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knew that when he was a young teen, he'd gotten into many fights. Part of what intrigued her about him was the way he had left his anger behind. She wondered how he'd done that. "Your father's drinking problem?"
    "Yep. That and some of the other things our forebears have done. The Coltranes have a reputation to live down and another one we want to build. All of us want that."
    "What was it like being the black sheep of the county?"
    "Good and bad. Mostly bad. Teachers, neighbors, mostly everyone expected the worst when a Coltrane came around. So we often lived down to the expectations. That just ended up causing more trouble. Then my dad hired a foreman. His name was Zachary and he taught us how to fence and turned us into modern-day knights."
    Martina blinked. "Modern-day knights? I knew all of you fenced. People were always afraid one of you might stick a sword in someone who ticked you off."
    "There's that Coltrane rep again. Zachary started us out with wiffel bats. It was a big deal when he let us use one of his swords, and the biggest deal was when he gave us each a sword. We had to earn it," Noah said with a faraway look in his eyes.
    "How did you earn it?"
    "Grades, self-control, attitude and skill with the sword."
    It was difficult for Martina to keep her objections against Noah intact when she pictured his transformation from an angry teen to a man. "I never heard anything about this."
    "Most people haven't. Zachary left the ranch a few years ago. He told us we had the tools. We would always know what to do."
    "You miss him," Martina said in surprise.
    Noah nodded. "Yeah, I do."
    "You've described your brothers," she ventured, picking up her second slice of pizza. "How would they describe you?"
    "Besides a pain in the ass," Noah said with a wicked grin, "the driven dreamer, the one who is always trying to do impossible stuff."
    "Impossible stuff like what?"
    "Like trading cattle futures and making money at it. Running weekend roundups and increasing the ranch's revenue. Starting a fencing camp." He paused and met her gaze. "Trying to marry the Logan princess."
    Martina felt as if she'd been punched by the look of determination on his face. Her heart hammered against her rib cage. "You want to marry me because I'm carrying your …" She broke off, refusing to use the words that sent her into a spin every time. "Because the baby I'm carrying has some of your genes. You don't want to marry me because you love me. You don't want me to come live with you because you can't live without me."
    His eyes flashed with anger. "It would be tough finding that out now. When you left, you didn't give either of us much choice."
    Her chest tightened. "I was just a fling for you."
    "Martina, you are not fling material." His nostrils flared slightly and he narrowed his eyes. "Was it so easy to leave?"
    His words echoed inside her, sending her perspective in circles. She had survived the past seven months by believing that what she and Noah had shared was a fling. She'd chanted it to herself day and night. "One of us had to do it. It had to be done."
    "Why?"
    Martina fought the jittery feeling spreading throughout her. She stood and tossed her napkin into the trash. "Because of our families. One of us had to stop it before we got in too deep."
    She felt Noah behind her. "Did you succeed? Did you stop before we got in too deep?"
    His question taunted her heart while his breath teased the back of her neck. She closed her eyes and mentally put her brick wall back in place. She turned and lifted her chin. "I think the general consensus is that I didn't get out unscathed," she said, putting her hand on her abdomen. "You said something about a little treat? Is it a brownie?"
    He tilted his head to one side and shook it. "No." He waved his hand toward the chair. "Have a seat."
    Curious, she sat and guessed again. "Cookies?"
    He shook his head.
    "Not cake or pie?"
    He laughed. "No more food this time." He knelt beside her, and shock and alarm