Page 54 of Rush
‘No, a friend of Weston’s helped out. She’s an artist. She wants to design a helmet for me.’
‘You should let her. You have good taste.’
‘You would think they’d see my vision for the rest of the house and accept my help,’ she sighed. ‘But their pride gets in the way. In here, they can shut the door on it and go about their lives like their daughter isn’t constantly battling to take care of them and give them what they couldn’t give her.’
‘Just do it without permission,’ Marco shrugged.
‘I have sent so many construction workers to the house when I’m not here, because they would shut me down in a heartbeat, but they won’t send a stranger away. I got Weston’s bathroom refurbished and turned into a wet room two years ago, last year I had a lift fitted to the basement so he could go down to his man cave and play on his games console with his friends like the old days, beforehis accident.’ She looked like she was going to cry. ‘I don’t think they can grasp how much money is sitting in my bank account.’
‘Hey,’ Marco wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, ‘it’s a parent thing. Mine do the same thing even though my bank statements almost match theirs these days. We’ll start clearing out the stables first thing in the morning, we won’t tell them. Just pretend we woke up with this big idea, and then we’ll go out and buy everything we need and bring it back here. They’re not going to argue with you while I’m here, right?’
‘I don’t want to hurt their feelings,’ she sniffed. ‘Or maybe I just need to put my foot down. Force them to let me help them. I could give them so much if they let me, the house of their dreams. One that isn’t falling apart. But it’s Weston, too. He hates when I do things that benefit him, like when I pay off one of his many medical bills or get him new equipment that improves his quality of life.’
‘They’ve worked hard their whole lives and it’s hard to accept that they don’t need to exhaust themselves just to get by anymore. They’re traditional and they have strong morals, that much is clear. Your dad should be getting ready to retire, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who will ever stop and take a well-deserved break.’
‘He won’t,’ Savi laughed softly. ‘Weston would be out there with him if he could be.’
Marco ran his hands up and down her back in an attempt to comfort her. He didn’t usually use that amount of physical touch to calm her down, but as they grew closer andtherefore more comfortable with one another, he wasn’t so afraid to test the waters. ‘I’m really looking forward to getting to know your brother.’
Savannah pulled back from his embrace, glancing up at him. ‘Thank you for not freaking out when you met him. I know I probably should’ve told you about him being in a wheelchair, but I don’t like to talk about it. There’s quite a story behind it, but I’ll let him tell you. I have a feeling he’ll open up to you about things that he usually keeps hidden from the rest of the world.’
‘I hope so.’ Marco turned and faced the room again, hands on his hips. ‘Unpacking can wait, I want a tour of this place. Cows and all.’
‘It’s still early, don’t you want to go and get your cowboy boots and a hat?’
‘How is that even a question? Get moving!’ He darted out of the room ahead of her, nearly careening into Weston on his way. ‘Sorry, man!’
Weston brought his chair to a halt. ‘No worries. Where are you rushing off to? Decided the ranch life isn’t for you already?’
‘Quite the opposite. Savannah is taking me to get some cowboy gear.’
‘He’s been going on about it since we met.’ Savannah rolled her eyes.
‘Cool, can I come?’
‘Really?’ Savannah’s eyes looked like they were about to fall out of her head as she stared at her brother in shock. ‘But you don’t–’
‘We’ll take my car. Hasn’t been used in ages so it coulddo with being driven for an hour or two. Give it some oomph down the quieter roads, too. Get it going again.’
‘Wes, are you sure about this?’ Savannah seemed concerned and Marco stood there like a spare part, watching them have a conversation without words. ‘You haven’t been out and about in a while, and everyone will have missed you. You might get hounded by the locals.’
‘I’m in a weird mood which appears to be diminishing any fucks I had left to give, so yeah Sav, I’m sure. You need cheering up, and that’s my job. Plus, if you’re worried about people papping us all, we both know they’ll keep our secrets safe. They always have. So, let’s go show Mr Monaco how we do things in Wyoming.’
22
‘This might be the cutest town I’ve ever seen. I bet it’s like something out of a film when it snows.’ Marco hadn’t stopped chattering since they’d left the confines of the ranch, and he was starting to drive Savi insane.
Her head was elsewhere; primarily on her brother who was sat in the back in his wheelchair, chatting back just as much. This was weird. Weston didn’t go anywhere and yet here he was coming to watch their guest do a fashion show for them. Marco hadn’t even been on the ranch half an hour before he’d successfully done the one thing Savi had failed to do every time she’d been home in the last few years.
‘I haven’t been downtown in so long,’ Weston muttered, gazing out of the window as they passed the local bakery. A lot of the stores, cafés and restaurants in the area needed work doing to them, and most were in the process of having said work done. She would deny it if anyone asked, but she’d made a donation or two to help speed the town’s development along.
‘You don’t get out much, Wes?’ Marco questioned, causing Savi to inhale sharply and wait for an uncomfortable silence to follow but it never came.
‘Not really. I don’t like all the fuss when I leave the ranch. It’s like the local outcast has finally left his hiding place and everyone crowds around me.’
‘Wouldn’t people fuss less if they saw you more often?’
‘You don’t know the residents of Sheridan,’ Weston laughed.
