Fred Munson likes his job as a traffic cop. He’s good at it. It’s his personal life that could use some improvement. With no friends, and being too shy to talk to anyone while out of uniform, when Fred is forced to use some of his vacation time, he has nothing to fill his days. At least not until he comes home to find his driveway blocked by a stranger with car troubles. A month after losing his father, Zen Zeppelin Cave has also lost his place in the world. The only thing holding him together is focusing on a charity junk car race to raise money for cancer research. And he's crossing that finish line even if he ends up replacing every part of the car along the way. Zen had planned on completing the race on his own, but a spur-of-the-moment decision changes that when he invites the adorable, blushing police officer whose driveway he’s blocking to tag along. Going with a stranger on a road trip is completely out of Fred’s comfort zone, so when he accepts the invitation, no one is more surprised than himself. Together, Zen and Fred head south. But will the old junk car hold together long enough to reach their destination? And will crossing the finish line mean the end of the road for a budding romance, or will they find there’s more to their journey?

Banger Challenge

“A banger challenge, it’s a British expression, I think. It’s a charity race. Have you heard of races like Gumball 3000?”


Fred nodded despite Zen watching the road. His hand was still resting on Fred’s thigh, warmth seeping into his every cell. When he removed it to grab the wheel, Fred swallowed a sound of protest.


“This race is three thousand miles, just like Gumball, only, where they drive fast in fancy cars, our focus is just to get to the finish line. They cover three thousand miles in seven days, we do it in three weeks. Every Saturday at six P.M. we are to be at a predetermined place or we’re out. They drive expensive, fast cars, our cars aren’t allowed to cost more than six hundred dollars.”


“Six hundred dollars?” Could you get a car for six hundred dollars?


Chapter 9