“You don’t have brothers, do you, Your Honor?”

“No, I don’t.”

“I do.”

With a lift of a brow, Beckett sipped again. “All right, I’ll sustain that. What were they arguing about?”

Rachel eased around the boggy ground. “It was just a misunderstanding. I won’t deny both of them are hotheaded, and that with their type of temperament a misunderstanding can sometimes evolve into…”

“An argument?” Beckett suggested.

“Yes.” Needing to make her point, Rachel leaned forward. “Judge Beckett, Nick has been making such incredible progress. When I was first assigned to his case, I very nearly dismissed him as just another street punk. But there was something that made me reevaluate him.”

“Haunted eyes do that to a woman.”

Surprised, Rachel blinked. “Yes.”

“Go on.”

“He was so young, and yet he’d already started to give up on himself, and everyone else. After I met Zack, and found out about Nick’s background, it was easy to understand. There’s never been anyone permanent in his life, anyone he felt he could count on and trust. But with Zack…he wanted to. No matter how tough and disinterested he tried to act, the longer he was with Zack, the more you could see that they needed each other.”

“Just how involved are you with your co-guardian?”

With her face carefully blank, Rachel sat back in her seat. “I believe that’s irrelevant.”

“Do you? Well.” She gestured with her hand. “Continue.”

“For nearly two months, Nick has stayed out of trouble. He’s been handling the responsibilities Zack has given him. He’s developing outside interests. He plays the piano.”

“Does he?”

“Zack bought him one when he found out.”

“That doesn’t seem like something that would make fists fly.” A faint smile played around her mouth as she gestured with her manhattan. “You’re dodging the point, Counselor.”

“I want you to understand that this probationary period has been successful. What happened tonight was simply a product of misunderstandings and hot tempers. It was the exception rather than the rule.”

“You’re not in court.”

“No, Your Honor, but I don’t want you to hold this against my client when I am.”

“Agreed.” Pleased with what she saw in Rachel, what she heard, and what she sensed, Beckett rattled the ice in her glass. “Explain tonight.”

“It was my fault,” Rachel said, pushing her wine aside. “It was poor judgment on my part that caused Nick to feel, to believe he felt…something.”

Beckett pursed her lips. “I begin to see. He’s a healthy young man, and you’re an attractive woman who’s shown an interest in him.”

“And I blew it,” Rachel said bitterly. “I thought I’d handled it. I was so damn sure I was on top of everything.”

“I know the feeling.” Beckett sampled a beer nut thoughtfully. “Off the record. Start at the beginning.”