Dylan turned and looked toward the kitchen.

“Apparently you did some damage, too,” she told Dylan. “Broke his nose.”

“Self-defense,” Dylan reminded her.

“Okay, we’ll do that later,” she said into the phone. “But you talk to him first—I don’t want a repeat of this insanity. And I definitely don’t want that happening in front of the boys.”

Dylan was multitasking. He read the articles and captions while he listened to Katie—there was a reason why he never looked at the tabloids. It was all such a bunch of crap. There was speculation about whether he’d be getting together romantically with Lindsey, his old costar. Now, that didn’t hurt him in any way, but what about her? She had a good marriage to a great guy and a couple of little kids. This kind of reporting was irresponsible and could create problems where there were none. There were plenty of seedy stories out there without victimizing her.

Katie and Leslie had moved on to the bear, the summer program the boys were in and Tom, the guy who was going to call Fish and Game. They started laughing about something to do with Conner’s nose.

Dylan read that he’d been living on his grandmother’s Montana estate and a snort escaped him. It was a four-bedroom, two-bath, thirty-five-year-old ranch-style house. It was perfectly nice; he’d had the kitchen remodeled about ten years ago and replaced some carpeting. There were some real nice hardwood floors and he had landscaped the backyard a few years ago, adding a big patio and grill he could use about three months of the year. But estate? It was around twenty-four hundred square feet of house and except for the yard surrounding the house, it was raw land in the valley that was Payne. There was a barn, a shed, a corral, a pasture. And there was Ham, doing his chores, letting himself into Dylan’s house to make a sandwich when he got hungry.

And damn, he wanted her there. Suddenly that’s what he wanted. To take Katie home with him.

Katie was talking about someone who lived on Leslie’s street—the girls, she called them. Apparently Katie had settled in and had girlfriends.

Dylan poked through the trunk. He lifted out a photo album and flipped through some pages. Baby pictures of the twins, from the first day to about three months, but the man in the pictures wasn’t their dad, it was their uncle. The next album he recognized as a wedding album and that got him a little wound up. Being a fairly typical man, he’d usually only look at wedding pictures if torture were the alternative. But he wanted to see Katie all dressed up and he wanted to see the guy who caught her.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling quietly. She was spectacular. She wore a strapless dress that fit her snugly to her h*ps and then did some billowing. No veil, just a lot of baby’s breath in her hair. She was so natural that way that he was surprised to see shoes on her feet. And there was Charlie—tall and strong. And goddamn him, he was good-looking enough to be a movie star himself. Decked out in his uniform, covered with medals and ribbons, every photo of him gazing at Katie with absolute love and longing and the promise of making her cry out in pleasure every night.

And suddenly she was sitting beside him. “Our wedding,” she said.

“It’s a wonder the guy can stand up under all that brass,” Dylan said.

“He was highly decorated. He took way too many chances, I’m sure of that. He got the Medal of Honor posthumously for acts of bravery and heroism that cost him his life, but saved others. We weren’t married long, but I felt like I knew Charlie very well—he wouldn’t have thought twice. Did you know that only a few living soldiers have been awarded the Medal of Honor? I saw one interviewed on TV. And you should see how modest and humble he is. I must admit, that’s about the only time Charlie was modest and humble, when the army wanted to give him a medal, otherwise he was kind of full of himself.”

“Really?”

“You know guys,” she said. She turned the page. “We had six months together before he deployed, so he got to know the boys a little bit. But two months later he was killed.”

“Got to know the boys?” Dylan asked.

She put her hand on her tummy. “In here. While they were in here, moving around, going crazy. We named them before he left. And the nicest thing—the president made sure there were two Medals of Honor—one for each of the boys. And three flags—one for me, one for each of them…”

And all this time Dylan had been pissing and moaning about a half-whacked family and the rigors of fame…?

Charlie Malone, hard act to follow.

Dylan picked up the tabloids that sat beside him on the sofa. “Katie, throw these in the trash.”

“Why?”

“First of all, it’s all B.S. Second, this crap shouldn’t sit on top of Charlie’s medals. It’s sacrilege.”

“It must be really annoying, seeing that kind of stuff printed.”

“It would be if I ever bothered to look. I used to. When I was a kid it really bothered me. So—what did you and Leslie decide is going to happen to us—Conner and I?”

“Well, you’re going to face the music. After I pick up the boys this afternoon, we’re going to their house. The two of you will apologize, take an oath to stay out of each other’s business and shake hands.”

“Awww…”

“Just shake hands and talk about baseball or something. I honestly don’t care if you hate each other till the end of time, you’re going to act like adults around Leslie and I. Or else.”

“Can I just remind you that I didn’t attack him?”

“Uh-huh, so I hear. And you also had to be held back so you wouldn’t retaliate. It is officially over, Dylan. Or you will be banished.”

“But you said I could have the couch. You can’t banish me.”

She lifted one light brown brow. “Try me.”

The phone rang and she got up to answer it. Dylan could only hear her side of the conversation but he realized two things immediately—it was that Tom fellow, and whatever he had to say did not make her happy. “What? Oh, no! Tom, that isn’t a good thing. No, I don’t like it but I feel trapped. And I’m very grateful that you let them know but… Honestly, if she were better natured, I might try to hide her…”

By the time she hung up, Dylan was standing, looking at her across the room. “What’s the matter, Katie?”

She pulled a sad face and shrugged. “Tom did as he promised and called Fish and Game. They said they would put a plan in motion to relocate the bear but they couldn’t guarantee anything. It’s very unlikely the whole family would be relocated together. They might hold one or two of the cubs in captivity for a while, till they’re more independent. Apparently relocating four bears is quite a tall order. So tall an order, they might just…”

“You seem pretty upset…”

“Shoot her…they might just shoot her. Even if they do move her, a mother shouldn’t lose her children just because she got a little overprotective. And, God, brothers shouldn’t be separated…”

He just smiled at her. She could be so tough, but there were some issues on which she was completely tenderhearted. “Let’s go for a ride,” he said.

“I told you, I’m not really feeling like the bike—”

“I know, no problem. We’ll take the truck. Or better still—your SUV. You don’t have anything better to do between now and when you toss me to that brother of yours. Let’s head for the beach. Got an old blanket around here? We can stop and get some lunch to go, take it easy. You can tell me all about Charlie. How you met him, how you knew you wanted to take a chance on him, all your secrets.”

“They’re not secrets, Dylan. They’re also not the sort of thing you should be interested in. What kind of guy wants to know about the first guy?”

“I’m interested in Charlie,” he said. “But I want to know about you.”

Fifteen

Over a couple of deli sandwiches, bag of chips and unsweetened tea, Dylan learned that Katie met Charlie through a girlfriend. “She had a date with some soldier, set up by a cousin of hers or something, and she didn’t want to go alone. So, before she even asked me if I’d go, she asked her date to bring a friend for her girlfriend. I was pretty annoyed with her, but I went. She never saw her soldier again after that night, but I married mine.”

“You must’ve been a lot easier back then…” Dylan teased.

“He made me laugh,” she said, amused. “Then he made me love him. Conner had a fit because I was ready to run away with Charlie after a week. I agreed to wait a few months and Charlie won over Conner.”

“Just out of curiosity, how’d he do that?”

“Well, he didn’t break his nose, for one thing. It did take a while, but Charlie worked hard at courting me. He flew from Texas to Sacramento every chance he got, not easy to do on a soldier’s salary. Conner thought he’d lose interest, find a more convenient girlfriend, but Charlie kept coming back. He just wouldn’t give up. He told Conner he’d never quit because he loved me.”

Dylan reached for her, smoothing back her hair on one side. “I came back,” he reminded her.

“I didn’t expect that,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I trust you.”

“I know you don’t. I’ll be honest with you—I didn’t know I’d come back, either. And here’s a flash for you, Katie Malone—I’m not giving up, either.”

She sighed and lay down on the blanket, on her back. “I think you might, Dylan. I’m pretty sure I’m not going to fit into your plans.”

“I’m flexible, when you get down to it,” he said, leaning over her, hoping he could wrap up this conversation with some meaningful kissing.

“Not about everything,” she said. She touched the tender black-and-blue cheek under his eye. “Listen, I didn’t plan this, but I guess since you’re here asking for another chance, you should have the facts. There’s a reason why Conner went a little crazy on you. It’s not just because you left and I was sad. It’s because just minutes before he ran into you at Jack’s, I had told him…” She lost her nerve and bit her lower lip.

“What, Katie?”

“Well, the one thing you had long ago made up your mind never to do—have a family,” she said.

“I’ve given that some thought,” he said. “If the girl I want comes with a couple of kids, I’ll have to rethink that.” He shrugged. “I guess the real danger to you probably lies in my screwed up DNA. I’d really like to overcome that. I just don’t know if I can.”

“Right,” she said. She turned on her side and balanced her head on her hand, her elbow braced on the ground. “As it turns out, we’re going to find out just how screwed up your DNA is. Take a deep breath. I’m pregnant.”

He didn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. His eyes got a little wide as he looked at her.

“You aren’t going to throw up, are you?” she asked him.

He still didn’t move. He leaned away from her and she sat up. “I’m very careful,” he said. “That shouldn’t have happened.”

“Yeah, I’m careful, too. We had some bad luck, I guess. Failed protection? I think we got a little too…ahem…close before the protection got involved.”

“My fault,” he muttered. “I lost my mind. I lost control. I couldn’t think and I—I’m sorry…”

“You’re probably right about how it happened. I can promise you I didn’t stick pins in condoms—I wasn’t interested in having this kind of surprise. I already have plenty on my plate.”

“Were you going to tell me?” he asked, and his voice sounded very hoarse.

“Absolutely, but when I was ready and not because I need anything from you. You’ve been very clear how you feel about this sort of thing, like you don’t realize I’ll have some DNA in this child, as well… And mine is excellent, by the way. So once I realized what had happened, I decided I could handle this just fine. But I’m an honest person and you deserve to know. How you respond is up to you.”

He looked out at the ocean. He circled his raised knees with his arms and put his forehead down on his knees. He groaned. He took a moment, then he straightened, looked at her and said, “And how are you going to respond?” he asked.

She actually laughed. “Well, funny you should ask. I’m going to be a little nauseated in the mornings, be very tired in the afternoons and early evenings, grow enormous and then deliver. Then I am rather committed full-time for about twenty years.”

“Do I have this right—you told your brother already, but not me?” he asked.

She took a breath. “First of all, you weren’t here and he was. I had a phone number but this wasn’t the kind of thing I wanted to tell you on the phone, at least until I was sure that was the only option. I would’ve gotten in touch eventually, you can be sure of that. But for the time being all I was sure of was that you were partying in Hollywood, kissing blond necks and stuff.”

“I told you,” he said. “A good friend, a hug. That was not a real kiss.”

“So, I had to ask for my brother’s emotional support. I’ll get a job, pay my own freight, take care of my children and—”

“Is there any discussion about whether—?”

Her expression became fierce as she stopped him by holding up a hand. “Don’t even go there. You don’t have to like it, but it is what it is.”