Colton
He stared at his uncle, not wanting to hear the words. “But?—”
“Colton, listen to me. There’s a reason we have a no fraternizing rule when guarding someone. Your focus needs to be keeping him safe. You can’t do that if you treat this like a weekend getaway. The Ulmstead boys are already facing one murder beef. You think they care if they add a sheriff’s deputy and the person he’s guarding?”
Colton knew Uncle Ted was right, but… “I hear you.”
“I know you got feelings for Zach, and I’m not saying you can’t have them. Just focus on what’s important right now. This ain’t forever.”
He knew his uncle was telling him this because Colton might not be thinking right. Except he wasn’t a kid. He knew how to keep someone safe, goddammit, and he wasn’t about to fuck around with Zach’s life.
Hell, he’d dare those kids to come onto their land and try to hurt them. They were the outsiders, and he was getting fucking tired of playing grab-ass with the little fucks.
Colton needed to chat with Zach about who these guys were. Their pack mentality he understood, but it wasn’t like gettingZach would magically turn their shit into diamonds. They were in a world of trouble, and there wasn’t anything they could do to fix that.
Desperate men, however, did unpredictable things. They needed to capture the five before someone else got hurt, or worse. “Uncle Ted, do you give this speech to Greg every time he’s caught with his fly down at the Brass Rail?”
Ted’s short, sharp laugh stole the tension from the moment. “Shit, boy. You know full well if I had a dime for every time I had to remind my son to put his dick away, I’d have a lot of dimes. I’m just grateful he hasn’t knocked any of them up. He isn’t ready to be a parent. Maybe someday. You, on the other hand?—”
“Whoa!” He held up his hands. “I’m not married yet, don’t give me kids any year soon.”
“Fine,” Uncle Ted said, “but you both need to make it out alive for us to have this conversation proper.”
The sheriff’s words highlighted two things—his family approved of Zach, and this was as serious a situation as Whitebark had seen since Colton’s father tried to rob the bank. “I got this, Uncle Ted. No one’s dying on my watch.”
“Let’s go one better.” Ted looked him in the eyes. “How about we set the bar at no one gets hurt?”
The mood had gotten too depressing, so Colton rolled his eyes as dramatic as he could. “You’re pushing, old man.”
“I know.” Ted held his hands up. “But I’ll be damned if I have to listen to your momma curse me out if something happens to you.”
That was the closest his uncle could come to saying he loved Colton. At least in public. “She’s good at doing that.”
Zach came outside carrying his things. “You ready to hit the road… Zach?”
“Yep.” Zach offered him a smile, then walked around the truck. “Did you get everything you planned to bring?”
He’d almost called Zach honey, but he knew it made the guy self-conscious. He got it. They were still getting to know each other and pet names might be too much, too soon. “I got my guitar, bug spray, and a charger for my phone. How about you?”
“I gotallmy stuff,” Zach said, his dimples showing for a second.
Dimples? Damn that was cute.
Zach opened the door and tossed his bag into the cab. He set the violin down and swung himself onto the seat like he belonged there. Which, if Colton had his way, was exactly right.
He gave his uncle and Greg a half wave before settling behind the wheel. One day soon, he’d be making this drive for the last time and moving into his own. It might be foolish, but he couldn’t stop daydreaming about it being himandZach movingtheirstuff together.
“Are we going to your house, or do we need to stop somewhere first?”
He put his hand on Zach’s leg. This wasn’t getting busy; it was just showing interest. “I’ll probably need Greg to bring us some food, but we have enough for lunch. Like I said, don’t expect fancy. It’s gonna need some work once we get there.”
“I’m not expecting room service.” Zach covered Colton’s hand with his. “Tell me what you need me to do.”
That was such a loaded question, Colton couldn’t answer. The warmth from those long fingers seeped into him and made it hard to think. “Mostly we need to set up the rooms so we can sleep, and the kitchen.”
He also wanted to secure the house just in case those assholes found them. Probably him being stupid, but he promised his uncle he wouldn’t think with his dick and he meant it. Keeping Zach safe was his first priority. Once they caught those assholes, they could worry about more.
Colton pulled up into the garage he’d built in the back. He’d built the structure to keep the building supplies dry, but now he could park inside and hide his truck from prying eyes.
