Chapter 28 Zach
Zach
Listening to the steady rhythm of Colton’s breathing, Zach snuggled in tighter.
If he didn’t think too much, he could lose himself in the perfection of the moment.
But they were in a dark house, tucked away on a sprawling ranch in the middle of Montana, hiding from a pack of homicidal idiots. There was nothing perfect about that.
Colton had been quiet since they’d gotten in bed. Not distant, but reflective. The first thing he did was pull Zach into a hug, and they’d cuddled in the wonderful afterglow of amazing sex ever since.
It should have been enough for Zach, but Colton was only quiet when he was thinking. He also had a good idea where Colton’s thoughts took him.
“This is nice. I could easily fall asleep in your arms,” Zach said.
“No law says you can’t.”
Zach wanted to crawl on top and fuck away whatever was bothering Colton, but it wasn’t the time. The man was thinking deep thoughts. “Maybe later. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. This is about as perfect as a man can get.” Colton smiled, and it soothed some of Zach’s fears.
He’d led Colton to water; it was up to him to drink. “You’re so quiet. If something’s bothering you, you can tell me.”
“Here I thought I was doing so well hiding things.” Colton squeezed Zach and kissed his head. “I’m just thinking about stuff. Nothing wrong or bad, just stuff.”
Stuff Colton didn’t want to share with him. It shouldn’t have disappointed him as much as it did. Just because they’d had amazing sex didn’t entitle him to know Colton’s private thoughts.
He ran his hand over Colton’s muscular chest, his fingers playing with the light dusting of hair. “If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here for you.”
Colton shifted under him and twisted until he was on his side facing Zach.
“I’m thinking if I have a right to ask you to stay here once this is over and give us a chance.
I heard what you said downstairs, and it is your choice.
One hundred percent. But I really care about you.
I want you to be happy and do all the great things I know you can do.
I’m worried if I keep you here, I’ll be the reason you don’t.
But I’m selfish. I don’t want you to pack up and ride out of town chasing your dream with someone else. ”
Colton closed his eyes and flopped onto his back. A tear rolled down Zach’s cheek, but he didn’t brush it off.
Colton was damn quiet, but he wasn’t stiff or unwelcoming. Zach soaked up the comfort. There was something about Colton that soothed him, soul-deep. With every breath, he filled his lungs with air that smelled like them, together, and it was heat and warmth and pure connection.
“I don’t know what the future holds, Colton. Maybe there are great things out there for me to do, but I don’t know how anything can ever feel more right than you do now.”
“That was like something one says in a really good movie, you know?” One side of Colton’s lips quirked up in a little grin. “I didn’t think things like us happened in real life.”
That us echoed inside Zach.
The dog started barking, the sound sharp and shocking, sending shivers down his spine, and Colton frowned, sliding out from the air mattress.
“Barley? What’s up, boy?” Colton stood and slid on his jeans. “Stay here, Zach. I’ll be right back.”
Something in Colton’s voice chilled Zach’s blood. “What’s wrong?”
“Probably just some critter that dared to cross Barley’s path, and he’s telling them to move on.”
Zach breathed in and held it to regain his center.
He watched Colton leave, making almost no sound as he went.
It was a purposeful quiet, a fact confirmed when he heard the now familiar snick of one of their hiding places being opened.
Colton racking the slide sent Zach scurrying to find his clothes.
He shoved them on and sat on the floor with his back against the wall, facing the air mattresses.
The dog stopped barking, and the seconds stretched into minutes as Zach waited in the dark for something, anything, to happen.
He imagined Colton, barefoot and wearing nothing but his jeans, creeping around the house with his pistol held ready in front of him.
Every one of his nerves fired when Colton spoke to Barley in a voice that was more than a whisper. His return to the bedroom could have been a stampede for how noisy it sounded.
“Honey?”
He shuffled to his feet, embarrassed to his core. “Here. I heard you get the gun.”
“Sorry. I was trying to be real quiet.”
Of course he was. If someone was out there, Colton didn’t want them to know he was there. “The house is empty, and I was straining to hear everything.”
Colton eyed him up and down. He knelt and set the gun on the ground. “Do you want to talk about it before we go back to bed?”
He did and didn’t. Talking about it meant he couldn’t pretend nothing bad was out there. “I’m sorry, Colton, but when I heard you get the gun, I knew you didn’t think it was just a stray animal.”
“I really did, honey, but it pays to be prepared. Besides, prairie rattlers are a thing.” He pulled Zach into a hug.
“I won’t lie to you, though. I am a tiny bit worried.
Those boys aren’t local. They shouldn’t be able to hide from us this long.
And finding Momma’s house? Well, it doesn’t sit right with me.
“So, I made sure if I ran into anyone, I had something to surprise them with.” Colton planted a soft kiss on Zach’s head. “But just as I told you my one worry, I’m being honest when I say I don’t think—”
Colton’s phone vibrated. When he turned it over, Zach read Uncle Ted, on the screen.
“Hey, sheriff,” Colton’s voice shook a tiny bit, but he rolled his eyes dramatically. “Nope, we’re about to go to sleep.”
Zach could hear the sheriff’s voice but couldn’t make out his words.
“Well, he was too busy snagging our food and getting in my personal business to check; that’s why he couldn’t say if we’d done much.”
He tried to step back, but Colton didn’t let go. “Yes, sir we did. I got us four hidey spots, the back door is blocked, and Zach and I practiced so he could get the hell out if needed, none of the lights are on, and Barley is on the job.”
If the sheriff wasn’t proud of how professional Colton had been, Zach didn’t know what more he could do to fix that.
“Thank you, Uncle Ted. I appreciate it.” Colton’s body relaxed a bit.
“Goodnight to you too, sir.” He hung up with a sigh and another roll of those eyes.
“I tell you what, he’s like an old woman digging hard for every bit of information he can.
I swear to God, he wants to be the Joe Kenda of Montana. ”
“The who?”
“You know, the old, cool dude with the craggy face on the TV?” Colton lowered his brows and drawled, “My, my, my?”
As if his world had ever been full of TV. Hell, when they were in a hotel, he had to fight with five other guys who were way more invested in watching than he was. “Sorry, I don’t know him.”
“Ah, well, I watch him a lot. I have a close, personal, late-night relationship with my remote control.” Colton’s husky laugh was wicked, full of happiness, and he was getting used to that.
The way Colton’s mood buoyed itself up like an air balloon filling with water in a carnival game.
“I bet you can break me of that habit if you set your mind to it.”
Zach let one of his eyebrows arch. “Do you now?”
“Yessir. I most certainly do.” Butter wouldn’t melt in Colton’s mouth. “Wanna start my habit-breaking now? Seems like the perfect opportunity.”
Zach responded by rolling on top of Colton.
Some answers were better without words.