“Yes, you can, so it’s settled.” Ted smiled. Zach looked like a deer in the headlights with a semi barreling down on him. “Do you need to stop somewhere, get a toothbrush and all?”
“No, sir,” he stammered, still not recovered. “I have my kit bag.”
The sheriff blinked, so Colton stepped in to clarify. “He had a few things tucked back by the gate. He knew it was time to skedaddle.”
“That’s a damn fine quality to have, son.” Ted nodded. “I’m going to stop at the store and pick up some snacks. Colton, take him to the house. Greg, you go too. You’re going to file the report, okay?”
“Sure, sheriff.” Greg said it like it was the worst job in the world.
“Annie?” Ted said sweetly. “Give me a piece of cherry to go?”
“Yes, Sheriff.” Annie winked,
Colton chuckled. Everyone humored his uncle. “We’ll just catch up to you at the ranch, okay?” He glanced at Greg, then Zach, making it obvious he wanted to have a moment with Zach.
“No problem.” Greg stared out at the parking lot, but he wouldn’t leave until they did. His cousin would follow them, just in case.
Greg left and Colton smiled at Zach. “We have about a thirty-minute drive ahead of us. You ready, kid?”
“I’m not a kid.”
“I know, but I feel a little like a pervert, lusting after you when you were in trouble.” Not that he wasn’t still lusting after Zach in his head, but he had to be all business.
“I can’t catch a break.” Zach threw up his hands.
Once the rush of danger passed, Zach would come to his senses. There was no reason for someone as talented as Zach to stay in Bumfuck Nowhere to be with Colton. That was apipedream, but it might make them both feel better to pretend. “Maybe after we get this all straightened out we can start over.”
“Promise?” Zach gave him a suspicious look.
Zach apparently had enough people trying to get in his pants for a quick fuck, but Colton thought he deserved better. Much better. “You bet. I would love a shot.”
“Okay. We might have to revisit this conversation if the mess I’m in drags on too long. I want you.”
He didn’t scoff, because that would be insulting, right? Zach should get credit for knowing his own mind, even if Colton thought it was all mixed up with adrenaline and maybe hero worship. “Come on. We want to make sure we get home before my uncle.”
“He said he was going to the store,” Zach said. “Remember?”
Colton snorted. Kid thought he was so smart. “Who’s going to stop the sheriff for speeding?”
“Oh, right.” Zach shot him a glance. “Who stops you?”
And didn’t that feel like a loaded question? “I guess I have to stop myself, and if I don’t, I have Greg and Uncle Ted.”
“Are there any other deputies?”
They headed out, and Colton didn’t love how the conversation had sort of U-turned on him. At least Zach was talking about things unrelated to their almost date. “There are two other full-time deputies, and about a dozen who can be deputized as needed. There’s also the Montana Highway Patrol.”
Colton got them safely into the truck, and they pulled out, the radio playing Florida Georgia Line. Zach was quiet, and soon Colton sang along with the song. Despite everything, he enjoyed his ride home.
“Not enough fiddle,” Zach finally teased. “But you have a good voice.”
Heat crept back into his cheeks. Funny how easily he forgot why Zach was in his truck. “I come from a musical family. Imean, not like you—we’re not amazing or anything. We just love to play and sing.”
“Oh, man, do you guys have jam sessions?”
Colton doubted they had the same definition of ‘jam sessions.’ “Sometimes. Uncle Ted plays the banjo.”
“You’re not serious!” Zach sounded genuinely happy for the first time since they left the fairgrounds. “How cool is that? What about you?”
