Chapter 16 Zach
Zach
Iain’t sorry either.
How hard would it have been to say that back? Instead, Zach had been too shocked to speak. Once the moment passed, it was too late. Colton backed away and kept a respectable distance.
Fuck him. He’d wanted that kiss since he’d first laid eyes on the hot-as-sin deputy. Hell, he’d have had Colton’s babies if it was possible. So why hadn’t he said something?
Zach held on as Colton drove them home. The tight muscles under his hands flexed as Colton handled the four-wheeler across the muddy field. He felt as much as he could without getting obscene.
He laid his head on the strong back because this might be the only chance he got. Damn, Colton smelled good. Like a real man, not some dolled-up club kid trying to score. Just being close to him made Zach painfully hard.
Shit, piss, and corruption, Zach had it bad. He needed to jam on the brakes because in a day or two, he’d have to move on and leave his heart behind.
What the fuck had he ever done to anyone to be shit upon like this? Didn’t he deserve to be happy, even if for a short time? He’d never hurt anyone on purpose. He hadn’t even complained—much—about his life. Would it kill the universe to let him have someone he could keep?
It wouldn’t have surprised him if Colton’s mom had been standing outside on the back porch with her hands on her hips when they pulled up, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Colton killed the engine, and they sat there for a second. “Thank you for indulging me. I don’t get a chance to pick real often.”
“Thank you for taking me. It was fun.” His hands lingered, and when Colton didn’t move, Zach didn’t either. It wouldn’t last, and Colton would never be his, but he could dream for a few more seconds.
Finally he stepped off and lingered by the side of the bike. He leaned over and kissed Colton’s cheek. “I ain’t sorry neither.”
Colton’s face turned crimson. He lifted his hat and ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. “That’s good then.” When he smiled, Zach’s hardon twitched.
His heart hammered in his chest. With the right nudge, maybe Colton would find a quiet place, pin him to the wall, and—
The ring of Colton’s phone shattered the mood, sending them both back to reality. One that didn’t allow them to get friendly in the way they both wanted. Colton dug the phone out of his pocket.
“Hello?” He sat up straighter, and Zach guessed who was on the other end. “Yes, sir. We’re at the house.”
Two points to Zach. Damn sheriff probably had a camera pinned to Colton’s ass so he knew where he was even off duty.
“Yes, sir. We’ll be here.” He hung up and gave Zach an aching smile. “Sheriff’s coming by tomorrow with that fancy lawyer of yours.”
Why did he need an attorney? Was everything with Colton and his family an act to keep him close so they could arrest him? “My lawyer? Am I in trouble?”
“Relax. You’re fine. It’s the lawyer who has all your money.”
Things were hitting him too fast. “I don’t have any money, other than what’s in my bag in your house.”
Colton flashed that cute-as-fuck grin that left Zach aching to be fucked hard and long. “I’m not the one to talk out of school, but you got a fair bit more than pocket change coming to you.”
He wasn’t sure what to say or do, so he let Colton ease him up to the house, leaving him only to stow the instruments.
Pulling on his socks, Zach stared at the pale blue walls.
Last night had been a blur. Dinner had been amazing.
Zach might have eaten too many fajitas, but Colton’s mother was an excellent cook, and it would have qualified as a special holiday meal on tour.
Afterward, he was in a food coma and barely remembered helping clean up.
Or maybe he just wanted to forget. Momma watched them like a hawk the rest of the evening.
Did she think they were going to rip off their clothes and get it on in every room in the house?
Zach also couldn’t stop thinking about the next day. Colton wouldn’t tell him anything other than Mr. Lee wanted to speak to him, so he stewed over it even as he fell asleep.
If Grandpa was into as much dirty shit as people said, Zach wouldn’t see a penny of the money in those accounts. He didn’t need a college education to know the government wouldn’t agree that laundered mob money belonged to Zach.
He shrugged on his best clean shirt and reminded himself to speak to Colton about using the washer and dryer. Not that he hated his old life, but this was living. A bed every night, enough hot water for a long shower, and washer-dryer in a house instead of hunting for a laundromat at two a.m.
And all that was in addition to Colton. At least he knew he wasn’t the only one who had it bad. Just Zach’s awful luck that the first guy he truly wanted for more than a quickie, had morals and a sense of honor that prevented them from hooking up.
Telling himself nothing would’ve come of it anyway didn’t stop the longing. Hell, Zach would find a job washing dishes if it meant kissing Colton every day.
He shook his head. That would never work. After the shine wore off, Zach would miss playing. These people were incredibly nice, but that wouldn’t help him make a living. The harsh truth was, Zach wasn’t going to stay here, not even for Colton.
“Honey?” Colton’s voice rang out a second before he knocked. “You decent?”
He’d never thought another man would call him honey. Coming from Colton, it made him smile.
“Yes.” He laughed as he imagined himself stripping off his clothes and meeting Colton naked and hard. Then he’d see if honor and duty were stronger than lust and hormones.
Colton eased the door open. “Can I come in for a second? You up to this? I can put this lawyer off if I need to.” Colton didn’t sound like he was all the way sure of that, but the offer was sweet.
He wouldn’t be able to delay things. Mr. Lee had taken the first flight he could from Virginia to meet Zach. “What good’s putting it off going to do?”
Colton chuckled softly, the sound making him smile. “It’s not. Shit, this stuff’s so far over my head it ain’t funny. I just nod a lot and keep my mouth shut. Seems to be the secret to life.”
Zach could see that. Colton’s world was tight as a nun’s thighs in a lot of ways. He lived on family land, he worked for his uncle, and he had someone watching him all the time.
No wonder Colton had cast eyes on him. Hell, in a lot of ways, they were living the same life, except he thought Colton had given up the passion of music for the safety of not being scared.
That wasn’t a choice Zach had been allowed to make. Until now. “Sometimes, speaking up is what makes it worth living.” He kissed Colton’s cheek. “Don’t give up your dream for what’s easy.”
Zach walked out before Colton repeated the lies he’d convinced himself were true. It also wasn’t right to upend Colton’s world. After the talk with Mr. Lee, Zach would figure out where to go next.
Problem was, he was going to leave his heart behind when he left.
Mr. Lee was nothing and everything Zach expected rolled into one. Tall and trim, he was younger than Zach pictured. He also didn’t present as technologically challenged as the man who said he couldn’t figure out Facetime or Zoom chats.
But Zach had nailed how he dressed. Khakis, navy blazer, top button open on his pale pink oxford; hell, Zach had even got the goddamn loafers right.
Beauregard glanced up from his papers and smiled when Zach walked into the dining room. It wasn’t predatory, but it was more than just professional courtesy.
“Zachariah.” He stood and extended his hand. “Nice to meet you after all these years.”
Zach swallowed his nerves. Showing fear wasn’t an option anymore. “Years, sir? We spoke for the first time three weeks ago, Mr. Lee.”
“Please, call me Beau. I work for you, not the other way around.”
He shook briefly, and Zach relaxed a hair. The contact would have lingered if the man wanted more from it than being polite. “Mr… Beau, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I think you’re mistaken. I didn’t hire you, and I sure as hell can’t afford to pay a lawyer.”
Beau blew out a breath. “As I feared; Jeb never told you.” Motioning for the chair next to his, Beau sat. “Let’s talk.”
Taking the offered chair, Zach sat across from the sheriff. Colton plopped next to his uncle, and everyone waited as Beau shuffled a few papers.
“Your grandmother’s family and mine are related. It goes back a few generations, but we are both descendants of Richard Lee. Our family helped found Virginia and the United States. We also tried to break it up when Robert E. Lee beat all those Yankee generals before Ulysses Grant wore him down.”
Zach had the feeling his ‘cousin’ would have sided with General Lee over the Union if he’d been there.
“My father, and his father before him, were trustees of your great grandparents’ estate. Your grandmother was an only child, so she inherited the entire fortune. That passed to your mother and now to you.”
“Help me understand this,” Sheriff Ted said. “What happened recently that triggered Zach gaining his inheritance?”
“Technically, nothing.” Beau smiled. “He’s been entitled to income from the trust since he was eighteen. His grandfather was his guardian after Zach’s parents died. Jeb was instructed to tell Zach about his trust many times. Clearly, he ignored those directions.”
“And you never checked with Zach?” Colton asked.
“My firm had no reason to doubt Jeb Baxter. He never asked for money from the trust to take care of Zach. We weren’t Zach’s guardians, only trustees of the family trust. Unless we suspected misuse of funds, we had no cause to investigate.”
Zach sat there with his mouth hanging open. Just sat there not believing a single word coming out of the man’s mouth. This was like—it was a con. It had to be. This wasn’t how his life worked. “So… this is legal money. Nothing fucked up?”
One of Beau’s eyebrows lifted so high Zach almost busted out laughing. “Indeed.”
The world was all of the sudden moving at the speed of The Orange Blossom Special, and Zach was holding onto his bow and just praying he’d get to the end of the tune without losing the whole goddamn thread.
Colton gave him a look, then turned back to the lawyer. “So, let’s just be crystal-clear here. This is good, right? This isn’t a situation where he has to put ten thousand bucks in your hand to get twenty or marry some warty gal with no teeth or something?”
It wouldn’t have been half as funny if Ted and Colton hadn’t both had the same exact expression on their faces. No smile, no hint that they were joking, just the perfect straight men.
“I assure y’all. It is very good.” Beau pulled out a briefcase with what had to be a thousand pieces of paper in it and started going on about terms and this and that, but Zach wasn’t listening, not really.
He’d had enough.
In less than a week, his world had been turned upside down, inside out, and backward, and he had hit maximum capacity.
A pair of warm hands got him up and moving, and suddenly it was warm and quiet and sunny, and he was in a rocking chair with Colton pressing a glass with a finger of amber whiskey into his hand.
“Drink this. It’ll help.”