C.J. tucked in her shirt, never taking her eyes off the man in front of her, who was buttoning his shirt.
"Welcome home," was all she said.
The first coherent words she had said to him since he had been standing in the doorway of the tack room, looking too damn delectable. And since everyone was at the racetrack while she had been stuck doing paperwork all by her lonesome, they didn't have to worry about being interrupted. As they wrapped themselves up in each other, she felt pretty convinced that she would never get enough of him.
She went back to sitting on the desk and he approached her and they started kissing again.
"How was the drive back?"
"Red grumbled a bit about not buying any horses but I did the driving back and I think I broke some speed records."
She smiled.
"Did Red mind?"
"No…I think he was eager enough to get back to what he thinks is left of his stable," he said, "He gets a little nervous about leaving his employees too long."
"Why…when his most incorrigible one is with him?"
Matt smiled and smoothed back her hair, thinking she had been the most beautiful sight to return to after a long drive. She didn't seem as tense as she had been when he left…he knew the possibility of being pregnant still weighed on her but she knew he'd be right there with her no matter what happened.
"I think he suspects something's up with us."
She nodded.
"I know Rusty's figured it out…I think that's why he stuck me with this paperwork."
"You mean…"
She folded her arms.
"No I don't think he knows that we were getting it on inside his tack room but he does like you…and I think he regrets some of his own past decisions about relationships that mattered to him."
"I can understand that…which is why I believe it's important to go after what you want or who..."
C.J. looked back at him, hearing the conviction in his voice and then she heard her phone ring.
She pulled it out and looked at it, her eyes widening.
"It's Mama…"
Matt looked surprised too.
"Hi Mama….I'm fine…how about you and the family? Yes…I've been eating plenty…no it's not as good as your food…I miss your pizza and so does Houston…he's up here with me working on the racetrack…"
She put the phone down and looked at Matt, her cheeks turning pink.
"She thinks I should be putting the moves on you…what should I say back to her?"
Matt smiled, stroking her hair, her face and her neck, causing her to shiver in anticipation.
"Tell her that we've been making up for all that lost time…years of lost time…"
"Houston, I can't say that…"
His brows rose.
"Should I tell her instead about how the reality sure beats any fantasy…come on C.J. what are you afraid of…that she might offer us up some tips?"
She didn't want to be the one to tell Matt that Mama had been doing that for years, telling C.J. not to wait for Matt to buy a clue but to take active steps to seduce him. Now she had acted all taken aback at the suggestions just like any perfectly respectable platonic best friend would do. Mama had been a bit wilder than she ever let on certainly to either Matt or Vince but C.J. knew.
"Well yeah…the birth control ones might be useful…"
'Speaking of which…Murray did beep me and he is going to send me a draft of the press release that's being planned in response to the product recall."
C.J. nodded.
"That would probably be best…we have to protect the public."
Matt knew that was a wise business decision if their product had been defective but as for he and C.J. if she were pregnant, they would deal with it. They'd get married and raise their baby together of course, and become a family. The thought excited him, as did the thought of the bodily changes she would undergo which would be evidence of what they had shared together and what it would be like to see their child for the first time.
He wrapped his arms around her while she sat on the desk and started kissing her, not that she complained. Oh no, not ever, certainly not when he made her body hum. But he had the strangest look on his face when he released her. Like he was envisioning something wonderful, that brought a hint of vulnerability to his face.
"Houston…what's getting into you?"
The thought of the future they could share with each other just really turned him on in ways he didn't understand but since he felt so incredible he didn't think much about it. Then she heard a familiar voice and remembered her phone. Still trying to figure him out, she reached for it.
"Oh Mama.,..no I didn't go anywhere…Houston's right here if you want to talk to him."
She handed the phone to Matt.
"Hi Mama…this is Houston…yeah I miss you too and don't worry I've got someone to keep me well fed…How's C.J…she's doing fine…in fact she and I…we're taking your advice and we've gotten together…and you're right, the amore is really great…that too…okay you can tell Vince he wins the bet and I'll pay up as soon as we get there…see you then…bye…"
C.J. looked at Matt, flustered but at least managed to find the words to say goodbye to Mama.
"What bet Houston?"
He looked a little chagrined.
"Just a little wager that he and I made because he thought we were good for each other…and I didn't listen…too thick in the head I guess."
"Yeah maybe…I hope it was just a little wager and you're not going to lose your shirt."
"C.J…I wasn't wearing it a moment ago…it doesn't seem to stay on for long when you're around."
"Houston…that's really weak…"
He scratched the back of his neck.
"Mama did give me some tips just in case…"
"In case of what…"
He looked bemused.
"We wanted to have a baby…what positions might be best…though I think we've tried most of them."
Now C.J.'s face turned nearly beet red.
"You're kidding…you didn't tell her…"
"That we might not need any help…Oh no, that's just between the two of us…for now at least."
Her brows rose.
"Well C.J. if you are pregnant, it's not going to be a secret for long."
No, he was definitely right about that but no point in putting the cart before the horse here. If she were, her body hadn't been giving her any definitive signs. Unless being insatisfiable was a symptom…
"You're going to be beautiful if…when you're pregnant…"
She sighed, believing that not to be the point and wondering why he didn't seem nearly as stressed out about it as she felt.
"You're just feeling like a typical stud because everyone will know it's yours…"
He smiled.
"Stud…like a stallion right…C.J. you know I love talking about horses until the sun goes down but I'm not a horse."
She nodded.
"You're right…okay then it's a guy thing…"
He reached for her pulling her off the desk, drawing her in his warm embrace. They kissed while his hands slipped beneath her shirt again.
"Houston…they're almost done at the races…"
But she wrapped her own arms around his waist anyway, and returned his attentions eagerly.
"Maybe we'd better take this home," she said.
"I think right here's just fine…"
Then they heard some footsteps approaching which stopped them cold and they released each other and then straightened their clothing. C.J. fluffed out her hair too and went to sit behind her desk while Matt just stood there.
Gloria walked in and looked amused at the both of them.
"Hope I didn't interrupt anything," she said, "C.J. Rusty wants to meet with you about the races tomorrow."
C.J. nodded and looked over at Matt.
"See you later…dinner's on me."
"Look forward to it…"
She left and Gloria smiled at him.
"You've got a visitor…someone who really wanted to see you…."
"Who…?"
"Some lady with an expensive taste in clothes…said she'd come a long way."
Matt still felt clueless and Gloria walked back to the door and when she came back, another woman followed to her.
Matt's eyes just about dropped out of his head at the very familiar woman.
Elizabeth.
She smiled at him from where she stood. She had decked herself out in a stylish pantsuit with a silk scarf around her neck.
"Matt…I heard you were here…"
"Elizabeth…this is…what are you doing here?"
She chuckled at him.
"I'm here to visit my fiancé…or at least he was…and before you look at me like that, it's not you…he's the owner of the stable that you are slumming for."
Matt blinked.
She must mean Bryce Crawford…of the Crawford and Crawford law practice and one of the partners in the operation being run by Red, the owners that had bought those two nice horses a while back…
"Elizabeth…I had no idea…"
She nodded, looking supremely pleased.
"Oh yes…I ran into Bryce not long after you left me at the altar…"
"Elizabeth, I didn't leave…"
She shrugged.
"Well it doesn't matter because when I looked up across the auction and saw Bryce there…looking so distinguished…so confident…I knew I had to get to know him better and he…I well we had a whirlwind courtship even more so than the one we shared and we're getting married in a couple of months…"
Matt felt shocked, he had no idea how small the world had just become.
"Bryce is not too happy with the way that Red has been running things and he's coming here to keep a closer eye on him…and his employees…He asked me to join him in his summer estate here in this quaint little village and I of course said yes…I didn't know at first you were here too."
"I haven't been here that long…"
"You couldn't have been…we were engaged not too long ago…but Bryce has asked me to help him and I've already taken a look at his books…"
"We've been working on those…"
She threw him a reproachful look.
"You've been working on…something or someone…You've been spending more time playing than working from what I've heard…hopefully not with some local trollup. Well, whoever she is, you're going to have to tell her to take her wares elsewhere…"
"Hey…"
She just looked at her well manicured nails.
"Like I said, you'll be too busy working on getting this operation ship shape too much so to be rolling in the hay with anyone or Bryce will have no choice but to sell the entire operation."
That sounded a bit extreme. What exactly was going on here? Matt had been an investigator too long to not know something else was up here. She moved closer, eying him more closely.
"Unless you'll have some time for me," she said, "to get reacquainted."
"Your fiancé might not like that," he said, "so close to the wedding."
She shrugged.
"He does fancy me but partly because I'm beautiful and look lovely on his arm at public events and we both come from money. But he's a womanizer and in his circle, the wives and fiancés just learn to look the other way."
Matt couldn't believe the woman he had once loved would choose that kind of life. Had she always admired style over substance? If she had, he clearly missed it.
"The woman that Bryce will choose for his pleasure will be discreet…and with each one, he'll shower me with gifts so I won't object…but a woman must have her secretive pleasures too."
Oh Elizabeth had really changed since he had last seen her, or more like gone off the deep end.
"Elizabeth, I'm not interested in being your pawn in some game you're playing with your fiancé," Matt said, "I suggest that you sit down and think about whether or not this engagement is what you really want."
She sighed.
"What I wanted…I couldn't have…because we're so different after all and he wouldn't change for me," she said, "So I had to face reality and make changes in myself to find happiness elsewhere."
"Are you happy Elizabeth?"
She paused, fingering the diamond pendant around her neck.
"I think as much as I'll ever be," she said, "I will be checking the books tomorrow morning in the office…I need you to join me and we'll figure out an arrangement from there."
With that, she left him just standing there wondering if the world had just changed direction on its axis that day.
C.J. waited in the office for Rusty to return and she picked up a folder on the race entries and thumbed through it. She didn't notice that someone had walked into the office.
"Hello…who are you?"
She looked up to see a tall man with a muscular build and ebony hair, with a mustache and a goatee.
"I work here with Rusty…who are you?"
He smiled, leaning against the door.
"I'm Bryce Crawford…I own a bunch of horses that are in another shed row. I'm looking for a man named Rusty?"
C.J. nodded, finding the man's intense gaze unnerving. To say that she felt as if he would look through her, would be an understatement.
"He should be here soon…do you have business with him?"
"You might say that…are you working with him or is it personal?"
She folded her arms.
"I'm C.j., his assistant trainer and as for the rest of it, not your business."
He chuckled.
"My you're a feisty one…I like that in a woman…"
She just shrugged.
"You can wait here if you'd like…but I'm quite busy…"
"I can see that…maybe we can talk later…I'm having a party tomorrow night…I'd like you to come."
She just looked at him…clearly he was hitting on her and she had no idea who he was except that he owned racehorses.
"I think I'll be busy…I like quiet evenings at home…"
He chuckled again.
"Somehow I doubt that…well it's been nice meeting you…I'll talk with Rusty later…I've got a proposition for him."
C.J. watched him go, wondering what this guy really wanted and why she suddenly felt that something had changed.