The Wildwood Sisters (10 page)

Dylan almost fell backwards off his stool in shock. Stanley Wildwood. Renee Wildwood's grandfather—how bloody ironic. ‘I'll give Stanley a call. Do you have his number?'

‘Nope, but you could look him up in the phone book.' Rex gave him a friendly shove. ‘Although, if I were you, I'd just call out there. Stan strikes me as the kind of bloke that would rather do business in person. You might have a better chance of snapping the job if you turn up ready for work and raring to go.'

‘Yeah, good idea, I'll pop out there first thing tomorrow morning. It's right over the other side of town from me, and I was hoping to get something a little closer to home, but beggars can't be choosers hey.'

‘Exactly. You gotta take what you can get at the moment, buddy. It's lean times for everyone in Opals Ridge, the worst I've ever seen it in my twenty-five years as publican here. That's why Lorraine and me had to—' Rex drew quotes in the air, ‘—
la dee dah
the menu up a bit, to pull in more of the tourists. Sadly, we just can't survive off the locals alone, like we used to. Times are a-changing, and you gotta roll with them or you'll get left behind in this dog-eat-dog world.'

Dylan nodded solemnly. ‘You got that right, mate. I'm feeling the pinch pretty bad myself, and if I don't do something soon, I could lose my property to the bloody bank. I've worked too damn hard for that to happen, and over my dead body am I gonna let Annie, or my mum, go through any more shit in their lives.'

Rex sculled the last of his beer, frowning. ‘Well, asking Stan for the job's a bloody good start. And if there is anything Lorraine and I can do to help out, you let us know. You're kinda like the son we never had, Dylan. I hope you know we're here anytime you need us, okay?'

‘Yup, thanks Rex, I know you guys are, and I really appreciate it.'

Rex gave him a nod and a smile. ‘I better go do the rounds, but let me know how you go with Stanley.'

‘Will do.'

Watching Rex strolling over to the other side of the bar to chat to some of the other patrons, Dylan took a sip from his Coke as he wondered what had ever happened to his first love, the beautifully spirited and always enchanting Renee Wildwood.

The woman had stolen his heart and then vanished without a trace, without even a goodbye, crushing his soul in the process. If she hadn't left her mark so deeply on his heart, he would have doubted she'd even existed. How hard would it have been for her to pick up the phone to tell him she was leaving, or where she was going, to at least put his mind at ease? It still saddened him when he thought about how easily she had discarded him. Had she really been that mad at him for telling her how wrong it was to accuse people of Scarlet's disappearance without proof, or was it that she had been too ashamed of herself after what she had so wrongly assumed about his father?

Maybe she just hadn't loved him as much as he'd thought she had. Or maybe he'd been young and naive, and she'd taken advantage of him. He'd probably never know. The only thing he knew, from the word around town, was that her grandparents had believed it best for her to leave town. No explanations, no clues as to where she'd gone. End of story. It was as if she'd vanished like her sister, Scarlet.

Although the big difference was that Renee was living her life somewhere whereas Scarlet would never be coming home. The amount of blood the investigating officers had discovered in the wilderness beyond the family property was enough to prove Scarlet had most certainly met with foul play. He remembered the horrific day the detective had informed Renee and her family of the discovery like it was only yesterday. Renee had turned up on his doorstep, her body wracked with sobs, and he had lain with her in his arms all night, soothing her as she'd wept. It had torn him to pieces, seeing her like that, and knowing that Scarlet had very possibly been murdered. Poor Scarlet, she'd been a light in everyone's life—he still found it hard to believe someone would want to harm her. And the fact that her body had never been found and her killer was still roaming free was all kinds of wrong. Life could be so fucking unfair.

Trying to make sense of the thoughts and long-ago feelings now rolling around inside him, he pictured Renee's pretty face. It had torn him to pieces for the first year, not knowing where she was—his love for her at the time was so intense he was completely lost without her. For months he couldn't take a decent breath because his chest was so tight with the grief of losing her. He'd once googled her name before he'd got with Shelley, but nothing had come up other than the stuff about Scarlet's disappearance.

Sighing from the weight of his past, he sculled the last of his Coke, and then ordered another from the overly flirtatious, and very attractive, barmaid. He wished he had it in him to take her blatant advances on board, but he needed much more than outward appearances to turn him on. There had to be a sizzling spark for him to be interested. He'd always been that way, and nothing was going to change him. He hadn't been with another woman since Shelley.

True to form in always being late to anything and everything, his best mate, Ralph, suddenly appeared beside him, his shaggy hair as frazzled as he looked.

Ralph gave him a friendly slap on the back. ‘Hey there buddy, sorry I'm late.' He pointed to the splatters of mud on his clothes. ‘I decided to cut through the neighbour's paddock and got myself a little bogged.'

‘How many times is that now?' Dylan pretended to count on his fingers as he chuckled.

‘It's the third time,' Ralph replied stoutly, as if he was proud of the fact. ‘And each and every time I've got myself out with only a little bit of effort.'

‘And a little bit of mud, too.' Dylan pointed to Ralph's clothes and shook his head, smiling. ‘You'll never learn, will you?'

Ralph grinned like a naughty child. ‘Nope.'

A squeal halted their banter and they turned to see Annie running full pelt for them, her arms wide. ‘Uncle Ralph! You came!'

Ralph swept her up into his arms, showering kisses all over her cheeks as he did so. ‘Of course I came. I wouldn't miss your party for the world! Happy birthday, sweetheart.' He hugged her closely. Annie tightly wrapped her legs and arms around him as he dug into his shirt pocket and pulled out a beautifully wrapped little box. ‘I got a little something for you. Hope you like it.'

Annie grinned, showing her lack of front teeth as Ralph placed her back down and handed her the package. Annie tore it open with excitement, her eyes and mouth wide as she flicked open the box and spotted the gold necklace inside, a tiny cross hanging from it.

‘Wow, this is so pretty. Thank you so much. I love it.' She reached up on her tippy-toes, motioning to give Ralph a kiss.

‘My pleasure, sweetheart.' Ralph leant over and pecked her cheek.

‘Do you want me to put it on you now?' Dylan asked as Annie handed him the box.

‘Yes please, Daddy. I want to go and show all my friends.'

Kneeling down then clasping the necklace, making sure the cross was positioned properly, Dylan smiled from the inside out. Everyone who meant something in their lives had made an effort for Annie's special day and it warmed his heart no end to see her so happy.

Ralph placed his hand on Dylan's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. ‘I'm going to grab a beer, mate. You need a top up?'

Dylan stood, watching Annie race back towards her friends. ‘Nah, I'm right for now. Still got half a glass of Coke left.'

‘On the hard stuff, hey,' Ralph said lightheartedly.

‘As always,' Dylan replied, grinning.

‘Righto, I'll say a quick g'day to Rex and Lorraine and then you can fill me in a bit more on this bloody fence debacle.'

‘I don't want to put my shit on you today, Ralph. I've complained enough and you need some chill time too.'

‘You're looking stressed, Dylan, like you might need to unload a bit, mate, so I'm all ears.'

‘Yeah, tell me about it, between my money worries and now this, I feel like I'm going to drive myself around the bend.'

Ralph grinned playfully. ‘Well, if that's the case, I'll drive around the bend with you…can't be letting you do it alone.'

Dylan chuckled. ‘Thanks, mate.'

Ralph gave him a slap on the back. ‘That's what mates are for.'

Carrying an exhausted Annie in his arms, Dylan quietly padded into the cottage with a pirouetting Bossy at his feet. Grinning at his doggy mate, he let her in with him, closing the door softly behind them all. After a few quick licks to Dylan's leg, Bossy took off towards the lounge room, clearly excited she was being upgraded to her doggy penthouse for the night—her ‘inside' dog bed. Whirling round in circles, then chasing her tail for a few more spins, Bossy then thumped down on her bed in the cosy corner, her tongue lolling out to the side and her long legs sprawled out at angles other dogs would find impossible. Life was a ball of fun to her, each day an adventure to be had. Dylan chuckled at Bossy's enthusiasm—the cottage wouldn't have been the same without her.

Silently, he crept off down the hallway. It was only just past five in the afternoon but Annie had crashed in the car on the way home, and he didn't want to wake her. He was expecting her to sleep until tomorrow morning, given the full day she'd had at her birthday party. His mum had retired to her granny flat out the back too, the children having exhausted her. He had to admit, though, his two special girls—Claire and Annie—had been the happiest he'd seen them in months today, and it was wonderful to witness. Things might be tough financially, but after a nice weekend spent together, life was looking a little brighter. It was as though he'd been wandering through a dark tunnel and could now see a fraction of light at the end of it, still very far away, and very dim, but light all the same. It made him feel a little more optimistic for the future, his decision to go and see the psychologist in town lifting some of the weight from his burdened shoulders already. The first step was normally the hardest to take.

Placing Annie down on her bed, Dylan began gently changing her out of her pink cowgirl outfit and into her pyjamas. He felt as bushed as she looked. It was a hard job being a single parent, even though he had his mum there to help, but he wasn't complaining. He loved being a dad, especially to such a big-hearted adorable little girl. Being biased didn't even come into it. Looking down at her he smiled. If only Shelley could see how beautiful their little girl was. Tears filled his eyes but he blinked them away.

Tomorrow, he was going to call the shrink and make his first appointment, and then he was going to drive out to Wildwood Acres and get himself a job. As far as he knew, Stanley Wildwood wasn't even aware he'd dated Renee, and that was probably a good thing, because he didn't want that to have any bearing on his chances of getting the job. Renee's grandfather had been strict with the girls as teenagers—especially when it came to
not
having boyfriends. Hopefully Stanley had forgotten about the time he'd chased him off the property all those years ago when he'd turned up desperate to find out where Renee had vanished to—nine years had changed his appearance somewhat. This was his lifeline, his way out of financial hardship, so he didn't want anything ruining that chance. The extra money to help put food on the table and pay for the household bills was going to make a huge difference. God, he hoped nobody had gotten to Stanley first and taken the job.

Lightly tugging Annie's sticky hair into a shambolic bun on her head—he'd get her to wash out whatever foodstuff was pasting her hair together in the morning—a jolt of positivity rushed through him. The fact he was doing something to aid his plight felt empowering, like he'd finally taken the reins of his life again. Tenderly, he brushed the hair from Annie's face, and then tucked her beneath her
Dora the Explorer
covers, at the same time checking that her asthma puffer was on her bedside table.

Annie had loved the GPS locator watch—when she'd first put it on this morning she'd made him promise to never make her take it off. Planting one last loving kiss on her cheek, he headed off to have a shower, watch a bit of telly and then hit the sack himself. Tomorrow was a brand new day, with brand new experiences and the possibility of big life changes. His instincts were telling him there was something magical just around the corner, and he couldn't wait to find out what it was.

His breathing a little shallow and his hands a little shaky, Dylan sat down at his desk and picked up the phone, dialling the number from the business card his mum had given him almost a year ago. Quickly hanging up before it started to ring, he drummed his fingers on the desk, his stomach feeling as though a swarm of angry bees were at war with one another.

I can do this—I have to
.

He snatched the phone up and pressed redial, fighting the intense urge to hang up again. Even though he knew this was a step in the right direction, it still made him extremely anxious. He'd been raised to believe that tough country men weren't meant to talk about their feelings, especially to some stranger. But he had to do something, and what did he have to lose by at least giving it a go?

‘Good morning, Wise Psychology, Jaycee speaking.'

Shit, Jaycee was an ex-barmaid from the pub, and known to be one of the biggest gossips in town. What in the hell was she doing working there? He almost hung up, and then stopped himself. Who cares if she told people he was seeing a shrink—not that she should, as it would be very unprofessional. It took guts to admit he needed help. So fuck anyone that tried to hang shit on him for it. ‘Yeah, um, morning… I'd like to make an appointment with the doc please.'

‘Sure, I've actually just had a cancellation for eleven tomorrow morning. Would you like to take it? Otherwise it's a two week wait, I'm afraid.' Her voice was so cheery it was almost annoying.