“Oohh,” cooed Luke. “Did I embarrass my baby brother?”
Plucking the toast from the toaster, Blue buttered the two slices and with unerring accuracy slung them across the room with a twist of his wrist.
Not expecting the slices whizzing through the air, Luke fumbled them, one smacking him right in the face while the other spattered against his t-shirt.
“Shit!” He pulled it off his shirt, grimaced at the butter smeared across the material. “Mikki’ll kill me!” He glared at Blue. “I ought to beat the living shit out of you.”
Unconcerned, Blue plopped two more slices of bread into the toaster.
“And I could,” Luke muttered. “With one hand behind my back.”
Blue grinned. Luke had lean, solid muscles from hard work, no doubt about that, but Blue was stronger, his muscles bigger, and he knew moves that would pin his brother to the ground begging for mercy. Which would actually be pretty entertaining but not right now.
“You’re just lucky I don’t wipe the floor with you.” Luke took a bite of toast, spraying crumbs as he continued, “But you turning up to our big day with a black eye would upset Mikki. Lucky for you.”
“Sure.”
“Anyway.” Unperturbed, he took another bite of toast. “You and Charley, huh?”
“Me and Charley, what?”
“You know.” Luke waggled his eyebrows up and down.
“No, I don’t know.”
How much did his brother suspect? Blue cast him a sidelong glance. Luke might laugh and joke, be the clown of the family, but sometimes he was as sharp as a tack which could be a little uncomfortable for the recipient.
“Come on, any idiot can see that you’re taken with her.”
“Taken.”
“Mate, you put your arm around her shoulders, Izzy spotted you holding her hand.”
“When did Izzy see that?”
“The day you took the cat to the vet. Izzy and Mikki were in the café and they saw you pull into the car park. Izzy said Charley was giving you the eye - don’t preen just yet, sunshine, I meant the evil eye, not the admiring eye - and you walked back and grabbed her hand.”
“Charley was just trying to make a point.”
“And you grabbed her hand and didn’t let go.”
Okay, now Blue was feeling a little uncomfortable. “So?”
“So?” Luke’s eyes were pinning him to the spot, amusement still visible but tinged with seriousness, too. “So you’re easy going, Blue, but not that easy going. I’ve only ever seen you hold the hands of your past girlfriends.”
“Not so.” He buttered the toast. “I’ve held Aunt Lora’s hand.”
“Once.”
“I’ve even held Izzy’s hand. And Mikki’s.” He slathered Vegemite over the butter.
“You’re related to them through marriage! And both times it was to drag them into the sea to swim. They were yelling at you and you, of course, were laughing at them. That was the only time.”
“So?”
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “What aren’t you telling me?”
“What should I tell you?” Choosing to remain at the counter, Blue folded a slice of toast in half and took a big bite so he had time to think of answers.
Luke’s finger tips drummed on the table top as he studied Blue.
Blue met his gaze inquiringly.
“You’re not fooling me,” his brother stated.
Blue waved his toast-holding hand around in reply.
Dog’s gaze followed the movement eagerly, ears up. Blue tossed him a plain sweet biscuit which he snatched out of mid air and took under the table to chomp on noisily.
“You’ll make him fat,” Luke objected.
“You were feeding him biccies when I walked in!”
“That’s me. I’m allowed to.”
Blue rolled his eyes and tossed Dog another biccie.
Bright-eyed, tail waving madly, Dog slid under Luke’s chair to crunch happily.
“Back to Charley,” Luke said. “I’ve seen you watching her. I’ve seen the way you’re so tentative to her. At lunch the other day you were filling her glass and making sure she had plenty to eat.”
“Manners,” Blue managed to mumble around toast.
“You sat beside her, your arm slung across the back of the bench.”
“Tired.”
“Bullshit. Are you seriously going to tell me that you’re not even the slightest bit interested in her?”
“I didn’t say that,” Blue admitted.
“Ah ha!” Satisfied, Luke placed two Tim Tams on the last slice of toast and took a big bite.
Blue recoiled in revulsion. “God’s sake.”
“Don’t like it when I guess your secrets, do you?” Luke smirked.
“I meant your weirdo tastes. Seriously, Tim Tams on toast?”
“Don’t change the subject. It’s delicious by the way. However, back to the matter at hand - Charley.”
Blue studied his brother while his mind sifted through what he’d been told. Okay, he guessed he had been a little more attentive than normal, but heck, he made sure that Izzy, Mikki, Shea and Aunt Lora had also had enough to eat and drink. Actually, he hadn’t needed to because Aunt Lora’s Jim had been on hand to pander to her every need, while Aaron, Luke and Jason had seen to their wives and fiancée. In fact, while they’d been seeing to their women, he’d been…
Blue stopped eating as it hit him.
Hells bells, he’d been attending to Charley, seeing to her comfort, sitting beside her, anticipating her needs and wants, and yeah, he had slung his arm along the back of her chair, had watched her even while laughing and joking with his family, drawing her into the conversations, so aware of her the whole time.
And this morning he’d kissed her head and smacked her on the bum. Had a freaking hard-on in the shower thinking about her body, her naked body.
Wondering just where this might be going, what it might mean, if it was even going to go anywhere, Blue picked up the last slice of toast and wandered out the back door. Going down the step, he meandered to the lemon tree to stare unseeingly at the yellow fruit.
Did it mean anything? Might it not just be attraction to a pretty woman? Besides which, there was one really troubling problem that had just reared its ugly head.
Make that two.
“Hey.” Luke’s voice came from behind him.
“Three.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing.” Blue frowned at a lemon. “Is that fruit fly on it?”
“Nothing there.”
“You sure?” He peered closer.
Luke yanked it off the tree, the branch jerking down with the movement before flinging back into place.
“Bloody hell!” Blue leaped back.
“Don’t be a sook.” Luke tossed the lemon in the air. “What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?”
“You got this funny look on your dial right before you went walkabout out the door. What’s wrong?”
“Just wanted some fresh air.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Did I say something wrong?”
“When do you say anything right?” Blue grinned.
“Blue, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Luke just looked at him, and for an eerie moment Blue could see both his dad and Aaron, looking right back at him from Luke’s face. There was a similar set to the strong, square jaw, a jaw all the Wells men shared. The seriousness on Luke’s face, the set of his shoulders, his sudden watchfulness - well, hell, that was Aaron all over. And Dad. And hells bells, even himself when shit turned bad out in the field.
He’d underestimated his older brother. It was always so easy to do with easy-going Luke, he’d never been serious for long in his whole life, but times like this, times when he was watching his little brother with a knowing, instinctive air that something was wrong, that he’d touched a nerve, that reminded Blue again that he might be bigger than Luke, might be tougher and stronger, but this was s
till the older brother who had watched over him at school, been by his side in a scuffle, and stood side-by-side with him when the eldest brother or their dad had quietly but efficiently hauled them over the coals for misbehaving beyond the boundaries set down for the Wells boys.
Luke knew him too well.
Chapter 6
Dog wandered away to sniff the hibiscus bushes and pee against a tree before flopping in the shade cast by the house.
“Come on, mate,” Luke probed. “Something’s up. What is it?”
Blowing out a breath, Blue propped his hands on his hips and scowled at the lemon tree.
“It can’t be the tree. Spit it out.”
Blue didn’t really want to voice what was bothering him because, hell, what kind of a man did it make him, huh?
“What’s wrong with Charley?”
“Nothing’s wrong with Charley,” he growled.
“So why has the thought that you’re attracted to her got your nuts in a knot?”
“Seriously?” Blue swung around to stare at his brother.
“No, I’m baking in this hot sun, getting the shit burned out of my skin, all for a joke. Of course I’m serious.”
“Luke, it’s only been two weeks since Shona broke up with me. I should still be getting over her, yet here I am thinking thoughts a landlord should never think about his tenant. Roomie, even.”
Luke stared right back at him before shaking his head slowly. “Unbelievable.”
“What?”
“Un-bloody-believable.”
“What?”
“And people say I was thick when it came to Mikki.”
“What the hell are you on about?” Blue demanded impatiently.
“Remember how I kind of knew Mikki, she was a pain in my arse? I didn’t even like her.”
“Yeah. Heh heh. Pretty funny, really. All because she told her aunt that you charged like a wounded bull and her friend could do a better landscaping job.” Blue guffawed at the memory of Luke’s outrage.
“Which, can I remind you, she had to back down from when her friend made a total screw-up of the job. In fact,” Luke sighed with satisfaction, “I made her beg me to redo the job.”
“I don’t think any of us will forget you crowing about that.”
“Fun as that was, this isn’t about me.”
“For a change.”
“And what happened? I took a job landscaping that mansion, ended up stuck there with Elspeth and Mikki, and then what happened?”
“You couldn’t keep it in your pants.”
“Then I fell in love with Red. Within a short time I was panting after her like…like…”
“Dog’s doing right now in the shade.”
“Bugger off. Now listen. I fell for a sheila I didn’t like, one who annoyed the shit out of me. It happened fast. Once I was in her company, forced to go along with her idiot ideas of ghosts and crap, spent time with her, I fell hard and fast. Some say too fast. But it happens, right? It did happen. Now I’m going to marry the woman of my dreams and make sure she can’t ever leave me.”
“Do you know how creepy that last bit sounds?”
“Sod off.”
“Buggering and sodding. I’m worried about you, Luke. What is Mikki getting you to do?”
Arms folded over his chest, Luke glared at him. “Finished?”
“Fine.” Blue held up his palms. “Finished.”
“Good.”
They eyed each other.
Luke sighed. “Look, Blue. Think about it. Shona was hot. She was a blonde piece with legs that went right up to her armpits. Sexy. Face that could launch a hundred ships.”
“I think the quote is ‘a thousand ships.’”
“I swear I will beat the ever loving shit out of you in a minute.”
Blue gave a ‘go on’ gesture. Though his words were a little flippant, he actually did want to hear what his brother was saying. Hell, anyone who could make him see clearer was very welcome right now.
“Shona gave you the boot,” Luke said bluntly. “Did you cry about it? Did you sulk? Did you mope around the house listening to sad love songs?”
“No.”
“What does that tell you?”
“I’m shallow?” When Luke’s nostrils flared, Blue sighed. “That’s one of my fears. What if I’m shallow?”
“You are not shallow. You just didn’t care enough for Shona deep down, all right?”
“Okay, maybe not completely shallow. Did you know that I actually did cry?”
Now Luke’s eyes widened.
“Yeah. I met Charley. Gary had dumped her, Shona had dumped me, we sat and cried into our drinks and shared pizza.”
Bewilderment crept into Luke’s eyes. “And you still don’t know what I’m getting at?”
“Maybe you should stop pissing around the bush and do a straight leak.”
“Where the bloody hell did that saying come from? Is this one of your Army sayings?”
“No.”
“Whatever.” Luke took a deep breath. “Tell me what happened when you and Charley sat at the table spilling your guts and moping together.”
“Well, to be truthful, we didn’t actually mope.”
“What did you do?”
“Drank. Ate. Laughed. Oh…” Blue blinked. “Oh.”
“Yeah, ‘oh’. About time, you drongo. You laughed, you enjoyed yourself, and you haven’t mentioned Shona since. But Charley? You watch her, hold her hand, take this protective stance around her-”
“Whoa whoa whoa.” Blue held up both hands. “Protective?”
“Mate, you glared daggers at that poor bloke who glanced at her in the park the other day. Remember we picked up Shea’s brother, Cole, and met Jason and Izzy in the park to toss the Frisbee around for Dog? This bloke walked past, he was eyeing Charley and started veering towards her, and next thing you’re right beside her slinging your arm around her shoulders and steering her away to the table on the pretence of getting a drink.”
“It was hot,” Blue excused feebly.
“The look you shot that bloke was pure admonition. I thought you were going to actually warn him off.”
“I didn’t like the way he was looking at her. No bloke should look at a woman like that.”
“Like he’s simply interested in a pretty girl and thinks about chatting her up?”
“He was undressing her with his eyes, bloody pervert.” Blue scowled at the memory.
Luke gave a hoot of laughter.
Dog pricked his ears up, looked over, saw that the men weren’t moving and flopped his head back on the ground again.
“If he’d looked at Mikki like that, you’d have torn his ears off,” Blue accused.
“Mate. Are you listening to yourself? You’re jealous!”
“What? Don’t be ridiculous.”
Shaking his head, Luke shuffled back into the shade of the tree. “Seriously, mate? Think about it. Why didn’t you want that bloke to approach Charley?”
Blue moved into the shade as well. “Look, I’m not jealous.”
“Okay. Fine.”
“I just…” Remembering the way the bloke had backed off quickly, Charley’s questioning glance when Jason had guffawed, the way he’d…
The way he’d stayed right by her side until the man had walked off. The way he’d sat on the picnic bench with, yes, his arm slung along the back of the bench behind her shoulders.
The way he thought about her.
The way he hadn’t thought about Shona.
The fact that he’d been sorry to lose a girlfriend but his heart definitely hadn’t been broken.
The fact that what he was feeling for Charley was something he’d never felt with any other girl.
“Nah.” He shook his head.
“Yeah.” Luke nodded.
Blue scratched his jaw, squinted out into the summer sun-drenched yard.
After several seconds of silence, Luke prodded, “Well?”
There was no use denying it. It
was pretty bloody obvious he was attracted to Charley. He found her enchanting, funny, sweet and desirable.
“All right. All right, I admit I’m attracted to her. I admit I’m not heartbroken about Shona. You’re right.” He sighed.
“So why is being attracted to Charley such a bad thing?” Luke asked. “Okay, it is fast, but so what? It’s not like you’re going to marry her today, right? You’ve got time to get to know her more. Stop stressing. Geez.”
Curling his toes in the grass, Blue contemplated the tiny ant crawling across his bare foot. “Luke…”
“Yeah?”
“How many girlfriends have I had since I’ve been in the Army?”
“I don’t know. Four?”
“Four. I’ve been ditched by every single one before we’ve even really got to know one another properly. Ditched because I’m not around much, because I’m away for most of the year.” He watched the ant meander across his foot before disappearing into the grass. “What if Charley’s number five?”
Silence greeted this, lengthening until he thought Luke wasn’t going to answer.
He was surprised when his brother’s hand landed on his shoulder. Looking around, he met Luke’s understanding eyes.
“Realistically, she will be number five girlfriend,” Luke replied. “But that doesn’t mean she won’t be the last.”
“What if I let myself get close to her and she does leave me like the others?”
“If she’s meant to be with you, Blue, she’ll stick around. Besides, she’s the only one you’ve actually worried about leaving before you’ve even dated her. What does that tell you?”
“That I’ve been dumped four times already and I don’t want her to be the fifth one to dump me.”
“Because she could be the one to really hurt, right?”
That startled Blue. His brother’s words sank in, and damned if Luke wasn’t right. The other girls had left him cheesed off, resigned, but Charley…“Yeah,” he said slowly. “She’s different.”
“And that, little brother, is why she’s worth the risk,” Luke stated quietly.
Was it? Was it really worth the risk?
“Unless you’re willing for someone else to walk in and sweep her off her feet.”
The Wells Brothers: Blue Page 15
