Page 52 of Rush
‘Savannah, I found your parents.’ They’d made it through baggage claim smoothly and had barely got through the automatic doors before Marco spotted the older couple waving manically, holding a sign that read ‘Welcome home from prison’.
Calvin, her dad, looked far more comfortable and at home than he had at Spa. He was a tall, broad man and wore a battered brown cowboy hat, beaten-up work boots and dirt-covered jeans with a red flannel shirt. He was standing proudly next to a shorter lady in jeans, riding boots and what looked like one of Savannah’s oversized band tees. They looked so excited,hewanted to drop his things and run to them, but instead he watched as Savannah did. One of her cases rolled away and he grabbed it, using his foot to kick her second one towards them. ‘Oi, Cowgirl, I know you’re excited but a little help here!’
‘Let me get that while the girls fuss over each other,’ Calvin chuckled and rushed to Marco’s rescue, trying to give him a hug whilst simultaneously helping steer the cases out of the way of the streams of people trying to get out.‘So good to see you again, Marco. Welcome to Wyoming, sort of. We’ll be there in no time.’
‘Hi, Calvin,’ Marco squeezed him back. ‘Thank you for having me.’ They had flown into Montana and were a short drive from Savannah’s hometown. Short if you were American, at least, where everything was miles apart. You could get from the south-west of England to Malmedy, Belgium in under twelve hours. Europe was much more appealing to him.
‘Come and meet the wife.’ He led him to where Savannah and her mum were still squealing at each other, and it was only then Marco realised their t-shirts were matching.
‘Hi, Marco!’ Her mum rose up on her tiptoes to embrace him. ‘I’m Bonnie.’
‘Nice to meet you, ma’am.’ He grinned at Savi over her shoulder. ‘Your daughter has told me great things about your cooking.’
‘Now, I understand you’re vegan. I’ve found some recipes I think you might like; would you mind going through them with me before tomorrow? We’re going to have a barbecue tonight but without the meat. I hear you want to try corn the traditional American way.’
‘I do’, he beamed, loving the fact Savannah had remembered something so small. ‘And I’d love to look through the recipes. I really appreciate it.’
‘How’s Wes today?’ Savi asked her parents.
‘Very eager to meet Marco. Hasn’t shut up about it.’ Calvin wheeled both of his daughter’s cases out to the pick-up zone, leaving Marco to lug his behind him. ‘I think the horses know you’re coming, too. Mocha was whiningall night. I got out of bed three times to see if she was okay, and she just looked at me like I was the world’s biggest idiot.’
‘Have we got many kids’ riding lessons this week? I want to give Marco a chance to ride Java, teach him how to be a cowboy.’ Savannah patted Marco on the shoulder.
They stopped by a huge blue Ford pick-up truck, not dissimilar to one of many cars Julien had sat in the barns at his Malmedy farmhouse. ‘Sav, come on honey. Let the poor guy ride Cappuccino. Let’s not embarrass him with a tiny horse,’ Calvin scoffed.
‘He’s never ridden before!’ Savannah defended, jumping into the truck and slamming the door. The whole thing rattled. It wasn’t an ancient vehicle, but it certainly wasn’t new and shiny, and Marco wondered if Savannah had tried and failed to get them a replacement yet. They didn’t seem like the type to want anything flashy.
‘Cappuccino is in the middle of the two and she’s come such a long way. She’s not scared of every little thing, anymore, and she doesn’t boot people off. We let some of the older riders take her out now. I’m sure she can handle Marco and vice versa,’ Bonnie assured.
‘Oh, I am more than okay riding the smaller horse. Whatever the professionals think.’
They drove the two hours from Billings, Montana and across state lines to Wyoming, blasting country music the whole way. Calvin notably skipped any of Jesse’s music which apparently was a thing he did often, and he was taking great pride in doing so now he had broken his little girl’s heart. He swore enthusiastically at the radioevery time, and the more he did it, the more Savi laughed about it.
He felt at ease in their company immediately, much like he had with their daughter, and they were already getting him involved in their inside jokes. It made him miss his own family, who were basically a wealthy version of the Harts with European accents. At their core, both sets of parents were the same in terms of values and morals. They would get on like a house on fire.
‘Marco, how do you feel about Sav overtaking you all the time?’ Calvin asked.
‘I think she’s made it clear I need to up my game,’ Marco laughed. ‘She’s certainly not afraid of a challenge, your daughter.’
‘Her and Weston get that from Cal,’ Bonnie smiled in the rear-view mirror, bursting with pride. Marco wondered if Weston was anything like his sister. If he was, this trip was going to be up there with one of the best of his life, and Marco had been to a lot of places with a lot of different people.
‘Is this where you live?!’ His jaw dropped as they drove under a battered wooden signpost that read ‘Mustang Ridge’, nothing ahead of them except a long, winding dirt road and a picturesque view of mountains and trees and everything Marco could have dreamed of. It was serene. He wanted Calvin to stop the car right this very second so he could hop out and stand there and soak it all in, but instead they were hitting every bump and pothole, the truck jolting.
‘It is,’ Savannah smiled. ‘Beautiful, right?’
‘Savannah, you could build yourself a race track outhere.’ There was so much open space, and he imagined the Hart family owned most, if not all of it. It was a working ranch, not just a farmhouse on a bit of land. She could build a karting track and give local kids the same opportunity she had growing up, invest in the careers of junior drivers. He’d go into business on something like that in a heartbeat; he already sponsored a young driver from Glastonbury in the south-west of England.
‘Don’t give her any ideas! She isn’t here enough to oversee it,’ Calvin shook his head.
‘Wouldn’t Weston help out?’ Marco asked, causing everyone in the car to go silent.
What was he missing here? Whatever it was, he was pretty sure he was about to find out. Calvin pulled up in front of a beautiful farmhouse, in the early stages of renovations. It looked new on the outside, white wooden siding, a new black roof and black window frames with planter boxes of fresh flowers under every window. But the porch had seen better days, and the landscaping needed some work. It looked like a proper home, though. One that was full of character and, more importantly, full of love.
‘Wes!’ Savannah yelled out as soon as she hopped out of the truck. ‘Your favourite family member has returned, come say hi!’
Then the front door opened, and everything made sense. Weston wheeled himself onto the porch, beaming with pride, and held his arms out. Savannah ran into them for a hug, and he planted a kiss on her head of curls, looking over her shoulder to grin at Marco. ‘Welcome home, Sav. Missed your face.’
‘Missed yours, too.’ She pulled back and whizzed around to face Marco, who was still standing there a little dumbfounded. He was trying so hard not to stare that he was coming across as more awkward than ever. But nobody else seemed to notice his moment of shyness except him. ‘Monaco, meet Weston.’
