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

“You okay?” Zen was adjusting his seat for the hundredth time the last half hour.


“I think we need to drink. My head is starting to get heavy. This fucking heat is terrible.”


Zen looked at him for a second too long. “If we go to Nordon, we can stay the night there. I know a great camping site.”


“How far is it?” Please don’t be far, please don’t be far, please don’t be far.


“You’re asking?” Thirty miles wasn’t too bad.


“I think it’s thereabout. You want to stop at the next gas station, get something to drink, and keep going? If we drive that far today, we won’t have to go more than a hundred miles tomorrow to still be on track.”


It was thirty-three miles to Nordon, a cute little town Fred had never been to, and it took an eternity to get there. The clock didn’t show it, but in Fred’s mind, it was an eternity.


Chapter 24