Chapter 26 Zach
Zach
Zach sat back on his heels while Colton finished the last item on his list. Wiping his face with the hem of his shirt, he took a deep breath to calm himself. The sun had almost set, and it would get dark soon.
So much for doing a few things before they put Colton’s oversized shower to good use. This was the least horny he’d felt around Colton since they met.
They’d practiced unblocking the back door so he could run away if needed.
Talk about a hard-on killer. It also defined Colton in a way Zach hadn’t fully appreciated.
The sweet, thoughtful man had a tough underbelly that might have scared Zach away if he’d seen that side first. It reminded him of the sheriff.
Once Zach satisfied Colton that he could open the door in less than ten seconds, they moved on to the next items on his list. Under each window, they stacked unstable piles of lumber and cans. His angst grew every time he stared out of the window and realized how exposed they were.
Building the hideaways drove home how real the shit had become.
They spent most of the day finding ways for Colton to stash guns out of sight, but easy for him to reach.
He understood why it was necessary, but it left him wondering if Colton knew more than he’d told Zach.
In their minds, they were preparing for an all-out assault.
Colton repeatedly assured him they were safe. Anyone trying to get to his house had to come through an entire ranch of family or near-family ranch hands. The precautions were just in case. No matter what Colton said, it felt like overkill. Unless it was more likely than he was told.
“Honey?”
Zach started and looked up. “Yeah?”
“Where’d you go? I called you twice, and you didn’t answer.”
Where had he gone? It felt like he flew to the moon and crashed back to earth.
He’d gone everywhere without leaving this county.
Hell, he wasn’t even in a town, and he’d gone from broke to rich, from employed to not, from not knowing any murdered people to being possibly hunted by people that were supposed to be family.
His entire universe felt like he was at the center of a tornado and watching his life spin around him.
“Just sitting here. Sorry.”
“You look a little pale.” Colton came to rest against the marble-topped island in the kitchen. “You know that I won’t let them get to you, right? I’m serious as a heart attack. Nobody is going to hurt you.”
And there he was again. His guardian angel, who hadn’t asked for a single thing. His eye in the middle of the raging storm. “I do. You’re the only reason I don’t go unblock the back door and run off.”
“Where would you go?” Colton’s crooked grin reignited the need in Zach.
It was a good question. If Mr. Lee hadn’t lied, Zach could go anywhere in the world now. “Not sure, but sometimes I feel like I need to run away from my life.”
“It doesn’t work like that. Your life sticks with you no matter where you are.”
He stared at the blank wall. In the quiet, he had time to think, and that wasn’t always good. “I’m not so sure anymore. The only life I knew is gone. I think—no, I know—I could walk away, and no one would notice.”
“Is that what you want?”
For the first time since this conversation started, he met Colton’s gaze. “No. If I ran off, I’d probably never see you again. I want to create my new life with you.”
“I keep telling you, I’m not that special.”
Colton said it too often for Zach to just dismiss it. “You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. But if that’s your way of saying you don’t feel the same, I get it.”
“Hold on there, honey. I’m not saying that one bit. It’s just you’ve got this crazy talent that’s too good to be holed up on a tiny plot of land, hitched to a nobody deputy.”
How did he make the man understand that he didn’t care about that? “Don’t I get a say in that? What if I want to be here in this beautiful home you’ve built, tied to the most amazing man, and be happier than I’ve ever been in my life?”
“I like how you say that.” Colton’s lip curled in a goofy, but oh-so pleased smile. “Well, then, I guess you and I have some discussing to do. I’m thinking long, slow discussing. Behind a locked door. In case we get all intense about it.”
Now that felt nice. “Please tell me this ‘discussing’ begins with us using your oversized shower.”
“You read my mind.” Colton pushed off the counter. “Let’s get a quick something to eat. I don’t want to pass out from hunger.”
Food wouldn’t satisfy the hunger gnawing at Zach. “Or we could go wash up, do some discussing, and come down to eat while resting up for more discussing.”
Colton snorted and shook his head. He didn’t leave the kitchen, but he also didn’t say no.
“Come on. I’m nineteen.”
“Almost twenty,” Colton said in a low, sexy voice, and took a step toward Zach.
The look in Colton’s eyes let Zach know he was finally breaking through. “Right, almost twenty. If I don’t get naked with you soon, I swear my balls are going to explode. All these kisses and touches, the eye-fucking you give me, I’m ready to blow.”
A full-belly laugh echoed off the walls. “Oh, honey. I really can’t let that happen.”
Colton grabbed Zach’s hand and nodded toward the stairs. They’d made it two steps when his phone rang. He wanted to tell Colton to ignore it, but Colton had it out before Zach could speak.
“Shit.” Colton closed his eyes and curled his lips inward. Exhaling, he answered the call on speaker. “Sheriff?”
“Your cousin is on his way over with Barley and some supplies your aunt swore neither of you could survive without.” The touch of amusement made clear the sheriff knew exactly what he was doing. “Just make sure you’re both decent when he gets there.”
Zach’s face burned, and Colton’s looked redder than his felt.
“We’re decent, just sweaty and dirty. I don’t think Greg will mind.”
The sheriff did a poor job of holding in his laughter. “Oh, he’ll grumble when he gets back, but he’ll live.”
He might not, because Zach wasn’t sure he wouldn’t murder the next person who kept him from Colton.
“Tell Aunt Nanette thank you from us.” Colton almost sounded sincere.
“I will. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do.” Colton hung up and made as if he was going to toss his phone. He settled for shoving it in his pocket. “That’s good news. Barley’s my Catahoula. He’ll help guard the place. You don’t mind dogs, do you?”
“Catahoula?”
“Yep.” Colton nodded like Zach ought to know what he was talking about. “I got one, and I’m next in line to get a Blue Heeler. Eventually I’ll breed them, I think. Not together. I want to keep them purebred.”
Colton rambled on about the dogs, about his plans, but his eyes were on the windows. Those glances made Zach nervous. “What are you looking for?”
“Want to see when I can tell company’s coming. Seems important to know.” Colton held him close while he stared, and then the smile broke out. “There. He’s coming. That’s good. That’s real good.”
Zach found nothing useful in Greg's showing up right before they were about to get naked. “Yeah, it’s great.”
“No, I meant how far I can see.” His arms flexed and Zach burrowed back. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him stay longer than he needs to, but maybe we should set out some food. Might as well eat now, so we don’t need to stop our discussing.”
Greg pulled up, and a brindle dog rumbled up to Zach, while Colton and Greg unloaded the dog bed and supplies. Barley barked once then pushed his head between Zach’s legs.
“He wants you to scratch his flanks,” Colton said.
After a minute filled with intense tail wagging, Barley pulled back. Zach had never seen a dog with pale blue eyes or a mottled coat like Barley’s, but he was fine. He looked up, panting slightly, then ran off to inspect the house.
Greg helped himself to some of the leftover food, and while it wasn’t entirely polite, Colton bum-rushed him out of the door.
“Damn, Scrap. Got plans or something?”
“Don’t make me shoot you for being a cockblock.” The jovial, playful banter was gone. “I don’t do it to you, and it’s not right for you to do it to me.”
Zach had never seen a contrite Greg, and this was about as close as he figured he’d see.
“Sorry, bro.” He held out his hand. “I take back everything I said. He’s good for you.”
“So glad you approve,” Colton growled, and pushed him out of the door. He turned, breathed in deeply and exhaled. “I really love my family, but they could be on fire, and if I was the only one left, I wouldn’t open the door to help them.”
Barley ambled into the foyer, barked, and rubbed against Zach.
“He seems happy here.” Zach reached down and rubbed the dog.
“Of course he is. He realizes he has both of us to shower him with attention and his littermates aren’t around to steal any.” He rubbed the dog behind his ears. “Speaking of showers, you need to get that tight little ass of yours upstairs and get them clothes off.”
Zach’s dick twitched and got hard. “You need to do the same.”
“Trust me, I plan to do just that and not put on a stitch of clothes until we’ve discussed things completely.”
His heart thudded hard. This was finally going to happen. “That will probably take all night.” It definitely would if Zach had his way.
“Then why are you standing there?”
Zach peeled off his sweaty shirt and tossed it at Colton.
“Don’t make me wait. I won’t last long once I lose the rest of my clothes.”