Another blurby fan fiction...
C.J. pulled up the spirited colt and dismounted, handing him off to a groom before she walked up to the trainer standing by the rail, with a stopwatch in his hand.
"39 and change," she said, before giving him the chance to announce the colt's time for three furlongs on the dirt oval.
Not shabby for a first work, he had been the fastest two year old that she had ridden since she started work a month ago at the Pine Crest Racing Stables. The owners had moved the operations to the small racetrack up in Northern California in preparation for the meet which would be starting in a couple of weeks. The racing schedule would be packed, the purses fairly modest but the betting revenue would pay for a lion share of the town's budget for the upcoming year.
She had accepted the seasonal position from Rusty, the trainer on a lark. After having been on the road for a couple of weeks, she had on impulse stopped by at the impressive spread she had seen advertised on a billboard sign on Highway 1. Just to check it out, she told herself, because she loved horses so damn much. Almost more than most people and after meeting up with Rusty who had given her a tour of the place, he had offered her a temporary position and she had accepted it on contingency. That she prove her mettle over a couple of weeks and by the end of it, she had gotten some bumps and bruises but had impressed Rusty enough for him to offer her the job.
Even though she didn't know how long she would be working there before either heading back on the road or maybe…thinking about going back to the life she had walked out on back in L.A. Not that she had wanted to dwell on her departure all that much anymore because she couldn't change it and she didn't want to do that. Even though he hadn't gotten married to Elizabeth, she had still left to go spend some time on her own away from her life.
When Matt had told her that he had gotten engaged to the heiress from some suspect Irish family, C.J.'s eyes had nearly popped out of her head. What in the blazes was he thinking getting married to a woman he had known, about a month or two and most of that time she had been gone settling some family business before returning into his life out of the blue. But whether it was true love or raging hormones, Matt had decided to propose to Elizabeth shocking everyone who knew him.
But the wedding had never taken place because some madman from Matt's past terrorized everyone and afterward, Elizabeth tearfully told Matt that she couldn't live with his kind of lifestyle and they had said their goodbyes.
C.J. had never warmed to Elizabeth even though she had loaned her use of her house and her bed to cavort with Matt in, a decision that she later regretted. Then Elizabeth had asked her to be her maid of honor even though they barely knew one another and then C.J. had that conversation with Matt admitting she had some feelings of jealousy. Matt had glossed over that with some patent reassurances and then C.J. and Chris had decided to throw a bachelorette party for the bride….which hadn't exactly set the tone for what had been called the wedding of the year.
Everyone had hit the alcohol pretty hard and Chris hit on the stripper that they hired and had gotten his phone number before he waltzed off. Elizabeth turned out not to be a pleasant drunk at all and began making accusations that C.J. had been trying to sabotage the wedding which riled C.J. because she had fantasies of doing just that but her tight friendship with Matt stopped her in her tracks before she could carry them out.
And if that hadn't been bad enough, everyone on the bride's side had been hung over on the wedding day and after Elizabeth had tearfully broken it off with Matt, she had run into C.J. the day after that.
Elizabeth had clearly been hoping that C.J. could help her find a way to patch things up with Matt and get the wedding back on track because after she had gone back to her hotel room to think about it she realized she might have been somewhat rash. But C.J. had been busy at work at the office filing old investigative cases that had been completed when Elizabeth had just walked into her office unannounced.
She quickly plead her case to C.J. about why she had to make Matt understand that she had been overly emotional after the wedding had crashed and burned and she really was ready to take him back and maybe reschedule the wedding for the last Saturday at the end of the month.
But C.J. had finally had enough of this needy, passive-aggressive woman that somehow Matt had narrowly avoided marrying even after the vengeful assassin's attempts to kill him had been thwarted. If they were going back on track with the wedding, then she decided she wanted no part of it. She finally took a deep breath and relayed that to Elizabeth.
"But…you must help me," Elizabeth had responded, "He'll…he'll listen to you…he does respect your opinion."
C.J. folded her arms.
"No Elizabeth…I'm not going to help you," she said, "You're pulling this hot and cold number on my best friend…If that's what you both want then fine, but leave me out of it."
Elizabeth sighed, wringing her hands.
"I really love him and I believe he loves me," she said, "This time, I think we're going to make it."
C.J. didn't believe that at all, but the woman standing in front of her had really begun to irritate her.
"Well maybe that's true, maybe not," she said, "but either way I'm not going to be a part of it and I don't appreciate you treating my best friend in this way."
Elizabeth's eyes widened and she pushed her frizzy red hair back over her shoulders.
"I knew it…you are sabotaging my relationship with Matt…you never wanted him to find happiness with me or in other woman because you want him for yourself."
C.J. just stared at her thinking she was starting to start a little bit like Erin, Matt's one night stand who had become fixated on him and he had forced him to shoot her when she held a knife to C.J.'s throat. After she had gotten back on her feet and watched Erin's breakdown, she had thought that Matt really knew how to pick them.
His engagement to Elizabeth had really cemented that realization that Matt had this thing for women that he rescued on various cases that they investigated which was how he had met Elizabeth in the first place.
"Elizabeth…I am not out sabotaging anything," C.J. said, "If Houston wants to marry you, he'll marry you and whether or not I agree isn't the issue, he's my friend and I'll always love him…even when he screws up."
Elizabeth shook her head.
"Yeah right…I've got your number…you don't just love him, you're in love with him and it must be killing you that we might be walking down the aisle again...Don't deny it, I've seen how you look at him…even at the wedding…well before that evil man ruined it."
That caught C.J. off guard because she had been looking at Matt while Elizabeth walked down the aisle towards him and a part of her…for a brief moment in time, maybe might have wished it were different…but she'd get over it.
"Elizabeth, I might be in love with him but that's not the point," she said, "He chose to marry you and that's that….if you two do decide to marry, then I can certainly put my own feelings aside and wish him the best of luck."
Elizabeth's mouth hung open.
"So you do love him," she said, "and you do wish it were you who he loved in return."
C.J. didn't bother to deny it.
"Maybe…but there's what could be and then there's reality and that is that he chose to marry you," C.J. said, "and I can live with that because he's my best friend."
Elizabeth didn't seem very reassured by C.J.'s admission but she nodded somewhat reluctantly.
"So you give us your blessing…again and you mean it?"
C.J. was getting weary of having to be called upon to reassure this ninny but she smiled anyway.
"Yeah whatever…excuse me, I've got work to do…"
Elizabeth took the hint and left the office and C.J. walked out after her to go pour herself a Scotch which she felt might be helpful right now when she saw a whole line of secretaries standing there watching the two women. C.J. looked across the row of them and finally at Chris.
"What's going on here?"
Chris smiled weakly.
"You know that conversation you just had with Elizabeth…you…must have had your intercom switched on because it went on blast all over the suite."
C.J. put her hand to her chest, deciding that one glass of Scotch might not cut it, but it might be a good place to start.
And that's when she started thinking about maybe getting away for a while, of getting in her convertible and putting L.A. in her rearview mirror.
She had done just that and the whole episode of Matt's aborted wedding and Elizabeth's plans for reengagement had slipped away from her mind when she started hitting the more scenic spots of Highway 1. She stopped in places like Carmel, Morro Bay and stayed in San Francisco with Cindy, her sorority sister, before checking out wine country in Napa and Sonoma Counties.
Now she was up in Humboldt County near a small rustic town, where she had rented a Victorian house to stay in while she worked at the horse racing meet alongside Rusty, the trainer, Gloria who also rode horses and Pedro the main groom. She did mostly exercise riding but also knew enough to help with training even though she didn't have an official license. In the mornings, before dawn, she headed to the track after having java to warm her and spent the hours before the sun came up working and training racehorses and then she spent the rest of the mornings until early afternoon poring over their schedules with Rusty in his makeshift office. She hit the diner with a menu filled with enough specials to make it the perfect greasy spoon and then flirted with some of the local men when she socialized in the main drag during the evenings.
And not once did she think about her life back in L.A. during her six weeks away from it. Okay, well maybe on a slow night she remembered that she was a Harvard trained lawyer who worked with a private investigative firm and spent the days…well she had been out in the field with Matt until the arrival of his uncle.
She headed back to the backstretch of the racetrack with Gloria to check the schedules before meeting with Rusty.
"So you going out to Rosie's tonight?"
C.J. took off her helmet and shook out her hair before shrugging.
"I had plans to go check out that new play at the theater," she said, "It's supposed to be a murder mystery."
Gloria wrinkled her brow.
"Too highbrow for my taste," she said, "I'm heading to Rosie's for a bite and then to the Wrangler to meet up with Brian…he's got a twin brother who's a lawyer."
C.J. made a face.
"No way…have I had my fill of that."
Gloria frowned at her.
"Wait a minute wasn't that what you did back in L.A.?"
C.J. rolled her eyes.
"I'm trying to forget that for a little while, okay?"
Gloria laughed and the two of them went their separate ways. C.J. grabbed the clipboard hanging off the wall of the shed row and went to meet Rusty.
Matt drove along the highway having just crossed the border into Humboldt County, and looked in amazement at the redwood trees that loomed tall above the highway on both sides. He checked the slip of paper where he had jotted off some notes while on the phone with someone who had spotted his wayward associate and best friend who had left town a while back. He had really believed that C.J.'s departure from L.A. would be short in duration but as the days turned into weeks, he began to get concerned. Actually he had been blown away by what had happened earlier than that but he had some entanglements to sort out and he didn't think she would exactly welcome him coming after her…guessing that she needed some space for a while. But what had she gone off and done…joining up with a horse trainer to prepare some young horses for careers on the racetrack? Yes, he knew that his best friend was an accomplished rider, having grown up in the saddle. But this was a lot different than the type of riding that both of them had done.
He had just gotten off the plane before leaving L.A. after finishing a case where he and Roy had done surveillance on a mark before engaging in the car chase and foot pursuit which had added new meanings to both by the time they had caught up with the guy. Matt had decided when he returned to L.A. that he needed to take some time off and relax a little while. So maybe it had been time to go check up on C.J. and casually ask her when she planned to return back to her life in L.A.
Because damn it, he had missed her very much…his engagement to Elizabeth had fizzled out for obvious reasons…well at least he knew that now and she had gone back to Ireland. Actually they hadn't gotten back together at all, because when she had broached the topic, he had told her that he couldn't do it and they weren't meant to be together being two very different people.
She didn't believe him at first but it finally sunk in and she sniffled and said that she'd be better off without him. He had no doubts about that because she deserved to be with a man who could love her as much as she loved him. Matt had loved her but he had loved his lifestyle more and that had won out in the end. But actually it hadn't been that simple.
But as he drove down the scenic highway towards the town where C.J. now stayed, he wondered how he would say what needed to be said and how she would respond. After all, they hadn't spoken since she had left town.
His phone rang and he picked it up.
"Chris, is everything okay?"
"It's just fine…Roy is assigning some work to the secretarial pool on the invoices for the firm," she said, "It should be nearly done."
"Good…because I'm not sure how long I'll be gone," Matt said, "I'm almost there now, just about an hour away."
"Oh Matt, I hope C.J.'s doing fine," Chris said, "It's not like her not to call and check in …or send an email…but she was pretty determined to get away at least for a little while."
Matt certainly knew that judging by the terse note she had left on his desk announcing her departure on a road trip. He had hoped that she didn't run into as much trouble when she had taken the long scenic route to Santa Fe on a business trip but wound up crashing her car and getting amnesia. It had been a close call there and not hearing from her…he had been worried if she had been safe until he received a report that she was working for a horse trainer up in Northern California.
This was where he had headed once he had flown the Lear Jet to San Francisco and then picked up one of his favorite Porsches that had been sent to the airport for his use. He then took the coastal highway up while trying to figure out what he was going to say to her, to get her to come back to L.A. with him.
He willed the car to go faster but it was already pushing its limits as it snaked around the curvy road towards its destination.
C.J. headed home and showered after the day's work on the track. The water cascaded over her skin and she thought that the vacation hadn't turned out that badly even though typically it had turned into a working one. But at least it was a different type of job that allowed her to spend a lot of time outdoors with her favorite animals. Horses weren't nearly as complicated as people and she appreciated the change.
She got out and went to put on a pair of jeans that she had bought in San Francisco along with a jersey shirt that fit her like a glove, accentuating her figure. Perfect for dinner and attending the mystery play which she would be attending solo. She had plenty of requests for dates from the local men but the last thing she wanted right now was a guy in any way, shape or form. Or at least nearly all those things, not after what she had been through in L.A with the whole Matt and Elizabeth, would they marry or not nuptial affair. She hadn't even checked the society news to see what the next installment would be and she didn't care, she had just buried herself into her own life.
After fixing her hair, she grabbed a slim wrap and then her purse and headed out the door to her car to drive to the Priory to get some dinner.
Rusty smiled at the man standing before him, and just shook his head.
"Matlock, it's been a long time since I last saw you…you were…"
"A huge fan of yours," Matt said, "Back when you played baseball for the Astros…my father used to bring me to your games…you were the best outfielder that ever wore a glove."
Rusty sighed.
"The Astros didn't think so, or did the White Sox but I don't regret my baseball days," he said, "But I found something I like much better…got a job with a friend of the manager who trains horses and never looked back."
Matt nodded.
"I heard you've got some nice prospects for the Triple Crown…"
Rusty chuckled.
"Boy I wonder who built me up," he said, "No, not yet but I do have some nice two year olds."
Matt scratched his jaw.
"I heard you hired a young woman by the name of C.J."
Rusty furrowed his brow and nodded.
"Yeah…she's a lively one but excellent with the horses," he said, "Never would have guessed from a real Ivy Leaguer."
Matt smiled.
"She grew up with them on a ranch like I did," he said, "Did she say how long she's planning on sticking around?"
Rusty frowned.
"No she didn't…and I didn't ask because she's seasonal…though I'd take her on as a permanent assistant trainer and help her get licensed."
Matt wondered if C.J. would ever consider ditching law and working with him to take on horse racing permanently. He thought she enjoyed practicing law way too much and had seemed to enjoy working with him but he hadn't ever known her to just take off like this and not even call…or return her calls.
"You looking for her son? You sound like you know her."
Matt nodded.
"Just to talk to her for a moment," he said, "We go way back."
Rusty crossed his arms.
"Hell of a long way to drive just to talk to someone…I mean in the age of cell phones and all that."
"She didn't answer my calls."
Rusty considered that and then looked at him directly.
"Then maybe she doesn't want to talk to you."
Matt knew that but he needed to talk to her. Apparently there had been some falling out of sorts between them but he had no idea what had happened. Well, maybe a little bit of an idea but he needed the whole story. So she needed to fill him in on that.
"I know she might have been upset…but I have a few things to say and I've driven a long way."
"You have a place to stay…because it might take a day or two."
"I'm planning on staying in an inn on Main Street…and I don't know for how long."
Rusty nodded.
"Okay…I guess you've got to do what you've got to do," he said, "but I won't have you upsetting my best employee or you'll have to take on me and I will hurt you."
Matt knew that Rusty didn't make idle threats…actually he didn't make threats either but he would deliver on this promise.
"It's nothing like that," he said, "I'm sure we can work it out."
Rusty just looked at him, a bit doubtfully.
"She's left for the day and I don't check on her to see what her plans are," Rusty said, "but she'll be back to work at 4 a.m. tomorrow."
The early hour hardly bothered Matt and he knew he could make it to the racetrack and then talk to afterward, what could be so complicated about that?
C.J. rose up without an alarm the following morning and got dressed quickly enough before heading out to her car to head down to the racetrack. She had turned in after returning from what had turned out to be a pretty good play. Suspenseful and funny to boot, it had gotten her mind off of what she didn't want to think about for a while. A man who she had met in the lobby after the show wanted to take her out, Randy was his name and he had an art gallery in town but while she had been rather impressed at the sight of him, she politely declined, choosing to focus on work for now.
The truth was that she didn't want just any guy…she wanted…but no point in traveling down that road again…no she had her mind finally made up on that one. Matt would always be her best friend and she had to be satisfied with that. After all that's what their relationship had been like since they were kids and it had been enough for all those years, so why not now?
She reached the racetrack and parked her car, heading straight out to where she and Gloria would start in on the first string of horses to be worked over the surface. The dirt oval was somewhat crude but believe it or not had been pretty well maintained considering but then it had been trainers like Rusty who had put the pressure on the management of the facility to make sure it was safe.
A groom held the horse for her and she got aboard, taking the rains and looking over at Gloria who had done like. They trotted their spirited horses over to where they would start the training work.
Matt looked out, leaning on the track rail out at the horses getting ready to get into position to where they would start their speed work, with what looked like C.J. riding one of them. She certainly looked capable of handling the youngster who was getting its introduction to what it had been bred to do, to run fast.
"Nice one…"
Rusty nodded.
"It's by a champion and out of a pretty solid mare," he said, "but that's no guarantee."
Matt settled in to watch the work, and listen to the thundering of the hooves on the track as they sped by where he stood. C.J. hunched over the withers of her charge, her hands controlling the speed of the work, deftly.
"It's just a breeze…to work the kinks out of his leg from the shipping."
They sped around the turn past the finish line and then both riders pulled their horses up slowly. For a brief moment, it had been a struggle because after all these horses were hardwired to keep running until past being tired but they finally pulled up to where they trotted back to Rusty, the steam from their exertion filling the chilly air. Matt watched as C.J. stopped her mount and then a second later, the colt kicked up his heels and threw her right off onto the track. Instinct nearly made him hop over the rail and run to her aid but he didn't think his response would be met warmly. Besides, she had fallen many times and had always gotten back up. And she did, grabbing the colt before he could take off, then after handing him to the groom; she brushed the dirt off of her clothes.
"Should have seen that coming…"
Rusty shrugged.
"It happens…his father did the same thing a time or two when I trained him."
She took off her helmet and her hair came cascading down around her face and then she looked and saw him.
And her smile disappeared, not the response that he had hoped for when she saw him there.
"Houston…"
He remained by the rail as she stood still looking at him in consternation.
"C.J…"
She finally approached him slowly.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
He didn't miss a beat.
"Nice to see you too…"
She folded her arms and shot him a look.
"Oh don't give me that…I mean it, what the hell are you doing all the way up here?"
He tried to act all casual though he felt anything but at this point.
"I thought I'd drop in and see how you were doing," he said.
She just shook her head and walked away from him.
"I can't believe this…I can't even go on a vacation without…"
He sighed.
"It seemed like more than that from your brief note," he said, "A lot more."
She glared at him.
"That's none of your business."
"I think it is since you work for me…"
She shook her head.
"I work with you," she said, "I haven't worked for you since we became partners."
He conceded that point.
"C.J. I came all the way up here to talk to you…about what happened."
She walked through the opening into the grandstand area.
"Then you wasted your time," she said, "Besides I got work to do."
Rusty shrugged.
"You got a few minutes to talk to the fellow here," he said, "I don't need an employee who's riled up all day…go on get it out of your system."
He walked off before she could respond and so she turned back towards Matt.
"Okay…I'll give you a couple of minutes to present your case."
"That's better…counselor."
She looked at her hands.
"You better get started instead of being all smart with me."
They went over to sit in the front row seats of the grandstand and she looked at him expectantly.
"So what did you want to tell me?"
Matt looked at her sitting there expectantly, but with more than a hint of wariness in her eyes as well. He knew that he had been the one to put it there and didn't know how far his words would go at removing it.
"Elizabeth went back to Ireland…we didn't get married."
"I figured as much since I didn't see a wedding ring," she said.
Matt glanced at his own hand and then back at her.
"She thought that maybe we could try it again but I told her that I couldn't marry her…we're two very different people and even though I loved her, I couldn't change who I am and didn't want to do that."
She softened a little bit.
"Well, it's your decision who to be, your right," she said, "Any woman who loves a man should because of who he is, not who she wants him to be."
Matt paused and looked out at the horses being ridden around the racetrack.
"Is that why you love me?"
She looked at him, startled and he thought for a second she might get up and leave him, but she stayed and put on an easy smile for him instead.
"Well of course I love you," she said, "We've been friends for ages."
"That's not what I mean," he said, "I'm talking about what happened in the office before you left."
She looked puzzled for a moment.
"What do you…oh that…"
"Yes…that."
She started fidgeting with her hands.
"I suppose you heard about what happened with what I said to Elizabeth being broadcast over the intercom."
He rubbed his forehead.
"No actually, I heard it," he said, "I was working out in the gym downstairs."
Oh lord, she thought quickly, not even able to look at him right now. So he heard her declaration of love and what she had told his ex-fiancée. But then what was really the problem? After all, she had told him twice she loved him to his face and he just hadn't responded, not even to say he'd get back to her.
"So you heard…everything."
He nodded.
"I heard you tell her that you were in love with me."
Now under his gaze, she felt flustered. Damn, office equipment, she didn't even know she had an intercom activation button in her office until it was too late.
"Well don't read too much into it," she said, "because it's not the first time I ever said it."
He closed his eyes knowing she spoke the truth because she had told him right before they both believed they were going to be shot down in a hail of gunfire and right before she hid a bullet wound from him for as long as she could.
"I know…and I'm sorry I didn't really listen."
"Doesn't matter…it's bad form to say those things under the circumstances I did," she said, "Besides I've moved on…I want the best for you Houston, but I want that for me too."
"And that's here?"
She sighed.
"I don't know but it makes sense for now," she said, "I get to work outdoors with the horses and still have enough time to do other things. Meet other people."
"Have you met anyone?"
Meaning another guy, she figured but she shook her head. She had been tempted to say yes, but she wanted to be honest with him. So she got brutally honest.
"I may have feelings for you but I'll get over them," she said, "It just might take longer to recover from than the flu."
Matt looked a bit dismayed at her choice of words, enough to nearly make her wince. So she softened them up a bit because hurting his feelings really wasn't the point.
"I didn't mean it that way," she said, "I just clued myself into the fact that I'm not the kind of women that you're looking for."
With that, she stood up and walked back to the backstretch before he could say anything else.
Damn, Matt thought as he watched her walk away from him, looking lovely as she did so. She really had gotten upset with him since he'd seen her last, the note she left behind hadn't done it justice. Had he made things worse by showing up out of the blue and confronting her? At least she had talked to him that had to be a start even though he hadn't much liked what she told him.
She had nailed him good and proper with her words about him not paying attention to her when she had told him that she loved him. He had no one to blame but himself either especially after he had just had this epiphany that his feelings for her were somewhat stronger than he knew but by the time he had realized it, she had already left town.
So he had finally caught up with her and what did she tell him, that she didn't think he could go for a woman like her. He sighed, knowing he had his work cut out for him. Gloria came walking up to him, looking at him sitting in the grandstand suit.
"You lost or something?"
He glanced up at her.
"Something…no I guess this is going to be tougher than I thought."
Gloria proved to be a quick study and glanced over at the direction C.J. had gone.
"Oh, so you're the guy who burned her," she guessed, "Yeah, you're definitely going to have to bring your "A" game…because I don't think she's in the receptive mood if you get my drift."
"No I guess not."
"Well, she didn't talk much about you, except to say that she left L.A. partly because of some guy…and I figure that's got to be you."
Matt couldn't deny it.
"We just had a little disagreement…"
Gloria snorted.
"Yeah right…that's what guys like you always say when you dump a woman and move onto the next."
Matt raised his hand.
"I didn't dump C.J.," he said, "I decided not to marry my fiancée."
Gloria didn't look all that impressed with his pronouncement.
"So…I'm not sure what that accomplished since you guys always seem to have some other action on the side anyway."
"That's not how I work…and she does know that."
Gloria folded her arms in skepticism.
"I can see that…It's too bad because you're gorgeous but maybe that's part of your problem."
"Excuse me?"
"The good looking ones like you always have women flocking to them, like attracting like. Now don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with that but someone always gets hurt and it's usually not the guy."
Matt looked at her sharply.
"I'm not out to hurt anyone least of all my best friend," he said, "I just wanted to talk to her."
"Then you'd better really change your technique Cassanova…because you just struck out."
Matt looked at her as if he needed to be reminded and Gloria just shook her head at him and walked away.
No most definitely not.