Colton
Jesus fucking Christ, Momma could make him want to spit nails. Seriously, giving Zach the goddamn speech about separate bedrooms?
One, the man wasn’t wearing a purity ring. Until he made a commitment to someone, he was a free agent. And two? He paid some rent and fixed the bad plumbing and rewired the front room so it stopped throwing the breakers and….
Colton took a deep breath and stripped off his uniform. Let it go. Momma had gotten his message. Now it was time to get the fuck out of the house for a minute.
There was a four-wheeler, a muddy road, and a stocked pond with a nice dock. Add a six-pack and a radio, and they’d be loaded for bear.
Maybe they could go pick. Just the two of them, get out of the fucking weight of opinions and eyes.
It was the going that was important.
He tugged on an ancient T-shirt and faded jeans, his old boots, and a straw hat that had seen better days. Zach had never seen him out of uniform. Then he wandered down the hall and knocked on Zach’s door. “You in there, honey?”
“Yes, you can come in.”
Zach sat on the bed with his legs tucked under him, seeming as young as Colton thought he was. He stared at the phone a second before he smiled at Colton. It wasn’t fake, but it wasn’t natural either.
“You doing… anything?” The smirk from Zach proved he wasn’t as suave as he’d hoped. “Sorry. It’s my nature to make sure folks, guests, are comfortable.”
“The sheriff telling you and your mother to take me in hardly makes me a guest.” At least the touch of humor felt real. “I… I was looking at the only picture I have of my mother. It’s been a while since I thought of her. Not that I remember her.”
Zach turned the phone, and Colton saw the picture. The older man had to be Jeb, and the woman in the white dress had her hands on Zach, who was around three or four. She was a sweet-looking lady, and the family resemblance ran deep.
“Your momma was real pretty.”
“I don’t have one of my father, so I don’t know what he looked like. Maddie found this in a trunk after my parents died. She took a picture of it with her phone so I’d always have it.” Zach pulled it back and dropped it on the bed. “Seeing you with your mother, I wondered what mine would have been like if she’d… if she hadn’t died.”
Now didn’t he feel like a shithead. Zach would kill to see his mother alive and he wanted to get away from his. “Mommas are funny things. They love us and want to see us happy, but they can’t seem to let go.”
“Mine did.”
Those two words nearly broke Colton. “She didn’t mean to leave.”
“I know. I just….” He heaved in a breath and shook his head. “No, I’m not doing anything.”
Every sad thought Colton had about missing his daddy was shit compared to what Zach had lost. “I thought we could takethe four-wheeler, some beer, your fiddle and my guitar, and go play down by the pond.”
“Beer?” Zach closed one eyelid. “Weren’t you and Greg teasing me about how I got milk?”
He grinned. Something about Zach called to him. Not just physically—that was a goddamn given that he was the cartoon wolf all bug-eyed with his tongue hanging to the floor and his heart beating out of his chest—but something heavier than that. Dammit, he wanted a real, honest-to-God smile. “I’m not at work right now, and we’re on private property.”
Colton held out one hand. “Come and play? We earned it.”
“Play?” A wicked smile stretched Zach’s lips as he hopped off the bed, grabbed his shoes and his violin. “You need to watch what you say, deputy. A man can only resist so much before his will to be good fails.”
A roar burst from Colton. Zach had more layers than an onion. He might seem angelic, but he wasn’t a saint. “Honey, once we get this all put aside, you won’t need to resist.”
He backed out and led Zach to the back of the house. The tarp kept his used but well-maintained Polaris Sportsman dry. Colton stowed their instruments and went inside for the cooler and some beer.
He grabbed a six-pack of Coors and some ice, along with a handful of random snacks from the kitchen.
Zach wasn’t dressed for the mud, but they’d find him some old boots for the future, and mud washed out of denim. Securing the drinks, Colton noticed Zach staring at the seat.
Oh damn!He shoved aside the image of Zach pressed to his back, hands around his waist. It wasn’t far. They’d be good. The way his dick reacted, he wasn’t so sure. Still, it was going to be the most fun he’d had on the vehicle to date, even if a feel of that lean body along his was all he got.
It didn’t take any time before they were off, splashing along. The sun was coming out, the pasture was wet, but green, and everything seemed so alive.
