Here's another installment of this FF story. I hope that you enjoy it and thanks for reading and the feedback!

C.J. just looked at Matt who now sat up in bed, with those same sheets still draped around his waist but his chest remained bare, sprinkled with the hair that she had just been lacing her fingers through not so long ago. He looked at her and she knew he missed little, given his observation skills that had been honed through his years spent investigating hundreds of cases.

She put her phone away and stood up.

"I'm just about to go get started on a day's work."

He looked her over.

"You're dressed."

She tilted her head.

"Well of course," she said, "I can't very well go out without any clothes on."

He patted the bed.

"You could come back in here."

She felt tempted, really she did especially when he put it like that but she had a lot to take care of on the ranch, starting with the horses.

"I've got a lot to do," she said.

"Need some help?"

C.J. looked back at him, shaking her head.

"Houston, you're supposed to be resting," she said, "That's what the doctor told you to do and you didn't get a whole lot of it last night."

He smiled, scratching the back of his neck.

"No I didn't," he said, I think I have a certain woman to thank for that."

C.J. blushed a bit.

"Yeah well I wasn't thinking at the time."

"Neither was I," he said, "but C.J. I can assure you I'm plenty well rested."

She folded her arms.

"For what Houston," she said, "For a full days worth of riding back and forth across the ranch and fixing up some fencing on the far side under the hot sun?"

"I can handle it," he said, "It's much better than just being lazy inside the house by myself while everyone else is out working."

"You came here to relax…"

"I am relaxed," Matt said, "I've never been so relaxed. I'd be even more so if…"

C.J. smiled.

"Later Houston," she said, leaving him.

She heated up some leftovers for breakfast and to pack for lunch and then went to the barn. She saw Bo and Lamar talking to Lulu and Dylan inside the barn.

"Where are you heading today," Bo asked.

"I think I'm going to check the stable and then head off to the far end to see if the fencing is holding up there," she said as she went to Chelsea's stall.

"We thought we'd work on the garden today," Bo said, "Lamar told me this morning that we needed a lot more peppers than we used up making all that chili."

C.J. definitely agreed that you could never have too many peppers in the garden and she knew Matt loved them too.

"Okay, how about a half dozen plants for every kind," she said, opening the stall door and reaching for Chelsea's halter after giving her a few pats.

Lulu looked up from where she sat polishing some bridles.

"I think adding some chives and basil would be great," she added, "My aunt used to have a cool herb garden."

C.J. smiled.

"That sounds great," she said, "Maybe Bo and Lamar can round up some seeds and add in between the rows of peppers."

Bo looked past C.J. and she turned around knowing what she would see, or rather who. And sure enough, there walked in Matt, dressed up in his working duds. She put her hands on her hips and looked at him.

"And what are you doing here," she said, "You're supposed to be resting today."

"I told you I'm plenty rested," he said, "I need something to do today or I'll go stir crazy and I won't be responsible for what you'll find at the end of the day."

She looked at him carefully. Fully knowing that if she rode off for the day that Matt would run around and tire himself out trying to do too much. She decided she had to minimize his wear and tear so she came up with an idea.

"Why don't you help them with the garden," she said, "You can be in charge of tending to the bean plants and helping add to the nice peppers collection."

He looked at her, his brows furrowing.

"You want me to play in the garden all day," he said, "C.J., that's not work. It doesn't seem right to let you do all the hard chores."

She lifted her brow at him, because for a moment there, she almost weakened. But then the rational side of her brain reminded her that if they rode off to work on the ranch together, they probably wouldn't wind up getting very much work done at all. Just like they hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

"Houston, I need you in the garden," she said, "if you really want to be a big help, you can help Bo and Lamar decide which prize chilies you want to plant."

Bo and Lamar looked at each other and then C.J. shot them both a look.

"Houston, of course we need you to help us with the planting," Lamar said, nodding, "No one knows Texas chili and which are the best chilies better than you."

Good Lamar, C.J. thought.

"After all, when we won the chili contest five years running, who inspired us to greatness?"

Then there was laying it on a bit thick, she thought again.

Matt just looked at both men doubtfully.

"If that's so then how come you never want me in the vicinity when you're cooking up a batch?"

The two ranch hands looked at each other.

"Houston, we just know how busy you are running around the ranch," Lamar said, "or solving one of your cases, that's all."

Matt didn't look convinced. C.J. just smiled and after stroking Chelsea's nose, began saddling her up.

"I'd better get on going and leave you to your gardening," she said, leading her horse out of the barn.

Matt followed her.

"Okay, I'll do that on one condition…"

She turned around and looked at him.

"I don't know if I even want to hear this," she said, chuckling.

He took a couple steps towards her and she crossed her arms.

"That you'll have dinner with me tonight."

She tilted her head.

"I'll…think about it and get back to you," she said.

"Come here first…"

She almost said something but when he put it that way…and his arms around her felt like they belonged there…

She loved kissing him even more.

"C.J. are you sure…"

She smiled at him and went to get on her horse to leave. As soon as she did, she pulled in the reins and then winked at him.

"I'll see you later."

And then she rode off towards the stable.

Bo and Lamar walked outside up to where Matt stood, and asked him if he were ready to get started. Matt walked with them back to the barn to get the equipment. But before he reached there, his phone rang. He pulled it out and saw that it was Hoyt.

"Hoyt, good to hear from you," he said, "What's up?"

"I heard back from the FBI Houston," Hoyt said, "They've been tracking that money trail and Marquis accumulated quite a treasure chest offshore."

Matt thought about that quickly, stopping in front of the barn while the others brought out the gardening tools.

"I wonder what he's up to," he said, "I don't want to find out the hard way, having him just show up and somehow get past my men."

Hoyt sighed.

"We're doing all we can," he said, "He hasn't shown up in L.A. at all. We put a detail around your beach house and the office building. Guards up in the penthouse suite, driving Murray crazy from what I hear."

That might be so but Matt didn't want to take any chances with any of his employees or friends who worked for him. He didn't think that Marquis would go after them but he didn't want to take any chances.

"Any sign of him besides his money?"

Not that he didn't already know what the answer would be.

"No Houston," Hoyt said, "not a word and those emails you forwarded…couldn't be traced."

Oh but Matt believed that the terrorist had sent them as a calling card to expect him, but at the same time having to guess when and where which was part of the psychological assault on him.

"C.J. doing okay?"

"She's doing just fine Hoyt," Matt said, "She's doing…more than just fine."

"From the sound of that, I take it she's really taken to this ranching she's been doing."

"You can say that," Matt said, "and she's done a great job which you'll see when you come to the barbecue."

"I wouldn't miss it," Hoyt said, "You take care of each other and I'll get in touch with you soon."

"Thanks Hoyt," Matt said, clicking off his phone before heading to the garden for a full day of playing in the dirt.

C.J. sat in the stable's office looking at the trophies on the wall. She had just finished up touching up the paint and her renovation of the structure both inside and out would almost be completed. She had opened up some of the windows so that the air could circulate through the structure which had already begun to heat up. Never the most comfortable place to be this time of year with the exception of the other afternoon when she and Matt had been too busy doing other things to notice the heat that had only been tempered so much by the storm.

What now existed between the two of them both elated and frightened her at the same time. She envied him his ability to throw himself without holding back into his relationships with women. Her, on the other hand, she tended to be more cautious and experience had taught her that. First when she had given herself completely to Zach when she had been young and then he had left her without a second glance. It had reminded her so much of when her father had died when she was a little girl, had walked out to head to work one morning and hadn't come back by nightfall. What had happened instead is that her mother had received a phone call and then had collapsed in tears, the light in her eyes completely erased and something else replaced it. And it had never really come back after that. She had learned at a young age that sometimes people could disappear from your life and there wasn't anything you could do or say, let alone even prepare for it.

Like with her boyfriend Carl, who she had begun to lower her reserves around after dating him for several months. But how could you not with a man like him, who was sweetly thoughtful yet had a devilish sense of fun? But she had kissed him goodbye with the promise of coffee while he waited for his car to be fixed and had gone home with Too-Mean fully expecting her boyfriend to enjoy her and finish telling her what he had started. And she had waited the coffee growing cold and finally receiving a phone call from Hoyt that her boyfriend had been hit by a car, suffering serious injuries that claimed his life on the operating table. Matt had been in Texas giving a deposition and couldn't be reached at the time.

She had met Carl not long after she and Matt had returned to L.A. after their run in with Marquis and he had hosted a party in his office suite to help the both of them put that nightmare behind him. It had been just before the kidnapping case that pushed Vince into retirement, one last chance for everyone to be enjoying each other before life brought a series of changes their way. Mama had brought some of her famous pizza and Bo and Lamar had flown in for the occasion. Carl had shown up as the good friend of one of the secretaries and had managed to bump into C.J. when both had gone out on the helipad for some fresh air. She hadn't really been in the mood to party because what had happened with Marquis had remained fresh on her mind but within minutes, he had her smiling and then chuckling. Matt had seen them together and it made him feel better that for the first time in a while, C.J. acted more like herself as he told her later. She couldn't argue against that, having liked the businessman on sight.

But life had really thrown her a curve there and it had taken her months to recover and maybe between that and her declaration of love to her best friend that had never really been answered, well that left her vulnerable to the effusive charm of Robert who now sat in prison, his sociopathic behavior on ice for a long time.

Her phone rang and she pulled it out, seeing that it was Shelia.

"What's up girlfriend," Shelia said.

"I'm sitting in the stable finishing it up. As soon as the paint dries, it might be presentable."

"Is that the same place where you and…"

C.J. felt the heat fill her face.

"Shelia, seriously is that all you think about?"

Her friend just chuckled.

"And you're not right now," Shelia said, "I would think that just sitting there would bring back all kinds of memories."

Damn, her friend knew that about her. Because even while touching up the paint on the stall gates, that had been all she had been thinking about, though of course there were other pleasurable memories too.

"Okay, you got me," C.J. admitted, "I'm sitting here thinking about him. Satisified?"

Shelia laughed again.

"C.J. you really are getting grouchy in your old age," she said, "You're back on the ranch away from the madness of bar hopping in good old L.A. and you've got one of the best pieces of eye candy who's no doubt left a trail of unhappy women missing his attentions."

"Houston's recovering from his spider bite," C.J. said, "But he's working with the others in the garden today, planting some more vegetables and peppers."

"Probably thinking that there's more fertile ground out there that he'd rather be planting in…"

C.J. bit back a retort. Really her friend could be outrageous at times.

"Look, he and I have been spending…time together," she said, "But we're just feeling our way through this for a while."

"I'll bet…"

C.J. had to chuckle at that one.

"I've got to get back to work," she said, "I'll get back to you later."

"Oh please do," Shelia said, "My own life is so damn boring, I have to live vicariously through others these days."

C.J. clicked off her phone and then checked her emails. There weren't any new ones, including from the sender who had claimed to be an old friend. She wondered if it were a vengeful ex boyfriend , a prankster or if….it were really Marquis.

But how could that be? He was locked up inside a cell of one of the most secure, heavily fortified penal institutions in the country. Then again, the brief time that she had spent in his captivity had given her some clue about the man's native intelligence and ruthless ability to act on a dime. But he had insecurities as well and one had been one that she unsuspected, had tapped into, one that she had later used to her advantage. But survival in the ruthless world that she had fallen into necessitated some of that on her part. She sat in her chair just staring at her phone, wondering how she would ever tell him, when she didn't know what to say to herself about the memories she had packed away hoping that she would someday be free of them.

Matt toiled away in the garden, as the heat broiled the air around them. Bo and Lamar had brought out a huge container of some of their famed ice-cold sweet tea which fortified everyone's resolution to keep working when it began to flag. Not that Matt loathed gardening, far from it but he couldn't believe that he was knee deep in dirt, his hands coated with drying mud and his muscles beginning to ache while C.J. was out riding through the ranchland repairing fencing, work he should really be doing. He reached for some of his tea and sipped it thoughtfully, before gazing back at the row of freshly sown earth that now held onion seeds. Lulu and Dylan had taken a break and were chatting underneath the shade of a nearby tree and Bo and Lamar in classic form were arguing about where to put the Serrano peppers and whether their flavor would be compromised by planting them next to the jalapenos.

"No Bo, the Serrano peppers need plenty of room for maximum flavor," Lamar insisted, "If you put them too close to the jalapenos , they'll end up tasting like some mixture of both."

Bo scoffed.

"Lamar, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard and being you, that's saying a lot."

Lamar shook his head.

"It's in the chili code," he said, "You don't mix your peppers until they're freshly picked and in the Texas chili."

Matt watched the two of them go at it, enjoying their banter because it reminded him of all the years they had spent as part of his life. They never did it to hurt each other and it was all in good fun. Still if it continued, he might have to break it up so they could finish the planting and if they did that early enough, he could saddle up a horse and go to check on C.J. to see how she was faring.

Just to make sure she was safe of course. Though seriously he trusted his security forces to do that for him without her even being aware they were doing that. No, the truth was that even while working in the garden, he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. He had watched her ride away on Chelsea believing that he had never seen anything so beautiful. Well except perhaps for the vision that met him when he woke up this morning after several hours of sleep.

Not that he felt that now. He felt energized and despite her protestations, fully rested. The stress which had haunted him during the past few months had melted away once he had returned here and now he understood fully why.

"Houston, are you sitting there taking a nap," Lamar said, breaking into Matt's reverie.

"I've been real busy here all morning," Matt said, "Did you settle your argument with Bo about the Serrano peppers?"

Lamar shrugged.

"We both put that to bed with a friendly wager," he said, "You want in? You back me, it's a sure thing."

Matt hedged, those words taking him elsewhere.

"Well Lamar," he said, "I've been saving my money up for a while so I'm cutting back on the gambling."

Lamar's eyes widened.

"Really?"

Matt nodded.

"At least involving money," he said, "though there are other ways."

Lamar looked at him funny and then nodded.

"I see what you mean," he said, "but I really think you should hold onto your horses."

Matt raised a brow.

"Lamar…"

"I mean don't go making a bet that you have to cash with one of them," Lamar said, "I know how much you love them especially the paint filly."

Matt blinked, as he had been talking about something else entirely. Oh and about how the day's hours had been ticking away slower than the flow of molasses sap out of a tree.

C.J. tried to put the thoughts of the past away where they belonged. After all, life had continued on after the ordeal on Marquis' island. Matt had arrived back in town, ditched her to go to the fights with Vince and dropped right back in the dating game.

His relationship with Elizabeth of course had put a stop to that. Now she thought she knew her best friend very well from all the years they had spent together but the announcement of his engagement to the heiress…that had thrown everyone through a loop. And when it hadn't worked out…it had taken him a while to get back on the horse so to speak. And now months later, he was with her and she had thrown in her lot with him, happily so. But a part of her still hesitated wondering how long it would last, after all Matt had been a player so long in his adult life, she didn't know if he even was aware of how it had defined him. As if the string of women shouldn't have served as a reminder, not to mention the write-ups in the social columns, the positions on the top 10 bachelor lists in upper L.A. society.

Still as visions of him back near the ranch house working on the garden filled her…the day passed too slowly and she thought about ending it early and heading on back. But she wanted the ranch to be finished and ready definitely before she threw her housewarming barbecue. She got up and headed outside to get Chelsea and head off to address the fencing. Fortunately, no animals had wandered through it as had been the case with Slade's yearlings but it should be patched up. She got aboard her horse and headed off towards the far end of the ranch, putting more distance between herself and the place she wanted to be.

Matt took a break, sweat drenched the back of his work shirt and he had gone to the water spigot to rinse the grime off of his hands so that he could eat his lunch. Lamar had made up some sandwiches of which Matt couldn't identify but he decided that some things could remain mysteries because they tasted delicious. Lulu and Dylan had finished planting some tomato plants next to the onions under Lamar's watchful eye. Matt thought he was taking this oversight a bit seriously but C.J. had put him in charge and Lamar took that seriously.

"Hey I never took you for a down to earth type," a masculine voice said.

Matt looked up to see that Slade had walked up to them.

"What brings you here," he asked.

Slade looked back towards where he parked his truck.

"I brought the final draft of the letter," he said, "Is C.J. around?"

"She's out fixing some fencing," Matt answered, "She'll be back later this afternoon."

The other man frowned.

"I really wanted her to proof it," he said, "Maybe I can drop by later…"

Matt sipped his tea.

"We've got plans for dinner," he said, "She really needs a night off from everything."

Slade looked at him.

"She's helping those ranchers because she wants to Houston."

Matt narrowed his eyes a bit.

"And why are you doing it Slade?"

If Slade were caught off guard by what Matt said, he didn't show it.

"I'm in it for the same reason," he said, "to help these folks hold onto their land."

Matt paused this time, picking his words.

"When you've grown up on a ranch, you know how much the land matters to you," he said, "So much so you want to keep it in the family for your kids and grandkids."

"I understand that Houston," Slade countered.

"Not as much as she does," Matt said, "Just something to keep in mind next time you use this to do some rekindling."

"That's none of your business."

"I'm making it my business Slade," Matt said, "You hurt her once; you won't be getting another chance."

"That's for her to decide Houston," the other man said.

"I believe that she did make that decision," Matt said, "It's you who is having trouble accepting it."

Slade shook his head.

"She is not eager to get back with me, that's true but she could still change her mind."

"I wouldn't count on that happening," Matt said, "So maybe you had better call it a day and move on and let her move on too."

Slade just looked at him startled.

"If I didn't know better, I would think that you're trying to get her to move on with you."

Matt just looked at him.