The Wells Brothers: Luke (7 page)

“You were whispering!”

“So?”  He stiffened slightly as
they went down the stairs, taking them a little slower than his usual bounding
energy.

“Who in his right mind whispers in
the dark?”

Not answering, Luke just leaned on
her a little heavier.

Mikki had a suspicion he wasn’t as
incapacitated as he appeared, was maybe punishing her a little by putting some
more weight on her, but when she glanced up at his face he was looking ahead.

Looking, that was, until her aunt
got to the bottom of the staircase and swung around, flashing the torchlight
right into his eyes.  “How are you doing, sweetie?”

He flinched, shutting his eyes
before whipping up his hand to shield the glare.

Mikki winced.  Crap, first she’d crushed
his family jewels and now Elspeth was trying to blind him.  Way to go.

Realising immediately, Elspeth
shifted the torch.  “Sorry!”

“It’s okay.”  He lowered his hand
from his eyes at the same time he shifted away from Mikki, lifting his arm from
her shoulders.  “I can go from here.”

Coolness invaded the area where
his body had been against hers.  Following behind him, Mikki couldn’t believe
that oddly enough she kind of missed his nearness.  As he moved ahead of her,
so tall and muscular, she couldn’t help but put her nose to her shoulder and take
a sniff.  Yep, whatever deodorant he used was on her shirt.  Smelled good, all
man and cleanliness, and combine that with the warmth of his body-

“Mik?”

Looking up, she caught Elspeth
watching her.

“You okay?”

Mortified at being caught sniffing
her shirt - hells bells, what was wrong with her? - Mikki glanced down at her
shirt and brushed awkwardly at the shoulder area.  “Just some dust or
something.”

“Well don’t worry about that now,
dear, we have to look after poor Luke.”

The light flashed on in the hallway
leading to the servants’ quarters, illuminating Luke waiting for them.  Even
with the back glow shading out his features, she could feel him watching her.

Glaring, probably.  His eyes hurt,
his nuts ached, and she just bet he was wishing he was home instead of stuck in
this old mansion with two women he was possibly thinking were either jinxes or
trying to maim him.

That last one she’d done a pretty
good job of doing accidentally.

With a sigh, she walked to the
hall.

Luke gestured for Elspeth to go ahead
of him, but instead of following he continued to watch Mikki approach.  She
slowed down, regarding him a little worriedly.  Maybe he wanted to ream her
quietly without Elspeth hearing.  She couldn’t blame him, after all she had
dropped him to the floor in a foetal position, but honestly, she hadn’t meant
to do it.

Preparing for a tongue-lashing,
hoping he’d just let her pass in silence, she straightened her shoulders,
lifted her chin and crossed the last few feet to the doorway.

His gaze never shifted as she
neared, and when he opened his mouth she couldn’t stop an involuntary flinch. 
But all he did was shake his head with a resigned expression, place his hand at
her back and usher her past him, falling in behind her.

She felt his eyes on her every step
of the way, making her feel distinctly uneasy.  Man, she almost wished he would
yell at her, his silence was a little unnerving.

They walked down the hallway,
through the door into the servants’ hallway and on into the kitchen where
Elspeth was putting the kettle on the stove.

“Now, Luke, you sit right there.” 
Elspeth pointed at the chair he’d sat in at dinner.  “I’ll bring you a frozen bag
of peas.”

He sat gingerly.  “What’re the
peas for?”

“Your…er…you know.”  She flapped a
hand towards him while crossing to the freezer.

Blankly, he looked from her to
Mikki standing on the other side of the table.

How could he possibly forget?  She
pointed towards his crotch hidden under the table.

“What?  No.”  He shook his head. 
“No peas.”

“But, dear.”  Elspeth looked at
him from around the freezer door.  “The…um…swelling?”

“It’ll be fine.”  He adjusted his
position in the chair slowly.  “I don’t need peas.”

“But-”

“Trust me, Elspeth, I know.”

“Okay.”  Dubiously, she shut the
freezer door.  “Do you need a heat pack then?”

Mikki almost laughed out loud at
the incredulity that flitted across his face.

“No!”  He lowered his voice. 
“No.  No heat pack.  Thanks.”

“What can we do to make you more
comfortable?”

“Nothing.  Honestly.”

“What about a cushion to sit on?”
she asked earnestly.

That manly jaw dropped.  “No,
really.”

Mikki’s lips twitched.  Okay, she
knew she shouldn’t be enjoying this but Elspeth on a roll was something else. 
The woman had no idea what to do but wanted to do
something
to make up
for her niece’s actions.

“A doughnut cushion?  With a hole
in it?”  Elspeth looked at Mikki.  “Maybe there’s a pharmacy open in town, or
the local hospital?  They use doughnuts for those women who’ve had babies and
need stitches, don’t they?  To sit on so the sore bits aren’t making contact
with anything?”

“Oh yeah.”  Mikki couldn’t help
but nod earnestly.  “Will that help, Luke?”

Oops, maybe she shouldn’t have
drawn attention back to herself.  Not when he said tightly, “No cushion.  I’m
fine,” before switching his gaze to Mikki accusingly.

Crap, he’d seen her amusement. 
Sobering, she held up her hands.  “We’re just trying to help.”

“I don’t need help,” he gritted
out.

Elspeth bit her lip.

Catching sight of her expression,
he sighed, his shoulders relaxing a little.  “Elspeth, really, I’m all right. 
I just need a little time to recover.”

“Do you need to go back to the
city?” she asked worriedly.  “I can drive you back tonight.  I understand, I
really do.”

“I’ll be back to normal by
morning.”  His face softened.  “I’ve had this before, so trust me, I know what
I’m talking about.”

“You get kneed often?” Mikki asked
before she could stop herself.

Oh boy, he might be prepared to
give Elspeth some slack, but his eyes narrowed on Mikki.  “Me and my brothers
rough-housed as kids, I played sport at school, accidents happened.”

She nodded, then for something to
do other than sit and feel Luke drill holes in her with his eyes, she got up to
take the kettle from the stove where it started whistling.  As she prepared
three mugs of hot tea, she listened to her aunt and Luke talking.

“So what were you two doing
upstairs at one in the morning?” he asked.

“Hunting ghosts, dear, what else?”

Chapter 3

“Those two are a couple of
sausages short of a barbie.  Ghost hunting, Jason? 
Ghost hunting
?”

“Wait.  Mikki really kicked you in
the ball sac?”

Luke rolled his eyes.  “Yes.”  It
took a full ten seconds for his idiot cousin to stop laughing.  “Finished?”

There was a snort before Jason managed,
“For the minute.”

“Laugh it up, drongo.”

“Did they offer you first aid?  Oh
God, that would’ve been something to see!”

For a man who was usually more on
the serious side, Jason was getting a lot of enjoyment out of this.  Not about
to relay the frozen peas offer, Luke forged onwards.  “Ghost hunt.  Can you
believe it?  They went upstairs after midnight to see if they could spot
ghosts.”

“What did you expect?  It’s an
old, derelict mansion, has some stories about it, a man died there, and you
stick those two sheilas in the middle of it.  What do you think is going to
happen?”

“I thought they were here for the
plans and packing and sorting out and stuff!”

“One job during the day, one job
at night.  Very industrious, wouldn’t you say?”

“I’d say nutty as a fruitcake.”

“Aw, they’re harmless.  And fun.”

“Fun is not getting booted in the
nut sack.”

“If you were into pain, it would
be.”

“Izzy is a seriously bad influence
on you, cuz.”

“
I’m
not into pain.”

“I meant your sense of humour.” 
Hearing voices, Luke swivelled towards the door leading into the kitchen. 
“Sounds like them now.”

“Accompanying them into the big
smoke, huh?”

“Town.”

“Talking about a sense of humour,
where’s yours this morning?”

“Squashed like my nuts.”

“You’re getting a fixation about
your balls.  I’m worried about you.”

It was Luke’s turn to snort. 
“Yeah, right.”

“Did you put them in a sling?”

“Up yours.”

“You’d need two slings, one for
each nut.”  Jason chuckled.

“You say one word of this to Aaron
or Blue, and you’re dead.”

“I’m sure they’d be sympathetic.”

“About as much as you.”

“Besides, Blue is off somewhere in
Iran or Afghanistan or somewhere like that.  How’m I going to tell him?”

Luke was about to mention Skype
and thought twice.  His twisted cousin would do it, too.  Even though he wasn’t
there, Luke did not want his little brother knowing, the bastard would hold it
over him for years.

“Back to the story,” Jason said. 
“You surely must have suspected they were up to ghost hunting.”

“At first I didn’t.  I heard a
noise, distant voices, checked the girls and their beds were empty.  I went on
a search.”

“In the dark?”

“I had a torch, dickhead.  So I
followed the sounds of voices and tracked that pair into one of the bedrooms. 
I realised what they were up to then, any idiot knowing that pair would guess. 
I decided to give them the thrill they were chasing, killed the torch, crept up
behind Mikki and surprised her.”

“And got kicked in the ball bag. 
Good plan.”

 Luke winced at the memory.  “That
female can knee with force.  I damned near had my tonsils rung.”

“Less visual words, please.  I’m
trying to eat a plum here.”

“Good luck to you.”

“Where was your faithful hound all
this time?”

“I shut him in the bedroom so he
wouldn’t give me away, which is where he is now while we go into town.  God
knows why, but Dog’s got an embarrassing crush on Mikki.”  The door of the
kitchen opened.  “Here come the pair of dangerous hunters now.  I’m off.”

“Running scared?”

“Ha ha.  I’ll catch you later.”  Turning
the mobile off, Luke watched Elspeth lock the kitchen door while Mikki strolled
across to where he leaned against the car.

Elspeth was the picture of a
dainty, well-dressed, rich widow.  Light summer dress in pale blue, sweet
little short-sleeved cardigan in white, high-heeled pale blue pumps, and a
white handbag hanging daintily off one wrist.  He bet the whole ensemble
probably cost more than his ute.  Her hair, dyed a rich brown, was elegantly
rolled at the back of her head in some sort of farty-arsed bun.

Mikki, in contrast, had on her
usual bright pink sneakers, a pair of brown slacks, and a button-up bright
yellow blouse with the hem flipping cheekily over her pert backside.  The
sleeves were rolled to just below her dimpled elbows.  Today her glossy red
curls were confined in a braid that hung halfway down her back.  Dark green eyes
surveyed him in amusement.  “I thought you’d be in the car by now.”

“Waiting for you to unlock it.”

“Poor baby.”  Holding up the keys,
she gave them a rattle.  “Couldn’t the big man find the keys to jump in the
drivers’ seat first?”

“I have no objection to you
driving.”

She pressed the button, unlocking
the car.  “Not threatened by women drivers?”

“Not at all.” He got into the back
seat.

“Glad to hear it.”  She tossed the
keys to Elspeth.  “Let’s go, Aunty.”

“Wait.  What?”  Luke stared at
Mikki as she got into the passenger seat.  “You’re not driving?”

Turning in the seat, she smiled
widely at him.  “Buckle up, Lukey-boy.”

Jesus
.  He could practically
feel the sweat popping out on his brow.  “Maybe I should drive after all.”

Right at that moment Elspeth bounced
into the front seat, flashed Mikki and Luke a beaming smile and announced
happily, “Isn’t this
fun
?”  She stuck the key into the ignition and
started the SUV with a roar, making Luke quickly tug on his seatbelt.  “I’ve
been looking forward to this for weeks.  Exploring the origins of this place,
getting things sorted, checking out this town.”  Shoving the car into gear, she
moved forward while turning her head around to smile widely at Luke.  “And
having you with us - why, the more the merrier, right?”

“Right,” he croaked, white-knuckling
it as Elspeth spun the wheel as she faced the front, narrowly missing taking
out an old, cracked, stone urn.

His father was more religious than
he was, but Luke believed in God.  He just had to believe that God wasn’t ready
for him to go to Heaven yet.  It’d been awhile since he’d prayed, he was a bit
slack in that direction.  He wondered, as Elspeth roared the SUV down the road
and he bounced in the back seat, whether it was too late to turn Catholic and
start confessing.  He had a lot to confess.

His teeth chattered until he
clamped his jaw shut as she rattled over the corrugated sections of the road,
he swore his arse actually left the seat at one stage.  Sure as hell his abused
balls remembered the kneeing they’d gotten hours before as he slammed back into
the seat.

“Guess this road will need fixing,
too,” Elspeth said cheerfully.

Hanging onto the handle above the
passenger door, Mikki agreed.  “Get the grader on it then some bitumen.  Good
plan.”

Better plan would be for Luke to take
over the driving.  No wonder Elspeth bought a new car every year, with her
driving she undoubtedly wore it out.  He’d heard stories about her driving,
seen Jason come out of her car looking decidedly green in the gills when she’d
given him and Izzy a lift home one night from the movies.  He’d seen her
darting between traffic, driving like she was in a race.  God must’ve liked
her, because she still had her life, her license, and no one driving near her
had ever ended up wrapped around a light pole. 

He’d bet his arse her Guardian
Angel had been to many counselling sessions.  Or maybe they rotated several for
her.

Coming to the road, she glanced to
the right, saw it was clear - thank God and anyone else listening - and pulled
a sharp lefty that had Luke almost cracking his head against the window.

Sure as hell gave him whiplash
when she snapped the wheel straight and his neck almost snapped with it.

“How you doing, Luke?” she asked
happily, glancing at him in the mirror.

“Yeah, Luke,” Mikki added
brightly.  “How you doing?”

The irritating redhead was
enjoying this way too much.  Unfortunately, with his employer’s happy face and
beaming smile centred on him -
and not the freakin’ road!
- Luke could
only gasp and stare with wide eyes as a car appeared ahead.  On their side of
the road.  No, on it’s own side of the road because Elspeth’s car had wandered
a bit.

Unable to help it, he burst out,
“The car!  The
car
!”

A sharp swing of the steering
wheel and she had the car back on the correct side, the oncoming car going past
them.  Luke just glimpsed the ashen face of the driver, noticed he clutched the
steering wheel pretty much the same way Luke was gripping the door handle with
one hand while white-knuckling the back of Mikki’s headrest with the other.

Not in the least bothered by what
had nearly transpired, Elspeth was chatting away.  “Now, I think if we stop in
at the antique dealer first.  We can go in and meet him, which will be
interesting since I’ve spoken to him on the phone and only met him once in
person a few years ago.  It’s good to talk business face-to-face, right?”

“Absolutely.”  Mikki cast a glance
back at Luke, her eyes twinkling as she reached back to pat his fingers where
they death-gripped the back of her headrest.  “You okay there, Lukey-boy?”

“Fine,” he croaked, unlocking his
fingers with effort to pull his hand back to bunch into a fist on his knee.  He
wasn’t game to release the door handle.

Elspeth continued, “You can head
for the library, Mikki, see if they have any info on the mansion, maybe some
photos we can get copied.  Photos would be good, we could have them reproduced
and framed, put them up on the walls as you suggested.”

Mikki nodded.

“What about you, Luke?”  Elspeth
did another glance back in the mirror.

His heart stuttered but managed a
near-normal pattern when she looked back at the road.  As long as he didn’t
look at the speedometer.  “Uh - I was going to head for the library and see if
they had any photos of the house and original gardens.”  Throat dry, he swallowed. 
“Try the museum as well.”

“What a wonderful idea!”  Jamming
on the brake, she sharply slowed the car down as they neared a bend.

The seatbelt snapped tight on
Luke, pinning him to the seat.  He couldn’t help but notice that Mikki had her
hand on the dashboard before Elspeth had even touched the brakes.  Girl was
good, she knew the signs.  He was starting to get a renewed respect for the
redhead, she’d gotten into the SUV
knowing
how her aunt drove.  God, she
was brave.

Or stupid.

As they rounded the bend, a car
pulled onto the side of the road, a box flung out the open door.  The box hit
the ground, the car door slammed shut and the car took off, tyres spinning in
the gravel, screeching out onto the road and disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

“Hey!”  Mikki leaned forward. 
“They threw something out!”

“Box.”  Grimly, Elspeth planted
her foot on the accelerator.  “Bastards!”

What the hell…?  Luke didn’t know
which way to look as the SUV took off, throwing him back in the seat.  Surely
this mad woman wasn’t going to chase the other car?  As the SUV raced along the
road, it looked like she was - oh crap!  “Elspeth, what the-
urk
!”

The SUV screeched to a halt, skidding
enough that the smell of burning rubber filled the air.  Everyone lurched
forward, snapped back, and for several seconds Luke thought his life was going
to flash before his eyes. 

Before he could even contemplate
the fact they had actually stopped, Mikki and Elspeth were out of the car, leaving
it running.

Wait, they were out of the car.

The driver’s seat was empty! 

Holy heck, enough was a bloody
enough!

Luke ripped the seatbelt off with trembling
hands, shoved the door open and almost fell out on shaking legs.  While the mad
driver was occupied, he was claiming the bloody driver’s seat.  He didn’t care
if she was upset, he was too young to die.  A man had to do what a man had to
do, tears or no tears!

The rate he was bloody going, it’d
be his tears.

No sooner had his sneakers hit the
ground than gasps of outrage came from the two women bent over the now open
box.

“I knew it!” Elspeth claimed. 
“That bastard!”

Whoa, he’d never have believed she
could swear.

“That useless cretin!  If I find
out who he is, I’ll rip his lungs out and reinsert them through his arse!”

Luke’s eyebrows shot upwards as he
looked at the women.  Two backsides met his astonished gaze - one thin one
covered by a pale blue skirt, the other generous bum outlined by brown slacks.

“With no anaesthetic!” Elspeth
finished heatedly.

“Oh, poor baby,” Mikki cooed. 
“Poor little blossom.  Come here, sweetie.”

“Careful now.”  Elspeth wrung her
hands as she straightened.  “Poor little mite is scared stiff.”

What the hell was going on?  He
walked across just as Mikki straightened with something in her hands.

One second he was looking into a
mottled little face with big blue eyes, the next thing the furry thing
catapulted up into the air.

“Catch her!  Catch her!”  Mikki
screamed, trying to keep hold of the spitting, wild, furry tornado.

Instinctively Luke reached out,
only to swear as tiny claws raked across his hand.

“Don’t let her go!”  Elspeth
grabbed the box.  “Luke, hold on!”

Hoy hell on a hot day, his hands
were being ripped to shreds!  Luke found himself trying to hold a squirming,
wildly fighting kitten as she bit and clawed at him.

“Don’t let her go!” Mikki
frantically tried to get a grip on the kitten as well.  “Don’t you dare let her
go!”