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

When they got back in, Anthony waved them into the dining hall where the food had been set out. Fred was ready to bolt again, but Zen kept hold of his hand.


Normally, this would be the kind of place with crisp white tablecloths, a gazillion knives and forks by your plate, and where well-dressed waiters came to ask if you wanted to see the wine list. Fred wanted to cling to Zen at the mere thought of having to taste wine while the waiter was watching him and say if it was good or not, but he was pleasantly surprised to see the food was set up buffet-style.


When they reached the food, Zen let go of him and handed him a plate. Fred filled his plate without looking to see what he got, too worried about doing something wrong to read the little notes by each dish.


Fred wished he could turn invisible. Heat spread on his cheeks, and he looked toward the door to the patio measuring his chances of a successful escape.


Chapter 16