The Wildwood Sisters by Mandy Magro Page A

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.

CHAPTER
7
    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?
    â€˜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,