04

When Matt got back to the ranch that afternoon, he went about getting dinner ready for his guests. He had invited Lee and Bridget that morning and after the meeting with Lockwood at the jail that afternoon, he had invited Michael and his wife Anne, Rich and his wife Sherry, and Don and his wife Karen. A quick phone call to Mitchell Gunterson while on the way to the market had given him another guest.

Bo and Lamar met him as he pulled in and helped him haul the groceries into the house. The older cowboy spoke up. "Are CJ and the kids flyin' in tomorrow?"

"No." Matt began putting items away in the refrigerator.

"Bought enough to feed the whole crew." Bo handed over a jug of milk to his boss.

"I've got some folks coming over for supper tonight."

"Not one of the girlfriends that Placer woman talks about is it?" The younger of the two ranch hands backed away when he saw the boss' look. "Just jokin', pard."

"Not a good thing to joke about with me." He went to the big freezer in the laundry room and began pulling several steaks out, then taking them into the kitchen and putting the packages in water to thaw. "Y'all can come, too."

"Well, if there aren't going to be any girls here…" Lamar was grinning ear to ear.

"Oh, there will be. Bridget, Anne, Sherry, and Karen."

"Uh huh. Guess I need to call CJ." Bo removed a cake from one of the shopping bags and set it on the table.

Shortly before seven that night, cars started arriving at the ranch and Matt began cooking steaks on the grill. As everyone gathered on the patio the talk and laughter flowed and continued through the meal. When everyone was satisfied, Matt begged the ladies to excuse them for a little bit and led the men back to the home office. Once inside with the door closed, all joking was put aside and as they took seats, they looked to Matt who had taken the chair behind his desk. "I need to fill some of you in on what I've learned today so that you'll have a better idea of what we're dealing with." He began by telling them about his previous experience with Perrier, then about Barkowski, and then his adoption and how Diego Mendoza was his cousin. Last he told about the death of Safronio at his hands while in Laredo. There was complete silence. "So as you can see, we have three targets left. Michael, Lee, and Detective Giovanni have been keeping tabs on Barkowski, but he hasn't done anything that they can pounce on. Perrier was last known to be in Japan. And of course Mendoza is in Mexico."

Don MacLemore let out a low whistle. "So you've got a hell of a lot more to worry about than the Cicero investigation. Geesh."

Mitchell Gunterson scratched the end of his nose and raised his eyebrows. "What's your idea?"

"Well…" Matt stood and walked toward the windows that looked out toward the barn and then beyond to the Santa Monica Mountains. "We've already had two people to point the finger at Barkowski, but he's a slick son of a bitch: we want to be able to nail him down without the possibility of him wiggling out in court. I think that in order to do that, I'm going to have to do something to draw him out."

Michael nodded his head. "How?"

"Haven't figured that out just yet." The PI turned back around to face the group. "But there's one thing that I want y'all to keep in mind: I don't want any of you…" He looked pointedly at Lee and Michael. "To do anything that will jeopardize your lives or careers."

"You better not do anything to jeopardize your life, Matt." Michael stared darkly at him as the others mumbled their agreement.

"I've got a few good reasons to live, bud. You should know that." Matt gave a grim smile. "Now, maybe we better get back out to the ladies before they decide to start some trouble, whatcha think?"

When they went back outside, Bridget approached him. "Okay, you've been promising that you would tell us." Lee was grinning at her side.

"Alright." Matt stood in front of her, and gently laid his right hand on her belly, feeling the baby move. Closing his eyes he concentrated and everyone was silent. Slowly he began to smile. "It's a boy." A shout went up from the group, with bets being wagered.

"Okay, I'm about to decorate the nursery. You better be right."

"Or I'll never hear the end of it, right?" He laughed as she gave him a hug and peck on the cheek.

After everyone had left and Matt had the dishwasher loaded and running, he went into the den. It was quiet. Too quiet. He plopped down in his recliner and pulled out his phone, calling CJ. "Hey, Lil Mama."

"So how was your dinner party?" With her left leg propped up on pillows, she was sitting on one of the back porch swings looking up at the stars in the wide Texas sky.

"Went off without a hitch."

"And what about Bridget and Lee? Did you guess what the baby is?"

"It's a boy."

"Sure about that, are you?" She smiled.

"Yup." He paused for a minute, thinking about the child that they had just lost almost two weeks earlier when CJ suffered a miscarriage because of a tree that fell on the riding arena at the PH. "So are the kids behaving?"

"For the most part. Your sons have been a little rambunctious today. There's been a lot of wrestling going on."

"Oh, boy." He chuckled. "Bet they were pretty evenly matched, weren't they?"

"Absolutely. It's amazing how much alike they are. And how much they act like you."

"Is that good or bad?"

"It's a moment to moment thing." Both laughed again.

"I miss you, Babe."

"I miss you, too." She paused. "Maybe I should come up there."

"Nah, y'all are happy there. And safe."

"Yeah, but I worry about you."

"I'm okay."

"So did y'all come up with a plan tonight?"

"No. I just thought it would be best to bring everybody up to speed together."

"I'm glad that you did. Every single one of them needs the whole story. What about Alex?"

"I called him this afternoon. He's still in Texas dealing with Lynch and his mess."

He was feeling lonelier now than he had while finishing up his fire investigator training. "You take it easy, you hear?"

CJ used the henpecked voice. "Yes, dear."

"Guess I'm going to take a shower and hit the hay. I've got a lot of planning to do tomorrow."

"Okay. But call me. Love you."

"Love you more. Bye." He disconnected the call and the silence of the house surrounded him like a cocoon.