The Wells Brothers: Luke Read online

  Luke

  (The Wells Brothers bk 1)

  By

  Angela Verdenius

  (BBW Romance)

  Copyright 2016 Angela Verdenius

  All Rights Reserved

  Cover image courtesy of © Kiuikson/istockphoto.com

  Cover by Angela Verdenius

  ebook Edition License Notes

  No part of this book may be reproduced, resold, copied or given away in any form without prior consent of the author & publisher.

  All characters and towns are figments of the author’s imagination and bear no resemblance to any person living or deceased.

  Table of Contents

  Glossary

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  Bio

  Other Books by this Author

  Glossary

  I found that some overseas readers were having difficulty with the Australian slang, so I thought a list of the slang I’ve used will help while reading the following story. If I’ve forgotten any, I do apologise! Also, you’ll find some of our Aussie words have different spelling to the US. Interestingly enough, as I’ve grown (gracefully) older, I find a lot of our slang is bypassing the younger generation, so if a young Aussie says they have never heard a certain word, don’t be surprised! But trust me, I’ve used these words all my life growing up, and so have a lot of my family and friends. Does that make me an older Aussie? Heck yes! LOL

  Cheers,

  Angela

  Australian Names/Terms/Slang

  Ambos - ambulance officers

  Arvo - afternoon

  Barbie - BBQ

  Beaut - beautiful, awesome, great, wonderful

  Berko - berserk

  Bewdy - as in ‘awesome, great’

  Biccies - biscuits. The same as cookies

  Bikie - biker, person who rides motorcycles.

  Bloke/s - man/men

  Bloody - a swear word ‘no bloody good’, in place of ‘no damned good’

  Boofhead - idiot, simpleton, etc. It’s an insult, though sometimes we use it as a term of affection. It depends on how it is said and meant.

  Boot (of a car) - trunk

  Brown nose - currying favour, sucking up. Has a cruder description, but let’s not go into that here. Means the same thing!

  Budgie smugglers - men’s bathers, small, brief and tight-fitting

  Buggered - many Aussie use it as a slang word for ‘broken’ (it’s buggered), ‘tired (I’m buggered), and ‘no way’ (I’m buggered if I’m going to do that). Just some examples

  Bung/Bunging - as in ‘bunging onto something’, putting on something (bung veggies on a plate, putting veggies on a plate), usually in a careless or ‘easy’ manner.

  Bush rangers - outlaws/thieves/robbers.

  Cark/carked - die, died.

  Chips - in Australia we have cold crunchy chips from a packet, or hot chips known in some countries as French Fries

  Chippie - carpenter

  Crash cart - resuscitation trolley in a hospital or medical setting - used for life threatening situations such as cardiac arrest

  Dander – temper

  Dial - face

  Dill - silly, idiot

  Dogs - (as in attached to a truck) - trailers, enclosed or not, that carry goods or are empty.

  Doona - like a padded quilt that fits inside a cover and lies on the bed. Can have the warmth of two, three or four blankets, etc.

  Donger - penis. Also another meaning is a place people sometimes sleep in, such as ‘dongers’ on mine sites.

  Dunny - toilet. When used in the terms ‘built like a brick dunny’, it refers to something built solid, unmoveable.

  Fire bug - arsonist

  Firies - fire fighters

  Garbo/s - the person/s who drive and/or load garbage onto the garbage truck.

  Gee-gees - horses

  Giggle-box - TV, television

  Gob - mouth

  Got his/her/their goat – annoyed him/her/them

  Hoon/s - person/people who indulge in antisocial behaviour. Great explanation in Wikipedia

  Iced Coffee/chocolate - a milk drink flavoured with chocolate or coffee

  Jumper - sweater

  Kick up a stink - make a fuss, get angry

  Local rag - local newspaper

  Lolly - sweetie, candy

  Loo - toilet

  Lug - face

  Milo - chocolate malt drink. Can have it hot or cold. Yummy!

  Moosh - slang for face/mouth

  Mobile phone - cell phone

  Mozzie - mosquito

  NAD - No Abnormalities Detected

  Nong - idiot

  Nooky - sex

  Paddy wagon - four wheel drive police vehicle carries four police in the double cab and has a filled-in imprisonment section in the back to place prisoners.

  Panadol - paracetamol, similar to Tylenol in the US

  Pav/s - Pavlova/Pavlovas - best dessert ever!

  PCYC - Police and Citizens Youth Club

  Pedal Pushers - three quarter pants/knickerbockers

  Porking - having sex

  Primapore - sticky patch with a pad in it, a medical dressing

  Pub – hotel

  Quack – derogatory term for a doctor

  RAC - Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia. Covers insurance, holidays, loans, etc

  Red backs - poisonous spider, black in colour with a red stripe on its back.

  Root - sex

  Rotty – Rottweiler breed of dog.

  Rubbers – condoms

  Sack - bed - as ‘in the sack’ meaning ‘in bed’

  Servo - service station

  Shag - sex

  Sheila – female

  Slab – carton of beer.

  Smoko - morning tea and afternoon tea break

  Snaggers - sausages

  Soft drink - soda, fizzy drink

  Sparkie - electrician

  Stiffy - erection, boner

  Subbies - sub contractors

  Tea - some people call the evening meal dinner. In my family, we’ve always called it tea, as in breaky, dinner and tea, or breaky, lunch and tea.

  Thongs - worn on the feet, same as ‘flip flops’

  Tickled pink - delighted

  Tim Tams - a brand of Arnott’s Biscuits. Yummy!

  TLC - Tender Loving Care

  Togs - bathers, swim suit

  Torch - flashlight

  Toot - toilet

  Tradies - tradesmen

  Tucker – food

  Twistie – a brand of cheese-flavoured snack food. Yummy!

  Ute - small truck

  Vegemite - most Aussies find this spread yummy, many non-Aussies find it too salty. Here’s the hint - if you ever have Vegemite, use it spread thinly, never thickly!

  Vollie - volunteers

  Wacky baccy - marijuana

  Wanger - penis

  Waterworks - crying

  Whopper - a lie

  Yamaha & Suzuki - ‘brands’ of motorcycles.

  You wally - silly

  Chapter 1

  The road leading to the old mansion was in poor repair, the ute bouncing along the rutted surface, Luke’s head almost hitting the roof. Gripping the vibrating steering wheel, he stared out through the windscreen at the huge, old behemoth that towered ahead.

  “Hells bells, Dog, would you look at that?”

  Dog was having a hard time just staying in the passenger seat, his jowls shaking along with every bone-rattling ja
r from the road. If he’d been a cat, he’d have sunk his claws into the seat for traction. As it was, all he could do was sit and vibrate.

  Hitting a particularly interesting corrugated part of the road, Luke felt the flesh on his arms judder as the ute rumbled over it.

  It didn’t, however, detract from the sight before him as he finally passed over the corrugated road and into the less rough area of what still held the last remnants of a large, circular driveway. Pulling up in front of the mansion, Luke turned off the engine and got out to gaze up at the monstrosity.

  Really. Monstrosity. It was old, decrepit, and downright spooky. Dying. A decaying house, the brickwork needing a lot of work, several broken windows boarded up, and shit, look at that - an open window at the top of the house where a ragged curtain billowed out.

  Friggin’ haunted house material or what?

  Dog jumped out of the ute and sniffed, looking around eagerly.

  Pushing his sunglasses up onto the top of his head, Luke braced both hands on his hips and studied the mansion.

  An honest-to-goodness mansion four hours drive from the city, a half hour from the nearest town. It was massive, two story with a smaller third story up top and a tower. A real tower. Tilting his head back, Luke looked up at it. He’d go up there first chance he had to get a good view of the grounds.

  He wouldn’t have gone up there if his father hadn’t come out here with Jason and one of the crew three weeks ago to do a full assessment on the place. Fortunately for the new owner the building was stable, but it needed a shit-load of repairs and reworking. Considering the plans Elspeth Arkwell had for the place, it was going to take a lot of work. A hell of a lot of work. It would be a long time before it was ready to become a working hotel with all the charm of the Victorian era in which it was built, and with all the workings and comforts of twenty first century amenities.

  Meanwhile, it was a hulking, towering mansion of decaying proportions.

  Taking a deep breath, he rubbed one hand through his hair. Okay, first impressions aside, he eyed it more critically. Two stories, smaller third story. Tower. Big, wide, four stepped staircase leading up to the veranda which swept away each side of the frontage. Rusted, wrought iron rails. Big windows covered with dirt and grime, two big wooden doors firmly shut. It was majestic, really, but old, worn and undeniably decrepit.

  This mansion needed a major facelift.

  His father, Harris, had gotten that contract, and Well’s Handyman and Building Services was due to start renovating and repairing in a month’s time. That was a huge contract. Counting the fact that the workers when they came out would have to stay in the nearby town during the week nights, the equipment had to be brought out, the research into the materials and historical details, the sparkies, tradies, chippies, plumbers, plasterers, brickies and consultants - everything combined was going to cost a fortune.

  Mrs Arkwell hadn’t blinked an eye when Harris had handed her the final quote. Luke doubted he’d ever see that much money in his whole lifetime, but she’d simply looked at it, smiled, and said, “Done.”

  Contract drawn up, signed, sealed, and delivered. Work would start in a month’s time, giving Harris time to finish the last house his company was working on. Meanwhile orders had been put in for materials needed. He’d bet his boots it was the biggest damned order that had ever been put in by Well’s Handyman and Building Services.

  “Never dreamed, Dog, that I’d get the contract to do the grounds.” Grinning, he looked across to where the big, ugly, brindle mutt was cocking its leg against a stump. “Guess dreams do come true.”

  If anyone else had been around, he’d never have admitted such a girly thing, but Dog was the only witness and he couldn’t speak human, so all was good. And it was a dream come true. Shit, what landscaper wouldn’t give his eye-teeth to be the one to restore the grounds to their former beauty? To research the style and type of plants, bring life back to the place?

  The only stipulation Elspeth Arkwell had given was that Luke had to come and stay for a week, live in the liveable part of the mansion and get a feel for the place, for the exterior. The woman was eccentric, not doubt about it, but she was paying well for it and he had no qualms. At the end of a week she expected some rudimentary plans for her to check out, and then once the plans were finalised she wanted the quote for the materials needed. The weirdest thing was she’d actually signed the contract with him before he gave her the quote. In all fairness, he’d wanted her to wait for the quote and plans but she’d insisted it was him or no-one. He wasn’t about to argue. His business was doing well but landing a contract this big would cement his reputation, no doubt about it.

  Besides, it suited his artistic nature - as far as landscaping and plants, anyway. He knew shit about the art world.

  With a sigh of satisfaction, Luke turned and surveyed the view. A lot of wilderness had taken over the once grand gardens, paths choked out with weeds, broken pieces sticking up and even some scattered around. But the bare bones were there, his practiced eye could make them out, and if he heard correctly there was supposed to be ponds as well. Dried up now, obviously, but the prospects were amazing.

  Clapping his hands together, he rubbed them briskly. “Dog, a week of living in this place, soaking up the atmosphere, checking out the local library and online, exploring the grounds and drawing up plans is bloody awesome.” Dropping his sunglasses back onto his nose, he grinned widely. “Being paid to do this is icing on the cake.”

  Retrieving the mobile from the handless holder on the dashboard, he slid it into his pocket before slamming the door shut and reaching into the tray of the ute for the small bag and duffle bag. The duffle bag contained clothes, the small bag his laptop, several sketch books and a couple of books on landscaping ideas. Anything else he needed he could buy in town.

  “Hey, Dog! Fall in line.” He started crossing the ground towards the steps.

  Dog looked at him.

  “Yeah. You.”

  Dog’s tail stopped wagging.

  “Now.”

  The tail drooped.

  “Heel,” Luke said sternly, going up the steps.

  Moping, Dog wandered up behind Luke to drop into a sulking squat at his feet.

  “Don’t be such a wuss. You’re embarrassing me.” Pulling a big, old fashioned key from his pocket, Luke started to fit it into the rusty the lock only to frown as the door swung creakily open under his hand.

  Placing the small bag and duffle bag down, he glanced around but nothing stirred on the veranda except for some material ripped half off a rotting cushion on a mouldering chair.

  “Hello?” One hand on the door, he pushed it further open, listening intently.

  No answer.

  He looked down at Dog. “This would be where you go in first.”

  Dog looked from him to the door and back up at him.

  “Now is not the time to hold a grudge. Move your arse, we’re going in.”

  Tail wagging, Dog ambled past Luke to disappear into the gloom beyond.

  Following, Luke stepped into a wide entry, only to blink in amazement as he saw through the opening to the big room beyond. Slowly, he took off his sunglasses.

  “Holy cow.” Eyes wide, he walked through into the room and looked around.

  Man, at first glance the place might be crappy with the wall paper peeling off the walls and the bits of furniture shabby and falling apart, but there was still a faded majesticness in the soaring ceiling and the wide staircase that went up the middle to the second floor to branch out either side. He caught glimpses of open doors on the second floor, old furniture on the landing, his gaze dropping as he walked into the centre of the massive room and turned around slowly, just taking it all in.

  Several huge old paintings on the walls, what appeared to be red velvet curtains now faded and rotting against the windows, some old wooden furniture that had to be worth a small fortune if they were as old as they looked.

  He was no antique expert, but some
of this had to be authentic. He just hoped Mrs Arkwell had the brains to get it all checked out by a bonafide antique dealer. Maybe he’d mention it to her. If she wanted this place to regain its former glory and attract clients, then she should restore as much of the original furnishings as possible.

  Dog was happily sniffing everything, tail wagging, going from one item to another, sneezing several times.

  As much as he wanted to check out the grounds, Luke also wanted to check out the rooms. So much history, so much to see. Not that he knew anything much about historical houses, but it was intriguing nevertheless. When would he ever again get the chance to roam around an old mansion? Probably never.

  Glancing around, he debated where to start. On either side of the huge room were several doors leading further into the house. Dog decided the direction for him when he suddenly lifted his head and trotted to one of the doors on the left.

  Following him, Luke noted that oddly enough there wasn’t a huge amount of dust in the air. He’d expected cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and dust layering everything, but there were only a few cobwebs in a corner, and the dust… Frowning, he stopped to run a finger over an old table. A light dusting, not the heavy coverage one would expect of a derelict house.

  Suddenly alert, he glanced around. Nothing seemed to be disturbed but now he had a sudden gut feeling he wasn’t alone, only to give himself a mental slap. Geez, his father had been here, and Mrs Arkwell had several times, she’d probably had someone come in and do a quick clean before he arrived. Obviously he was her guest in this place regardless of the fact it needed extensive work. The door lock was a prime example of deterioration.

  Frown disappearing, he walked slowly along behind Dog while looking around. From the majestic hall he’d come out into a wide corridor that went for a fair distance into the depths of the house. The runner under his boots was falling apart, he’d have to roll it up and stow it safely away before he tripped on it one night and broke his neck. Having a modern ghost in a hundred and forty year old mansion just wouldn’t fit the atmosphere.