The latest installment of this rather strange FF story. Hope you like it, thanks for reading and especially for the feedback.

C.J. stretched out on the bed inside the house that sat on a beautiful spread of land owned by Matt's uncle Roy who had refused to sell it even after his wife had died. And now that he had reunited with his formerly lost son, he had been glad to have kept the ranch and all the memories which remained wrapped in it within the family.

Will had settled down with his wife and a daughter who would turn two in a couple of months, and had been busy making up for all the time that he had lost while he had been among the missing caught in limbo between the known living and the buried dead. Roy had some of his hired help who tended the ranch fix it up for their arrival not that C.J. had been that picky about where she stayed at this point.

Any place was much better than inside a jail.

She had left the cell where she had spent the uncomfortable night in L.A. while awaiting her transfer to another facility in Texas. The plane flight with the two investigators had been uneventful and they had removed the handcuffs from her but had otherwise kept a close eye on her the entire trip. A car with tinted windows had picked them up at the airport and after the handcuffs were put back on, she was transported to Laredo County's seat which was about 20 miles away from the town where she had spent much of her life, Wild Fork.

Matt and Roy had gassed up the Lear Jet and had flown to meet her there and had actually arrived first so when she finally arrived at the old courthouse in downtown Laredo Flats, she had seen them sitting in the audience inside the courtroom where she faced off before an elderly man who kept flashing her stern looks.

She had been approached by a middle-aged man named Rusty Bateman and as it turned out, he was her attorney, with an office in town and a history including a stint working as a deputy prosecutor for Jack Prescow who still remained in that office that he had held for over a decade. Jack didn't appear but sent a younger man who didn't seem like he had been out of law school for all that long. After conferencing with C.J., Rusty appeared before the judge and called for a bail hearing.

The prosecutor vetoed that in a monotone voice so C.J. knew he was following a script that had been given to him by a supervisor. He said that since the case was already murder one and could be filed under the special circumstances of the provisions for the death penalty, that no bail should be granted. C.J.'s heart quickened when she heard the reference to the death penalty and that's when she knew she was back in Texas. She threw a worried glance back at Rusty and he just winked at her before he addressed the judge.

"Your Honor, I believe that bail should be granted, given Ms Parsons' lack of a criminal history and her good standing in the L.A. legal community, not to mention her exemplary reputation as an associate to one of the city's top investigative firms…"

C.J. looked over at the prosecutor who was already shaking his head and no doubt, preparing a rebuttal. Then at the judge whose expression, which was difficult to read. At Matt who tried to not look concerned and Roy, whose eyes watched everything that unfolded inside the room.

"Your Honor," the prosecutor protested, "This is a very serious, very violent crime and as such, mandates that the defendant remain in custody until the date of trial…and as for killing people, she does have a history back in L.A…"

C.J. closed her eyes.

Christian Dean, her high school classmate who had started killing to get to her long before she had to save her own life. Surely the judge couldn't hold that against her.

"Justifiable homicide Your Honor," Rusty said, "The LAPD lieutenant, Michael Hoyt can provide written documentation of that case."

"But Your Honor…that means she is a danger to society…"

She sighed at that, knowing that if the judge sided with the prosecutor, she would very well be spending the next year or so behind bars, which would make it very difficult for her to fight her case. Rusty argued back, reiterating that she had an excellent reputation.

Or so she did, she thought, until she had been arrested for murder. While the deputies were loading her into a car to go to the airport, the paparazzi showed up in force, clearly having caught wind of what had happened. No doubt her mug shot and photos of her being escorted by deputies in handcuffs had been splashed over the newspapers and television screens at least in L.A. especially if it was a slow news day.

The judge had stared at everyone along moment and she had sat there in anticipation of his decision. But he had finally said that after some deal of consideration, he would grant bail…to the tune of $2 million. It didn't take long before Matt had managed to spring her lose from the county jail and she hadn't even asked him what he had used as collateral. Not that it mattered, as she didn't plan on fleeing jurisdiction. No, she planned on staying right here and trying to figure out who really killed Dylan Cade because until she did that, the district attorney's office would pin his murder on her head.

After being released from custody, C.J. just wanted to head some place and take a nice long, hot shower to clean the grime real and imagined from where she had been since she had been arrested at Matt's penthouse suite. They headed first to catch a bite to eat at a nearby diner to meet with Rusty before they would head back to Wild Fork and Roy's ranch.

Rusty laid it all out for her, telling her that he had read the sheriff's department's investigative report on Cade's murder. As C.J. had remembered, he had disappeared five years ago but many people including his wife, Nadine had just assumed that he had run off and chased after some money making scheme, another man that had left her in the lurch so she hadn't filed a missing person's report. No one had really given him much thought until what had been left of his body had been dug up by a construction team that had been breaking ground for Wild Fork's very first strip mall. The land had originally been owned by an absentee owner who had lost it in a poker game to a sheriff deputy who had sold it to a developer.

After identification with the partial skeleton had made it clear that Dylan had turned up again, an investigation had been launched into his murder and there had been "items of interest" that had turned up in the process that linked him to C.J. not too long before his death. The evidence cited hadn't been described in any great detail which Rusty told her would be just one of the many elements of what he called a shoddy investigation would be challenged through legal filings.

"This case got handed off to Jack way too soon," Rusty said, "and he probably wouldn't have filed on it if it weren't an election year for him."

Matt raised his brows.

"What do you mean," he said, "Jack's been the town DA since both C.J. and I lived in Wild Fork."

"He's planning a run for higher office this time," he said, "to get out of this little backwoods pond."

C.J. nodded.

"You mean state attorney general, don't you?"

"You got it," Rusty said, shaking his head, "Career politician, he's been. His office has been suspected of being improperly run."

That didn't surprise C.J. who had her own suspicions beginning back to when she had clerked for him before heading off to Harvard.

"I know I used to work for him," she said, "Twice. Before and after law school."

Rusty didn't look surprised.

"Yeah I heard that from Jack," he said, "He didn't seem to remember you very much but then he's always had his…distractions."

C.J. knew just what they were, the man as long as she had known him had a beautiful wife but a wandering eye.

"I didn't work that long for him after I came back," she said, "It was a different climate then."

Matt looked over at her, remembering back to what had been a very difficult time. He had returned there sometime after his military stint had been done. His cousin had been declared killed in action and he had been wounded by shrapnel. He had been semi engaged to Christina or "Squeaky" as he called her and already working on his new business. For the first time in his life, he had forged out a direction for himself. Whereas for C.J. , it had been the opposite. That period had been the first time in her life she had truly felt lost.

They had left the diner with contact information for Rusty who headed back to his law office while C.J. and Matt headed back to join Roy at his ranch.

When she arrived, she finally had that shower that she had been thinking about all day, spent nearly an hour soaking beneath the hot spray, scrubbing her skin of any reminder of the past 24 hours. She then changed into some casual pants and a shirt and then walked towards the door. About halfway there, she changed her mind and just sank on the very inviting bed. She closed off and her mind wondered, back to the days when she had last set foot in Wild Fork.

Her uncle had finally died not long before she had graduated from Harvard with honors and she had to travel back to Wild Fork to settle his affairs, which as it turned out hadn't been very much. Boxes of photos hidden in the small attic of his entire life before he had essentially turned his back on it in his grief of losing most of his family. He hadn't left behind much money but no outstanding debts either. She had placed most of his possessions in storage and had moved into a small rental house closer to town while she started her job working in Prescow's field office, this time as an attorney. She mostly researched and wrote legal briefs and trial motions until she successfully passed the State Bar and would start making court appearances, arraignments and hearings at first and then eventually trials.

God, she had been so excited to work as a budding prosecutor and had prepared for this day by clerking for both sides of the criminal courtroom. She had done some internship time during her summers spent in Boston working for the D.A.'s office in a neighboring county and there was that stint she spent clerking under famed defense attorney, F. Lee Bailey which she had enjoyed very much. But when she arrived back to her home town, she felt that she would finally be benefiting from the fruition of years of hard work and no small degree of sacrifices.

Until she started her first week working for Jack.

If she had expected that the working environment to have changed since her earlier stint working there, she had been mistaken. The same draconian paralegal assigned her case load and watched her like a hawk and Jack still rarely showed and this time, left with a string of different women, none of them local. And not long after that the trouble began…

C.J. snapped her eyes back open and noticed the room beginning to darken slightly. She stretched, wondering if she had drifted off to sleep while she had been thinking. Suddenly, she heard someone knock on the door.

"It's Houston," a masculine voice said from the other side.

"Come on in," she said and the door opened and sure enough there he stood, dressed in his favorite uniform of faded jeans and an even more faded blue shirt that now appeared more grey.

His hair was damp and she could smell the cologne which he favored. One of her favorite scents in the world as it turned out.

"How are you doing," he asked her.

She patted the bed for him to join her and he did that. She knew she didn't have to ask him twice. He wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head on his chest.

"I don't know," she said, "This is happening so fast and I'm just trying to slow it down."

He stroked her hair and she closed her eyes again.

"C.J., we're going to find out who really killed him."

She turned to look at his face.

"How are we going to do that," she said, "He's been dead for some time. There's very little forensic evidence and what there is, is damaging."

Matt sighed. They still had no idea how the sheriff had tied Dylan and his murder to C.J. Rusty had promised to aggressively research that but as of now, no answers.

"You didn't kill him."

No she hadn't, C.J. thought, though there had been times when she had wanted to do it. Back when she had last been here. Matt hadn't yet arrived back in town then, he hadn't really had much contact with Dylan as far as she knew. Not like she did.

Matt didn't miss C.J.'s silence but didn't know how to read it. He knew that there were portions of her life in Wild Fork that she hadn't told him about just like there were chapters of his life namely those where he had served in the military that he didn't share with many people.

"C.J…is there anything you need to tell me about Cade?"

She remained silent for only a moment later and then shook her head.

"I don't want to think about that right now," she said, "I just want to lay here and relax for a little while. You think you can handle that?"

She felt his grip on her tighten and he twisted her face towards his, brushing his lips against her mouth. And she just enjoyed it and him, knowing that it had taken them so long to get to this point. After they kissed, she settled back on his chest which felt warm and so safe and closed her eyes.

The office had been filled with darkness when she had turned the key to walk inside it. Just a couple of minutes to get her jacket which she had forgotten and then she would leave to go meet Alexis at the beauty shop where she worked as a stylist. As she rummaged around her office, she heard voices coming from outside of it. What sounded like two men talking.

"I want more money Jack," a familiar voice said, "And I know you have it, so let's just say the price has gone up."

"You're bluffing," her boss said smoothly, "You don't have any such documents because they don't exist."

C.J. heard a man rebut that claim and then the sound of something being unzipped, like a bag.

"As you can see now, you're wrong Jack," the man said, "And there's plenty more where these came from and even more copies of them in a safe place."

A long pause followed as C.J. sat completely still, stunned by what she was hearing.

"You're never going to be able to rise up in the ranks," Jack said, "You don't have the brains even if you do have the balls and you need both in this world."

"I'll keep that in mind," the man said, "I'll be in touch…"

And not long after that, she heard a door slam as Jack shut himself in an office and footsteps walking past her to where another door open and shut which she guessed meant that the mystery blackmailer she guessed, had taken his exit. She finally found her jacket on a chair and quietly walked out of the office into the lobby, so sure that her thudding heartbeat would betray her presence.

She woke up and looked to see Matt stir beside her.

"What time is it," she asked him.

"Almost time for dinner," he said, sitting up.

The room had grown a bit darker and she knew that the sun had set an hour or so ago. Still at this time of year, the day's heat would linger in the air for a while along with a fair dose of humidity.

They walked to the kitchen where Roy worked with a woman to prepare the dinner, which was a pretty impressive array of ribs, roasted potatoes and some freshly strung beans, mixed with miniature onions.

"It smells delicious," C.J. said.

Matt agreed but he remembered that his uncle had always loved to cook, much more than did Flo who preferred gardening. He had spent many evenings as a young boy staying for dinner at his uncle's and that he and Will had often helped with the cooking and especially the sampling of any desserts which had to be done before they were suitable to be served after a meal. And on Sundays, he would visit for lunch and spend hours working off the food by running around the ranch or riding horses. His father had never come with him because the two brothers had remained estranged for reasons that Matt hadn't really understood as a little boy.

They ate together and discussed mostly experiences they had shared while Matt and C.J. had been growing up and of course Will.

"I always loved it here," Matt said, nursing a Scotch, "Will and I spent hours fishing by the creek when we were younger and we'd come back and we'd clean the fish and then Jim the cook would fry them up for us."

Roy nodded.

"I remember that," C.J. said, "I also remember that two boys tried to put a small fish down my shirt."

Matt raised a brow.

"Must have been Will's idea."

C.J. looked at them both thoughtfully.

"A lot of my memories were good growing up here," she said, "Not all of them but quite a few and most of them you and Will."

"My son will be moving out here some day with his family," he said, "and work this ranch so he can pass on down."

Matt looked at his uncle.

"Sometimes, I wish my daddy hadn't sold his spread," he said, "But his health wasn't very good towards the end of his life."

"He thought he was making the right decision, Matlock," Roy said.

"I guess Bo and Lamar are working for you then," Matt said.

The two ranch hands had flirted with ranching in L.A. for a while but had eventually headed back to their homestead of Texas after Bo had nearly been blown up by a bomb meant for Matt that had been hidden inside a birthday present. Matt hadn't really blamed them though he missed the two men he had known most of his life.

"They're living in the bunkhouse," Roy said, "They've really helped enormously with getting this ranch back on its feet."

C.J. pushed her plate away.

"This was the best meal I've had in a while," she said, her voice dropping off.

"C.J., you're going to have plenty more barbecue," Matt said, "You're going to get cleared and get these ridiculous charges dropped."

She nodded.

"I know you're really going to try and I'm certainly going to do what I need to do," she said, "but there's so much we don't know about what's going on with the investigation."

"We're going to have to get a copy of that investigative file," Roy told them.

Matt agreed.

"She has a right to review the evidence against her," he said, "I suspect there's not really much to it and they don't want us to know how weak their case really is on paper."

"What about Jack Prescow," Roy asked, "Your father used to be good friends with his father."

"That was his father," Matt said, "I heard his son is an entirely different situation altogether. He's much more politically ambitious from how it looks."

C.J. knew that had always been a quality that described him.

"He's always running for office as I remember," she said, "Even when I clerked for him."

"I hope he's not going to be using this case as political fodder to ensure his election," Roy said, "That's been done before…including by him."

"I might go have a talk with him," Matt said, "Just to catch up, since our fathers were fishing buddies."

C.J. half listened to them, wondering what the next day would hold. She felt as if her life which had been moving forward had suddenly been placed in hold. For how long, she didn't know. But for now, it just didn't seem to be her own.

They stood by her bedroom door where they said goodnight. Matt had promised her that they would leave bright and early to try to find out more about the investigation that the sheriff's department had launched against her.

And then he had kissed her, wrapping his arms around her which she returned in kind. She really loved kissing him; his mouth felt intoxicating on hers and how his hands felt on her back as they pulled her close her to him.

"Houston…"

He broke his kiss and that brow rose again.

"What…"

"You feel so damn good right now," she sighed.

But…he heard it in her voice even though the expression in her eyes heated his blood which didn't need much help. He smiled back at her and then did these fantastic moves with his fingers as they migrated away from her back and toward her hips.

"You always feel good," he said, "I just don't know why it took me this long to figure that out."

She shrugged in his embrace.

"You've always been slow on the take as I recall," she said, softly, "You really should have figured it out a long time ago."

And that made him blush down to the roots of his hair. She just chuckled, knowing that it wasn't easy to elicit that response in Matt but she knew what to say. He reached over to nudge a tendril of her hair off of her face and looked directly in her eyes.

"Best weekend of my life," he said.

By his tone, she knew he meant it. And she agreed with that, and that when it came to impulsive decisions, that should have taught her to engage in them. Only after that, life had tossed her some blows which had spurred her towards caution. That part of her still remained, even though she stood before Matt and knew what she wanted, more than she had ever known. But she didn't want to rush anything…the memory would just have to suffice for a while longer.

"Mine too," she said, "but I meant what I said. I want us to find our way there first, to take some time."

He nodded.

"That's fine with me," he said, "I'd never push you to do something you didn't want or weren't ready to do."

She smiled and kissed him, longer this time and man, another reminder to Matt of what he had been missing for so long. The perfect woman for him had been hiding in plain sight. Then they broke, to catch their breath.

"Good night Houston," she said, before she slipped inside her bedroom.

He stood there for a while, thinking of what lay ahead of them and how difficult that would prove to be, to clear her name from the murder charge. And then he remembered the woman who had just left him, the memory of her on his lips reminding him of a period of his life years ago…