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

Fred blinked at Zen as he pulled off his T-shirt and scratched his stomach. It took several seconds before he managed to get himself to look away. “A…eh…swim?”


The grass almost covered his shoes; clovers stretched toward the sky.


“Yeah, there’s a lake right there.” Fred looked up in time to see Zen point. “And I don’t know about you, but I’d like to clean off a little before we head into town.”


Town?Minwall was bigger than Whiteport. “Aren’t there any showers?”


“Sure, but you have to pay for them. Come on, Freddie.” Zen touched his arm. “The water is cool, nice, refreshing, and free.”


Zen opened the tent, seconds later, he’d grabbed a bar of soap and a towel.


“Are you planning to use the soap in the lake?” It wasn’t allowed, was it?


“Last one in drives tonight!” Zen took off at a jog, making Fred laugh, and slowly walk after him. If Zen wanted a beer, he had no problems driving them back.


Chapter 14