The Wildwood Sisters

by Mandy Magro

  Stanley’s face drained of colour. ‘What! Why would she go all the way out there by herself, especially without telling me?’

  Mick shrugged a little cautiously. ‘She told me she just wanted to have a look about, and I reckon she was worried you’d stop her.’

  ‘Damn straight I would have bloody stopped her.’ Stanley pointed his finger at Mick. ‘Why didn’t you bloody stop her?’

  ‘Oh come on now, Stan. We’re talking about Renee here. You know there’s no stopping her if she wants to do something.’ Mick threw his hands up in the air. ‘I woulda gone looking for her meself, but it’s a bit difficult at the moment with my leg and all.’

  ‘Anything could have happened to her out there,’ Stanley retorted, trepidation lacing his every word. ‘I have to go look for her before it’s bloody dark—’ he looked at his watch, ‘—which won’t be too long, an hour at the most. Thankfully it’s a full moon, so we’ll at least have some moonlight to find her with if sundown beats us to it.’

  Dylan’s heart bolted like a wild horse—images of Renee lying hurt somewhere taunting him. And then in a sudden flashback, he was on the floor of his bathroom, holding Shelley in his arms as he sobbed, wishing with everything he had that he’d been home sooner and there was some way he could turn back time. No way in hell was he going to lose another woman he loved because he wasn’t there for her. Realisation washed over him. He’d actually just admitted it to himself. He loved Renee, always had, and always would. It didn’t mean he had to admit it out loud, though, to her or anyone else for that matter. It could remain his little secret—forever.

  ‘I’ll come help, Stan. You can’t cover everywhere on your own. If you want to check out the caves, I’ll head to the shack.’ He gave Turbo the cue to go, calling out over his shoulder, ‘I’ll meet you back at the homestead if we don’t cross paths out there, and if we haven’t found her, we’ll keep searching until we do.’

  ‘You don’t know where the shack is!’ Stanley called after him as he enticed his own horse into a gallop.

  ‘Yeah I do, I’ve been there before.’

  ‘Oh, right. You have?’

  The look on Stan’s face was one of confusion, but Dylan didn’t have time to explain, and he wasn’t going to admit what had happened at the shack all those years ago. Going hell bent for leather, he headed towards the place where Renee had stolen his heart, hoping that it wasn’t about to be shattered into a million tiny pieces once again. He’d only just started to glue the pieces back together after losing Shelley, he didn’t think he’d be able to survive heartache like that again.

  Please God, let her be okay.

  ***

  Waking from her afternoon snooze, Renee sat bolt upright, instantly checking her watch. Holy heck! She’d been asleep for almost four hours. A quick glance towards the sky told her dusk was closing in. There was no way she was going to make it back before her pa got home. Shit!

  Rushing to her feet, she pulled on her boots and then ran for the four-wheeler motorbike, jumping on it. She turned the key and then pressed the ignition button, startled when the bike did nothing. Checking the bike was in neutral, which it was, she pressed the start button again. Nothing. Shit! She got off the bike and walked around to the front, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Hopefully it was nothing too serious. It was getting dark, so she went to turn the headlights on, to at least give her some light to work with, but they were already on. Damn it. Now she understood the problem.

  She’d accidently had the headlights on and they’d drained the battery, and because she’d been riding in broad daylight, she hadn’t even noticed. How in the hell was she meant to get back to the homestead now? It was way too far on foot. She regretted her decision not to ride Jackson out here now—he’d have got her home. Pulling her mobile phone from her pocket, her heart sank even further. She was near the border of the national park and there was no service out here. Bloody Telstra—so much for Australia-wide coverage! With darkness setting in, so did her panic. She had enough supplies to last her for the night, thankfully, but the thought of being out here all alone in the dark sent a chill through her bones.

  Succumbing to the knowledge that she was going to have to wait here until help arrived, which it eventually would at some point—thank goodness she’d told Mick where she was heading today—she strode back into the shack with her torch. It felt slightly safer in here, partially out of the elements and away from the nocturnal wildlife. Her pa was going to kill her for not telling him where she was going.

  Hands on hips, she stamped her foot in frustration, her boot breaking through the decaying floorboards and becoming wedged beneath one.

  ‘Great, just fucking great,’ she muttered, trying to pull her boot free. ‘Could my day get any worse?’ But it wouldn’t budge. Sitting down, she tried to investigate what was stopping it. Her darn shoelace was caught on something. She pulled up the loose board and shone the torch down, and now with a clear view her eyes widened. The floorboard had been loose for a reason. Her shoelace was wrapped around a latch, a latch on what looked like a jewellery box. With shaking hands, she freed her shoelace, dug away at some dirt and then flicked the rusted latch open. It opened fairly easily, and inside, there was a diary that was identical to her own—it was Scarlet’s diary.

  Had her sister hidden it here? Breathless with exhilaration and with tears pouring down her face she lifted it from the box, being careful to not damage it. And then the scent hit her again. Frankincense.

  Scarlet. She was here. She hugged the diary to her chest, just as the last of the sun sank behind the mountains, leaving her in shadowy muted light. ‘Thank you sis, thank you.’

  As her tears flowed freely Renee rested the diary in her lap. She sat staring at it, a mixture of excitement, intrigue and nervousness tumbling in her belly. What was she going to discover within the pages? Would Scarlet’s written words finally reveal who had taken her darling sister? Her heart thudded so heavily with the thought she could feel it in her eardrums.

  The torch threw a bright light across the room, the deep shadows retreating to the corners. Running her fingertips over the front of the diary, Renee traced her sister’s perfectly curled handwriting, the ache in her heart immense.

  Scarlet Wildwood. Private.

  She couldn’t believe how well-preserved it still was, the jewellery box having protected it from the elements. For whatever reason, Scarlet had chosen to hide it down here. Renee was eager to find out why. Slowly, cautiously, she opened the front cover and began to read the very first entry, which was surrounded by pink love hearts. The pages were a little yellowed with age but the writing was still very legible…

  January 1st

  Happy New Year! I reckon this year is going to be the year all my dreams come true, I can just feel it in my bones!

  I had so much fun at the ball last night. Everyone was there, including him. I can’t believe I’ve had a crush on him for an entire year now and not told a living soul. It’s my very own little secret. He kept looking across the room at me, smiling at me in a way that made my heart melt. I wish I had the courage to go straight up to him and kiss him, but I can’t, for so many different reasons. Especially considering I’m with Billy. And I do love Billy, in a way, and I know Billy loves me, so I don’t want to hurt him.

  And besides, she was there with him the whole time, and no-one else can get near him when she’s around. She hangs off him like a leech. I seriously don’t know what he sees in her, she’s so boring and annoying. And anyway, what if I told him I liked him and he rejected me? I’d never be able to look him in his beautiful eyes again. It would be so embarrassing.

  I dream about him all the time, and I wish I could feel his hands on my skin. Who knows if anything will ever happen between us, only time will tell. A girl can only dream. For now, I have to be happy with what I have, and that’s Billy Burton. And I have to admit, he’s lovely too…most of the time.

  Scarlet xx

  Renee�
��s mind was in a spin. Scarlet had feelings for someone other than Billy. But who was he? And why did she choose not to tell her about it? They’d always shared everything—or at least, she had. She turned the page, praying Scarlet would mention his name, or give more of a clue to who he was.

  January 12th

  I saw him in the street today; he was dressed for work and looked so sexy. I almost forgot my name when he stopped and talked to me. I felt like a complete idiot.

  Being so close to him, being able to smell his aftershave, it made me want him even more. He brushed my hand when he said goodbye, and I swear I could feel electricity in his touch. I can tell he likes me, but he can’t do anything about it because she has him wrapped around her little finger. I feel like I’m standing at the edge of the world when I’m near him. But if we are at the edge, where do we go from there? What would people think of me, and him for that matter, if they found out how we felt? And I can’t do anything anyway because I’m with Billy. Damn it!

  Maybe, one day, he’ll just forget about her and take a chance on me, and then I can gently tell Billy we’re not meant to be together anymore. Who knows?

  All I know for sure is that I crave him, with every fibre of my being. He has me, hook, line and sinker. How can I ever like anyone else when I only have eyes for him? I just wish he only had eyes for me.

  Poor Billy, I shouldn’t keep stringing him along. I know it’s wrong of me. But the hard thing is, I really like Billy too, just not in the same way.

  Scarlet xx

  What tangled webs—Renee’s curiosity was piqued. Who was this mystery man? And who was the woman that Scarlet was so jealous of? Basically, the entire township went to the ball for New Year’s back then, so it could be anyone’s guess as to who the man was that Scarlet was clearly infatuated with.

  Billy Burton would have been furious if he’d found out. Had he? Renee turned the pages, keen to learn more.

  A few weeks passed, with a journal entry here and there, but no more mention of the man. Scarlet had never been one to religiously write an entry every day, and with the diary being hidden away down here it would have made it very difficult for her to write regular entries. Reading on, Renee got to an entry in late January that hooked her in once again.

  January 28th

  Grrrrrr! I’m so confused! I’ve been trying to ignore the fact I’m falling for this man, but I can’t! Even deciding not to write about him anymore isn’t working, my attraction to him only getting stronger and stronger every day.

  He secretly flirts with me whenever he sees me and I’m helpless to resist. But what would people think of me if they knew I liked him, and he liked me? All hell would break loose!

  Not that he’s told me out loud that he likes me, but I know he does. I wish I could tell Renee about him, but I don’t want to yet because I know it’s so wrong of me to even think about being with him, especially when I’m with Billy, and he’s with her. But I can’t help it. It’s like he’s a drug and I’m addicted to him. I see him almost every day, and I know he looks at me when I walk past him, I can feel his eyes all over me, undressing me.

  I just wish he’d get rid of her and go out with me, and in some ways I wish Billy would drop me, because it would be much easier than me being the one to break up with him. Damn it, love can really suck sometimes!

  Scarlet xx

  So she saw him almost every day? That could mean so many different people—the bus driver, the newsagent, someone working at the school, another student, or even one of the casual workers they had on the farm at the time. If it was one of the guys at school, was he in the same year as her and Scarlet or was he older? But hang on, she’d mentioned seeing him in the street when he was dressed for work. Maybe he was older. But then it was January—he could have been a school kid with a summer job.

  Renee was just about to turn another page when she heard the thunder of a galloping horse’s hooves and her name being called out. It didn’t sound like Pa, but it had to be, who else would be out searching for her? It couldn’t be Mick—it would be impossible for him to get on a horse with his broken leg. But then again, he was a determined old bugger.

  She quickly wrapped the diary up in a spare t-shirt and shoved it into her pack, not wanting Pa to see it. He would only want to give it to the authorities and she didn’t want that just yet. She wanted the chance to read the entire thing herself, and draw her own conclusions before handing it into the police as evidence—which she knew she had to eventually do. After all, she was the one and only person who knew Scarlet inside out.

  Standing up, she followed the beam of her torchlight outside, to where a horse came to a sliding stop. The full moon shone like a beacon in the velvety black sky, lighting up the landscape and her rescuer’s features in the most enchanting of ways. Her heart leapt into her throat as she swallowed down hard. He. Was. So. Damn. Sexy.

  Dylan Anderson, her knight in shining armour, had come to her rescue. But unlike in the movies, he didn’t look one bit happy about it.

  She gave him a wave. ‘Um, hi.’ She tried to muster her biggest smile, at the same time feeling like an incompetent dickhead for getting herself stuck out here. So much for the country girl resurfacing.

  ‘Hey there.’ Dylan leapt from his horse and was beside her in seconds, his frown remaining. ‘What are you doing all the way out here by yourself? Are you okay? What’s happened?’

  There was no pause between his questions.

  Renee half giggled while waving her hands nonchalantly in the air. ‘Oh, yup, I’m fine and dandy.’ Why was she acting like a frigging lovesick teenager? ‘I came out here for a bit of a ride about and the bloody bike battery has gone flat. Sooooo, I was stuck here until someone came to my rescue. No biggie, really.’

  Dylan blew out a breath as he tipped his head to the side, still scowling. ‘No biggie, hey? We were worried sick, Renee!’

  Renee had to stifle a smile. Dylan was obviously very annoyed he’d had to come looking for her and she didn’t want to piss him off even more, but it moved her that he’d been worried about her. At least it showed he cared a little bit, much as she knew he’d hate to admit it. She gave him a heavy-lashed gaze, as though she was a damsel in distress and he had saved her from a life-and-death situation. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you. I thought I’d be back well before dark. It’s so kind of you to come looking for me.’

  ‘Hmm, well, at least you’re okay, that’s the main thing.’ Dylan pointed to the bike, the pulse in his neck prominent, the muscles in his jaw clenched. ‘We’ll leave this here and I’ll come and grab it tomorrow.’ He nodded towards his horse. ‘Jump up with me so I can get you home. Your pa is worried shitless. He’s out looking for you now at the caves. I said I’d meet him back at the homestead after I searched here, and we’d take it from there if we hadn’t found you.’

  Renee felt awful. Pa had enough to worry about at the moment without her adding to it. ‘Okay, I’ll just grab my backpack from inside the shack and we can head off. Won’t be a sec.’

  Dylan folded his arms, his mood sullen. ‘Righto, but hurry up would you. I need to get home sometime soon you know. I have better things to be doing than standing out here all bloody night.’ He chuckled sarcastically. ‘You should’ve known better than to come out here on your own, especially considering you’re a city chick now.’

  That was it—enough was enough.

  Renee reeled to face him, her eyes thunderous and fists scrunched at her sides. ‘I’m so very sorry to inconvenience you, Dylan, but this was an accident. It’s not like I chose for it to happen…and don’t you dare have a go at me because I’ve had to live in the city for the past nine years, because it’s not like I chose to do that either—as much as you obviously want to believe I did.’ She crossed her arms, matching his stance while she glared at him. ‘And believe me when I say this, I would rather be at home than stuck out here with you and your damn arrogance.’

  She stormed off into the shack without wait
ing for his reply, her emotions on edge after her eventful day. This had just topped it all off.

  ***

  Dylan watched her disappear into the darkness of the shack, kicking himself for being such an arse to her. He had to try and let his resentment go. She was right. It wasn’t her fault, and he had no right to have a go at her for it. He’d just been so terrified on his way out here that he’d find her hurt badly—or worse—and it had made the emotions he’d felt on the night Shelley had died resurface with a vengeance. But that wasn’t Renee’s fault either, and he shouldn’t be taking it out on her. Huffing, he swung down off Turbo’s back and followed her into the shack, only to find her in tears. His heart dropped to the floor. He was officially an arsehole.

  Placing his hand on her shoulder, he turned her around, the dappled moonlight making her already exquisite features even more beautiful. He reached out and wiped her tears away, his voice softening along with his heart. ‘Renee. I’m sorry. I was just worried you were badly hurt, that’s all. I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.’

  Renee sniffled, nodding her head. ‘I understand. I’ve just had a really emotional few days. No, actually, come to think of it, I’ve had an emotional nine years since Scarlet died.’ She rubbed her eyes, sighing wearily as she looked down at the floor. ‘I’m sorry I’m being a sook. I think I just need to have a hot shower and go to bed, and then start the day afresh tomorrow.’

  Dylan’s soul ached. Seeing the woman he’d treasured for most of his life so vulnerable was heart-wrenching. He wished there was some way things could be different, that the words they’d so harshly spoken to each other all those years ago could be taken back, so he could take her into his arms and love the pain right out of her, but there wasn’t. They’d crossed that bridge many years ago, and there was too much water under it now.

  ‘You’re not being a sook, Renee. You’ve been through a lot. More than most people go through in an entire lifetime.’