Dead Ringer

**Immediately follows "Tropical Treachery"**

"In three words I can sum up everything I've

learned about life: it goes on."

Robert Frost

CHAPTER 1

"Okay, next question: What are the three fundamental properties of fuels involved in fires?" CJ looked over at her husband Matt as he set the jet's controls to automatic pilot once they had reached their assigned altitude and were far away from any other air traffic.

"The fuel density, thermal conductivity, and heat capacity." Matt took a long swig of coffee out of the travel mug that he had filled before leaving the fueling office of the Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport. He was taking Roy Houston, his uncle, back to California to recuperate from a heart attack that he had suffered five days previously.

"Good. Now, why should attorneys involved in prosecuting or defending fire cases be familiar with the same chemistry involved in fires like the fire investigators who may be testifying?" She grinned.

"'Cause if they're smart like my sexy lawyer they don't want to ask a question they don't already know the answer to – plus they would be handicapped by not knowing." He leaned forward and kissed his wife before standing up and heading back toward the passenger cabin.

"Correct. Where are you going?"

"To check on Uncle Roy. Be right back." He walked on back to find his uncle reclined in one of the seats and reading a book. "Was the take-off to your satisfaction, Mr. Houston?" He grinned down at the man. Other than looking tired, Roy seemed fine.

"Tip top, my good man – and you don't need to worry about me, Mattlock – I'm just fine." He knew exactly why his nephew had come back to the cabin.

"I know you are. Just came back to get a Fizzy Pop." He walked toward the refrigerator at the back of the cabin.

"Should go really well with that coffee you've got there." Roy cut his eyes over at Matt.

"I'm getting it for CJ." Matt pulled the drink out and headed back up to the cockpit where CJ was snickering.

"Busted." She looked over at Matt as he sat back down in the seat next to her.

"Hush, woman." He handed her the drink, grinning. "Well, he's just as sharp as ever."

She reached across and took his hand, giving it a squeeze. "He's going to be just fine, Matt. All he needs is a little rest and the medication that they gave him."

Matt nodded and took another sip of the coffee and sat looking at the mug. He couldn't help but worry about Roy – considering that his brother, Matt's adoptive father, had died from heart problems. "Okay, let's get back to it." He turned back around to keep watch out of the windshield of the airplane as he continued to be quizzed by his wife for the upcoming test that he had to take for his Fire Technology class.

After the five hour flight to Los Angeles, they were met at the airport by Lamar Pettybone, one of Matt's ranch hands. As he helped Matt get the luggage loaded into CJ's Navigator, he asked how Will was doing.

"He's fine - back at work with Vince and installing the systems." Roy's son Will had been working with his dad and Matt's best friend Vince Novelli putting in security systems for a chain of jewelry stores. After spending a good deal of time and effort putting the deal together, Roy had joined the two on the installation jobs. He had suffered the heart attack after his son was wrongly accused of murder. With the help of a police detective, Matt and Vince had managed to clear the man. Unfortunately, Matt had been forced to kill a pair of brothers who were behind the bogus charges on his cousin: the first after he attacked the private investigator in the hotel and the other, a police lieutenant, when he attacked Matt and held the entire waiting area at the emergency room hostage. He had been holding a gun to CJ's head and was about to pull the trigger when Matt went after him. The former Army Special Forces captain had broken the man's neck with his bare hands, something that he wasn't happy about in the least. The act had brought back a lot of bad memories to Matt from the time that he had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Although he was more like himself a few days later, CJ was still keeping an eye on him. She had noticed that he got quiet more often and didn't want to talk too much.

Lamar could tell that Matt didn't really want to talk about it and dropped the subject, switching instead to happenings around the ranch while the couple had been gone. Their daughter, who was now seven months old, had spoken her first word while they were in Florida. Instead of Mama or Daddy, she had said "Cricket" – the name of Matt's favorite horse that he and Catey Rose rode almost daily. "I believe she likes that horse better than she likes you, Houston." Lamar looked over at his boss and grinned as they were stopped at a traffic light.

"Well, at least she knows a good horse when she sees one." Matt smiled, but it quickly faded and the ranch hand decided that maybe a quiet ride would be best. When they arrived at the ranch, they were greeted by a very excited Catey Rose along with her nanny, Sheila Wentworth, and the half-Husky half-Blue Heeler puppy named Chantilly that was now a part of their lives since Sheila had become a member of the household.

"I'm not sure which one is happier to see you two." The former nurse smiled as she handed Catey over to her mother. The trip to Florida had been the first time that both she and Matt had been away from Catey for an extended period of time and they had both missed her terribly. Both of them hugged their daughter at the same time and the baby was giving the pair sloppy kisses.

"Hey there Lady Bug, look who we brought with us." Matt had stepped aside so that Roy could see and hold his great niece who was obviously very glad to see him as well. He walked into the house behind CJ as Matt and Lamar worked on getting the luggage unloaded. Sheila stayed behind to talk to Matt about his uncle for a minute.

"He looks pretty good, Houston." She picked up one of the suitcases and helped the other two as they headed toward the house.

"Yep, just a little tired." Something in his tone caused Sheila to look at him, and she noticed that something seemed to be bothering him.

"He'll be fine." She patted him on the shoulder but didn't get anything else from him but a nod of the head as he went on into the house to take his uncle's bags to the guest room that he would be using while he stayed with them. Sheila and Lamar exchanged a look and shrugged their shoulders before following their boss inside. Neither one had heard about what had happened other than the fact that Will had been cleared of any wrong-doing.

Once inside, CJ got Roy settled in to one of the recliners, after a good bit of arguing. "CJ, I appreciate the concern, but I really need to get up and get moving. I've been lying around too much."

"You need to rest up, Uncle Roy. You know what the doctors told you." She was trying to cover him with an afghan.

"CJ…" Roy's tone got a little sharp. He sighed. "Look, I'm not cold, okay?" He patted her hand. "And yes, I'm supposed to rest, but that doesn't mean that I have to lie around all the time. Exercise is a good thing…right Sheila?" He looked to the nurse for a little back up.

"Yes it is, but…" She sat down next to him and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't try to do too much at one time, okay?"

"I won't, but I'm not going to lay around all the time, either. I didn't live to be this old by sitting on my…ahem, uh, duff all the time." Everyone in the room snickered – except Matt.

"Tell you what…how about you give yourself about an hour to relax and unwind here and then you and me and Catey can go for a stroll? Does that sound acceptable?" Sheila was used to dealing with stubborn men: she had been Matt's nurse quite a few times at the hospital as well as his private nurse after he had been injured in a bomb blast.

"Oh, okay." Roy picked up the book that he had brought in with him and opened it up. Matt stood and watched him for a minute before turning and walking back out through the kitchen and heading down to the barn.

CJ, now carrying Catey Rose, stepped out on the patio to see where he had gone and was joined by Bo who had just headed up to the house from the bunkhouse. He glanced back down the hill at his boss, and gestured over his shoulder at him. "Is he mad about something?" He had tried to talk to Matt but had been shut down.

Watching as Matt climbed the fence and slid onto the back of Cricket and started off through the pastures, CJ sighed. "I need to tell you all what happened while we were gone…but I would advise you not to say anything to him about it." They sat down at the table on the patio and CJ told them about the deaths of the Montoya brothers.

"Well they had it coming." Although he was surprised by how Matt had killed the second brother, Bo didn't see any reason for Houston to be upset by it.

"Yes, they did, but…" She looked back down toward the pasture as Matt was disappearing from sight over a hill. "The whole thing has brought back some memories from his time in the Army that he would rather not remember."

"Oh…" Sheila's late husband Charles had served with the Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan and she knew exactly what CJ was talking about.

"If y'all would just kind of keep an eye on him…I've seen him get like this before. Usually it doesn't last too long, but…" CJ stopped right there.

"We'll keep a good eye on him, you know that." Lamar reached across and patted Matt's wife on the hand.

A couple of hours later, Matt rode back up to the barn and started feeding Cricket and the other horses. Lamar and Bo had just walked in the other end of the barn to begin feeding the animals. "Have a good ride, Houston?" Bo was working on filling up the water buckets.

"Yeah, I did." Matt patted on Cricket's neck and then turned to face his two ranch hands. "Bo, I owe you an apology for earlier. I'm sorry I was so short with you."

"Ahhh, you ain't got nothin' to be sorry for – we all have a bad day once in a while." The cowboy continued his work.

"You too, Lamar. I was being a jerk on the way home. Sorry." Matt picked up a bale of hay and cut the twine on it with his knife.

"Nah, you just didn't feel like talkin' right then." The old ranch hand looked up at his boss. "Don't worry about it." He patted Matt on the shoulder as he went on down the hallway.

After finishing up in the barn, Matt headed up to the house just as CJ was putting burgers on the grill. "Looks like I got back just in time." He walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yep, you've got good timing." She finished with the burgers and turned to put her arms around his neck. "Love you." The pair kissed.

"Love you, Babe." He pulled her into a big hug and stayed that way for several minutes, stroking her hair and back.

"Are you two going to have a make out session or cook burgers?" Roy stepped out onto the patio and grinned at the two.

"Both." The couple answered at the same time and caused the older man to chuckle.

Later on that night after putting Catey Rose to bed, Matt and CJ were in one of their favorite places: one of the lounge chairs by the pool. There was a cool wind blowing and the pair was snuggling together under a jacket, CJ in Matt's lap with her head resting on his shoulder. She turned her head and looked at Matt. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright." He glanced over at her and then back up at the stars. "Sometimes things just…get to me, CJ." Matt reached down for her hand. "I've had to do some things in my life; some of them I'm not too proud of…" Looking into her eyes he continued. "But I'm not going to beat myself up anymore over the Montoyas. They both wanted me dead and Carlos wanted you dead, too, not to mention Vince and Will. I did what I had to do."

"I know you did." She snuggled back into his arms. "You always do."