The Wildwood Sisters (31 page)

Talk about being in tune with one another. It had shocked her a bit, as they'd never supported her when it had come to having close male friends before—but then a lot could change in nine years, especially considering she was a grown woman now and at an age where she should be getting married and having kids of her own.

Balancing her trusty MacBook Air in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other, while also holding a piece of thickly smothered guava jelly toast between her teeth, Renee used her bare foot to push open the back screen door. It took a certain kind of pizzazz to get through the door before it closed again, with coffee un-spilt, computer still in hand and toast still between teeth, and making it through unscathed, Renee grinned at her dexterity. Although now her knickers had crept up her butt and she didn't have a hand free to fix the problem. She wriggled carefully on the spot, but it didn't help a bit.

Placing her coffee on the nearby side table, she readjusted her knickers and denim shorts before easing herself into the suspended swing chair. She crossed her legs and placed the computer in her lap, making herself comfortable, and then looked out over the sweeping countryside. Her eyes took a few moments to adjust to the brightness, and once they did, she let out a contented sigh. Wildwood Acres was such a breathtaking place—she felt blessed to have been waking up to it the last few weeks.

If only she didn't have her job to go back to in the city. She'd give almost anything to be waking up to this beautiful countryside for a while longer, especially now Dylan was back in her life. Talk about life throwing her a curve ball. She'd come home expecting it to be a challenge to be back here, but it was turning out to be quite the opposite. She was now finding it more of a challenge to think about going back to Melbourne—her heart aching more and more each time she thought about it. If only she could just go back and grab Kat, put her apartment on the market, entice Tia into moving to Opals Ridge too, and then return to live out the rest of her days happily ever after with Dylan. After discovering who Scarlet's abductor was first, of course—because until she did that, there would never ever truly be a happily ever after. Ah, dreams.

‘Where are you, Scarlet?' she whispered as she blinked back tears. God, how she missed her. If Scarlet were here, she definitely knew what she'd have to say about her dilemma—her sister was forever telling her to believe in the power of fate.

Don't be such a stick in the mud, sis. Life is meant to be lived—not planned down to the very last second. Take a chance, jump off the cliff…

But if I don't plan anything, Scarlet, how am I ever going to get anywhere? You can't leave everything to chance and expect to get what you want.

Why the heck not, Reni? It's loads more fun that way. And who knows? You might get even more than you'd imagined.

Renee smiled softly at the recollection. Scarlet truly was a wise soul. Maybe she should, for once, follow her free-spirited sister's advice. Opening her laptop, Renee felt a massive bubble of anticipation. She had planned to scout for new properties in Melbourne that she could add to her growing portfolio but instead she typed in ‘Properties for sale, Opals Ridge and surrounding areas', and was pleasantly surprised when eighty-seven listings popped up. The bubbles of anticipation turned into a rush of enthusiasm. She didn't need to live in the city to make the income she had grown very accustomed to, she could make a very comfortable income here in Opals Ridge too.

Where there's a will there's a way…

***

Pulling up beside where Ralph was hard at work in the dozer, Dylan held up the small esky and pointed to it. Inside he'd packed ham and salad sandwiches, chocolate chip muffins his mum and Annie had made yesterday, and a few cans of Coke. Ralph nodded and gave him the thumbs up. Dylan parked his Land Cruiser under a nearby jacaranda tree, so he and Ralph would have some shade, and then jumped out and sauntered over to the place his new dam would be, followed by Bossy, who'd been riding shotgun on the passenger seat.

The loud drone of the dozer suddenly ceased and Ralph leapt from the driver's seat. ‘So how's it looking, buddy?' he called out.

‘It's looking bloody excellent, Ralph. I can't believe it's already taking shape.'

In the six hours he'd been at work, Ralph had achieved a lot. He joined Dylan at the edge of the dam wall he'd been working on and gave Bossy a friendly pat on the head. ‘Yup, I don't mess about.' He pointed down. ‘I'm packing the soil up nice and tight to give you good firm foundations. We don't want the bugger to give way once the water's in there.'

Dylan used the toe of his boot to gently tap at the top of the dirt Ralph was compacting. It was almost like kicking cement. ‘She's pretty solid.'

‘Told you, I don't mess about,' Ralph said, chuckling. ‘Come on, let's eat before I chew my own arm off. I'm starving.'

Dylan shook his head and laughed. ‘You're always bloody starving. You must have hollow legs or something because I don't know where you put it all.'

Sitting down in the shade, the men unpacked the esky and began devouring the goodies inside. Dylan had even brought Bossy her own sandwich. This she inhaled in three seconds flat, and then lay down beside them, minding her own business other than the very occasional sneaky look to the side, knowing full well it was bad manners to bother humans while they ate.

Not much more was said while Dylan and Ralph filled their bellies. After a minute, the hum of an approaching diesel engine made Bossy look up. The noise was coming from the fence line that separated the property from Craig's.

Spotting his neighbour, Dylan gave a wave. Craig waved back as he pulled up in the shade of a tree.

‘Was he all right about you doing this?' Ralph said quietly, smiling in Craig's direction as he stepped out of his vehicle. ‘He looks a little pissed off. And we don't want to be pissing off the town copper, no siree.'

Dylan grinned. ‘Craig always looks pissed off. Comes with the territory of being a copper I think, and everything else he's dealing with too—you know about the separation? He seemed fine about the dam when I asked him about it the other day. Said as long as I wasn't taking his water allocation it didn't bother him.'

‘Hey boys, how's it going?' Craig called out. He jumped the fence and stopped to inspect the beginnings of the dam in typical investigative copper style—eyebrows scrunched, hands on hips, eyes taking everything in.

‘Yeah, good.' Dylan held up a can of soft drink. ‘Wanna join us for a drink? Only got Coke though.'

Craig nodded, leaving the dam behind him, and strolled over. He took the can from Dylan's outstretched hand, remaining standing as Dylan and Ralph sat. ‘Thanks, mate.' Bossy jumped up from where she was lying, went over to Craig and leant on him, almost bowling him over with her eighty or so kilos. Craig chuckled as he gave her a few taps on the head. ‘You look ferocious, don't ya Bossy, but you're just a big teddy bear to those that know you.'

‘Day off?' Dylan said, smiling at the way Bossy was lapping up Craig's attention.

‘Nah, I'm on late shift today.' Craig took a swig from his Coke and then pointed back to the massive hole in the ground. ‘Did you check with the council before doing this, to make sure there were no approvals you needed first?'

‘Sure did. They were very supportive of it, actually. Said it's a good way to save on water usage.'

Craig nodded. ‘Just don't want either of you getting into any trouble. The council's so bloody fussy with their rules and regulations.'

‘It's all good, Craig,' Ralph said lightheartedly. ‘I've built plenty of dams before. I know the rules and Dylan's following the council's guidelines.'

‘Well, it's good you're the man on the job then.' Craig was squinting, but it was hard to know whether it was from the sun, or because he was just in a bad mood. ‘You don't want a half-arsed job, hey Dylan.'

‘Definitely not. But Ralph's a pro at jobs like this so no worries about that.'

‘That's good to hear.' Craig sculled the last of his can, burping loudly at the end of it. ‘I better be off, got a bit to do before I head into the station. Just wanted to check in to see how it was looking—' he smirked playfully, ‘—and to make sure you weren't doing anything against the rules.'

‘It's all above board, Officer,' Ralph piped in, chuckling.

‘Good lads,' Craig said, smiling for the first time. Turning, he crushed the now-empty can and tossed it into the back of Dylan's ute with a clutter. ‘Catch you both later, and don't be doing anything I wouldn't do.'

‘Any further luck finding out who's cutting my fences?' Dylan called after him—slightly annoyed that Craig had taken it upon himself to use the back of his ute as a bin.

‘Nope, but I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I have anything substantial. You just do your job, Dylan, and let me do mine, and it'll all pan out just the way I expect it to,' Craig replied, not bothering to turn around as he headed for his four-wheel drive.

‘Right, okay, thanks,' Dylan said a little curtly. ‘For nothing,' he mumbled under his breath.

Ralph leant into his space. ‘Shit man, was that a little bit of attitude I could hear? What's up?'

Dylan grunted. ‘No idea. I'm just tired of feeling like my problems here don't matter. Some bastard is trying to ruin my livelihood—and getting away with it—while Craig takes his own sweet time to find out who it is. It's like he's lost all interest in the job he used to take so seriously. I reckon he needs a holiday or something.'

‘Yeah, the poor bastard, can't help but feel sorry for him. It'd be hard losing your wife and kid to another bloke,' Ralph said before shoving the last of his sandwich in his mouth.

‘I've tried to talk to him about it, but he clams up and just says he's better off without her…but that's just the bitterness talking I reckon.'

‘Understandable. He's been a different man since Louise left. But what do you do? The bloke's obviously heartbroken. Anyways, with the amount of bloody cameras you've put up around the place, I'm sure you'll catch whoever's responsible soon,' Ralph said while pointing to a camera perched high up in the jacaranda tree above them. ‘How in the hell did you get that one up there?'

Dylan's frown broke as he grinned. ‘With great difficulty. I almost fell out of the bastard of a thing trying to get the camera attached—haven't climbed a tree in years.'

Ralph looked impressed. ‘Well, hurrah to you for not breaking a leg, mate. What are you up to tonight anyway? Wanna come down the pub for a couple?'

‘Nope, and I've got a good reason why I can't, too.' Dylan tried not to smile like an idiot as he pretended to clean an imaginary smudge off his sunnies.

‘And what's that? You got a hot date?' Ralph replied, lightheartedly shoving Dylan as he laughed out loud.

‘Kinda sorta something like that,' Dylan said, grinning.

‘Holy shit! Really? Who?'

‘Renee Wildwood.' Her name felt so good rolling off his tongue.

‘No! Really? She's turned into an absolute stunner. I almost didn't recognise her at the Studs and Fuds the other night!' Ralph poked Dylan in the ribs. ‘I wondered if there was anything going on between you two at the ball—especially when you disappeared around midnight. Go you good thang!'

Dylan recoiled from the jab in the ribs, laughing. ‘She's only coming over for a barbecue and a swim, nothing serious. And Mum and Annie are going to be there too. So it's not like anything's gonna happen.'

Ralph wriggled his eyebrows. ‘There's always afterwards, when your mum and Annie have gone to bed.'

‘Oh lay off, Ralph, it's not like that. She's a mate, and that's that,' Dylan lied.

‘Oh come on, stop trying to play it down. Remember, I know you. Any chick coming to your pad is pretty serious, Dylan. I don't think you've had another woman in the house since Shell, have you? And you can't include your mum in this either.'

Dylan shook his head, his smile fading. ‘Nope, I haven't. You don't think it's wrong of me, do you? Like I'm disrespecting Shelley in some way?'

Ralph put his arm around Dylan's shoulder and gave him a manly squeeze. ‘Mate, in no way are you disrespecting Shelley. I reckon it's great you've got a new lady friend. It'll be good for you, and for Annie. As much as it hurts sometimes, the world keeps on spinning after people pass away. It's a fact of life.'

‘You really reckon I'm doing the right thing?'

‘I sure do. It's about time you got on with your life, buddy.' Ralph gave Dylan a few hearty slaps on the back. Stepping back, he smiled, his eyes full of mischievousness. ‘Has she said any more about introducing me to that friend of hers she told me about? Tia, I think her name was?'

Dylan laughed. ‘I'm not sure yet—it's only been a couple of days—but don't worry. I'll be sure to let you know.'

Ralph gave him the thumbs up. ‘Great stuff, thanks mate. It can get a bit lonely playing the bachelor all the time. Believe it or not, I want to find me a good woman to settle down with soon. This single life is getting old.' He pointed over towards the bulldozer. ‘Anyhoos, I better get back to it.'

‘Okay mate. Thanks for the pep talk.'

‘Any time,' Ralph said. ‘That's what mates are for.'

Dylan watched him wander back to work as he packed up the esky. It was good to know both his mum and Ralph thought it was time to move on with his life. He just hoped Annie felt the same.

Pulling up out the front of the police station, Renee felt as though she could quite easily throw up. She took a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, trying her best to calm down. So many emotions were churning inside her right now—fear, anxiety, uncertainty—and somewhere within all that there was also hope that what she was about to do would lead them to Scarlet's killer, that somehow Craig would see something hidden within the words that she hadn't.