She stood, too, hoping she’d feel less vulnerable when he wasn’t towering over her as much. “You’ll be careful, too, won’t you?”
His expression softened. “I’m a tough nut to crack.”
That meant he thought he was too tough for anyone to challenge.
“Have you insured your new house yet?” she said with sudden urgency.
Looking surprised, he said, “Actually, the bank required it.”
“Oh. Of course, they would.”
“Some would say that burning down my new house would be doing me a favor.”
He wasn’t taking her seriously. Tess wanted to shake him.
“Deputy Hayes is big and mean, and he’s a cop, too. You’re not invincible.”
“If something happens to me, investigators would look at him right away.”
“But from what you’ve said, he has friends.” Tess couldn’t dismiss this sudden conviction that he was in danger. Hayes had to feel special rage for Zach, who was supposed to back him, not turn on him.
“Hey.” Zach’s voice was suddenly deeper, a little husky. His mouth tipped up on one side. “You’re worried about me.”
She frowned. “Of course I’m worried about you! And you’re not taking me seriously, are you?”
“Yeah, actually, I am.” His smile disappeared, an odd expression replacing it. His voice became huskier, halting. “I think...if we weren’t under scrutiny, I’d ask you to dinner.”
Something a lot more complicated replaced her frustration. “I...thank you.” It came out as a whisper.
His gaze briefly lowered to her mouth then lifted. “Just out of curiosity.” That husky note was still there. “What would you have said?”
“Yes.” Her knees gave out and she plunked back down onto her old chair. “I already invited you to dinner, remember?”
Satisfaction curved his mouth. “Good reminder. And now I’d better get out of here before I do something I shouldn’t.”
He was gone before she could open her mouth to ask something stupid. Because she knew what he’d had in mind.
And if her knees were weak just because he looked at her that way, Tess couldn’t imagine how she’d feel if he actually kissed her.
But then she remembered what he’d said about being rootless. “When you know you’re going to move often...”
Tess made a face. Maybe it was just as well he hadn’t really asked. She’d reached an age where she was beginning to wonder whether she’d ever meet a guy interested in permanence. She wanted a family.
Zach didn’t even want furniture to encumber him.
Well, the issue wouldn’t arise. It could take forever until Andrew Hayes was convicted at trial. She’d read about trials starting, when she’d forgotten the details of the original crime because it had taken place as much as two or three years before. What if the deputy was never arrested? Or was exonerated? Would Zach be able to stay on in Harris County, a renegade in the sheriff’s department?
He was already considered a renegade, she felt sure, and because he was so new on the job, he’d have nobody to back him up.
Being honest about what he’d seen, standing up for what he knew was right, had the potential to cost him a whole lot more than it would her. Knowing that scared her even as it increased her resolve to armor herself against his appeal. She hated the idea of not seeing him again...but knew it would be a whole lot healthier for her if she didn’t.
* * *
ZACH’S PHONE DIDN’T ring often these days. A few friends had called to give him a hard time about his move to a Washington State backwater, all wanting to know if he was ready to throw in the towel and come back to Portland yet. He expected those calls to become more infrequent. A couple of the guys he’d worked with would stay good friends.
Otherwise he only had an occasional work-related call. None yet from Bran, but then, they hadn’t exchanged numbers. What with Zach’s couple of days off, they hadn’t crossed paths, either.
So when his phone rang as he was debating whether to have another piece of pizza or not, his first thought was that it could be the new neighbor, Dean Thompson, calling to fulfill his wife’s promise of useful names.