Chapter 25 Colton
Colton
He stared at his uncle, not wanting to hear the words. “But—”
“Colton, listen to me. There’s a reason we have a no fraternizing rule when guarding someone.
Your focus needs to be keeping him safe.
You can’t do that if you treat this like a weekend getaway.
The Ulmstead boys are already facing one murder beef.
You think they care if they add a sheriff’s deputy and the person he’s guarding? ”
Colton knew Uncle Ted was right, but… “I hear you.”
“I know you got feelings for Zach, and I’m not saying you can’t have them. Just focus on what’s important right now. This ain’t forever.”
He knew his uncle was telling him this because Colton might not be thinking right. Except he wasn’t a kid. He knew how to keep someone safe, goddammit, and he wasn’t about to fuck around with Zach’s life.
Hell, he’d dare those kids to come onto their land and try to hurt them. They were the outsiders, and he was getting fucking tired of playing grab-ass with the little fucks.
Colton needed to chat with Zach about who these guys were. Their pack mentality he understood, but it wasn’t like getting Zach would magically turn their shit into diamonds. They were in a world of trouble, and there wasn’t anything they could do to fix that.
Desperate men, however, did unpredictable things. They needed to capture the five before someone else got hurt, or worse. “Uncle Ted, do you give this speech to Greg every time he’s caught with his fly down at the Brass Rail?”
Ted’s short, sharp laugh stole the tension from the moment.
“Shit, boy. You know full well if I had a dime for every time I had to remind my son to put his dick away, I’d have a lot of dimes.
I’m just grateful he hasn’t knocked any of them up.
He isn’t ready to be a parent. Maybe someday. You, on the other hand—”
“Whoa!” He held up his hands. “I’m not married yet, don’t give me kids any year soon.”
“Fine,” Uncle Ted said, “but you both need to make it out alive for us to have this conversation proper.”
The sheriff’s words highlighted two things—his family approved of Zach, and this was as serious a situation as Whitebark had seen since Colton’s father tried to rob the bank. “I got this, Uncle Ted. No one’s dying on my watch.”
“Let’s go one better.” Ted looked him in the eyes. “How about we set the bar at no one gets hurt?”
The mood had gotten too depressing, so Colton rolled his eyes as dramatic as he could. “You’re pushing, old man.”
“I know.” Ted held his hands up. “But I’ll be damned if I have to listen to your momma curse me out if something happens to you.”
That was the closest his uncle could come to saying he loved Colton. At least in public. “She’s good at doing that.”
Zach came outside carrying his things. “You ready to hit the road… Zach?”
“Yep.” Zach offered him a smile, then walked around the truck. “Did you get everything you planned to bring?”
He’d almost called Zach honey, but he knew it made the guy self-conscious. He got it. They were still getting to know each other and pet names might be too much, too soon. “I got my guitar, bug spray, and a charger for my phone. How about you?”
“I got all my stuff,” Zach said, his dimples showing for a second.
Dimples? Damn that was cute.
Zach opened the door and tossed his bag into the cab. He set the violin down and swung himself onto the seat like he belonged there. Which, if Colton had his way, was exactly right.
He gave his uncle and Greg a half wave before settling behind the wheel. One day soon, he’d be making this drive for the last time and moving into his own. It might be foolish, but he couldn’t stop daydreaming about it being him and Zach moving their stuff together.
“Are we going to your house, or do we need to stop somewhere first?”
He put his hand on Zach’s leg. This wasn’t getting busy; it was just showing interest. “I’ll probably need Greg to bring us some food, but we have enough for lunch. Like I said, don’t expect fancy. It’s gonna need some work once we get there.”
“I’m not expecting room service.” Zach covered Colton’s hand with his. “Tell me what you need me to do.”
That was such a loaded question, Colton couldn’t answer. The warmth from those long fingers seeped into him and made it hard to think. “Mostly we need to set up the rooms so we can sleep, and the kitchen.”
He also wanted to secure the house just in case those assholes found them. Probably him being stupid, but he promised his uncle he wouldn’t think with his dick and he meant it. Keeping Zach safe was his first priority. Once they caught those assholes, they could worry about more.
Colton pulled up into the garage he’d built in the back. He’d built the structure to keep the building supplies dry, but now he could park inside and hide his truck from prying eyes.
Damn, he hoped that was just him being cautious, and that no one was spying on them.
Colton was bone-tired when they finished unloading and unpacking the kitchen things. He was about to suggest a break when Zach hoisted one of the two air mattresses.
“Does it matter which room this goes in?”
Where did Zach get all the energy? Colton had been working hard to keep up. “Good lord and biscuits, how about we take a break before we tackle the upstairs?”
“That’s fine, just tell me where to put stuff.”
He couldn’t tell if Zach was showing off, or really didn’t need a break. “I mean both of us. Just because you’re inhuman and can work non-stop doesn’t mean we all can.”
“I’ve been breaking down and setting up the show for years.” Zach smiled, and Colton’s heart beat faster. “This is easy compared to that.”
He shook his head at himself, but had to admit he wasn’t used to this level of manual labor.
“Well, I’m a lazy bastard. I spend all day in my truck.
” It wasn’t exactly true, but it was a good excuse.
Not prepared to let Zach do all the work, he picked up the other mattress.
“Come on, I’ll show you my bedroom. It takes up most of the second floor. ”
If that didn’t sound like an invitation for getting busy, he didn’t know what was. “Sorry. I’m excited to show it off. I worked for a long time with the architect to get it the way I wanted.”
“Sure,” Zach said with a half-smile that didn’t hide his disappointment. “Tease a guy why don’t you.”
Nothing he could say would fix things, so he climbed in silence. He’d spent a huge amount of his budget on the bathroom. He’d always wanted a walk-in shower and a whirlpool tub to soak in. It was an indulgence, but it was his money. Might as well get exactly what he wanted.
They hauled the mattresses up to the master bedroom. It was big enough for three beds, but he’d leave it up to Zach where he slept. If he wanted his own room, the little bedrooms were safe, and he’d installed the air vents so they’d be cool at night.
“There are two other bedrooms—”
“Can I stay here?” It was barely more than a whisper. Zach snatched quick glances at Colton. “I mean, I’ll put mine as far away as you like, but I’d like to fall asleep knowing you’re nearby.”
It wasn’t a total lie, but they’d slept in different rooms since they’d met. “Honey, you can sleep as close or as far away from me as you like. I just wanted you to know you have choices.”
“Can I push mine up against yours?”
The impish grin Zach gave him told him exactly why he wanted that arrangement. “As close as you like, but being honest with you, there’s no way I can be that close without holding you.”
“If you don’t, I’m going to be disappointed.”
Things needed to be set right before he could think about doing those things. That was what Uncle Ted meant. “Fuck, the things you do to me, but I really need to secure the house first. That’s going to take a while.”
“I’m not going anywhere, and I can help.”
He tried not to imagine it, but he could see the two of them working side-by-side in the yard after they’d moved in.
With every comment Zach made, it felt less like a dream, and more like an eventuality.
“Sounds like one hell of a plan. I’ll show off my baby while we do.
I own six acres here. It’s not a ton, but it’s enough.
I’m going to run a couple of cows and play cowboy, I think.
” He didn’t want to spend all his free time on livestock, but it was worth it for the tax break, and he didn’t mind having a mama cow or two for calving. “Wanna see my bathroom? It rocks.”
That was probably the new house version of ‘wanna see my etchings’, but his bathroom was way more fun.
“Your bathroom?”
“Yes!” He stole a kiss before he dragged Zach’s happy ass to the en suite.
It was his favorite part of the house, other than the whole thing wasn’t Momma’s.
He’d spent a lot of time picking the different shades of gray with the periodic pop of emerald green in the tile.
“Zach? Meet the bathroom of joy. Bathroom of joy? Meet Zach.”
Zach gaped at the room, clearly impressed, just as Colton had hoped. He saw them sharing it daily. Along with the entire place.
He knew it was a potential disaster waiting to happen, but he couldn’t stop himself. Zach was special, and for reasons Colton couldn’t quite get, Zach thought Colton was special too.
“I hate you,” Zach said with a less than hateful tone.
His daydream shattered into a million pieces. “What’d I do?”
“You showed me this.” He swept his arm around the bathroom. “All I want is to strip you naked, toss you in the shower, and get wet and busy.”
This bossy side of Zach was amusing as fuck, and it only made it harder to keep his focus on the job.
“That’s going to happen. Count on it, but first I need to make sure the place is secure.
Those five brothers are still out there, and they know how to get to the ranch.
The sheriff reminded me before we left to think with the big head before I let the slightly smaller one come out and play. ”
“Slightly smaller?” Zach leered at him. “What are you packing inside there, Deputy?”
Heat rushed to Colton’s cheeks. “You’ll have to wait to find out, but I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”
Stretching up, Zach kissed him once.
“I know I won’t.”