Another installment of this latest FF story is ready for reading! I hope you like it and thanks for the feedback.

C.J. had left the dishes for Bo and Lamar to clean up and had changed into her swim suit to sit in the Jacuzzi with her glass of wine and enjoy the warm bubbling water after a strenuous day. She loved to look up at the stars which carpeted the dark sky and the moon which tonight bore only a thin slice of itself. Whenever she looked up there, she felt much smaller and insignificant which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Dinner had gone well, her chicken had turned out tender, Bo and Lamar had entertained everyone with their stories and she had enjoyed watching the interplay between Matt and Slade during the meal. The two men had gotten along well enough but the looks they had thrown each other during the discussion , they told a different story. What was the matter with the two of them? She had felt like she had been a student in a culinary class the way they had gone on about her cooking. Still, it had been nice to be the center of their attention even though it was a bit unnerving.

Her phone rang and she picked it up and found out that it was her friend Sheila.

"What's up in the boondocks," her friend asked.

Sheila had always been one to get to the point and she was very much a city girl whose idea of roughing it was bringing her own toothbrush to a five-star hotel. Still, the two of them had been tight since C.J. had moved to L.A. and they had met at a popular restaurant.

"I've been so busy fixing this place up," C.J. said, "I haven't had much time to get into trouble."

Sheila laughed.

"I'll bet," she said, "So how long are you going to stay away from us?"

"I'll be back to L.A. eventually," C.J. said, "I just need to finish fixing up the ranch and I've been helping some of the other ranchers out here with their bank."

Sheila sighed.

"I guess we're just going to have to do without you but there's an amazing jazz group on the club in Malibu," she said.

"Tempting," C.J. said, "Maybe they'll come back to L.A. someday."

"So how are…things?"

C.J. smiled.

"They're doing fine," she said, "I've got Slade as a neighbor. Remember him?"

"Oh yeah, wasn't he a Beverly Hills stockbroker who told you that it wasn't you it was him before breaking up with you?"

C.J. didn't really needed the reminder but she knew that her friend had recapped it pretty accurately.

"Well he's gotten out of the financial brokerage business and has bought himself a ranch," she said, "He's raising horses and some cattle. In fact, some of his horses wandered onto my property…"

"And he had to mosey on over to pick them up," Shelia said, "Nice work C.J."

C.J. rolled her eyes.

"What," she said, "You think I sabotaged my own fencing to lure them in so I could then lure him over?"

"Hey whatever works," Sheila said, "the dating game is so difficult these days. A woman's got to do what she's got to do."

"Maybe that's your philosophy," C.J. said, "but I'm not looking for a relationship with him…at least not at the moment. I could however change my mind because I have to say the jeans and leather vest look really suits him."

"Wait until you see him in chaps and wearing old boots before you make your decision," Sheila advised.

C.J. laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Sheila paused.

"How's Matt," she said, "Doesn't he get lonely now that you're not hanging around that nice penthouse suite?"

"He's out at the ranch actually," C.J. said, "City life got to him so he's come here to relax."

"Nice try," Sheila said, "But knowing you, you'll put him to work one way or another."

C.J. protested.

"No he's here strictly to kick back and take it easy," she said, "He sounded tense on the phone the other day and he's not really been acting like himself."

"What do you mean," Sheila said, "Do tell….

Matt had sat on the porch sipping a beer that he pulled out of his refrigerator. The brand was his favorite and C.J. had been thoughtful to keep the refrigerator stocked so he could enjoy it. But then she looked out for him in so many ways just as she always had since he had known her. He looked up at the sky, enjoying how many starts were visible away from the lights of the city and he listened to the sounds of animals scurrying around in the nearby bushes. Of course, he had kept a part of himself on high alert, listening for anything strange, any noise that seemed out of place out in the rural environment of the ranch. Somewhere out there, Duval roamed freely having escaped from his prison cell and Matt had no idea where he was or what plans he would be carrying out. Hoyt could be right. Duval could be out of the country already using connections he surely had in the federal government to slip away undetected, as easily as he had escaped from a maximum security penitentiary.

Right now he could be recruiting his next terrorist cell, his next small army to carry out assassinations and bombings for a price.

"Anything can be negotiated," the man had informed him after C.J. and he had been abducted right out of his airplane and brought under gunpoint to Duval. In that case, it became clearly that what was under negotiation had been C.J.'s life. And it had worked, Matt had agreed at some point to go free Duval's son from jail by recanting his own eyewitness testimony. Only to find out that the grand plan included him being killed before making it back to the island to rescue C.J. If he hadn't recruited Novelli's help….well things might have turned out a lot differently.

He shook his head at that memory determined not to repeat it. Which is why he had taken measures to keep his family safe including C.J. though he hadn't told her that yet.

"Houston's doing well enough," C.J. said, "but he's being really cautious about something. I don't know maybe he's got a case that's bothering him."

"He's a man that really believes in what he's doing," Sheila said, "I know he's the best investigator in L.A. He sure helped me with my case."

Sheila had hired Matt to search for her missing father and Matt had found him, reuniting the two of them for the first time in a decade.

"I'm not sure he likes Slade all that much either," C.J. said, "or maybe he found out I poured beer in Zack's lap at the chili party."

"Say what C.J.," Sheila said, "You've been very busy with the opposite sex but if you want to attract them, throwing beer at them is probably not going to do it."

C.J. scowled.

"I have no intention of attracting Zack," she said, "Been there done that. He made a move on me and I told him where to take it in a manner of speaking."

"Then he must have done something to deserve it," Sheila said.

"Oh he did," C.J. said, "but it's water under the bridge as long as he treats Matt right."

"Ever the loyal friend," Sheila said.

C.J. bristled at her words.

"We've been best friends for years," she said, "Of course I'm going to look out for him."

"Okay that's fine," Sheila said, "But you've been watching him with other girls and he would be quite a catch you know."

"I'm not interested in catching anyone," C.J. said, "I came out here to work on myself for a while."

"Yeah right girlfriend," Shelia said, "Famous last words before the top legal eagle in L.A. proper makes her move…and maybe Slade's up for some rekindling of the old flame."

"Maybe Slade's not interested in anything serious," C.J. said "Though he did ask for my phone number."

"Well that's a start," Shelia said, "There's no reason you shouldn't see any action while isolating yourself from the big city and doing this ranching thing…"

Matt had felt restless on his porch so he decided to get up and do a sweep of the immediate area around the buildings just to make sure that no one was hiding out, waiting to strike. He knew it was highly unlikely that Duval or any of his gang were anywhere near the ranch but he felt better caution than regret. The night air had begun to chill a bit so he slipped on his leather jacket and began to walk around the open space which appeared to have settled down for the night. He walked towards the barn and heard some activity inside of it so he opened the door and walked inside of it. The horses had settled quietly for the night in their respective stalls and Matt saw a few barn cats weaving in and out of them, looking for some mice to dine on.

Suddenly he looked up and saw Bo.

"I was just making sure the horses were okay," Bo said, "I heard something near the barn. I think it might have been a coyote."

Matt's brows rose. He had always heard that the critters roamed in these parts but he hadn't heard any howling like you usually did when they were running about the countryside.

"I haven't seen any," he said, "but it's better to be on the safe side and keep the smaller animals inside at night."

Bo nodded.

"We've been doing that," she said, "Especially with the horses."

Matt looked around the barn.

"This place has been really fixed up," he said, "I shouldn't have let it run down."

Bo shrugged.

"You were busy doing other things."

Yeah Matt had kept himself very busy with his increasing caseload with his investigative agency and from not having been completely able to sever his involvement with his conglomerate. Sure Murray kept it running on a day to day basis but that still left many challenges for him to deal with not to mention a lot of paperwork to sign whenever he stepped foot in or out of his office. His secretaries were more persistent than most of his dates but he wouldn't have anyone else working for him and he always remembered that even when he snuck out the side entrance when he wished to avoid them.

"I guess I'll let you go Bo," he said, "But if you notice anything strange, or out of place, let me know, okay?"

Bo looked up at him startled.

"Are you expecting any trouble Houston?"

Matt didn't say anymore, realizing he had said enough to trigger his old friend's instincts.

"I'm not going and looking for any," he answered, realizing that it wasn't much of one but it would have to do.

"I love this ranching thing," C.J. protested to her friend, "I work hard from sunup to sundown and my muscles ache and I've got splinters in my hands but I really feel good at the end of the day."

"But you can get all that and more just from being a lawyer in the big city," Sheila pointed out.

"I don't know if that's what I ever wanted," C.J. said, "I just want to slow the pace of my life down for a little while and enjoy it."

"What does Matt think of all this slowing down?"

C.J. hesitated.

"He's fine with it," she said, "He understands that this is what I need right now and he supports me."

"But he's acting all territorial around Slade…"

"I don't think that's it," C.J. said, "I'm not sure what's going on with him right now."

Matt left the barn and headed up to the ranch house. The lights still shone inside and Matt figured that C.J. was unwinding before heading off to bed. After the day she had just had, he felt she was more than entitled. After all when he had arrived, she had been a sight, covered with mud and pasture grass and he had to stand downwind from her because of her run in with a skunk but she had still been beautiful. When had that happened, he thought? He always thought she had been a pretty girl but more of the girl next door than the woman who had stood in front of him. Slade had certainly noticed her while they had been eating the dinner she had cooked for them. Then again, that wasn't any of his business what C.J. did in her own time. He had come here to make sure that if Duval headed in this direction that he wouldn't reach her. At least that was mostly why he had left L.A. to come out to the ranch, as he had really missed having her around at the office. She hadn't been working with him on many cases since Zack had joined the agency but had kept her distance. At least know he knew why she had done that. She didn't know what he had done with Zack anymore than she knew about Duval's prison break and he realized that he had been keeping her in the dark about a few important things. But he really didn't want to worry her after seeing how happy and relaxed she had looked when he had arrived.

He heard her voice from somewhere in the swimming pool area while he approached the main house and figured she must have decided to sit a spell in the Jacuzzi before heading off to bed. He had done the same thing and could swear to the recuperative powers of the swirling water against his aching muscles and in some cases, spirit.

"I'm not sure what's going on with him right now," he heard C.J. say probably on the phone to one of her friends from the city, "I just know he was acting strange tonight. I haven't seen him act like that before…"

Matt walked closer and the voice got louder.

"Well yeah I know he's a great looking guy," she said, "Truth be told, he does make me weak in the knees sometimes but I've just broken up with a guy who told me I was too hung up on him and I know he's just wrong about me…"

Hung up on a guy?

Matt had wondered why C.J. had broken up with Randy after things seemed to be going well between the two of them, well enough so that they had gone away together for a weekend in Monterey. But had been broken up by the time they had returned from the long drive back to L.A. C.J. really hadn't told him what had happened with that relationship, in fact she had declined to talk about it much at all. So C.J. was hung up on…Slade? The guy that she had fancied about a year ago until he had broken it off with her?

"I don't think that would work," C.J. said, "You can lure a horse to water but it's not right to lasso him up to make him drink."

Matt's brows rose again. Now here was a side of C.J. he had never seen or perhaps for a better word, heard before. Did she…no it must be a figure of speech. What was it called, a metaphor? He backed up and stumbled over a stump of brush he hadn't seen, just outside the pool area.

"Excuse me Sheila, I think I just heard something…"

Matt got up from the ground where he had fallen.

"Maybe it's a really big raccoon or something," C.J. said, "I don't hear it now."

Matt continued walking until he reached the pool area and saw C.J. sitting with her wine glass in the Jacuzzi with her cell phone in her hand. Her hair looked damp and curled around her shoulders and she smiled as she talked on the phone.

"I'm not sure I want that anyway," she said, then looked up, "Oh Houston's just arrived….Sheila says hi, Houston…I'll get back to you. Bye now…"

He nodded back.

"Sorry to disturb you," he said, "I was feeling restless so I just decided to take a walk and decided to stop on by and see how you were doing."

"I'm doing great Houston," she said, "Would you like to join me?"

He looked at her.

"Relax Houston," she said, "I'm wearing a swim suit. The water's really nice and it's a beautiful night."

He paused.

"I think I'll take a rain check," he said, "It's been a long day and I think I'll hit the hay. Just be sure you lock up tonight."

She looked at him like he was crazy.

"Houston, we're not in the city right now," she said, "That's one of the reasons why I left it. I got tired of locking myself inside a fortress every night."

He sighed.

"It doesn't hurt to be safe…"

She looked at him critically.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

He looked at her for a long moment, thinking that this was just when he should tell her the news about Duval's escape but somehow looking at her, he just couldn't do it. She deserved many things including a few minutes of peace and security without having to worry about the danger that too often worked its way into both of their lives.

"Everything's fine…"

She smiled and then wished him goodnight and he walked back to the guest house, feeling the heaviness of deception weighing on his heart.