Chapter 21 is up finally as I've been pretty busy. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading and the comments!

When he heard what she had whispered, while he stroked her hair back off of her face, his eyes had blinked in surprise. He looked into her eyes, and she nodded with a smile that sent a charge right through him.

"Are you sure," he asked again, his voice choked by emotion.

She had rolled her eyes at him, her lips curling into a smile and tilting her head, she nodded. He hadn't been sure that what had been happening in front of him was real, until she met his gaze with her own while her hands moved to her blouse and she began to undo the buttons one by one. The first one showed the hollow where her collarbones met, the next a hint of lace…light powder blue in fact. And so a question that had lingered in his mind longer than he would ever admit had been answered. He felt his own hands moving towards her blouse of their own accord.

"Allow me…"

She happily surrendered, closing her eyes and biting her lip as he continued undoing her blouse, revealing more of that lacey camisole which hugged her figure, accentuating her breasts. She allowed him to slip her blouse over her shoulders, until she clearly grew impatient and wrapped her arms around him pulling him for the kiss that they both had been waiting for…

C.J. rode through a pasture, feeling the heat of the day on her back. Her favorite hat had sheltered her face, but sweat began dampening her shirt again as she rode Chelsea to the lake. Each moment that passed, cemented her decision that she relax there in the shade for a while. She had completed enough work for one day and her muscles began to ache. In a couple of days, she would finish renovating the stable and would show it to Matt and the other hands, to see what they would think of her work. She thought she had showed some incredible discipline by suppressing any urges to make major changes in the décor of the rooms in the back, but except for perhaps adding some curtains, she didn't want to strip them of their confident masculinity.

The lake beckoned to her when her eyes first found it, a bright blue surrounded by various shades of brown and green, with plenty of trees who found nourishment from it much more readily than in the surrounding area. Matt had used it mainly for fishing and for sailing, and had installed a small mooring dock which had fallen into disrepair since he hadn't been living at the ranch. That's the task he had assigned himself that day, to repair the damaged portions and she had gratefully handed it over to him, crossing another item to address off of her growing list. When she arrived at the lake, she looked around for Matt or his horse. She found the horse grazing near a tree, happily and dismounted from Chelsea tying her up nearby.

She still couldn't see Matt and figured perhaps he had gone for a walk around the lake, a routine he often practiced back when he had lived here. But the sun had baked the valley and the dry heat had probably driven many a creature indoors. Shaking her head, she headed towards the lake shore, after removing her boots when she hit the sandy strip. She saw that Matt had made great progress with the dock and gingerly stepped up on it, noticing that it held fast under her feet. She sat down on it and dangled her feet, closing her eyes as they broke through the chilled water. Rushing back with that sensation were the hours she had spent by this lake, fishing with Matt or just laying back on the shore, looking at the sky. Most of the year, the water proved to be too cold for swimming but occasionally she and Matt would take a brief dip during the hottest hours of the afternoon for some quick relief.

Matt…damn it had become so difficult to think about him this morning without…a hint of color flushed her cheeks. She had thought about him throughout the day, even when she had been trying hard not to. Just like the exercise where someone would tell you to think of anything but a pink elephant, knowing that would make your mind focus on the off limits topic even more. It's not that she had never dreamed about him before and dreams really didn't mean anything at all, in fact they couldn't even be taken literally. Still it had seemed so real, it had felt like he had been in the room with her and she had been surprised when she had opened her eyes and he hadn't been there. And a part of her had felt disappointed.

She felt the soothing coolness of the water work its magic on her feet and she closed her eyes, thinking back to all the years that she had known him. Back when they had met on the elementary school playground after she had defended herself against the school bully who had cornered her in the yard on her first day, demanding her lunch money. She had refused to hand it over, and when he had tried to force the money away from her, she had decked him. But not before he had knocked her down and had tried to pin her on the ground. After she had dazed him, she had seen a hand extended towards her and looked up and saw that it had been Matt. A boy in her class who had friends, yet somehow managed as she would learn later to keep a side hidden from nearly everyone stemming from a traumatic experience he had lived through when he was younger. It didn't take very long at all for them to cement their friendship.

In high school, he had been the captain of his football team which had won the all-state championship his final two years with him its quarterback and he had been one of the most popular students in his class. She had gone to another school and had been graduated as the class valedictorian and president of the Honor Society. Their lives had been so different and had diverged even further when they had been at Rice University, but it had never affected their friendship. They had taken time whenever they had it to spend together between his athletic pursuits on the gridiron and her academics and pledging a sorority.

She looked back out into the lake and thought that it looked awfully inviting. Getting up, she walked off of the dock and towards the shoreline, rolling up her pant legs and entering the lake.

Matt sat up suddenly, noticing that the air hadn't begun to cool yet. But he knew that it hadn't just been the sunlight beating down that had made him feel that way. He looked around him and saw just the open meadow and then looked at his watch. He clearly had drifted off the sleep for about an hour and had been dreaming about the woman he had known most of his life doing things with her that they didn't while they were awake. He ran his hands through his hair and felt the remnants of his dream fade away, trying to bring him back to the present day, where the two of them had a relationship with boundaries attached that they had established years ago, an agreement that had served them well over the years or so they both believed. Well, she believed it anyway; lately Matt hadn't been so sure.

He got back on his feet, reluctantly because outside the shaded area, heat had settled in the air and the breeze while providing some relief proved fickle. His brows rose when he looked over at his horse and recognized Chelsea standing next to him. That meant that C.J. must be in the vicinity somewhere. Probably close to the lake, so he headed in that direction.

C.J. went far enough into the lake where its gently rippling waves soaked the bottom of her pants. She reached down to splash water on herself knowing that the afternoon soon would dry it off. The weather lately, well they were in the valley after all and lucky to welcome any sea breezes at all. She thought back to the work that she had completed and even though she still had more days of it ahead, it had been a long time since she had felt so good. Not that she didn't love working as an attorney, not to mention spending days and often evenings working with her best friend on his cases but she definitely needed a reprieve from that life. Some time away to think about what she wanted including in her relationships. She sighed as her memory returned to when Slade had accused her of treating him like a less than serious fling. Who would have thought that after dumping her, he would be only interested in a serious relationship? But she had gone down that road with him already and with other guys, she enjoyed men's company but a break from serious relationships was one of the things she had believed she had needed when she returned to the ranch.

Then what about Matt, the man of her most recent dreams? She ran her hand through her hair, dampening it slightly and thought that there hadn't ever been anything so perfect. At least in the refuge of her sleep but during the waking hours…things between them were both simple and very complicated. And Shelia's words to her to throw caution in the wind and pursue her best friend were duly noted but…C.J. didn't think she could go very far even in her own mind without hitting the barriers that both of them had erected over the years. And to be honest, she had put up more than her fair share of them.

After all, she had put up the barriers when in the middle of solving a case on a cruise ship, they had shared a rather steamy kiss from the balcony of their suite when they should have been staking out the Lido deck. And what about on the dance floor…which they had fallen into an impromptu slow number because their client's boss had been trading some company secrets while dancing to Sade at one of L.A.'s top night clubs. C.J.'s brow furrowed trying to remember which one of them had put a halt to either one of those situations and then that's when the trip to Martha's Vineyard to well, investigate the sabotaging of a top…vineyard had led to them being locked in a winery for several hours…nothing had happened there, at least not physically but the discussion had become quite emotionally charged mostly because Matt had broken up with a socialite not long before they took that case.

The water felt good on her skin, so C.J. reached up and scooped some more in her hands. The lake had always been one of her favorite places when she had needed to go off by herself and do some deep thinking disguised as relaxation.

Matt looked up and saw her standing in the water, obviously enjoying the escape that it offered from the heat. Her hair was in ringlets around her shoulders and a smile lit her face.

"Hey C.J.," he said as he approached, "You've been slacking on the job?"

She turned to him and rolled her eyes.

"Hardly, I've finished most of the stalls," she said, "Only got a couple more to do."

He nodded.

"So when are you going to show it to me?"

She tilted her head.

"When it gets finished," she said, "You'd better not be sneaking over there and taking a peek."

He chuckled and raised his hands.

"I've not been near the place," he said, "though I have to admit, you keeping it a secret has got me real curious."

She shook her head.

"You just stay away until I'm ready to bring you there myself," she said, and then reached down to splash more water on herself.

"You seem to be having some fun there," Matt said, "You planning on doing any swimming?"

She put her hands on her hips.

"Are you crazy," she said, "The water's too cold for that right now. Even during a scorcher like this."

His brows rose.

"Looks like the perfect day for it to me."

She snorted.

"Then why don't you show me," she said, "And then I'll make my decision."

She eyed his movements carefully, suddenly not trusting him as he stepped into the shallow water to join her.

"So I see you've been working on the dock," she said, "So far it's looking pretty good."

He looked over at it.

"Yeah, a lot of the wood had rotted," he said, "but I've done the part closest to land. I'm going to have to get in the water to do the rest."

"Need any help?"

He looked up at her.

"Maybe in a day or so," he said, "When you're done with the stable."

She nodded and then stepped away.

"Guess I'd better get headed back," she said, "I have to check on the progress of my young hands."

"Aren't they under the watchful eye of Bo and Lamar?"

C.J. raised her brow and Matt nodded.

"I get your point," he said, "But that can wait a few minutes…I've got something to show you."

Her curiosity perked.

"Like what?"

"Come here a little closer…"

She folded her arms.

"Houston, I'm not going to fall for that one," she said, "Not anymore…"

He smiled and his eyes twinkled, and damn he did look great…if not perfectly innocent.

"Okay, just one step and you can describe it," she said, and moved toward him.

At that point, he began splashing her with water and she began throwing up her arms.

"What are you doing?"

"I think that's pretty clear, don't you think?"

She started splashing him with water back to meet his onslaught. They had plenty of water fights including at this lake in the past so she should really have seen this one coming. And honestly, she quite enjoyed them, always welcoming the playful side of her friend…most of the time.

"We're getting soaked," she protested half-heartedly.

"Then it's a good thing we're in a lake…"

She began heading back to shore, her legs splashing through the water and he watched her a bit before following. They both collapsed on the grassy patch near the shore, allowing the sun to work its magic. He lay back and looked at the small tufts of white drifting across the sky.

"I guess the rain I predicted is taking its time getting here," he said.

"Oh you know you called that just to rankle Slade, she said, "You too would disagree on most anything."

He remained silent for a moment and C.J. looked over at him.

"Not everything…"

"Oh?"

"We both know how incredible you are," he said softly.

She hoisted herself up on her elbows and looked at him.

"Well I'm glad that despite your differences, you both figured out the obvious."

He sighed.

"I've really enjoyed back here," he said, "I don't know why I put it on the market."

"You know, I can always sell it back to you…and the price will be reasonable," she said.

"I'm glad you bought it C.J.," he said, "and you're really bringing it back to life. I should have never neglected it."

"Houston, you wanted to live closer to where you work," she said, "There's nothing wrong with that."

He closed his eyes.

"It never felt like the right decision to make," he said, "I kept hoping I'd warm up to it but…"

She chuckled.

"You're still Texan," she said, "and you've still got a strong streak of cowboy in you."

He nodded, marveling that she understood him so well, he didn't have to explain much about why he thought the way he did about things, even things no one else understood. He tried to do the same with her and it worked most of the time but sometimes she still confused him.

"About Slade…"

She cut him off.

"Houston, it really is over between us."

"He wasn't right for you…"

She looked over at him sharply for that.

"And you're the expert, right?"

"C.J…"

She leaned up again.

"No, because if you really want to get down to where we both evaluate each other's relationship choices, we could do that…but I'd rather not…not on a beautiful day."

"That's not what I meant," he said, "I just think that you deserve better."

That didn't win him any points either.

"Houston, I know what I deserve better than anyone," she said, "and whether or not I'm getting into a relationship with anyone...in any way, shape or form."

"But you and Slade…"

She sighed.

"I never wanted anything serious with him," she said, "I just wanted to see if I could keep it casual and fun…like you do all the time where no one gets hurt."

Ouch.

"C.J., I've had serious relationships," he said, "I've been engaged twice."

"But not married," she finished, "and I'm not judging you for that but you've got this casual thing all figured out, from where to set boundaries while not hurting a woman's feelings to when to walk away with your own feelings intact."

He set his jaw, thinking through that one.

"C.J., it's not everything it's cracked up to be," he said, "I've hurt women…and have had my own heart broken."

"I'm not saying you haven't," she amended, "but it really seems to work for you."

He felt taken aback. Was that what she believed, which was ironic because he had been doing some serious thinking in between cases and parties and casual flings about whether or not that had been what he really wanted.

"Maybe not as much as you seem to think," he said.

That surprised her.

"Really?"

"Yes really," he said, "I've been doing some thinking of my own about my future relationships with women."

She chuckled at that and he looked at her puzzled.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh Houston, this whole situation," she said, "Here, I am wanting to ditch serious relationships for a while and play the field…like you do and you're the eternal playboy…in between engagements and you want to settle down with one woman."

He smiled at that and at her.

"Well, not right away," he said, "I might still have an oat or two left."

She gave that serious thought.

"Hmmm," she said, "You're bringing your illustrious era of being the jet setting lady's man to a close. Have you ever thought about who you would choose for your swan song to that period of your life?"

His eyes blinked. Was she saying….no he must be imagining it, creating words for her to say that would never be heard…at least not by him. Still…

"C.J., what are you saying," he said, "or are you asking?"

She looked at him as if he was obtuse but she felt a wave of uncertainty flow through her and she took a deep breath before proceeding. He leaned up on his elbows to look at her carefully to make sure he heard her right.

"I'm just saying that at this point in our lives," she said, "It's looking like we're after the same thing."

He just dropped his jaw, unable to help himself, not being able to believe where she was going in this conversation, definitely taking it into unchartered waters in their relationship. He collapsed on the grass again. Concern filled C.J.'s face.

"Houston…Matt are you okay," she said, wondering if he needed to be revived.