The Wells Brothers: Luke Read online

  Then again, if she wanted something different he could still make it look like the era of the mansion with the way it was built and the material used.

  As he mused, he observed three trucks drive around the corner. Looked like Bernard Yorick had arrived to start packing up the paintings and furniture. His gaze drifted to the front of the mansion to see Elspeth come down the steps followed by Mikki.

  Ah, Mikki. Now there was a woman who had turned out to be a surprise. Total surprise. Who knew she could kiss like she’d kissed him the day before? One minute she’d been teasing him, then daring him, and man, when she’d suddenly gotten all wary and uncertain, those big green eyes going wide, that had fired up every predatory bone in his body. Hell yeah, he’d just loved backing her up to the wall, leaning over her, watching her eyes go from a little worried to hot.

  He could still see the change in her, feel it, the way she’d suddenly grabbed his shirt and simply helped herself to his mouth. That sweet little mouth on his had fired up his veins sure enough.

  But then he’d known he was going to kiss her, had known it as soon as he’d met her teasing with a challenge. Known it because really, he’d just been waiting for an excuse. Ever since that time in the library he’d been running a little heated for her, wanted to feel more than just her body against his. Wanted to kiss her, taste her, savour that smart little mouth.

  He’d savoured her all right. That kiss had been scorching enough to melt his sneakers to the ground.

  The outcome of that kiss, he knew, would bring him to one of two decisions - that the sexual attraction he’d felt for her in town was fleeting, or that the sexual attraction was way more.

  Turned out it was way more.

  One kiss wasn’t enough.

  His gaze wandered over her lush body clad in a pale pink t-shirt topped with an open blue-checked shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up her forearms, a pair of pale blue slacks with a hole patched in the knee, and the bright pink sneakers. Those clothes covered a perfectly lush body, all boobs and rounded derriere. The sun caught the golden glints in her red hair, today caught up in some kind of messy bun atop her head.

  Kissing might not be enough. Hell, he was pretty sure kissing only definitely wasn’t enough. Nope, kissing only wasn’t enough.

  Sticking the end of the pencil between his teeth, Luke’s eyes narrowed as he studied her, marvelling at how, in such a short time, he went from finding her annoying to finding her desirable.

  No use arguing it. He’d done that last night, especially after Mikki had insisted she’d heard something in the bushes, could feel something watching her on their midnight trip to the graveyard. Her nutty Aunt had gotten all excited and next thing she was running around with something called an EDI Meter, trying to get a reading on both temperature and changes in the electromagnetic field or some such shit, buggered if he knew, really. Mikki had looked around searchingly, peering through some kind of camera with night vision in the hopes of catching sight of something ghostly. It had taken Luke awhile to convince them that nothing was there, and eventually Elspeth had given up as the instrument she held showed no changes.

  He sure as heck knew that nothing ghostly was around those graves.

  He’d thought the journey back would be quick, but it only made him roll his eyes. The women had been too busy stopping sporadically to check Elspeth’s EDI Meter while Mikki held up a small recorder to catch what she referred to as EVPs - or, as she explained, Electronic Voice Phenomena. It was definitely a longer trip back to the mansion.

  Shaking his head at the memory, Luke watched as Old Yorick got out of the first truck, his off-sider climbing down from the driver’s side. The two trucks behind disgorged two men apiece and then stood waiting to be loaded.

  Yorick spoke to Elspeth while Mikki stood back, hands in her pockets, head tipped back as she enjoyed the sun’s rays on her face.

  By his side, Dog whined. Glancing down, Luke saw that he was gazing at Mikki longingly.

  “You’d ditch me in a second, wouldn’t you?” he observed.

  Dog looked up at him, whined again and leaned his head against Luke’s leg.

  The sudden show of affection, the leaning, softened Luke. Squatting down, he placed the papers on the ground, tucked the pencil behind his ear and took Dog’s head between his palms. Dog looked up at him, all the love in his doggy heart showing in his eyes and his tail thumping in the dirt.

  “Hey, old boy.” Luke rubbed his head, resting his forehead against Dog’s while looking into his eyes. “Who’s daddy’s boy, huh?”

  Dog managed to dip his head enough to look up at Luke from the tops of his eyes, looking so adorable, so puppy-like, that it took Luke back to when Dog had first arrived back at his house after the vet. Scared, wary of being hit, cowering at times. It had taken Luke a lot of time and patience to get Dog to trust him, but he knew he’d won the day Dog suddenly, for no reason, while sitting beside him, had slowly leaned his head against Luke’s leg. Astonished, Luke had looked down to see Dog, his face forward, just leaning against him.

  It had happened regularly for the first several years, not so much now, but out of the blue Dog would do it, just lean against Luke, trusting him to take his weight and not lash out. Knowing Luke loved him.

  “It’s all right, mate.” Luke ruffled his ears. “You and me, hey?” He looked into the puppy-dog eyes. “I’m glad you like Red, though. That pretty little sheila will be spending some time with us if I get my way. So be on your best behaviour and be a good boy to that furry fiend she looks like she’s falling for. That’ll be your ticket into her heart. Me?” Luke grinned. “I’ve never failed yet when it comes to a woman, and I’m not about to start with our Red. Okay?”

  Dog gave him a sudden slurp across his chin.

  “Ugh. Thanks, Dog. Thanks a lot.” Luke gave his head one last rub, grabbed the papers and stood.

  Glancing back towards the trucks, he saw Mikki standing on the steps watching him. Lifting his hand, he waved. After a second’s hesitation, she waved back before disappearing into the mansion.

  Score! He did a mental fist pump. She’d avoided him for several hours last night, had blushed a little when she’d looked at him this morning over breakfast but he’d pretended not to notice, keeping the conversation tuned into work, discussing further ideas with Elspeth and leaving Mikki to eat and relax. Phase one was working.

  ‘Bad to the Bone’ rang out of his mobile. Still thinking about Mikki, he pulled the mobile from his pocket, flicked it on and placed it to his ear. “Phase one is working.”

  “What?”

  “What? Aaron?”

  “Who’s at phase one?” his oldest brother queried.

  “Phase one?”

  “You said ‘phase one is working’.”

  “Oh. Oh!” Luke winced, then strove for a casual tone. “Nothing. Work.”

  “Phases are things you do to win a girl.”

  No fooling his brother. “Don’t know what you mean, mate.”

  “What are you planning for Mikki?”

  “What’s she got to do with it?”

  Aaron was nothing if not patient. “Phase one with Mikki, huh?” Not to mention eerily on-target with his guesses.

  If his brother was guessing.

  Luke glanced around warily. “Where are you?”

  “In the office.”

  “You sure?”

  “You sound suspicious. What are you up to?”

  “Nothing.”

  “So, you and Mikki. Phase one only?”

  “It’s only been a couple of -” Luke stopped, adjusted his sunglasses. “What did you ring for, Aaron?”

  The silence on the other end of the mobile had Luke picturing his brother sitting in that old brown armchair in the corner of his office, ankle hooked over his opposite knee, that damned thoughtful, knowing, considering expression on his serious face.

  How did the bastard know? How did he know that Luke was even planning on doing anything with Mikki?
How?

  The eternal question that had burned in Luke’s brain since they were all kids. Aaron had always known. Sometimes Luke suspected the man had ESP. Now there was a freakin’ weird power for a freakin’ freaky bloke to have. And Aaron freaked a few people out by just being, well, Aaron.

  “Because you give yourself away,” Aaron murmured.

  With a sigh, Luke closed his eyes.

  “You’ll tell me one day,” Aaron continued. “Meanwhile, how’s it all going there?”

  Safer ground. Luke looked towards the trucks. “The antique dealer is here. He’s picking up the paintings and stuff.”

  “Bernard Yorick is early.”

  “You spoke to him?”

  “No.”

  “You know him?”

  “Not personally.”

  God, Aaron could sometimes freak Luke out a little. Especially when he gave that quiet laugh that meant he knew exactly what he was doing to his younger brother.

  “Cut it out,” Luke growled.

  “Bernard Yorick is known for being fashionably late. So at nine in the morning, he’s early.”

  “You could have said that in the beginning.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?”

  Looking down at Dog, Luke shook his head.

  “How is Dog?” Aaron asked.

  Giving up, Luke replied, “Dog’s fine.”

  “The girls?”

  “Ghost hunting at night. Oh yeah, and they got a kitten.”

  “Okay.”

  “Some bastard dumped it on the side of the road in a box.”

  “Did you get his rego?”

  “No, unfortunately. I was too busy trying to stay in my seat.”

  “Elspeth was driving.”

  “My life was flashing before my eyes.” Luke watched two men come out carrying a carefully packed, square box between them. Just had to be a painting, going by the shape and size. “Anyway, we rescued the kitten and it’s going home with one of the girls to live happily ever after.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  “Got what I needed from the library, too.”

  “You met Anna.”

  “Geez. You know her?”

  “Not personally.”

  Luke rolled his eyes. “Yes, I met her.”

  “Your thoughts?”

  “Man hungry.”

  “And…?”

  “Well...” Growing serious, Luke scratched the back of his head. “She said she felt trapped.”

  “How about Wally DeOvert?”

  “Not even going to ask how you know him. He was all over Elspeth, took us to the museum and waxed lyrical the whole time about the good old days when his dad was the butler out here. Apparently a lot of his family worked out here in the hey-day.”

  “Right.”

  Luke couldn’t help it. Smugly, he asked, “Want to know about the chemist bloke that Mikki met?”

  “You mean Mark?”

  Luke’s shoulders slumped. “Forget it.”

  “Watch him,” Aaron drawled. “He’ll be sniffing around Mikki now he knows she’s the niece of the new owner of the Willock mansion.

  Luke frowned. “Money-grabbing bastard. He wouldn’t want to come sniffing around here.”

  “Sounding a little possessive there, Luke.”

  “Yeah, well…”

  “Anything odd happen?”

  “You mean apart from the ghost hunting?”

  “And being kneed in the ball bag.”

  “Jason just couldn’t keep his mouth shut, could he?”

  “He couldn’t wait to tell me.”

  “And you couldn’t wait to tell me.”

  Aaron laughed softly.

  Luke couldn’t help but grin. Freaky or not, he knew his older brother cared for his family, loved them deeply, and would do anything for them. His amusement was genuine, never nasty.

  Voices sounded in the background of the mobile, Aaron’s muffled reply which meant he’d blocked the phone with his hand. After several seconds he spoke clearly. “Gotta go, Luke. Keep an eye on the women.”

  “Always.” The mobile cut off and Luke slipped it back into his pocket. “Okay, Dog, let’s go check out the gardens behind the house. I want to see the remains of the old green house that used to be attached. The photos show it was there somewhere.”

  He spent the next couple of hours scouting the grounds, checking the lay of the land, the perimeters of old garden beds, the pathways, and some of the ruins of sheds and what was once, he’d hazard a guess, a wash house. It still held old, rusty sinks sunk into the partially rotten bench. A door led to a half caved in back room, while another door on the left led into what he would bet was the head laundress’s personal room. Didn’t that happen back then? Scratching the pencil through his hair, he looked around. Pretty sure he’d read somewhere that the head laundress got her own room. Then again, he wasn’t the brightest bulb on the block when it came to historical facts. He knew enough to get by, remembered bits and pieces he’d been told or read or seen on a documentary, but that was about it.

  Coming back around the corner of the mansion, he saw that two of the trucks had left while the third was still being packed. But he saw something else that made his eyebrows draw together.

  Standing at the bottom of the steps was a golden-haired man with a flashing smile.

  The bloody pharmacist. And beside him stood Mikki, laughing at something he’d said. What the hell was the pharmacist doing here? Oh yeah, sniffing around Mikki’s heels. And by the looks of it, she was enjoying the way he was practically eating her with his eyes.

  No doubt those eyes had dollar signs in them.

  Luke’s eyes narrowed, his annoyance shifting into downright irritation when Mikki laid a hand on Mark’s arm as she leaned forward a little, telling him something that had the drongo’s head flinging back, his laugh filling the air. Right before he patted her hand.

  The jerk was flirting with her.

  The little sheila was enjoying it, too, making no move to shift away from him.

  Time to break this little soiree up.

  Chapter 6

  Shoving the pencil behind his ear, Luke strode forward, rolling the papers up in his hands.

  Trotting beside him, Dog looked from Luke to Mark, letting out a little bark.

  Both Mark and Mikki turned their heads, their amusement fading as Luke neared.

  Mark nodded, held out a hand. “Luke, isn’t it? I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  Luke took his hand, gave it an extra hard squeeze. Call him childish, but when he really wanted to smack the bloke in his handsome dial for being so handsy with Mikki, a hand-crushing was pretty mild. “Yep.” And then he swivelled so he stood next to Mikki, slinging an arm around her shoulders as though he did it every day.

  He fully intended to, and a whole lot more, but right now he was staking his claim and making damned sure the golden boy saw it and understood.

  Call it a caveman attitude, he didn’t give a shit.

  Eyebrows rising, Mark looked from Luke’s arm to Mikki’s face.

  Good, Mark got the message.

  With an affable grin, Luke tugged an astonished Mikki into his side. “So, baby, what’s going on?”

  Incredulously, she stared at him.

  He grinned back down at her.

  “So, um…” Mark shifted his gaze to Mikki. “You and Luke…?”

  “N-” she began.

  “Yep.” Luke dropped an affectionate kiss on top of her head, ignoring her stiffening. “So, Mark, what are you doing here? Delivering something?”

  Shifting back a step, Mark slid one hand into the pocket of his neat dress slacks. “Just popped in to see how you were all settling in.” He glanced briefly at Mikki, his smile forced. “I had offered to show Mikki around, thought I’d come by and see if she was ready to accept it.”

  “Show us around? Wow, that’s awfully kind of you.” Luke jumped when Mikki reached behind him and, out of sight of Mark, gave his arse a savag
e pinch. Shit, even the jeans didn’t soften that pinch, probably because they were old and worn thin.

  She made to step away but he strengthened his hold. Trying not to make a scene but let him know her displeasure, she glared up at him and said through gritted teeth, “Isn’t there something you need to be doing? Baby?”

  Oohh, his Red was annoyed. Luke winked at her. “Apart from spending a lovely day with my Red? Nope.” And then he paid her back for the pinch by giving her a smart smack on her curvy bum before quickly wrapping his arm back around her shoulders while informing Mark cheerfully, “So Mark, it was real nice of you to come all the way out here to invite us to check out the sights.”

  Man, he did enjoy the way golden boy shifted uneasily, moving further back while clearing his throat.

  “Yes, well…” Mark managed a laugh, looked at his watch, made a surprised expression. “Oh dear, look at the time. I need to return to town or I’ll be late for work.”

  Mikki started forward. “Oh, but-”

  Luke yanked her back. “What a shame. Well, no doubt we’ll run into you in town.” Time to rub the claim in good and proper. “Actually, I think I may need to make a little trip to the pharmacy for a packet of…you know.” He glanced down at Mikki and winked.

  She had a right to look uncomprehending - probably because she looked like she wanted to murder him but was trying to maintain some dignity by simply letting the anger burn in her eyes.

  “A packet of what?” Mark asked, fishing the keys to his flashy car out of his pocket.

  Jesus. There was no call to be that stupid. Luke looked incredulously at him and mouthed, “Condoms.”

  Cheeks flushing a little, Mark’s jaw tightened, a flinty look crossing his otherwise handsome features before he nodded jerkily. “Oh yeah. Anytime.”

  Bet he nearly choked on that. Luke smirked, pulling his sunglasses down his nose as he watched Mark get into his car, start it up and drive sedately out of the driveway and onto the road leading to the main road.

  No sooner was he out of sight than Mikki wrenched out from beneath Luke’s arm, swinging to face him furiously, those gorgeous green eyes sparking, those lush lips tight. “What the hell, Luke? What the hell are you doing?”