Chapter 18
Rather than return to the cabin, Allison paid for a night at a local campground. She stretched out on a picnic table, using her jacket as a blanket, and tried to sleep.
Too wounded to return to the cabin and face Di, she didn’t want to be barraged with all those probing questions she didn’t want to answer.
Finally she slept, nightmares chasing her of Rafe hunting her sister down to haul her to jail.
A recreational vehicle pulling into the campground woke her at dawn. Allison fumbled in her bike’s saddlebags for a towel she always kept there and headed for the campground showers. After a quick hot shower, she steeled her spine.
Time to face the music.
Powering up her bike, she rode to the cabin.
Gravel crunched beneath her tires as Allison pulled into the drive, parked and shut off the engine. She yanked off her helmet.
Thick with pine, maple and oak trees, the woods surrounding their parents’ cabin pulsed with bird song. A slim peace threaded through her as she took a deep breath, drinking in nature. Too long since she’d been here.
To her relief, Diana’s bike was gone. Maybe Di went into town for shopping.
It was best anyway to forget Rafe, forget the amazing sex they’d had, pretend it was as fleeting and memorable as her last one-night stand.
Diana needed her for all the last-minute wedding crap over the next few days, to hold her hand through the jitters.
They could open a bottle of cold wine, eat some cheese and share laughs as they watched a rom-com on Netflix.
Sister stuff.
Nothing compares to the night you spent in his arms.
A cool breeze ruffled stray hairs escaping her braid. Allison slid off the bike and rubbed her butt. All those hours of riding hadn’t stretched muscles as much as riding last night in Rafe’s bed...
Stop it.
You’re the sacrificing type, Allison. When are you going to stop for a change and think of yourself and your life instead of your flighty sister?
When are you going to stop running away from everything?
“Get out of my head, Rafael Jones Rodriguez,” she muttered, throwing her helmet onto the ground.
Tall fir trees sent the sweet scent of pine through the air.
Allison headed for the steps leading to the second-story deck.
The two-story wood cabin had been built on an acre of land, just outside the small town of Michaels.
It had been built by her grandfather as a gift to her grandmother, back when the town had only 205 residents and a general store that served as a hardware, clothing and grocery store.
Now the town’s population bloomed in the summer along with the flowers in the boxes the chamber of commerce planted for the enjoyment of tourists.
They’d have no problem finding a pastor to perform a wedding.
Maybe Paul and Diana could spend a few days at the cabin for their honeymoon and she’d grab a room at the hotel.
The beds there were comfortable... Rafe’s bed had cushioning, so soft beneath her as they tangled together, naked. ..
Halfway up the steps, she doubled over. Gasping, she put a hand to her aching chest, dropping her pack. It tumbled, plop, plop, plop, downward to the soft pine needles peppering the ground.
Heart attack. No, it wasn’t. But this pain, so visceral and sharp, felt like a heart attack.
Collapsing on the third step, she buried her head into her hands and tried to keep the tears at bay. Never had she cried in front of anyone, not even that terrible day when she’d done mouth-to-mouth on the cold blue lips of her sister after pulling her from the river.
Diana must not see her break down now, and she could be zooming into the drive any minute. Allison raised her head, gulped down a few deep breaths. Hold it together, Ally. You’ve got this.
No one had her back, so she had to do it.
I’ve got your back.
Yeah, right, Rafe. You lied like everyone else did.
She finally dried her eyes and trudged up the steps to the front door. Jiggling the knob, she was surprised to find it easily turn.
How many times had she warned Diana about locking the door when she was here?
The wedding dress was gone. But all her clothing remained hung neatly in the main bedroom closet.
Weird. But surely Diana had merely gone for a walk. Allison tried her sister’s cell phone.
No answer. Allison hung up. Heart racing, she tried to hold it together.
Bounding down the steps outside, she went to the path in the woods by the creek, the one where they enjoyed hikes. Not that Diana was the hiking sort, but hey, maybe Di changed her mind. Maybe she decided she needed fresh air to clear her head.
Pine needles and fallen leaves littered the narrow trail.
Birds called overhead, their cheerful song contrasting to her grim mood.
In her mind’s eye, she saw Diana out on a solo hike, her focus on her wedding and Paul and not mindful of surroundings.
A black bear, and there were plenty in these woods, was on the path and Diana decided to do a selfie, though Allison and their parents had warned Diana many times about the wildlife. ..
She shook her head. Always the worst-case scenario with her little sister. Diana wasn’t that thoughtless. Besides, she preferred selfies with celebrities and the beach, not these dark, thick woods.
Which made this even more worrisome because Diana wasn’t fond of long hikes. She complained every time Allison dragged her along on one.
Allison began calling out her sister’s name. If Diana was someplace on the path, maybe she had fallen and needed help...
No answer, except the birds chattering in the treetops. Sunlight dappled the trees. At least there was plenty of daylight and Diana wasn’t out here when the temperatures dropped and it got inky black, so dark you couldn’t even see...
Pressing on, she hummed a tune, remembering good times in these woods to offset her worry. That one time she and Di had gone hiking and found another pathway leading up the mountain and saw the most beautiful view...
Maybe Di headed there for a solitary reflection.
About half a mile from the cabin, the pathway became less littered with pine needles. Allison saw the indent of tire tracks.
Heart racing, she squatted down to examine them. Not a three-wheeler or an ATV they used to venture into the forest to chop firewood. Two tracks, front and back.
A motorcycle.
Intent on the tracks, she followed, and then they stopped at the fork in the path.
Allison glanced around and saw sunlight glint metal in the woods.
Sweat poured down her back, despite the day’s relative coolness. Allison looked at the woods. There was a makeshift path cut through the brush. Diana, or someone, had pushed the bike through here.
Camouflaged by brush thrown over it, her sister’s motorcycle was propped up by a tree. Allison felt the gas tank.
Cool to the touch.
Worry needled her. Where the hell was her sister and why had she hidden her bike? What was going on here?
“Diana! Where are you?” she screamed, on the edge of hysteria.
No answer. Allison began hunting through the brush. Maybe Diana was hurt, unable to cry out.
About thirty yards from the hidden bike, she saw a flash of white lifted by the wind. Her breath hitched.
“Diana?” she called out.
There, by the fallen half-rotted log. Allison’s heart raced as she picked up the elegant headpiece, the silk orange blossoms crumpled, the veil’s lace torn and dirty.
Panic raced through her as she examined the bridal veil.
Crimson droplets, the size of quarters, stained the lace.
“Diana!”
Oh dear heavens, please let her be okay, please let her be okay. Clutching the veil in her sweaty fist, she gazed around and saw something else glint in a thin shaft of sunlight. Allison bent down and picked it up.
The diamond gleamed, a promise of marriage and fidelity. The diamond Paul had given to her sister, the diamond Diana had squealed over and shown off to Allison and their parents.
“Diana!”
Only the mocking calls of birdsong answered.
Diana had vanished into thin air, leaving her engagement ring and bloody veil behind.