She couldn’t let these feelings be any more than trust and professional dependence, even if she was attracted to him. He was still taboo—and she’d be an idiot to forget that he was restoring this house only so he could sell it at a profit and move on.
CHAPTER SIX
WHEN THE CREW took a break for lunch, Zach introduced Tess and Bran. She’d noticed him earlier, thinking that Paige was right—the resemblance was unmistakable. Of a similar height, both men had the same lean, strong builds. Zach’s cheekbones and jaw were more sharply honed, Bran’s face more roughly sculpted. Tess was unnerved to be faced by two pairs of bright blue eyes.
The most obvious difference was that Bran’s hair was a deep auburn instead of brown. His extra years showed in deepened creases on his forehead and at his eyes, too.
She smiled, said the right things and shook hands with him, but had the strange thought that she’d never have been attracted to him even if he did look an awful lot like Zach. He had an air of remoteness that made her suppress a shiver.
The two men appeared comfortable in work boots, faded jeans and T-shirts. Zach had worn a tool belt earlier, too, as comfortably as he did his holster and handgun on his day job. The day wasn’t hot, but Tess wouldn’t be surprised if some of the men went shirtless by midafternoon. She secretly hoped Zach was one of them.
“We came close to meeting before,” Bran surprised her by saying.
“Really? When?”
“I was there the day you roared in to confront Detective Delancy.”
Tess involuntarily made a face.
He laughed, although if he was genuinely amused, it didn’t show in his chilly blue eyes. “Several of us saw the confrontation. I think you scared him.”
“Good. He’s a jerk.” Suddenly she felt warmth in her cheeks. “Um, I hope he isn’t a friend of yours.”
“No. We work together.”
“I do remember a couple of other men watching. You’re the tall one.”
That was a silly thing to say. Tess didn’t like how he intimidated her.
“Compared to Lieutenant Arnold, yes.” He looked past her. “Paige.”
His mouth curved into a smile and he slipped an arm around his fiancée, but Tess didn’t see any softening of his general mien. Her eyes lingered on him as Paige led him away to solve some dispute over a long-past pickup basketball game.
“What are you thinking?” Zach asked quietly.
She started then forced a smile. “Just curious. You two look a lot alike but...”
“But?”
“I just have a feeling he’d be hard to get to know.”
He glanced after his brother, too. “He and I know where each other is coming from.”
“Even though you haven’t spent much time together in the past few years?”
“Past few?” His tilted smile held no amusement whatsoever. “Try twenty-five. The last time I saw him, I was nine years old and he was twelve.”
“What?” She gaped at him. “You’re serious? It wasn’t just your father you lost touch with?”
“I’m serious. Our parents parted ways, Bran and I each made a choice, and that was it.” He shrugged. “Mom and Dad didn’t mean it to be that way, but—” His frown was a mere flicker but suggested he hadn’t meant to say as much as he had. “By the way, I don’t think I thanked you for coming today, Tess. You’ve been working hard, too.”
He could shut down emotions and any possible questions like no one she’d ever met. Although Tess had a suspicion his brother was as good at it if not better.
“I thought everyone at this little party was supposed to work,” she said lightly.
“Yeah, but some are working harder than others.” His gaze flicked again to his brother and the fiancée. Paige’s only contribution had been laying out the food and producing paper plates, napkins and plastic cutlery.
“We all have our strengths.”
“True.”
He stood at ease beside her but had kept at least a couple of feet of separation all day. She had the impression he was making sure no one made the mistake of thinking they were intimate.
That was smart, given the other deputies here today. She had felt a little uneasy earlier when she’d become aware of a man watching her and one of the other women identified him as a cop. There hadn’t been anything to object to, but...