Page 120 of Bend

The same stretch of pavement running past houses and sidewalks disappears out of Douglas, through villages and fields, then up into the mountains before eventually bringing them right back here.

I press closer to the window.

“Holy shit.”

Wolfe laughs quietly beside me. “Yeah. Pretty crazy.”

Back in Tampa, racing feels contained. Garage. Pit lane. Track. Barriers. Everything has its place.

The shuttle rolls past the paddock instead of turning in, and half the bus immediately leans toward the windows.

Revel shifts closer to Cece’s side to get a better look, careful not to crowd her.

“Look at that, mama.”

Cece glances out the window, then at him. “You know, I can see it without you narrating. I’d actually enjoy the view more if you didn’t speak.”

Revel grins. “Just making sure you’re getting the full experience.”

“I was. Until you started talking.”

He laughs under his breath and leans back into his own seat. “Mean.”

“Accurate.”

Outside, the Grandstand and team setups disappear behind us as the shuttle keeps moving through Douglas, then farther out onto smaller roads.

The sky gets darker the farther we go, thick gray clouds hanging low enough that I’m pretty sure we’re getting rained on before the day’s over.

The town slowly gives way to crumbling walls, green fields and stretches of forest.

Then we turn down a long drive and the house comes into view.

“Goddamn,” Reign says from somewhere behind me.

Yeah.

That about covers it.

The place is fucking massive.

It’s old, built from dark gray stone with ivy climbing around some of the windows and chimneys rising from the roof. Not quite a castle, but definitely old enough to look like one from a distance. Trees crowd around the property, and beyond them, I can see the gray ocean under an equally gray sky.

Sayshen leans toward the window. “Andre, you booked this whole place?”

“Whole place,” Andre confirms.

Revel looks up at it as we pull closer. “Okay, this is sick.”

“For once,” Talon says, “I agree with dipshit.”

The shuttle comes to a stop out front just as the first few drops of rain hit my window.

The doors open and everyone starts piling out, grabbing bags, stretching after the ride and looking around at the house.

I stay seated for another few seconds.

This is what I wanted.