Page 51 of Retrograde
‘That’s pretty cool. Proud of you.’ He smiled fondly at her. ‘Hey, can I post renovation updates on my social media?’
‘You can, but you have got to ignore comments about why you’re missing from the grid. The team are going to put out a statement, saying you’re taking a break for mental health purposes. But Brett, you cannot talk about it. Any press enquiries will go through myself or straight to the PR team. You showing yourself here, exploring Tuscany, working on the farmhouse, that’s enough. Fans and sponsors will just think, “Oh, he’s taking an actual break.” It’s too soon to go preaching about alcoholism and therapy. Save that for when you’re back in that seat and you’ve done the hard work. Then we can talk about your journey.’
‘Noted. So, show me living life as normal, and nobody will think anything is up.’
‘Exactly. And like Jasper said, we’ll get you to attend some events in a few months’ time. We’ll also keep posting content on the team accounts that shows you haven’t been permanently replaced. Throwbacks, that kind of thing. I’ll make sure to give you a couple of shoutouts here and there, share your posts.’
‘I can’t tell anyone else, can I? Not the guys at Havelin or Odesza?’
‘Jasper has made the entire crew at Revolution sign NDAs, although not everyone knows the real reason. If you want to tell Elliot or Casey or anyone, I suppose you can if we make them sign one too, although we would advise against it. Just think about whether you feel you need their support, or if the support you’ve got is enough for you.’
‘You’re right. And to be perfectly honest, Luce, theonly support I need is yours. And a therapist’s. And, I guess, Jasper’s so I get to keep my job when this is all over.’
‘You’ll keep your job, Anderson.’
‘Mmhmm. Anyway, enough of the emotional shit. Can we go tomato hunting?’
‘I mean, I don’t think “hunting” is the right word, but yes.’
‘Do we need to take a basket or something?’
‘Mum should have a couple of tin buckets we can use.’
‘Tour first though! I got so excited about the tomatoes, I almost forgot there’s still so much to see. Your dad was saying something about the water fountain they restored and how it’s got the most hideous gargoyle thing he’s ever seen.’
‘Oh, yeah. Mum won’t let him get rid of it. She said it adds character.’
‘We’ll see about that. We might have to start a petition to get it thrown in a skip.’
There was a long corridor just outside Brett’s room with big, beautiful, rounded archways that connected all the guest bedrooms and bathrooms, and as they walked through it, every footstep echoed. It was bound to drive Lucie mad by the end of the first week. You had to walk through the living area to get to the dining area and then the kitchen. The lounge had cloudlike white sofas, which would be destroyed when the grandkids came to stay. Rosa didn’t care about things like that. She wanted a house that looked lived in, for once.
Lucie showed Brett the family photos on the wall, all in black and white with black metal frames. Therewere photos of every Carolan, from grandkid to pet, and even a group shot of the Anderson family. In the middle was Lucie’s favourite: a family portrait of all of them, in front of the Carolan Christmas tree back at their home in California. That was five years ago, and every face had changed so much. She barely recognised Brett’s younger sister.
To the left, where the television hung and there was a huge dark oak coffee table on the cream rug, Lucie admired the stone fireplace and the built-in bookshelves. Between an array of crystal bookends, candles and film and television awards, was a perfect mix of motorsport history books, cookbooks, thrillers and romance novels. It summed up her parents perfectly.
When they reached the kitchen, Lucie gushed over the new addition to the house. The terrace. Glass doors ran along the entire length of the room, opening up to the outdoor space. Under a ceiling of vines and fairy lights sat a twelve-seater table with wooden chairs. It was already set with beige cloth placemats, plates, wine glasses and cutlery, ready for Rosa and Mateo to host at any given moment. There were candles in hurricane vases and more vine-type leaves covering the middle of the table, making it look incredibly inviting. Lucie couldn’t wait to sit down for dinner tonight and spend the evening sipping on alcohol-free rosé under the cool evening breeze.
‘Let’s go take a walk. We didn’t explore properly the last couple of times we came.’ Brett gestured towards the fields. The existing barns where Mateo was housing hiscars were all close to the house, but if they were to build more for Rosa’s equestrian dreams, they’d be further out.
After spending an hour trekking around in borrowed work boots, Lucie and Brett stumbled across a field of wild horses. She assumed they were wild, anyway, unless they belonged to her parents’ neighbours, although she wasn’t sure how close they lived. The two of them had gone way beyond the lines of the property. They were probably trespassing, but Brett was like an excited child, and she didn’t want to deny him the adventure.
‘You ever ridden a horse?’ Lucie asked him.
Brett eyed her cautiously. ‘You’re not suggesting we ride these ones, are you?’
Lucie shrugged, letting what appeared to be a Maremmano nuzzle her hand, its chestnut-brown coat glistening in the sun. ‘Hmm. Maybe not. This one seems friendly but if they’re wild, I don’t think they’re going to be keen.’
‘You’re also not much of a cowgirl,’ Brett snorted.
‘Hey! I grew up going to the stables every weekend!’ she defended.
‘Okay, but just because you rode horseswith a saddle and reins,’he emphasised, ‘doesn’t mean you can just giddy up and go with any old horse.’
‘I guess,’ she mumbled.
‘You’d look sexy as hell in a hat and cowboy boots, though.’
Lucie’s skin tingled with his compliment, and despite her keeping her attention on the horse, she could feel his gaze burning into her. ‘Correct, I would.’
