbour could give me. But the whole gay thing wasn’t the only stick that was used to beat me with.”
“How do you mean?”
They stopped at the junction of two paths, the choice to take the route back the village, or to carry on. In silent assent, they went forward.
“So, you know my gran brought me up, and that’s because my mum checked out of the whole parenting thing when I was a tiny kid. Julie’s Gran’s only child. She was born dissatisfied, Gran always said, and that led her to being a bit of a trouble maker. A trouble maker with other women’s boyfriends and husbands.”
“Ah.”
Joss snorted. “Yeah, you could kind of put it that way. It led to all kinds of speculation as to who my dad was. Seriously, if you went back just a decade ago, you wouldn’t recognise the place.”
“It’s hard to imagine. But thank god the days when all families were only considered to be such when it was a married man and woman with two point four children are behind us.”
“The idea there could be other kinds of families took a bit of time to take route in Love’s Harbour. But it’s a better place than it was. Way better. I understand why people want to live here, but you can only go on your own experiences, can’t you?”
They continued along the path, which climbed higher before dipping down again. The sun overhead was bright and warm and Joss lifted his face to it, to chase away the chilly, gloomy past.
“What’s that house? I don’t remember ever seeing it.”
Joss followed the direction of Oliver’s pointing finger.
“That’s the New House. Except it’s been about three hundred years since it was new. The original house was Elizabethan, but it was largely rebuilt. It’s where the descendants of Captain Love live—”
“Captain Love? Was the village named after some old sea dog?”
“Yep.” Joss grinned. “Local lad made good, bagged himself a knighthood and wife from the lower rungs of the aristocracy. Edward Love sailed with Sir Walter Raleigh and made a fortune diverting gold from the Americas destined for the King of Spain. In other words, a pirate robbed a gang of looters.”
Oliver’s answering laugh was unrestrained and carefree, rich and deep as it tumbled down Joss’ backbone, sending a delicious tremor racing across his skin.
“That’s one way of looking at it. Are they still there, then?”
“What? Erm, yeah, but on and off. The current lord of the manor, so to speak, is old, and he spends most of his time either in London or abroad, I think. Whatever, he hardly ever comes here. There’s an heir, but he left years ago. I think there was some scandal or big fall out.” Joss shrugged. “The place is pretty much mothballed. I kind of forget it’s there, because it’s tucked away from the village.”
They walked on, the path dipping lower and sweeping around as they headed back towards the village. The New House fell out of sight. Sheltered by the hills, the air was still and calm, with not even the faintest whisper of a breeze, or the call of a solitary bird. Into the silence, Joss’ stomach rumbled.
“Whoops. That’s dinner calling. I’m going to have mine in the chip shop tonight — Gran’s got a bunch of local ladies around this evening. She’s doing their colours.” Joss shuddered to think what those colours would be. “There are also several bottles of Stop ’n’ Shop’s own brand Prosecco in the fridge, so it’s probably safer to keep away for as long as possible. Honestly, grannies on the pi— after a few glass of bubbles, I mean — are feral.”
“There’s nothing more frightening than a feisty pensioner, so I can see why you want to keep away. I suppose I should think about my own dinner. Fish and chips sound good, though. I can’t remember when I last had them.”
“You can join me if you like.” The words flew from Joss’ mouth. First pie night and now… But they were used to eating together, and this wasn’t anything more than that.
“I…”
“That’s okay. I guess you see enough of me during the week.”
“No, not at all. You only come in for a couple of days, so I don’t see nearly enough of you.” Oliver’s words ground to a halt as a flush stained his cheeks. “I’m sorry, that sounds… What I mean is, because you’re a great help…” Oliver’s flush deepened, and his eyes grew wide with panicked mortification.
