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

“I like working, but maybe I’d work fewer hours. Sometimes I wish I could live in Nortown, but I like my house, a lot, so even if I could, I doubt I would’ve moved.”


“Would you go on vacation to the Caribbean and shit like that?”


Fred tried picture himself on a crowded beach and shuddered. “I doubt it. I like to be at home.”


“But you’re here with me instead of being at home.”


He was. It was surreal that he’d agreed to go, and not only agreed, he was looking forward to sitting in a shitty car for the coming week. “Crazy, isn’t it?”


Zen laughed, a deep, bubbling laugh. “Not at all. I do stuff like this all the time. Or, not all the time, but you know.” He shrugged.


Zen pursed his lips. “Yeah…Justin recently divorced his wife so it’s been a rough—”


“His wife?” Fred’s face heated when he realized he’d not only cut Zen off, he’d also raised his voice.


Chapter 20