Outback Sisters

by Rachael Johns

  ‘Remind me again who’s getting married,’ Angus said, folding his arms and staring at the road ahead. ‘Simone’s brother?’

  Logan shook his head. ‘Simone and Frankie’s cousin, Adam. I haven’t met him yet but he sounds like a top bloke. He has a farm just outside of Bunyip Bay. From what Simone tells me, he’s had a pretty rough trot of it.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘His little sister went missing when he was ten and they only found out what happened to her recently. It’s a pretty spinny story actually, how they eventually found out the truth.’ He set about relaying the story that Simone had told him and, like he had, Angus found parts of it hard to believe.

  ‘Ghosts aside, that’s one sad story,’ Angus said. ‘I guess we’re not the only family that has been through tough times. I’m glad they got some kind of closure in the end.’

  ‘I think the worst thing would be not knowing, always hoping.’

  They stewed on this thought a while, driving a few more kilometres until Angus pointed at a white hatchback ahead, which they were rapidly catching up to. ‘That car has Bunyip Bay number plates. Wonder if it’s also going to the wedding?’

  Logan was about to reply when without warning a kangaroo darted out from the side of the road into the direct path of the hatchback. ‘Shit!’ He planted his foot on the brakes as the other car did the same. While he narrowly missed a collision, the poor kangaroo wasn’t so lucky. They watched as it slammed into the hatchback, flipped onto the roof and then miraculously landed on its feet on the other side of the car and bounded off into the scrub, seemingly unharmed.

  ‘Shit!’ Angus exclaimed as the car in front pulled over.

  The driver got out and Logan’s heart jolted in his chest as he recognised her. ‘Frankie,’ he breathed, a weird feeling coming over him. He never felt quite himself around her—possibly because of their embarrassing and unfortunate first encounter—but he needed to get over that and check that she was all right.

  ‘That’s Simone’s sister?’ Angus asked as Logan pulled his car over onto the gravel strip at the side of the road, behind the little white hatchback.

  ‘Yep.’ He nodded, unclicked his seatbelt, took a deep breath and then climbed out of his vehicle, Angus following closely behind.

  ‘You all right?’ Logan yelled as he jogged over.

  Frankie’s long red hair was up in a high, practical ponytail and she looked vulnerable, her face pale. She barely acknowledged him and he guessed she must be in shock. He reached out a hand to comfort her but she shrugged him away. While the two men trekked around to the front of Frankie’s vehicle, she went to the back and threw open the boot.

  ‘Holy fuck!’ they heard her shriek.

  ‘The kangaroo must be okay and the car looks all right as well,’ Angus called over the top of the vehicle. ‘Barely a scratch.’

  ‘I don’t give a freaking hoot about the car. Or the kangaroo for that matter—it should learn some road sense!’ she yelled back. ‘I care about the cake, or what was the cake five minutes ago. Oh, Lord, what am I going to do?’

  Frowning as realisation dawned—Logan remembered Simone saying something about Frankie staying up till all hours making the most amazing wedding cake ever—he walked around to the back of the vehicle and saw exactly what had sent Frankie into such a tizz.

  Holy fuck, indeed.

  Broken sugar flowers, soft pink icing and different types of cake were all mixed up in a chaos of colour in the boot of the car. There was icing smeared across the back window where the cake had slammed into the glass and then ricocheted into the back seat. Although there was a delicious vanilla scent in the air, what they were looking at was barely recognisable as any kind of dessert, never mind a wedding cake.

  ‘This is a nightmare.’ Frankie glared at Logan as if it were his fault.

  He nodded glumly. There were no words that could comfort her.

  ‘It’s not even dusk yet. What the fuck was a kangaroo doing on the road at this time of day?’

  It was obviously a rhetorical question and Logan knew better than to reply. Frankie looked adorable when she was angry and he wanted to tell her it wasn’t as bad as it appeared, but as someone who had a bit of experience baking cakes for special occasions, he knew that would be a lie. With the wedding reception just over twenty-four hours away, this was a disaster of epic proportions. He felt Frankie’s pain as if it were his own.

  ‘I think I’m going to be sick,’ she said, turning away from him as she doubled over and placed her palms on her knees. She didn’t vomit, but it sounded like she was hyperventilating. Logan looked to his brother for help but Angus merely shrugged, no use at all. These were not the terms under which he’d imagined them meeting.

  Feeling totally helpless, Logan gave Frankie a moment to pull herself together as he turned back to assess the extent of the cake wreckage. A cake topper of the bride and groom and a cute little flower girl poked out of what must have once been the top layer of the cake. As trucks and cars roared past them along the highway, he plucked it from the debris and wiped it free of icing. At least the pièce de résistance wasn’t broken. Although this was likely little consolation, because nothing else looked to be salvageable.

  With a sigh, he tucked the bride, groom and flower girl into his shirt pocket, then went over to his ute and retrieved a bottle of water and the ancient packet of tissues that lived under the passenger seat.

  ‘Bit of a fruitcake,’ Angus whispered to him, nodding over to Frankie as Logan passed. ‘She always like this?’

  ‘She’s in shock, you idiot,’ Logan said, shaking his head as he walked back to Frankie, who was still breathing heavily. Sometimes Angus had no heart at all.

  ‘Hey,’ he said, gently touching her arm. ‘Would you like some water?’

  She slowly turned to look at him and her cheeks were streaked with tears. His heart melted and he fought the urge to close the distance between them and kiss away each tiny droplet.

  ‘I’d prefer a miracle, please,’ she whispered, smiling sadly at him. ‘A cake miracle to be precise.’

  He smiled back, impressed she could raise a bit of humour at a time like this. Instinctively, he reached over and took her hand, squeezing it slightly, wanting her to know she was not alone.

  She glanced down at his hand and then back to his eyes. ‘Know any cake magicians?’ she asked, her voice shaky. ‘Your brother isn’t a cake magician, is he?’

  As if knowing he was being discussed, Angus appeared beside them and as Frankie looked up, Logan dropped her hand in case his brother got the wrong idea.

  ‘Frankie, I’d like you to meet Angus,’ Logan said, gesturing between them. ‘Angus, meet Frankie.’

  Angus nodded his head once. ‘Hey, nice to meet you.’

  Frankie eyed him hopefully. ‘You’re not a cake magician, are you?’

  He chuckled and shook his head. ‘Sorry. Logan’s the baker in the family.’

  Logan started. ‘I hardly think making a few kids’ birthday cakes is on the same level as this.’

  ‘What am I going to tell Adam and Stella?’ Frankie looked from one man to the next as if either might have the answer, her tone desperate once again.

  ‘The truth?’ Angus suggested, lifting one shoulder.

  She all but glared at him and he shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down at the red gravel.

  ‘Let’s not tell them anything just yet,’ Logan said, his mind already ticking over. They needed to think creatively.

  ‘What?!’

  ‘Relax,’ he said at her outrage. ‘We’ve got twenty-four hours until we need the cake, right?’ She didn’t reply, merely lifted one eyebrow at him like he were crazy, so he continued. ‘What say we try to make another one?’

  Her eyes narrowed. ‘Do you know how long that took me to make? I’ve been up every night this week making those flowers and although it’s not your traditional fruit cake, those layers required time. The mud cake needed to cool a whole day b
efore I put on the icing and the top layer had five different colours of cake—it was a bit of fun for Heidi.’

  Logan took a deep breath, not sure Frankie was quite ready to hear that maybe the cake they made instead wouldn’t quite be up to her usual standard but surely any cake would be better than none. ‘Where’s Simone?’ he asked instead. She’d know how to calm her sister.

  ‘I decided to drive on my own so I didn’t have any distractions. I wanted to focus on the cake to avoid anything like this happening. Damn kangaroo.’ She puffed out a breath. ‘And Simone’s always late anyway; waiting for her would have driven me insane.’

  Logan cracked a smile. ‘I understand. Angus is exactly the same. It was a miracle he was on time today.’

  ‘Hey!’ Angus objected. ‘I’m right here you know.’

  At that moment, Simone’s old four-wheel drive appeared over the horizon. She was driving what looked like a hundred miles an hour, but she slowed and swerved over to park behind Logan’s car the moment she recognised them. Three doors were flung open and Simone, Harriet and Grace came running over.

  ‘Oh my God,’ Simone shrieked, looking between the three of them. ‘Did you guys have an accident?’

  ‘Your sister hit a kangaroo,’ Angus informed her.

  She smiled at him and then dropped to her knees beside Frankie and Logan. ‘Fuck. Are you okay?’

  ‘Language, Mum,’ Harriet sang. Everyone ignored her.

  ‘You okay, Aunty Eff?’ Grace asked softly.

  ‘I’m fine.’ Frankie sighed. ‘But the cake is cactus.’

  Simone, Harriet and Grace turned their heads to the boot of Frankie’s car and their eyes widened. Simone swore again and this time neither of her daughters chastised her.

  Silence reigned a few long moments. Harriet was the first to break it. ‘Man, that would have been delicious!’

  ‘Thanks for stating the obvious. Feel free to help yourself,’ Frankie snapped.

  Simone wrapped an arm around her sister and pulled her close. ‘It’s all right,’ she whispered. ‘We’ll make it all right. I’ll help you make another one.’

  Frankie pulled out of her embrace and glared at her. ‘Are you all insane? Kalbarri isn’t exactly a metropolis. Where the hell are we going to get everything we need to make a wedding cake? Where the hell are we going to make said wedding cake?’ Her voice was getting higher and higher with each question. ‘And have you forgotten you are a disaster area when it comes to cooking? As if I’d let you anywhere near a wedding cake.’

  Hurt flashed across Simone’s face, but she didn’t dispute Frankie’s statement. Her shoulders slumped and she looked as woebegone as Frankie. Logan recalled what had happened when they’d attempted to make chicken soup.

  He hated seeing them both so despondent. Weddings were supposed to be happy times. This weekend was supposed to be fun. It had barely even started and it was turning into a catastrophe.

  ‘It still tastes good.’ Harriet’s voice broke his reverie and he turned to see her and Grace munching on bits of ruined cake. Angus dipped a finger in and nodded enthusiastically. Logan scowled at them, particularly annoyed at Angus. How the hell could they eat cake at a time like this?

  ‘Of course it’s good,’ Frankie said, looking up. Logan froze, waiting for her to snap again, but instead she burst into laughter. It had to be one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.

  He and Simone exchanged worried glances. Her eyes pleaded with him to come up with a plan and he wanted more than anything to do just that.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‘Relax,’ Simone instructed Angus as she weaved her arm through his and pushed open the door to the resort’s restaurant where her family and friends were gathered for dinner. ‘You’ve already met Harriet and she’s the scariest person here.’

  He grinned down at her as they stepped inside and she couldn’t help thinking again how lovely his smile was when he decided to use it. So far, the weekend wasn’t panning out at all how she’d expected or hoped, but she told herself that at least she had Angus to keep her company while Logan tried to help Frankie create another cake. She had to admit her new boyfriend was a superhero—he’d driven a shaking Frankie all the way to Kalbarri with Simone and Angus following in the other vehicles. Then he’d instructed them to look after her while he made some ‘inquiries’.

  Simone and Angus had plied Frankie with a stiff drink and her breathing had almost returned to normal by the time Logan came back and informed them that he’d come up with a plan. At first Frankie had resisted, but they’d convinced her that Logan’s proposition was better than the alternative: telling Stella and Adam they wouldn’t have a wedding cake.

  ‘Well, hello there.’ Aunty Esther’s voice jolted Simone from her thoughts and she turned her head to meet her aunt’s scrutinising gaze. ‘This must be Logan?’ She looked Angus up and down as if he were a model in a men’s clothing catalogue. Approval was evident in Esther’s smile. Simone suspected her aunt had already had a few drinks, but she was the mother of the groom, so who was going to stop her?

  ‘Actually, no,’ she said, grabbing hold of Angus’s hand, both as a show of comfort and also so he couldn’t turn and run, as it looked like he wanted desperately to do. She’d promised Logan she’d look after him tonight. ‘This is Angus. Logan’s brother.’

  ‘Oh?’ Esther’s brow creased. ‘Where’s Logan then?’

  ‘Um …’ Simone racked her brain for a good excuse, cursing herself for not coming up with this stuff before they entered.

  ‘He had a last-minute deadline come up,’ Angus informed her, extracting his hand from Simone’s and offering it to Aunty Esther. ‘But I’m sure you’ll meet him tomorrow.’

  ‘Okay then,’ Esther said, smiling again as her hand was enveloped by Angus’s massive one. She blushed a little and Simone couldn’t blame her—both the brothers had that effect. ‘What about Frankie then? I haven’t seen her yet?’

  ‘She has a migraine,’ Simone said, thinking quickly. ‘She’s gone to bed in the hope it’ll be gone by tomorrow.’

  ‘That’s terrible.’ Aunty Esther frowned again. ‘Maybe we should take her some dinner?’

  ‘No! I’ll go check on her later,’ Simone blurted. ‘I think she just needs rest.’

  Esther nodded, apparently satisfied with this scenario. ‘Well then, time you come and meet the clan, Angus.’

  As Esther gestured for them to follow her, Simone and Angus exchanged a look of relief. ‘Thanks,’ she whispered to him. ‘Frankie would be appalled if everyone found out the truth.’ They’d threatened Harriet and Grace with a fate worse than death if they so much as breathed a word to anyone about the cake disaster, but both girls seemed to have forgotten the drama the moment their grandma’s car had rolled into the resort car park.

  As Simone’s mum and stepdad lived in Perth, the girls didn’t see their adored grandmother as often as they liked, so they were overjoyed to be rooming in with Ruth and ‘Grandad Graham’. Simone hadn’t seen either of the girls for a couple of hours but was relieved to find them both now sitting at the long table with the rest of her family and the bridal party; Harriet looked far less sullen than she usually did and Grace slurped happily on a glass of Coke.

  Everyone sitting at the table looked up when Simone and Angus arrived.

  ‘Hi all,’ Simone said, waving. Ruby, the only one of her friends who had met Logan, looked confused. ‘This is Angus,’ Simone explained, ‘Frankie’s date for the wedding. Unfortunately Frankie has a migraine and can’t join us tonight and Logan, my … boyfriend—’ the word still felt odd on her tongue, ‘—has some unexpected work to do.’

  Although Simone knew Angus wasn’t very comfortable in social scenarios, he was the perfect guest as she went around the table introducing everyone. ‘You’ve met Aunty Esther, this is her husband, Dave, and beside them is Drew and Ruby.’ She paused for handshakes and greetings to be exchanged. ‘On the other side we have Faith and Monty—our friends who moved
south—and the blushing bride, Stella and my ratbag cousin, Adam, who also happens to be the groom.’ Angus smiled, looking like he was trying to remember all their names.

  ‘And last but not least,’ Simone said, gesturing between Adam and Stella, ‘is Heidi. She’s chief flower girl tomorrow and daughter of the bride.’

  As Angus grinned at Heidi, she launched herself from her seat and rushed around the table to give him one of her famous hugs. Simone couldn’t help but admire his lovely arms—strong, tanned and muscular from outdoor labouring—as they enveloped the little girl. She’d always had a thing for arms.

  ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ Angus said.

  Heidi giggled and stepped back slightly to look at him. ‘You Aunty Simmo’s boyfriend?’ she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

  Everyone laughed and Angus’s cheeks flushed red, only just visible through his beard. ‘No. We’re just friends,’ he said.

  ‘I be your friend too?’

  Angus ruffled the ringlets atop Heidi’s head. ‘I’d like that very much.’

  Simone and Angus took their seats in the middle of the long table—Angus next to Monty and Simone next to her mother. Heidi immediately crawled onto Angus’s lap. Stella tried to lure her back but she fervently refused and Angus didn’t appear too flummoxed by it all. They ordered dinner and then various conversations sprouted around the table as they drank wine and beer and waited for their meals. Heidi stayed on Angus’s lap, colouring in her Disney Princesses book as he discussed farming and the upcoming harvest season with Adam, Monty and Uncle Dave. He appeared in his element with these born-and-bred farmers and Simone loved hearing his passion as he spoke about his and Logan’s property.

  When the waitresses brought out the dinner, Stella convinced Heidi to sit back with her, and as they all began to eat, conversation around the table turned to tomorrow’s big event.