Page 53 of Rush
‘How’s it going, man?’ Weston offered a wave, snapping Marco out of it. He headed over and shook his hand, noticing he was the spitting image of Bonnie.
‘Good! Nice to meet you, Wes.’
‘Calling me by my nickname already? I like it.’
‘Savannah does it all the time when she talks about you, so it kind of stuck,’ Marco shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.
‘Savannah?’ Weston smirked.
‘Don’t start,’ Savannah pointed a finger at him.
‘Nobody gets away with calling her that, not even us.’ Bonnie appeared at his side having left Calvin to get all the luggage out of the truck on his own.
‘Mars kind of decided on it when we were having a disagreement and there’s been no going back since. I think he’s called me Savi a grand total of three times since we met.’
‘What kind of disagreement would lead to you letting someone call you by your government name? You wouldn’t even let them read it out at your high school graduation,’ Bonnie frowned.
‘It involved an Oscar-worthy speech, a garage full of people and some god-awful advice from your daughter,’ Marco said. ‘And that’s all you need to know until I’m six beers deep and telling you my deepest, darkest secrets.’
‘Oh, cool. We’ll get the beers flowing and the campfire burning tonight, then,’ Weston laughed. ‘You can tell us how much of a handful Sav is when she’s got nobody to rein her in.’
‘You think he doesn’t try to take on that role himself?’ Savannah raised an eyebrow. ‘Marco can give as good as he gets, you know.’
‘Thank god you’ve got someone else to wind up,’ Calvin joined them, bags in tow.
Marco reached for them, hauling them up the steps. He noticed a ramp on the left side of the porch, which must be how Weston moved around. ‘Sorry, Calvin. Let me help.’
‘Get your hands off, De Luca,’ Calvin tutted. ‘You’re a guest.’
‘But Savannah said…’ Marco trailed off, watching his teammate try to hide her amusement.
‘Let me guess, she told you everyone chips in around here, huh?’
‘Yes.’ Marco nodded.
‘She’s full of shit. We have paid ranch hands for a reason; guests are treated like VIPs at our home. That means you’re fed and watered and your days are yours to do with what you wish.’
‘Oh, okay, thank you but only if you’re sure,’ he frowned.
‘He said he wanted to be a cowboy, Dad.’
‘That doesn’t mean he has to shovel horse crap, Sav,’ Calvin laughed and clapped Marco on the shoulder, rather aggressively. Their builds could not be more different, Calvin’s broad frame dwarfing Marco. ‘Give the guy a break!’
‘Yeah, Cowgirl, let me relax. Being chased around a racetrack by your determined little self is tiring, you know. Plus, I have to keep you in check off-track, too. Being a fake boyfriend is serious business, it’s not for the faint of heart.’
‘We both know the only one who’s doing the chasing is you,’ Savannah shot back, looking mighty proud of herself as she walked through the front door. ‘Welcome to our humble abode.’
‘We’ve sorted the guest bedroom out for you.’ Bonnie rushed to reorganise the flowers on the coffee table. He knew there must be clutter hiding somewhere in this house, because Savannah had told him in order to set up her racing sim they would need to do a big clear out. But the open-plan living area which included a large kitchen and dining space looked pristine, which suggested they’d gone to an extra effort for his arrival.
‘Which one is he in, Ma?’ Savannah took hold of his case and started dragging it towards a long hallway. This house seemed go on forever, but it was simple and homely, and he loved it. No sign of marble floors, no sense that if you were to touch something it would shatter. He wished he’d grown up in a place like this; scenery included.
‘The mountain room.’ Bonnie left them to it, tossing Weston an orange from the fruit bowl while Calvin continued bringing the rest of the bags in and leaving them by the entrance to the hallway, allowing them some privacy.
Marco trailed after Savannah who seemed to be very keen to get him into his room, and when she opened the door he understood why. There was a huge mural on the back wall of some mountains, all dark and moody, accentedwith gold. It was stunning. The rest of the walls were black, and the furniture was all dark wood with a huge beige rug covering the wooden flooring. Although the décor was beautiful, it was the view from the window that was the real focal point. A perfect view of the mountains the house was surrounded by. ‘Savannah…’
‘This room is my pride and joy. I wanted a project to distract me from the stress of contract signings, so they let me loose in here. I didn’t even have to beg them to let me spend my own money, this was mine to play with. Gave me a focus.’
‘You’ve done a stellar job. This is magnificent. Did you paint the mural yourself?’
