Zach
Zach sat back on his heels while Colton finished the last item on his list. Wiping his face with the hem of his shirt, he took a deep breath to calm himself. The sun had almost set, and it would get dark soon.
So much for doing a few things before they put Colton’s oversized shower to good use. This was the least horny he’d felt around Colton since they met.
They’d practiced unblocking the back door so he could run away if needed. Talk about a hard-on killer. It also defined Colton in a way Zach hadn’t fully appreciated. The sweet, thoughtful man had a tough underbelly that might have scared Zach away if he’d seen that side first. It reminded him of the sheriff.
Once Zach satisfied Colton that he could open the door in less than ten seconds, they moved on to the next items on his list. Under each window, they stacked unstable piles of lumber and cans. His angst grew every time he stared out of the window and realized how exposed they were.
Building the hideaways drove home how real the shit had become. They spent most of the day finding ways for Colton to stash guns out of sight, but easy for him to reach. He understoodwhy it was necessary, but it left him wondering if Colton knew more than he’d told Zach. In their minds, they were preparing for an all-out assault.
Colton repeatedly assured him they were safe. Anyone trying to get to his house had to come through an entire ranch of family or near-family ranch hands. The precautions were just in case. No matter what Colton said, it felt like overkill. Unless it was more likely than he was told.
“Honey?”
Zach started and looked up. “Yeah?”
“Where’d you go? I called you twice, and you didn’t answer.”
Where had he gone? It felt like he flew to the moon and crashed back to earth. He’d gone everywhere without leaving this county. Hell, he wasn’t even in a town, and he’d gone from broke to rich, from employed to not, from not knowing any murdered people to being possibly hunted by people that were supposed to be family. His entire universe felt like he was at the center of a tornado and watching his life spin around him.
“Just sitting here. Sorry.”
“You look a little pale.” Colton came to rest against the marble-topped island in the kitchen. “You know that I won’t let them get to you, right? I’m serious as a heart attack. Nobody is going to hurt you.”
And there he was again. His guardian angel, who hadn’t asked for a single thing. His eye in the middle of the raging storm. “I do. You’re the only reason I don’t go unblock the back door and run off.”
“Where would you go?” Colton’s crooked grin reignited the need in Zach.
It was a good question. If Mr. Lee hadn’t lied, Zach could go anywhere in the world now. “Not sure, but sometimes I feel like I need to run away from my life.”
“It doesn’t work like that. Your life sticks with you no matter where you are.”
He stared at the blank wall. In the quiet, he had time to think, and that wasn’t always good. “I’m not so sure anymore. The only life I knew is gone. I think—no, I know—I could walk away, and no one would notice.”
“Is that what you want?”
For the first time since this conversation started, he met Colton’s gaze. “No. If I ran off, I’d probably never see you again. I want to create my new life with you.”
“I keep telling you, I’m not that special.”
Colton said it too often for Zach to just dismiss it. “You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. But if that’s your way of saying you don’t feel the same, I get it.”
“Hold on there, honey. I’m not saying that one bit. It’s just you’ve got this crazy talent that’s too good to be holed up on a tiny plot of land, hitched to a nobody deputy.”
How did he make the man understand that he didn’t care about that? “Don’t I get a say in that? What if I want to be here in this beautiful home you’ve built, tied to the most amazing man, and be happier than I’ve ever been in my life?”
“I like how you say that.” Colton’s lip curled in a goofy, but oh-so pleased smile. “Well, then, I guess you and I have some discussing to do. I’m thinking long, slow discussing. Behind a locked door. In case we get all intense about it.”
Now that felt nice. “Please tell me this ‘discussing’ begins with us using your oversized shower.”
“You read my mind.” Colton pushed off the counter. “Let’s get a quick something to eat. I don’t want to pass out from hunger.”
Food wouldn’t satisfy the hunger gnawing at Zach. “Or we could go wash up, do some discussing, and come down to eat while resting up for morediscussing.”
Colton snorted and shook his head. He didn’t leave the kitchen, but he also didn’t say no.
“Come on. I’m nineteen.”
