The last words were whispered into the quiet house.
“Well that’s a mule kick to the balls,” Colton said, drawing a scowl from his uncle. “What? Granddad’s been sitting on a fortune, and he trots it out for Zach to play. That’s pretty crazy.”
“Who knows if the old guy knows that it’s special.” Ted shrugged. “He probably didn’t. No one in the family has taken up violin before Tyler, and he’s still using a rental.”
He tended to agree with his uncle. It was surprising grandpa left it up there at all, the way he loved his instruments. “You want a bleach cloth to wipe it down with?”
“Colton!” Zach sounded like Momma when Colton told an off-color joke she didn’t like. “You can’t treat the case like a pieceof ranch equipment. It might not be as valuable as the violin, but the case is a masterpiece too.”
“You got some mineral oil, son? That might do it.” Ted gave the case a once over real careful, then peered at the fiddle. “So you think it plays?”
Lord, that would suck hairy donkey balls if it didn’t.
“Not like this.” He moved it around so he could inspect it from all sides. “It looks in great condition, but strings go bad over time, even if they aren’t played. I have plenty of extras in my case. If you give me a few minutes, I can restring and tune it right up in about ten minutes or so.”
Zach gently placed the violin back in its case and practically ran out of the room. Ted’s smile did Colton’s heart good. If his uncle liked him, Colton wasn’t seeing Zach with just his libido.
The sound of Zach’s bare feet tickled Colton’s pulse. He might be right, there was more to Zach than his hot body and beautiful face, but his dick didn’t care about those other good qualities. Shit, he needed to get laid.
Carrying his case, Zach set it on the table next to Granddad's. He didn’t wait for permission before he set to work.
Ted nodded toward the back door. “Why don’t you clean up the case while I call Nanette and let her know it’s going to be a few minutes more before we get back.”
Zach cradled the violin like it would break if he breathed on it too hard. Colton got it. For a fiddle player, this was that diamond in the rough.
Granddad insisted Zach play the thing now that he’d tuned it, so Ted had Zach leave his violin at the house. “So you won’trefuse to ,” Colton said. “If it breaks, that’s on Granddad not you.”
“I’m not scared I’ll break it, I’m in shock,” he said. “This is like finding a missing DaVinci. The average violinist never gets to touch a Bartolomeo Guarneri.”
Then this made sense, because Zach wasn’t average. “You said people play these old things all the time.”
“Only the very best, who are world renowned, and paid a fortune for their instrument.”
And his grandfather had one hidden away all these years. “I’m glad you get the chance to play, honey. You deserve it.”
“Right, I deserve it.” Zach snorted. “I’m no one special, and the only family I knew was a lifelong criminal. Sounds like I’m the last person who should touch this. How do you know I won’t steal it and run off?”
Colton understood some of what Zach was thinking. Even two years later, he wondered what people thought of him in a deputy uniform. “First, whatever your grandfather did isn’t who you are. We get to make the decisions that define us. And second, this is Whitebark County. Where would you go? You’re twenty miles from the nearest town, and I’d find you before you reached it. Not hard to find the hottest guy in the state, clutching a wooden violin case, yelling at his phone because the GPS lost signal.” Zach smiled shyly, and Colton wanted to kiss it away so damn badly. “But since I know you’re not like that, you won’t make me track you down.”
“I’m not sure why you think I’m such a good guy, Colton.” Zach’s smile faded all the way to an almost-frown. “I want to be, especially for you, but actions talk. Not only don’t I have the pedigree of a good person, but I manipulated you into helping me.”
He’d thought Zach’d let that go by now. “Honey, we already said we wouldn’t talk about that. Past is past. Can’t change it. Allyou can do is prove it isn’t you. As for yourpedigree,my dad’s a murderer. Uncle Ted stole a car as a teen, and Grandpa, who was the sheriff then, told him it was jail or the Navy. And you’ve met Momma.” He gave Zach a side-eye and a shake of the head. What utter nonsense—like Colton was a debutante? He was a dirt farmer. “We all have family we were born into, and it comes with baggage. The family you choose says more about you. You’re one of my people now.” He hoped.
Damn, that felt good to say. Colton meant every word, and he hoped it would help Zach understand he had people who cared. Thingshadsucked for him. Colton couldn’t imagine being all alone in the world. Even when they fought, he always knew his family would be there for him. Zach had lost that, and Colton wanted to help fill that hole.
Zach sighed. “I….”
“You are a good guy, and I intend to keep you for as long as you’re willing, so stop it.” Colton kissed him. Nothing long and drawn out or nothing, or even particularly hungry. Just a kiss to put that period at the end of his sentence.
Okay, that was pretty damn cool.
Colton straightened up, shooting Zach a grin. “You ready to head over? It’s pretty day. Want to walk it?”
Zach’s face was red, but his smile told the real story. He reached out and hooked his pinky around Colton’s.
“Walking’s fine.”
