The Wells Brothers: Blue

Blue

(The Wells Brothers bk 3)

By

Angela Verdenius

(BBW Romance)

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2017 Angela Verdenius

Cover image courtesy of © Artofphoto | Dreamstime.com

Cover by Angela Verdenius

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**

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

Foreword

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Epilogue

Afterword

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

AFP - Australian Federal Police

Ambos - ambulance officers

Arse-End Arnold - usually the soldier guarding the rear of a platoon when in the field.

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.

Caramel Crowns - one of Arnott’s totally awesome chocolate and caramel biscuit. Gooey yumminess!

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

Digger - Australian soldier.

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

Marie biscuits - Arnott brand of plain sweet biscuit - delicious.

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

Spider (drink) - soft drink of choice with a scoop of ice cream in it

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

Foreword

I’d like to thank Candy for so nicely letting me know that Blue was the youngest brother, not the middle brother. She happened to catch me while I was still in the plotting stage, and after checking my notes, yep, Candy was correct. For some weird reason I had him pegged as the middle brother…after, you know, writing him as the youngest in Aaron and Luke’s books, as well as having him the youngest in my notes. *sheepish look*. So Candy, thank you for saving Blue’s bacon as well as mine!

And thank you to everyone who sent me such wonderful words of support and encouragement when I had surgery and was freaking out about not getting this book done on time. You have no idea how much your words meant to me. *hugs*

Chapter 1

Towing the tan Combat Roller Bag by the handle, the only outward sign of his military career apart from his no-nonsense stride and neatly cut hair, Blue strode through the international airport while scanning the faces of people hurrying past.

Everyone was intent on getting somewhere fast. So was he. Now if only his ride would get here on time, though knowing Luke that’d be a miracle. He probably should have asked Aaron. If he couldn’t make it, he’d have sent reinforcements.

But it was all good, he was on leave and didn’t have to hurry.

That knowledge didn’t decrease his pace, however.

Easily threading through the throng of people, he approached the big glass doors leading outside, exiting through them as they parted each side. Another glance around - no Luke.

Okay, he could either grab a coffee-to-go and wait, or ring his brother and find out just how far away he was. Grabbing a taxi would no doubt end with Luke ringing him back and abusing him for the wasted trip, but that’d be mildly amusing if he rang from the airport while Blue was sitting at home enjoying himself.

He’d no sooner decided to go back in and grab that cuppa than he was stopped by a horn hooting loudly behind him. Turning around, he spotted several things at once.

The big, dark blue ute that had just pulled up in the taxi zone had some new dents in it to go with the scratches, the sign across the door proclaimed ‘Wells Landscaping’, there was a big brindle mutt in the passenger seat looking around with his tongue hanging out, and the man in the driver’s seat was gesturing madly.

Probably because right behind him a taxi driver was tooting his horn angrily. Luke had parked in the taxi rank.

Fair suck of the sauce bottle, mate! Luke yelled out the driver’s door window. This is an Army man I’m picking up! He fights for our country!

You’re in the bloody taxi rank! the taxi driver yelled back.

I know! I can read the sign!

Laughing, Blue tossed the bag into the ute’s tray to join the shit-load of landscaping gear, swung open the door and shoved a delighted Dog over to sit in the middle so he could get into the passenger seat.

Another taxi driver impatiently tooted.

Man. Luke shook his head, his face wreathed in grins. Look at you! All neat, short hair and looking like crap doesn’t stick to your soles. Which, he leaned forward to study Blue’s black shoes, are really nifty.

Good to see you, too. Reaching across in front of Dog, Blue grabbed Luke’s hand.

For a second they debated each other, then grinned and hugged. The manly kind, with back slapping and gruff ‘Good to see ya, mate’ right before Dog joined in by giving Blue an enthusiastic lick up his cheek.

Argh! Blue drew back, laughing and scrubbing his face with a rag lying on the dashboard while giving Dog a pat.

About to say something, his brother glanced in the rear-view mirror. Oops, better get a move on. He slid on dark sunglasses.

As Luke put the ute in gear, indicated and pulled out onto the road, Blue twisted around to see through the back window the taxi driver conferring with a bystander who did not look happy. Catching his eye, she pointed angrily to her watch.

Grinning, he turned back around, fastening the seat belt before leaning back to rest his forearm on the open windowsill.

So, how was the flight? Luke asked.

Seriously? That’s all you can ask?

I’m trying to be polite and thoughtful.

Since when?

You’re right. I don’t actually give a rat’s arse how your flight was. You got here in one piece so that’s good enough for me.

Enjoying the warm breeze blowing through the open window, Blue watched the airport roads and buildings pass by.

Dog was avidly watching everything while trying to get the odd lick in on Blue, which Blue prevented by proceeding to scratch behind Dog’s ears, making the big brindle mutt go all gooey-eyed.

How’re the wedding plans going? Blue queried.

Luke looked pained. It’s okay.

"Your wedding plans."

Fine.

Amused, Blue looked at him. Getting much say?

That’s the problem. Mikki and her Mum keep dragging me in to look at things.

Look at things?

You know. Pictures of wedding cakes and suits and wedding invitations and shit.

Poor thing.

Bloody oath.

I didn’t mean it like that.

I know. I’m just ignoring that fact.

Blue laughed.

It’s all right for you, Luke retorted. You’re not the one having to give an opinion.

I thought grooms wanted to be included but were left out?

That’s the way it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?

Apparently not.

There’s no need to break tradition.

You just want to turn up, put the ring on and leave for the honeymoon, don’t you?

What’s wrong with that?

Romance is dead in your soul, isn’t it?

"Hey, I bought Mikki some roses just last week. Now that’s romance."

Who’d you steal them from?

Luke glared at him.

Blue raised an eyebrow.

I grew those roses. They are the best roses in Australia.

Got tickets on yourself.

On my roses. I know how to grow roses. Those roses are the bomb.

The bomb.

Yeah.

"The bomb."

Are you deaf or something? Yes.

Where did you pick up that phrase?

Oh, I don’t know. I’m civilized? I read books?

You read gardening magazines.

So?

They have bombs in those magazines?

I’ll shove a bomb up your arse in a minute.

I’m your baby brother.

Fine. I’ll shove my foot up there - boot and all.

Now this, Blue informed Dog, who slobbered happily in response, is what I’ve missed. All this love and caring and stuff.

Dog’s tongue hung out as he attempted to lean over Blue to reach the open window.

Blue pushed him back to the middle of the seat. Yeah, not happening.

He just wants to smooch, Luke said.

He’s not my type.

Ooohh. That’s right, you’ve got Shona, haven’t you? Pulling his sunglasses down his nose, Luke glanced over the tops at Blue. The airline hostess.

Can you watch the road? ‘Cause I don’t want you to arse-end that truck.

Luke laughed.

Blue thought about his platinum blonde girlfriend with legs that went for miles. In fact, Shona and I have a date tomorrow night.

She’s in town? When Aunt Lora rang her about the family BBQ tonight, she said she was out of town.

She is. She’s currently in Tasmania, but she’s flying back in tomorrow morning and then she has a couple of days off.

Good thing you’ve got your own place now, because you wouldn’t get a girlfriend into your bedroom if you were still staying in Dad’s house, let me give you the tip.

I don’t need that tip, I know it for a fact. Blue winced.

Man, the memory of being sprung by his father trying to sneak a girl into his room wasn’t pleasant. There he’d been, a horny sixteen year old stealthily ushering his current girlfriend in the back door after midnight, they’d just gotten to his bedroom door and the hall light had flared on to reveal his father standing there. One level look from those steady eyes had almost shrivelled him. His dad hadn’t said a word, just looked, and that was that. Blue had done an about-turn with his girlfriend in embarrassed tow and taken her home, returning home double-time. No one met him in the hallway this time, his dad had returned to bed, but the disappointment in his father’s eyes had hit Blue harder than any recriminations or yelling would have done. Dad had never mentioned it to him or Blue’s brothers, never brought the subject up, but Blue knew he’d crossed a line and that hadn’t sat well. He’d never made that mistake ever again, never brought a girl to his bedroom while he was home. It was a lesson learned.

Now, as the memory came back to him, he smiled slightly. He loved his father, respected him so much, and he looked forward to seeing him again. His mother had died when Blue was four years old, he only had a vague memory of her, but Dad had always been there to soothe his tears, wipe his snotty nose, fix up a bleeding knee from rough-housing, and taking them all to church on Sunday. He’d stood there amongst all the other parents cheering his sons on during sports, didn’t complain when he came home from work tired and dirty, simply piled whichever kid had something on that night and drove them where they had to go. He’d brought up two rather unruly sons and an older, steadier son, with kindness, respect and firmness. He only had a few rules but he expected them to be obeyed. And the boys obeyed.

Mind you, Mr Wells also had Aaron, Blue’s oldest brother, to help keep an eye on them, and Aaron was as quiet, controlled and firmly kind as him. He was also older than Luke by seven years and Blue by nine years, so for the younger brothers Aaron had always been the one who was there when Dad had to work, the one he and Luke turned to when Dad wasn’t around and things turned to shit, and like Dad, Aaron had sorted out the problem calmly.

Yeah, Blue might not have had a Mum, but he had a great family. And then, of course, Aunt Lora and Jason had turned up to live with them, and with Aunt Lora came feminine touches in an otherwise very masculine household. Their family had grown by two more, and though Aaron, Luke and Jason had eventually moved out and Blue joined the Army, it was nice to know his Dad had some company in his sister.

Rousing from his thoughts, he drew in a deep breath. So, barbie tonight, huh?

You know Dad, he likes everyone to get together now and again. With you back, he has everyone he loves right there.

Aw, you used the love word.

Shit, I know. It’s being with Mikki. She messes with my head.

Your head was messed-up long before she came on the scene.

She’s messed it up more.

And yet you’re going to be wearing her ball and chain very soon.

She took my innocence. Dad made her.

Blue snorted.

Luke just grinned.

I’m looking forward to seeing Dad, spending a bit of time with him. Blue patted Dog’s head now resting on his thigh.

He’s knocking off at lunchtime so he can spend the afternoon with his baby boy, Luke replied cheerfully. He’s been as calm as usual, but you can tell he’s excited you’re home.

I’ll just drop my stuff off, shower and change, get the motorbike revved up and go straight over to him. Blue looked at his brother. Speaking of my place, how’s the new renter going?

No worries, mate. Place is spick and span, no parties, everything running smoothly.

Lucky to find someone like that.

Are you kidding me? Aaron ran a full check on Charley before the paperwork was signed. Nothing but a saint is going to rent your spare room, not to mention having the run of the house.

Good old Aaron.

Excuse me, Luke said indignantly, I’m the one who found your housemate first.

Did I ever thank you for that?

No, you wanker, you didn’t.

You have my heartfelt gratitude.

That’s more like it.

And Aaron my sincere one.

Up yours. Luke flipped him the bird.

Blue laughed. Will Charley be there when I get home?

No idea, Luke replied cheerfully.

Not that it really mattered. He’d wanted someone decent to pay some rent on the house so that he had extra money to help pay the place off faster, and also for the security of having someone living in it while he wasn’t there, which was most of the time. But he’d wanted his own house, a feeling of setting down roots, a place to call his own when he came back on leave. Staying with his Dad was great, but he’d felt the need to get his own place. Buying the house was a good decision, getting a decent renter in an equally good one. Having his brothers choose the bloke renting the house was the best idea. No way would Aaron or Luke - or his Dad or cousin Jason, for that matter - have let anyone loose in his house who would steal from him or wreck the place.

Charley does shift work, Luke continued, so the house’ll probably be empty when you get home.

Goodo.

Okay, to be honest it would be nice to get home and have some time to himself before meeting his housemate. Still, if this Charley was there, he could deal with it. He’d been living in close quarters with fellow soldiers his entire career, so it wasn’t as if he wasn’t used to sharing space.

The next ten minutes passed peacefully, both of them chatting about things in general until finally Luke indicated and turned off the main road. A couple of turns later and they entered a quiet street with big trees lining the sides and older-style houses set back from the road.

Here we go. Luke turned into a driveway and pulled up. Home sweet home.

Blue stared at the house and yard. Wow.

Yeah, the garden turned out good. Luke waved a nonchalant hand at the landscaped garden. It’s all reticulated, the plants drought-hardy.

Mate. Blue looked at his brother with gratitude. Thank you. The last time I saw this garden it was, well…no garden, actually.

You gave me free rein on it. Luke shrugged. It was good to be able to experiment.

Yeah, and his landscaping brother had made sure it wasn’t just an easy-care garden, but a bloody good-looking one, too.

Mate, I owe you.

You already paid, remember? Even when I didn’t want it.

Yeah, but all this work. Blue shook his head.

Now that I think of it, I do have a lot of shit to shovel around a quite substantial ground. Luke grinned. Have a couple of hours free on Thursday?

Blue nodded. Give me a shovel and I will shovel your shit.

That actually sounds a little wrong, but I accept. Luke jerked his thumb at the picket fence. Charley painted the fence, by the way. I can’t claim credit for that.

Blue studied the white picket fence. Nice. He switched his attention back to the wooden house. The walls were a pale blue, the shutters a bright white. Even the security bars over the windows were decorative, straight but with distinct scrolling at the ends and painted white. Decorative but no doubt strong, as Aaron would have chosen them. The long veranda running along the front of the house had white poles and rails. The garage beside it was also painted pale blue with white roller doors. The paint job turned out great.

Yeah, it did. Resting his forearms on the steering wheel, Luke nodded. Blue and white are classic colours, gives this baby that old-time feel.

Thanks, Luke. Reaching over, Blue clapped him on the shoulder. I knew I could count on you, Jason and Dad to bring this baby up to scratch. I managed to get some things done last time I was here, but it’d have taken me forever to get it this good. I can’t thank you enough.

Don’t worry, I have a lot of shit to shovel.

Blue laughed.

They spent a couple more minutes chatting about the house before Blue opened the door. I better get in and settled so I can go see Dad. Retrieving the Combat Roller Bag from the back of the ute, he came around to the driver’s door to look in at his brother. You coming in?

Wish I could, but I have to get back to the work site. That shit isn’t going to spread itself without my muscle.

Literal shit?

Bet your arse. Got the finest shit to spread around those plants, I promised Mrs Arkwell I’d get it done today.

Okay. Thanks, mate, really, for both the ride and what you did on the garden. I really do appreciate it.

Hey, no worries. Luke gave him a friendly punch on the arm. Good to see you again, Blue. We miss you.

Are you getting sloppy?

It’s Mikki’s fault. She’s messed with my head.

Grinning, Blue watched as his brother pulled back out onto the road and drove off with a toot of the horn and a wave, Dog’s head hanging out the passenger window, his tongue and ears flapping in the breeze.

Walking up to the house, Blue looked around again, marvelling at the garden. Roses and geraniums in round garden beds, a climbing rose up a white trellis on the outside wall of the lounge room, and some large daisy bushes with nodding white heads. A small area of lawn interspersed with slate pavers. Small bushes lining the pathway.

Man, it looked good, the design and choice of flowers giving the house a very quaint, country feel. He liked it. While Luke was a joker, he was also a master landscaper, he knew what people liked, could see their visions, and he knew how to make those visions come to life. He was also a good adviser of plants to suit weather conditions and climate.

The paint job and the repairs on the house, though, that’d be his Dad and Jason’s doing. He’d left them a budget and an idea of what he wanted, and they’d done the house just as he’d envisaged it.

The veranda was polished wood on the floor, pot planters with what looked like some fancy-arsed flowers stood at each post, and there was an honest-to-goodness swing chair at the end.

Yeah, he really liked that. He could see himself sitting there, swinging away, watching the world go