The Wells Brothers: Blue

by Angela Verdenius

  “Obviously,” Blue said. “She’s marrying you.”

  Jason snorted a laugh.

  “Use your imagination as to what I’m thinking right now,” Luke told him before giving his dad and aunt a cheery wave. “Thanks for the tea. Catch you all later. Blue, drop by soon, huh?”

  “Will do.”

  “If the date goes bum up, call me.”

  “Why?” Jason asked. “You think he’ll take you out instead? ‘Cause let me give you the tip, sweetie, you’re not his type.”

  Luke stared at him for a second as a snicker went around the table before narrowing his eyes. “If we were outside, this would be going a whole other way.”

  “Can’t hurt me,” his cousin replied.

  “Want a bet?”

  “Uncle Harris needs me.”

  “You’re just lucky you’re his handyman. If you were mine, I’d work your brains out.”

  “That sounds oddly disturbing. Kind of like you perving on Blue.”

  That had Mr Wells’s eyebrows rising and Aunt Lora glancing at Luke questioningly.

  “’Bye!” Luke hurried out, Dog prancing along behind him with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

  “That boy.” Aunt Lora shook her head fondly. “Mikki is a lucky girl.”

  Privately, Blue agreed, but he certainly wasn’t going to admit it out loud. “Or a poorly informed one.”

  Aunt Lora tsked and laughed, while Mr Wells smiled quietly.

  It wasn’t long after that Mr Wells and Jason left for work. Blue helped Aunt Lora with the dishes before finally taking his leave.

  On the big motorcycle, the engine thrumming powerfully, Blue was half tempted to keep riding, to head out into the countryside and just go for it, but being a more orderly person, he decided to head for home and sort out a few things. He could always take the bike out for a long run another day, maybe with Shona warming the seat behind him.

  He found the house locked up. Obviously Charley was out, either working or whatever, so he enjoyed some time at home alone, inspecting everything more closely before unpacking his bags properly. Only once that was all done did he head out to do some shopping and reacquaint himself with the city.

  After strolling through the shopping centre, buying a couple of DVDs and CDs as well as some food, Blue reached for the mobile vibrating in his back pocket. “Hello?”

  “Blue?”

  “Shona, hi. You’re back.” Pleasure seeped through him. “Good flight?”

  “Always good, Blue.”

  “That’s great.”

  “Are we still on for tonight?”

  “Sure are. I’ve got this great restaurant booked. I’ll pick you up about six thirty.”

  There was silence for a few seconds before she said, “Actually, I was hoping we could just, you know, be home.”

  “Home,” he echoed, stopping beside a wooden seat.

  “Yes. You’ve been gone for so long, I’ve been gone for so long, I thought we could just stay in.”

  “Stay in.” His gaze drifted to the pharmacy.

  “I’d really prefer it. You don’t mind, do you?”

  “Of course not.” Odd, but okay. “We could send out for pizza, have a quiet night in.” That sounded good, too.

  “That’s great. Same time, huh?”

  “Six thirty it is. Your place or mine?”

  “I think its better to meet here, don’t you?”

  Ah, because he had a lodger at his house, whereas Shona lived alone in her unit. “Absolutely.”

  “I’ll see you tonight, then.” She hung up.

  A grin spread slowly across Blue’s face, along with anticipation. Him, the leggy blonde, all alone, quiet night. That just added up to a hot night in with his girl.

  Next on his shopping list - condoms.

  Returning the mobile to his back pocket, he strode to the pharmacy. Now this was the life.

  The satisfaction, anticipation, and contentment lasted right up until he knocked on Shona’s door that evening.

  It opened almost immediately, but before he could bend to give his girlfriend a kiss, she held up a hand. “Blue, stop.”

  “Huh?” His eyebrows shot up inquiringly. “What?”

  The beautiful blonde held open the door while gesturing him inside with one hand. “We need to talk.”

  Like those words had ever heralded a good thing. Foreboding started to set in as he held out the bunch of flowers. “For you.”

  Taking them, she breathed deeply of the perfume. “Mmmm, wonderful.” Then she looked up at him sadly.

  Déjà vu hit him, and all Blue could think was “Ah, shit.”

  Chapter 3

  He couldn’t bloody believe it.

  Well, yes, he could bloody believe it, but it was shitty regardless.

  Morosely, Blue drove away from his ex-girlfriend’s unit, leaving behind a woman, a bunch of flowers, and his ego. Not that he thought he was such a wonderful catch that no woman would ever ditch him, but hell, it was getting old. Fast.

  What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he keep a woman?

  Not really wanting to go home to Charley possibly chattering happily about her apparently much more successful love life, he almost took Luke up on his offer to call in, but the thought of raining all over his brother’s happy parade was not cool.

  He thought about dropping in on Aaron instead, but that would be sucky, too. He was happily married, even Jason was happily married, and right now, though it would be nice to get some TLC from his sisters-in-law and soon-to-be sister-in-law, he didn’t want to walk in and make their happy evenings, well, not so happy. They wouldn’t mind but nope, he couldn’t do it.

  He certainly didn’t want anyone’s pity. Not to mention they’d all been working and were now kicked back relaxing before going to bed. Ditto for his dad.

  Time enough to share that bit of information tomorrow.

  Looked like it was going to be a pity-party for one after all.

  His stomach rumbled, a reminder that he hadn’t eaten. His appetite certainly wasn’t ruled by his heart. Well, hell, he’d wanted pizza and he was damned well going to have it.

  Ten minutes later he pulled into the car park of a local pizza joint. Even though it was Monday night there were quite a few cars, but definitely not as busy as the end of the week.

  Entering the warm, delicious-smelling restaurant-come-takeaway, he stood in line while studying the menu on the wall. Making up his mind fairly quickly - never a hard thing when he knew exactly what he liked - he waited patiently to be served, using the time to peruse the big room.

  Only a third of the tables in the middle and the booths against the wall were taken, mostly by couples and a larger group.

  It was cosy in here, the air-conditioning making up for the warm summer night, and he played with the idea of getting a pizza-to-go and crashing in his lounge with a DVD - presuming Charley wasn’t watching some TV show, hadn’t thought of that - or sitting at one of the small tables and reading one of the old magazines while he ate in rather depressed silence.

  What a choice.

  His gaze slid past a person sitting in a far booth, recognition pinged and his gaze backtracked. Even from this distance he recognised the woman sitting gloomily contemplating a glass of drink. Honey-blonde hair pulled back in a short ponytail, sweetly curved, and what appeared to be an invisible dark cloud hovering above her.

  Someone had rained on Charlotte Carter’s parade.

  Charley chose that moment to glance up, her eyes meeting his with uncanny accuracy, recognition crossing her pretty face. She smiled slightly, but yeah, it was definitely subdued, those big brown eyes not dancing happily as they’d done when he’d first met her.

  Someone had rained on her parade big time.

  Charley’s attention dropped to the menu on the table in front of her.

  On impulse, Blue left his place in line and threaded through the tables until he drew level with the booth. “This booth taken by one or two?�
��

  Surprised, she looked up. “Uh…one.”

  “That one being you?”

  She nodded.

  Sliding into the seat opposite, Blue rested his folded forearms on the tabletop. “Going solo tonight?”

  “Where’s your date?” she parried.

  Feeling no need to hide it, he replied bluntly, “I’ve been ditched.”

  “Ouch.” She winced. “Sorry.”

  “Yeah, me too.” Staring past her at the back of the booth seat, he thought about his tall, leggy, platinum blonde ex-girlfriend.

  “That sucks.” Charley sighed. “I think I have been, too.”

  That brought his attention snapping back to her. “Really? Why?”

  “I don’t fit his lifestyle.” Her smile was bitter.

  Yeah, he could relate to the bitter part, but lifestyle? Oh wait, yes, he could relate to that, too. “That sucks.” He gave a small, understanding smile. “I feel your pain.”

  Her smile was slight, but at least it lightened the sadness in her eyes, a faint sparkle of amusement appearing in the depths. “So we’re going to sit together and cry into our drinks?”

  “Sounds like a plan to me.” He spotted the waitress coming towards them. “Shall we?”

  “Why not. Misery loves company.”

  “That’s the spirit. We can exchange stories, curse them to billy-o, and wish bad luck and lots of regret to pour down on them in bucket loads.”

  “Wow, and I thought I was bitter.”

  “I’ve been building up to it for a long time.” He winked at her before turning his attention to the waitress.

  The pleasantly rounded, middle-aged woman held up a pad. “What’ll it be?”

  Blue gestured to Charley to go first.

  “Cheese and garlic pizza,” she said. “Not like I’ve got anything to lose tonight.”

  The waitress didn’t bat an eyelid. “Garlic bread?”

  “Why not? Let’s just go the whole hog.”

  “Anything to drink?”

  “Diet Coke. Large. No ice. I’m going hard.”

  Amused, Blue met Charley’s challenging expression.

  “I’m bitter,” she said. “I need garlic. And I don’t care.”

  “I respect your choice and mood.” He looked at the waitress. “I’ll have a chicken and bacon pizza. I’m not in the best mood, so hold the tomato sauce and give me barbecue instead.”

  The woman was amazing. Not a smile cracked her face. “Garlic bread?”

  “Biggest loaf you’ve got. I’m just as bitter as my companion.”

  “Congratulations,” she deadpanned.

  “Thank you.”

  “Anything to drink?”

  “Coke. Large. No ice. I’m also going hard.”

  “Won’t be long.”

  “We’re not in a hurry. Nowhere to go, nothing to see, no one to impress.”

  “Don’t knock it,” she said. “It’s not always a bad thing.” With that surprising announcement, she snapped up the two menus and walked briskly away.

  “Wow.” Charley watched her. “I like her.”

  “I’ll think about it,” Blue said.

  “Not your type?”

  “I’m not sure what type she is.”

  Charley’s attention switched to him. “What is your type?”

  “Apparently not someone who is willing to stick around for the long haul.”

  Folding her arms, she matched his pose by resting her forearms on the table. For several long seconds she regarded him, making him wonder what she was thinking. He met her scrutiny with a partially raised eyebrow.

  Finally, she asked, “Who goes first?”

  “Spilling our guts, you mean?”

  “Yep.”

  “You first.”

  “Okay.” She looked him right in the eyes. “Gary is a lawyer on his way up, chasing the partners, hoping to be taken on as the youngest partner.”

  Blue nodded encouragingly.

  “I thought he was okay. A little snobby but nothing I couldn’t overlook. Heck, we all have our dark side. I figured if being a little snobbish was as bad as it got, I could deal with it.”

  It certainly wasn’t the worst trait he’d ever seen in a person.

  “Then we went out to dinner last night. I made several grave errors.” For the first time, her gaze shifted from his. Now she was studying his Adam’s apple while her soft lips pursed. “I chose a yellow dress.”

  That had him blinking. “Pardon?”

  “Let me tick off the things I did, then you’ll understand.” She held up a closed fist, stuck out her thumb, and proceeded to tick off each finger as she recounted events. “One - I know he isn’t keen on my yellow fetish and thinks I should dress more subtly, so in a blind fit of falling in love with this dress, I wore yellow.”

  “Big sin,” was all Blue could think to comment. “Apparently.”

  “Two - I’m an RN.”

  “Being a nurse is a problem? I don’t get that.”

  “Being just a nurse is the problem. He let his boss and the partners think I was much higher up in the medical field.”

  “Doctor?”

  “Even he’s not that dumb, but he let them have the impression that I was in some kind of managerial or Clinical Nurse position, definitely higher up the ladder.”

  “Ouch.” He could just imagine Charley sitting there, her brown eyes condemning the jerk. Or at least, Blue hoped she condemned him, made the slime ball squirm.

  “It gets better.” Charley tapped a third finger. “I cracked a joke that fell flat. Dead silence followed by definite frost.”

  Blue grimaced sympathetically. Yep, he’d told some zingers that had fallen flat. Never a good thing.

  “Four - they started discussing the charities they supported which, incidentally, helped further their husbands’ law firm rep, and I told them I supported local animal shelters only, that I liked to see where my money went, and I wanted it to go directly to the animals and the people who worked to help them.”

  “Admirable.”

  “Matter of opinion, apparently. Five-”

  His eyes widened. “There’s more?”

  “Oh yeah. Five - he tried to make me have a cocktail when he knows I don’t like them, so I gave him a kick under the table.”

  That had Blue give out a bark of laughter before he could stop himself. “Sorry.” He held up a hand. “I just had this image of - never mind.”

  “Mate,” Charley said seriously, “we gave each other a couple of kicks under the table. I really wanted to boot him up the arse by this time, let me assure you.”

  He grinned.

  “Six,” she continued, “he told me he didn’t know why he’d asked me out.”

  Blue’s amusement died fast. “That was a shitty thing to say.”

  “About as pleasant as being firmly removed from the restaurant and kept on a tight leash all the way to the car.” She absentmindedly rubbed her left upper arm.

  Suspicion sparked as he noted the movement. Reaching across the table, he lightly snagged her wrist, his other hand brushing hers away as he slid his palm up her sleeve, pushing the material up enough to reveal five definite bruises that perfectly matched fingertips.

  Anger bit, Blue’s nostrils flaring slightly. “That bastard. He did this?”

  “He just wanted to make sure I didn’t linger and embarrass him anymore.” Charley shrugged. “I’m sure he didn’t mean to grip so hard.”

  “He bruised you, Charley.” Blue’s jaw tightened as he released her wrist and sat back. “Where, exactly, does this dickhead live?”

  “Why?”

  “Because I think I should have a little chat to him about the correct way a man shows displeasure. It’s certainly not by manhandling a woman.”

  Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Are you serious?”

  “About not abusing a woman? Hell yes, I’m serious. Where does he live?”

  She stared at him for several seconds before smiling slow
ly.

  “What?” he demanded.

  “You’re so sweet.”

  “Nothing sweet about it. Only a lowlife abuses anyone smaller and weaker than himself. It just isn’t done.”

  “He wouldn’t have a clue that he left bruises.”

  “Then someone should bloody well enlighten him.”

  “Wow. Soldier, gentleman, rescuer of sad girls. You’re a real catch.”

  Blue snorted.

  The waitress arriving with their drinks stopped the conversation and he leaned back, studying Charley as she smiled up at the waitress while thanking her.

  Man, how could that drongo make a sweet little thing like Charley feel so bad? Put her in such an awkward situation and then have the bloody hide to make it seem like her fault? Dickhead.

  As soon as the waitress left, he said, “You had a lucky escape.”

  Removing the straw, Charley tapped the drops of liquid from it before laying it aside and taking a mouthful from the glass, regarding him seriously over the rim as she did so.

  He met her regard steadily. It was easy to watch her back, he liked her frankness. She was no shrinking violet, no simpering miss, not trying to impress him or anyone else. He was starting to learn that what you saw with Charley was what you got - an honest, sweet woman with a sense of honour. He respected that, because it was just that kind of thing his father had installed in his sons. Plus he liked to know where he stood with anyone, be it man or woman.

  In fact, he found the woman sitting across from him refreshing.

  Grabbing a paper napkin from the holder at the end of the table near the wall, Charley placed her glass neatly upon it. “Your turn.”

  “Hmm?” Caught up in his thoughts, Blue raised his eyebrows.

  “I told you my sob-story. Now it’s your turn. Why did your girlfriend ditch you?”

  His turn to take a mouthful of Coke while regarding her across the rim.

  She watched him just as steadily as he’d watched her seconds ago.

  Reaching out to snag a napkin, he copied her action of laying it on the table to catch the condensation trickling on the outside of the glass.

  “’Fess up,” she said. “This is a mutual cry fest, remember?”

  “I don’t cry.”

  “Come on, we’re having a moment, Blue. We’re both sad, both ditched, both eating fattening food and drinking soft drink. What does that tell you?”