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The place was owned by Zac’s grandparents, Bobby and Diane Taylor, a nice couple. Bobby was a retired policeman and Diane a former schoolteacher. Attached to the house was a barn extension, where his half-brother, Chris, and his wife Gemma lived – Zac’s parents.
Matt had never fallen out with Gemma, but they’d never bonded either. No doubt her loyalty to Chris was a factor. He could imagine that conversations about Chris’s childhood growing up with Pete Hardy as a stepdad hadn’t helped. It didn’t matter that he was a victim, too, just as Leah and their mother were – they were the great unwashed in Gemma’s eyes.
He pressed the doorbell. The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could leave.
When the door swung open, he braced himself and forced a smile.
Despite it being a Saturday, his brother was dressed in a button-down shirt and crease-free tan chinos, held up by a shiny leather belt, which was a perfect match for his shiny leather shoes. His dark hair was cut short, without a single strand out of place, and his chiselled jaw was clean shaven. He looked like the IT manager he was. Staid. Serious. Devoid of emotion.
Far from welcoming Matt into the family home, Chris stared at him like he’d grown two heads. ‘What are you doing here?’
Nice greeting. ‘Zac invited me.’
Chris looked puzzled. ‘Why?’
His brother obviously had no idea he was coming.
Apart from them both being tall, the two brothers shared no other features. No one would ever have guessed they were related, and he questioned it himself sometimes.
When nothing further was forthcoming, Matt raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you going to invite me in?’
‘Doesn’t seem like I have a choice.’
Nice to see you, too.
No handshake followed. No manly hug or fist bump. Chris didn’t even crack a smile. He just continued to regard Matt with suspicion. What did he think he was going to do? Steal the family silver?
Chris stood back from the doorway. ‘You’d better come in.’
‘Thanks. Is Zac here?’
‘Not yet. Everyone else is in the garden – you’ve interrupted a family barbeque.’
Good to know he wasn’t considered part of the family. Not that this was news.
He followed Chris through to the garden.
The outside space was large and well-tended, with an immaculate lawn surrounded by flower beds and patio planters overspilling with various foliage. Seated around a large wooden table were Zac’s family. His grandparents, Bobby and Diane. Zac’s mother, Gemma, and his uncle Will and new wife, Lily. Will’s daughter from his first marriage played up by the pond, throwing a ball for the family dachshund.
It was a picture of family harmony. Smiling and happy.
Matt’s heart twinged. It was a far cry from his mother’s ex-army house in Aldershot. How the other half lived, eh? And yet somehow he was still the bad guy. Go figure.
Gemma did a double take when she saw him. ‘Matt? I didn’t know you were coming?’
‘So I gather.’ He tried for a conciliatory smile.
Chris and his wife shared a look, no doubt wondering how quickly they could get rid of him.
‘Zac invited him,’ Chris said, as though his son had invited the Grim Reaper for lunch. Zac would be in trouble for this later, bad son that he was.
Gemma shielded her eyes from the sun, her expression laced with mistrust, as though Matt was trying to outwit them in a cunning ruse.
Gemma wasn’t what Matt would call a warm person. She wore the same style of clothing as her husband, perfecting the art of ‘country chic’, with her tan trousers, loose blouse, and sunglasses perched on top of her blonde hair. She radiated seriousness, self-containment and rigidity. She was also incredibly judgemental. Where Zac had inherited his edgy style from, Matt had no idea. Maybe it was a rebellion against such conservatism.
Zac’s granddad stood up and offered Matt a handshake. ‘Good to see you, Matt. Can I get you a beer?’
Finally, a friendly face. ‘Cheers, Bobby. Sounds good.’
