Chapter 29---Here's the latest chapter of this story. Thanks for reading! I hope you like it and thanks for the feedback!


They both looked down at the thick envelope for a while.

"Does it look dangerous," C.J. asked.

Matt studied it closer and then decided to pick it up.

"Careful," C.J. said as he did so.

He turned it over looking for any information on who delivered it but found nothing.

"Do you think it's more documents," C.J. said.

He opened it up and looked inside of it carefully, to make sure there were no surprises.

"Looks like it," he said, handing it over to C.J.

She pulled out some older documents that included assessments done on some of the other properties.

"There's quite a few here," she said.

"Come in, let's go back inside," Matt said, "We'll check these out in the morning."

"I like these gifts so much better than Molotov cocktails," C.J. said, holding the envelope close to her.


The next morning, Matt and C.J. went to the ranch house to join their friends for breakfast. They grabbed their plates and got in line. C.J. sat near Rhonda and Chris who were digging into their food.

"It's nice to see you eating something besides my ice cream," C.J. said.

"We might be going into town and picking up some more Rocky Road," Chris said, "You're kind of out of it."

"I wonder where it all went since I had plenty of it before I left for Denver," C.J. said, sipping her juice," How'd you both sleep in the ranch house?"

"Wonderful," Chris said, "It must all this fresh mountain air."

Rhonda scooped up some eggs on her toast.

"How did you sleep," she asked, "in the cabin by yourselves."

C.J. shrugged.

"Just fine," she said, "We did get a visit in the middle of the night."

That caught both Chris and Rhonda's attention.

"Who was it," Chris asked.

"We don't know. They didn't stick around long," C.J. said, "They left us a thick envelope filled with useful land documents."

"So it wasn't another one of those flaming…"

"Molotov cocktails, Chris," Rhonda said, with a sigh, "Don't you know anything?"

"Actually I do Rhonda," she said, "I had a fake bomb thrown through my living room window once."

That had happened when Matt had flown out to Houston trying to find C.J. after he had come back from a six month sabbatical and she hadn't been seen for months.

"That was that Duval guy," Rhonda said, "I hardly think these jerks out here are in his league."

"I hope not," C.J. said.

"So what did Matt think?"

C.J. looked up.

"Oh he was worried at first it was another attempted attack," she said, "but he thinks it might be our anonymous source."

"You mean the one you've been meeting in the park," Chris said, "Do you have any idea who that person could be?"

C.J. shook her head.

"No idea at all."


Matt sat with Jed and Reed. He had told them what had happened during the night.

"So you think this might be a person who's helping you," Jed said, "and not our other mysterious visitor."

Matt nodded.

"It's probably that person that we met with in the park a couple of times," he said, "he or she might be scared to meet us there after Kilroy's thugs showed up."

"So what's in the documentation," Jed asked.

"It's more environmental impact studies," Matt said, "Some more geological surveys. We think that Kilroy's more interested in what's in the ground than building on top of it."

"So they've gotten hold of some old surveys that show there might be something to that and then producing newer ones that might be altered?"

"It's possible," Matt said.

"It sounds like a lot of work," Jed said.

"If they get the land cheap and hold onto it for a while, it would probably be worth their while if there's something of value on it that just suddenly gets discovered by its new owners."

Jed shook his head.

"Mining can be so destructive to the land," he said, "Not to mention the environment."

"It would completely change the lifestyle in the valley," Matt said, "Kilroy knows that if they were upfront with what they really wanted, not only would the land be more expensive but the opposition would be much more fierce."

"No one here is about to sit around and let that happen,"Jed agreed, "It would create much bigger opposition and protests than Kilroy and his men are ready to face."

"Then we have to make sure we find the truth and expose it publicly," Matt said.


"So where do you think we'll be able to find a stripper for our party," Rhonda asked.

The other women groaned.

"Are you still thinking about that," Chris said, "You should be worried about what happens when you're up at the altar with the minister rather than your bachelorette party."

"Speaking of which," Rhonda said, "I have to make an appointment with him."

"The stripper or the minister?"

Rhonda looked at her nails.

"Maybe someone who does both?"

Chris blanched.

"I can't believe you just said that about someone of the cloth!"

"I'm kidding," Rhonda said, "Actually I have to meet with the minister who's marrying us."

"Do you even have one picked out?"

Rhonda snorted.

"Of course I do, Chris," she said, "Jonathan and I are going with the guy who baptized him when he was a boy."

"This should be a very interesting conversation," Chris said, "Mind if we tag along?"

Rhonda looked at them, thinking.

"I wouldn't mind," she said, "What about today?"

"I have to go into town to look at some more records at City Hall," C.J. said, "but it shouldn't take all day."

Butterfly walked in the room, engrossed in a newspaper she was reading.

"Whatcha reading," Rhonda asked.

Butterfly looked at them.

"Oh this way out cool article on Matt that the reporter chick Sydney wrote on him."

"Let me see that," Rhonda demanded and people started crowding around.

Except for Matt, who sat contented with his coffee and watched them. He never liked reading his own press.

"We've got to buy out the edition," Chris said, "Do you think they could sell us like a hundred or so?"

"Chris, we don't want to entirely clean them out," Rhonda said, "We want the town's people to have copies to read too."

"Great quote by you, C.J.," Chris said, "Where you said he was as sexy as all get out."

Rhonda raised her brow.

"So what was that assessment based on," she said, "Care to share that?"

C.J. just looked at them, trying not to get flustered.

"Not really…I don't kiss and tell," she said with a shrug, before taking another bite of her toast.

"These pictures of him….," Rhonda said, looking at C.J., "I thought you said he took off his shirt."

"Well he chose not to do so Rhonda," C.J. said, "And I think the pictures turned out better for the article."

Rhonda crossed her arms.

"So you think he looks better with his shirt on than off?"

"I didn't say that," C.J. protested, "I just think for the purposes of the article…"

"So he looks better with it off then," Rhonda said, "I think he's got great muscles, actually. Okay I like Jonathan's better but it's a personal thing."

Thea just looked at them and shook her head, trying to suppress laughter.

"It's not like I tried them both out like you did."

C.J. put her fork down.

"What did you just say?"

Rhonda put up her hands.

"Okay, wrong choice of words."

"I should say so," C.J. said.

"Excuse me, why are we talking about this at the breakfast table," Chris said.

"Because we were talking about the bachelorette party," Rhonda said, "and got a bit off-track."


Jed looked up at the women.

"It looks like they're having some disagreement," he said.

Matt looked closer at them.

"It must be wedding talk," he said, "Nothing gets women excited like when there's a wedding going on."

Jed laughed.

"It's certainly going to be an interesting week," he said, "But it should work out in the end."

"I hope Jonathan knows what's ahead of him," Matt said, "Rhonda's a good woman with a good heart but she is going to keep him on his toes."

"That makes for a more interesting marriage," Jed said, "Bonnie's like that in her own way. Never a dull moment."

"I wouldn't know," Matt said, "I've made it to the altar but never past it."

"You will someday," Jed said, "You look like a man who family means everything to in your life."

Matt nodded.

"It does," he agreed, "I grew up with only my father and then he passed on. I still have an uncle and a cousin living in L.A. but eventually, I do want a family of my own to come home to at the end of the day."

"There's nothing better," Jed said, "I remember that every day that I get up in the morning and go to sleep at night."

"But marriage's not easy," Matt said, "even in the best of circumstances."

"Nothing worthwhile ever is, Matt," Jed said, "But marrying Bonnie was one of the best decisions I ever made," Jed said, "I wouldn't go back if I could."


Back at the cabin, C.J. gathered her folders and placed them in her briefcase.

"So you going back to City Hall," Matt asked.

She nodded.

"For a while," she said, "Then we're going to meet Bonnie for some lunch."

"I'll be out making sure we've coordinated the different shifts of people looking after the properties covered by the injunction."

"Thanks," she said, "That's really important for it to work at least until the feds in Denver get their act together and come on down here."

"My friend Kent is doing all he can to get them dispatched faster," Matt said.

C.J. ran her hand through her hair.

"That's good," she said, "I'll see you later."

He drew her into his arms and they kissed.

"That was a really good article," she said, looking up at him, "I think it captured who you are underneath the great looks."

He smiled and stroked her hair.

"Not that it captured everything of course," she continued, "It missed a few things."

"Like what?"

She smiled.

"I'll tell you later," she said, "I got to go."

She kissed him again and then she was gone.


C.J. headed into town and parked her car. She took her things and headed up the steps to City Hall. She entered the building and immediately ran into Edna, Keeper of the Records. Edna looked up at her and sighed.

"We had to close the records room for a day," she said, grabbing her keys, "Someone broke the furniture."

"Oh how awful," C.J. said.

Edna nodded.

"The table had to be replaced," she said, "We were very lucky that Luke had some time in his busy schedule to custom build one just like the old one."

"That's great," C.J. said, smiling, "Do you have any idea how it happened?"

Edna pressed her lips together disapprovingly.

"It's pretty obvious how it happened," she said, "After all, I was young once too."

C.J. felt a blush slip through her face.

"I…"

"We take check or credit card," Edna said, simply, "You can work out your payment arrangements with the clerk on your way out and this transgression need go no further."

C.J. watched as Edna unlocked the records room door and then left, shaking her head.

She walked into the room and flipped on the switch. Looking around the room, she thought something was different besides the new table which just as Edna said, looked a lot like the old one. She walked towards the rows of boxes in the back of the room. But when she turned into one aisle, she didn't see several of the boxes but instead, empty spaces marking where she and Matt had left them.

"Damn," she said, knowing that they had been removed. Probably by Kilroy or his men or by one of their sympathizers at City Hall. She turned to leave the room to take up the issue with Edna when she ran into Sydney.

"Watch it," Sydney said, "I'm wearing a new suit and I've got coffee."

C.J. looked at her.

"What's the special occasion?"

Sydney smiled.

"Oh there are some daily news shows that are flying out to Silver Lode to check out what's been going on here."

C.J. brightened.

"Oh you mean about the ranchers' Fight to preserve their way of life.

"No, actually to meet the sexiest man in Silver Lode."

That news startled C.J.

"What the hell," she said, "Why would they fly out here for that?"

"Oh, my story went out on the wire as soon as it came off the press," Sydney said, "I think it has something to do with that article he did for PEOPLE last year."

C.J. ran her hand through her hair.

"Aren't you happy for Matt," Sydney said, "I mean, he's really sexy and this could mean more national exposure for him."

C.J. felt fairly sure how Matt would react to that kind of exposure.

"Sure I'm happy for him," she said, "But that's not the kind of attention he likes."

Sydney nodded.

"Yeah, he's a bit squirrely to the media I noticed," she said, "But he shouldn't let it stop him."

"He doesn't like to be in the spotlight for what he does," C.J. said, "He just likes helping people, not the attention."

"Yeah well, they're on their way here," Sydney said, "Then there's that girlfriend thing."

C.J. tilted her head.

"What girlfriend thing?"

Sydney sipped her coffee.

"He's not actually a bachelor after all," she said, "He says he's got a girlfriend and that only she can get him to take his shirt off."

C.J. suppressed her smile.

"And when did he say this, about the girlfriend?"

Sydney shrugged.

"When I hit on him at the end of the interview," she said, "Which I admit that I did…a little but he's such a good looking guy and that smile…"

"Yeah I know…," C.J. said, "Why did you hit on him?"

"Why not," Sydney said, "The opportunity was there."

"But you break their hearts," C.J. said, "Like you did Joe's."

Sydney's face darkened.

"Oh that," she said, "Well, I had to get the story and getting close…"

"…to your subject is the best way to do it," C.J. finished.

"Well yes of course," Sydney said, "and it's worked very well so far… except with Matt."

"Lucky for you," C.J. said, "Because I don't take kindly to people who hurt my best friend."

Sydney raised her brows.

"I can see that," she said, "I imagine you must make his girlfriend very nervous."

"What…"

"Well, you two spend so much time together," Sydney said, "Here…in Denver…and she's nowhere around. Makes you wonder what she's thinking."

C.J. rubbed the back of her neck. Suddenly the door opened and they both looked up and saw Nick.

"Excuse me," C.J. said, trying to push past Sydney.

"Avoiding me," Nick asked as he looked at both women.

"Not me Nick," Sydney said, "In fact, I need a quote from you for my story."

"You can call my office," Nick said, "Wait a minute, you're doing a story on such a complicated issue as land development?"

Sydney didn't like his tone.

"Excuse me," she said, "I'm a damn good reporter on any issue, even those much more complicated than what's going on with your firm."

"I must have hit a sore spot," he said, smiling, "That wasn't my intention at all. I would love to talk with you anytime, anywhere on this or any other land deal."

"Well, I'll leave you two alone then," C.J. said, picking up her things.

"Don't leave on my account," Nick said. "I know that we're on opposite sides of the court professionally speaking."

"And that's all there is," She said, trying to squeeze past them.

He blocked her way.

"Come on, why don't you join me and Sydney for our interview," he said.

Sydney looked at him.

"So you're agreeing to an interview," she said, reaching for her palm pilot, "We can schedule right now and avoid our middlemen at the office."

"Sure," Nick said, "I'm free evenings. You can find me at the local watering hole."

"That works," Sydney said.

"Okay," he said, "How about tomorrow night?"

Sydney smiled.

"Sure," she said, "I'll see you then."

He nodded.

"Goodbye ladies," he said, "always good to see you C.J."

She didn't respond back. After Nick left, she turned to Sydney.

"Do you know what you're letting yourself into," C.J. said, "That guy's a snake."

"He's an interview for a story," Sydney said, "The one that you and Matt wanted me to write so I'm writing it."

"But…"

"I've got to get back to the office and check my messages," Sydney said, "I got a slew of them by the time I arrived in the office, all about Matt."

"That's nice," C.J. said, "But be careful of Nick. He might be dangerous."


Matt rode out with Reed and Jed to talk to the ranchers who were standing guard on the Wyatt and Flynn properties. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened during their shifts, they all reported.

"Do you think that they're going to be targets," Jed asked.

"I don't know," Matt said, "I'm not sure where Kilroy and his thugs are going to hit back. I just know that they're going to do it."

"They've been pretty ruthless so far," Jed said, "I think you're right about this really being more about mining than developing the land out here."

"And if they found rich veins of some ore like silver or even gold out here, then that would set them up for life."

"Just the thought of it," Jed said, shaking his head, "like gold fever back in the 1800s."

Matt reined in Whiskey when they reached the meadow to stop for lunch.

"I don't like C.J. being caught in the middle of all this," he said.

"She's doing what she wants to do," Jed reminded him, "You know how much that means to her."

"I know that," Matt said, "and we've both faced enough danger on the job, but…"

"It's different when it's the woman that you love."

Matt turned around to look at Jed.

"Well yeah…I think it is," he said, "It's always been hard when something bad has happened to her because of what we do, but this is different."

Jed dismounted his horse by the grove of trees.

"I know it is," Jed said, "But you're going to have to find a way to deal with the dangers of your jobs without making her feel smothered."

"We do pretty well in that area," Matt said, "It's difficult in situations like this one where the stakes are high in the minds of some pretty determined men."

"Well, there's some very determined people on the other side," Jed said, "And we're not about to let anything happen to our way of life or anyone who speaking out for us."


"Dangerous," Sydney said, "Surely, you're exaggerating."

C.J. shook her head.

"I'm not," she said, "Nick's the man who's been making phone threats to me and he assaulted me at the diner that night."

Sydney folded her arms.

"You said he assaulted you. He said you came on to him. There are two different accounts of one event."

C.J. fought to control her temper then sighed.

"I'm just warning you that's all," C.J. said, "What you do with my words is up to you."

They left the room.

"So where you headed," Sydney asked.

"To meet some of my friends who flew in for the wedding," C.J. said.

Sydney's radar zeroed in on one word.

"Wedding," she said, "Who's getting married? Anyone I know?"

"Thea's son, Jonathan is marrying a friend of mine, Rhonda."

"I didn't hear anything about Jonathan doing the deed," Sydney said, "What a shock."

"Why is it so surprising," C.J. said, "Wait a minute, don't tell me that Jonathan…"

"It was just a short interlude in both of our lives," Sydney said, searching her purse for her notepad, "Not that it wasn't memorable."

"You better not tell Rhonda about it," C.J. said.

"So when's the main event?"

"Next week," C.J. said, "Although there's some events that are being held before the main event."

"Like a bachelorette party?"

C.J. looked at her surprised.

"Well yes," she said, "How did you know it?"

Sydney started scribbling in her notepad.

"If there's a wedding going on, then there's a bachelorette party," Sydney said, "not to mention a bachelor's party."

"Yes, usually that's the case," C.J. said, "Though you'll have to talk to Jonathan about the men's party."

Sydney wrote some more in her pad.

"Can I meet your friends," Sydney asked, "I have some time and besides, this wedding might make excellent copy."

C.J. hesitated.

"Well okay," she said, "I'm on my way there now."

So they continued walking to the diner with C.J. wondering what she had just gotten her friends and herself into bringing Sydney into the fold.

"Oh, I talked to Edna about that broken table," Sydney said.

"Oh really."

"And the latest is, that there's no arrests so far in the assault committed against the table here," Sydney said.

C.J. nodded.

"That's a good outcome," she said, "first time offenders should be treated lightly by the system."

Sydney looked at C.J. puzzled, but C.J. just smiled.


Matt and Jed headed back to the barn, after eating lunch.

"It's going to be interesting to see what the appellate judge rules on Kilroy's appeal," Jed said.

"That could be several years from now," Matt said, "In the meantime, I better get back in touch with Kent to see when he's sending in reinforcements to carry out the will of the district court."

"I hope that's the case," Jed said, "because eventually the ranchers will have to focus back on their own properties."

Matt nodded.

"Hopefully, it won't be too much longer."

Jed couldn't argue with that.

"So what do you think about the wedding?"

Matt shortened the rein on Whiskey.

"I didn't know Jonathan and Rhonda were that serious," Matt said, "But then I've not been in Houston lately so I'm probably a couple steps behind on what's been going on."

"So you heading back to L.A. when you and C.J. are finished here?"

Matt hesitated.

"I've got to check on my business to make sure it's still running smoothly," he said.

"But you've got capable employees making sure of that don't you?"

Matt nodded.

"Yeah, I've got some great employees," he said, "So after I check the business, I'm going to leave them to run it for a while and I'm going to Houston."

"When did you make that decision?"

"I think I made it a while ago and couldn't admit it to myself," he said, "The bottom line is that I have a business out in L.A. but C.J. has a life she's rebuilt for herself in Houston that she really needs right now."

"She's worked really hard to get her life back, after what's happened to her."

"I know that," Matt said, "And I want to share that with her. I do know that I don't want to be living in some city 2,000 miles away."

Jed nodded.

"So what are you going to do when you're there?"

"I'm thinking of starting another business in Houston," he said, "I love the work I do, but I think I need to change my focus a bit. I'm still trying to figure out how exactly to do that."

"You will," Jed said, "and then you'll build a new life together just as it should be."


C.J. and Sydney entered the diner to see Chris and Rhonda sitting in a booth. Rhonda stared at them.

"What the hell is she doing here?"