"Deep in the Heart"
**Immediately follows "Homicide Hollywood Style"
"When a parent loses a child, there is no greater pain."
Sylvester Stallone
01 - Touch Down
"Daddy!" Catey Rose was finally released from her mother's grasp and ran across the tarmac to meet her dad as he descended the steps of the jet.
"Hey there, Lady Bug!" Matt dropped his bag on the ground and swept the little girl up into his arms. A flurry of kisses landed on his face as she began telling him all about the goings-on of the Texas ranch while he had been in California finishing up his training as a fire investigator. CJ joined the pair in a minute and as the couple shared a kiss, their daughter pulled both into a choking bear hug causing them to laugh. As they made their way toward the Expedition parked in front of the hangar, Matt asked about their twin sons.
"They're a lot better this morning. Thank goodness. One baby with a cold is bad enough. Two of them that act like their dad when he's sick is too much!" She laughed as he swatted at her.
"Mike and Vinny just need some guy time with their dad, that's all." He slid into the passenger seat and they began the drive to the ranch.
After getting a big hug from Madre Rosa, the cowboy quietly snuck up the stairs to the nursery to check on his sons and met nanny Sheila Wentworth who was just exiting the room. "How're they doing?"
"No more fever. They sure do get cranky - kinda like somebody else I know." The nurse-turned-nanny gave the man a big smile and watched as he entered the room. Both boys were sleeping soundly and he stood between the two cribs, taking them by the hand and watching them sleep for a minute before turning toward the door. In a whisper he spoke to the half Husky/half Blue Heeler that sat before him holding out her right paw. "How ya doin', Tilly?" Kneeling down he shook with the dog and then spent a minute petting on her. "Keep a good eye on them for me." She wagged her tail and went to lay down between the cribs.
Out in the hallway he heard the sound of Catey as she plead her case for not taking a nap. The nanny was having none of it and the almost three year old finally settled for having her dad tuck her in with the promise of a horseback ride later that day.
Matt came back downstairs, pulled a cold drink from the refrigerator and walked out onto the back porch, settling down beside his wife on one of the swings. "I swear I think they've shot up a foot since the last time I was here."
"Wouldn't be exaggerating would you?" CJ leaned her head over on his shoulder.
"Not by much." He looked out across the ranch. In the distance he could see part of the herd that was fast becoming a good money maker. The Houstons had begun the task of re-establishing the cattle business on the ranch while she was pregnant with Catey, the end plan being that when the time came for retirement, the pair would settle back where they had begun. In addition, CJ was now the proud owner of the adjoining property that at one time had belonged to her uncle Errol Parsons. Rockin' PH Quarter Horses was her childhood dream come true. Over the last year there had been extensive renovations on the old farm house as well the expansion of the barn. An indoor arena would soon be under construction and would hopefully be operational in a few months.
The pair enjoyed a companionable silence until a truck pulled out from one of the pastures and parked behind the house. Ranch foreman Marty Hoffmann got out along with the newest employee of the ranch, Clint Murphy who had begun work for the Houstons two months previously. "Good Lord, is it that time already?" Hoffmann winked at his boss's wife. "Guess we knew it was too good to last forever, huh CJ?"
"I missed you, too, Marty." Matt chuckled as the two men came up the steps and had a seat on the swing opposite him. "So how are you faring, Clint?"
"Pretty good."
"How long are you here for this time?" Hoffmann removed his hat and wiped the sweat away with a bandana.
"For a while I hope." The group chatted for a few minutes about the workings of the ranch before Marty and Clint went to town to pick up a load of supplies.
Later that evening after the kids were off to bed the couple was on the back porch once again on the swing. "So I take it there were no problems?" She was sitting cross-legged with Matt's head in her lap.
"Well…" He yawned. "Other than getting battered and bruised hauling fire hoses - no. One thing about it: my time in Quantico got me in shape for it." There was another pause as he yawned again. "I'm sure Don MacLemore is glad I finally got it finished. Sure felt bad having to put it off so many times."
"I think he's just glad to have you onboard, hon." Quiet took over as she looked out at the stars that shone brightly and in a few minutes she could tell that he had fallen asleep. Madre Rosa came out onto the porch and the women talked quietly as he began to lightly snore.
"He hasn't been sleeping well, has he?" The older woman could just see him in the light from the stars.
CJ didn't reply right away. "He keeps telling me that he is...but I'm not sure I believe him."
"There hasn't been anyone shooting at him again - has there?" She knew that he didn't always let her know everything that happened to him in an effort to keep her from worrying so much.
"No, not since they caught Kathy's kidnapper." Three months previously the private investigator had come under fire twice within two days. The identity of the first shooter had never been found and no trace had been found of the second shooter who had eliminated the first with a sniper shot from the rim of a canyon. Matt had received a crease to the left side of his forehead and no one was sure which man was the intended target.
Silence took over again until the housekeeper decided to call it a night and turn in. CJ stayed on the swing, unwilling to wake her husband, and fell asleep herself. It wasn't until he woke her at four in the morning that they moved inside and went to their room, stopping on the way to check on the children.
Matt awoke at 9:00 the next morning, the faint sound of the children's laughter drifting through the house a welcome sound. He lay there for a few minutes thinking how nice it was to be back with his family after so much time spent apart for the last few months. Oh, there had been weekend visits, but he had missed so much of the day-to-day moments that it left him feeling like a bad father. Things were still up in the air as far as the adoption process with Brian because of the way that the family traveled between Texas and California. That was the reason that he had been alone in Los Angeles during his final fire investigation class. CJ had remained in Texas in an effort to show stability.
He got out of the bed and hit the shower before getting dressed and finding his way downstairs where he was attacked by Catey and her brothers. "Y'all let me get a cup of coffee and then we'll play, alright?" After a couple of minutes they finally turned him loose and he poured himself a cup and leaned against the kitchen counter sipping on it as the housekeeper came through with a basket of laundry. "Mornin'."
"Good morning. You seemed to sleep well on the swing last night." She noticed that he seemed much more rested than the day before.
"Good ole Texas air." He gave her a smile and watched as she nodded and then proceeded upstairs with the basket. After finishing the cup he went into the den where the kids and CJ were playing in the floor, joining them and being immediately pinned to the carpet by the kids while his wife sat and laughed, taking pictures of the group at play.
Later on after lunch he put the kids down for their naps and had just made it out to the porch when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID: Francine Martinez. "Good afternoon."
"Houston, I really hate to bother you - have you finished your class?" The Sheriff of Harris County was en route to a crime scene just west of downtown Houston.
"Sure did. Just got back in town yesterday."
"Would you meet me in River Oaks?"
"Yes ma'am. What's the address?" He headed back into the kitchen for a pen and paper, meeting CJ and Madre Rosa as he grabbed a pad off of the kitchen counter and began jotting down the information. The two women exchanged a look and CJ went upstairs. "I'll be there ASAP." He disconnected the call and started to the hallway where he was met by his wife who was carrying his holster and badge. "Thanks, Babe." He clipped the badge on his belt and took the holster from her. Looking up at her as he fastened the clip on his right leg, he apologized.
"You've got a job to do, hon. Just be careful - okay?" She gave him a kiss and received one back that was much more involved.
"Yes ma'am. Love you."
"Love you, too, Cowboy. Tell her I said hello."
"I will. Call you when I know something." He went out the door and down the steps to the Sheriff's Department SUV that had been assigned to him. Both women watched as he backed up and went down the driveway.
"Well, his time off didn't last very long." Madre Rosa turned back toward the laundry room.
CJ started back toward the study. "It never does."