Earlier…

Christina just looked at Matt as they stood on opposite sides of the room. Her arms were folded.

"I can't believe it," she said, "I can't believe you slept with her."

He sighed, knowing she wouldn't like it when he told her. He hadn't meant to hurt her but he couldn't keep secrets like that from her. It had been that one time in the barn when the two of them just couldn't fight it any longer. He's been separated from Christina and C.J. hadn't been seeing anyone. It had been one of the most intense experiences of his life but he kept that to himself. He just hadn't expected to get back together with Christina not long after that. But they had fallen back into their relationship and the guilt had been nagging at him for several months now.

So he came clean with her and decided to let the chips fall where they may. She'd just looked at him as if she were in shock and it made him feel even guiltier. He'd never cheated on a girlfriend before and even though technically they'd been broken up

"Christina…"

She pointed her finger at him.

"Don't you dare…I can't believe you…I thought you were different than the rest of them."

He just stared at her knowing that she'd put him in the dog house. But he couldn't feel guilty about what he'd shared with C.J. that night and what did that say about him?

"I should have known…I had my suspicions that you felt more for her and I knew she wanted you…but you kept telling me you're just friends."

"We're friends…what happened…"

He couldn't finish because he didn't want to betray C.J. by sharing details about the intimacies they'd shared especially how it had made him feel. He still felt it…even though some months had passed and he was in L.A. and she still on Roy's ranch back in Texas.

"Why'd you do it Rooster," she said, "Why'd you do that to me?"

His heart sunk when she used that term of endearment on him now.

"It happened…and that's all I'm going to say about it," he said, "I…I'm thinking that we got back together too quickly…"

"What? There's not much to say about it. We fought over something; we broke up for a while and got back together like we've done before…that's all."

He pursed his lips, her words hitting him but not enough to change what he knew was true.

"Ever wondered why we couldn't stay together…why we always broke up Christina," he said, "It's because we're two very different people…we don't have much in common and we don't spend much time together."

"So you're blaming this on my career," she said, "I'm a model who gets jobs. I travel. There's still time for a relationship isn't there? If it matters…"

He paused.

"I travel too…"

She shot him a knowing look.

"Yeah back to Texas…to see her."

"I went back to help my uncle," he said, "And I'm worried about my best friend…something's wrong with her, something happened and I don't know what."

"Maybe it's just that she changed Matt," she said, "It happens or maybe you just didn't know her as well as you thought."

Matt knew it wasn't either of those things. But he didn't want to get into it with her. He had to try to explain his relationship to C.J. so many times…until he realized it wasn't anyone's business.

"I thought I knew you…and then you pull this stunt," Christiana said, "I have to catch a plane to Paris but when I come back from the show, I'll be here for my things."

Just like that, Christina had decided to leave him again. But the news didn't devastate him, in fact he felt relieved even though he deeply cared about her. They just couldn't keep going down this road again.

"Okay, if that's what you want," he said, "I think that's probably best."

Then she looked at him incredulously.

"You mean you're going to give up what we had just like that? You're not going to fight for us?"

"Christina, you just said…"

She threw up her arms.

"Fine…I knew it…you're going to dump me and go back to her," she said, "You two deserve each other."

She looked at him and then went back to the bedroom to pack for Paris slamming the door behind her. Matt looked at the door and realized that he needed to get away, go do some sparring with some friends in the boxing ring at the gym. He had his gear there in his locker so he just grabbed his car keys and headed out of the house.

He knew when he returned, she'd be gone again. His mind left that thought and turned to C.J. He still had no idea what was going on with her. Whatever it was, she stubbornly refused to tell him not letting him in to know the truth.

C.J. looked over at Julia who had come to visit her after another chemo treatment. She looked much better but remission still remained a goal out of reach. Life didn't seem fair if such a great woman with such a promising future in law had been struck down by a brutal disease. But Julia never lost her sense of hope nor her sense of humor. She still needled C.J. about what had happened with her and Matt.

"You talked to him lately?"

C.J. just looked at her iced tea. They were sitting in the parlor of Roy's ranch house. He had gone to visit his son's empty grave.

"No…he's back with Christina and that keeps him very busy…what with his new business he's trying to start."

"You need to talk to him," Julia said, "You need to tell him about what almost happened."

C.J. sighed, putting down her glass.

"I didn't get pregnant from what happened with us so there's nothing to say…if I had, I'd had told him but the tests were negative."

Julia just smiled clearly knowing there was more to it than that.

"Okay so why not just touch base with him?"

"He asks too many questions Julia," she said, "and I don't want to talk about it."

"About work," Julia said, "You quit that job didn't you?"

C.J. nodded.

"He hated me working at that club," she said, "But I needed the money when I quit working for Jack."

Julia sipped her tea.

"You're doing fine aren't you?"

"Roy has me training and working his horses," she said, "It keeps me busy and I enjoy staying with him. Flo's been gone and he's been lonely."

"So what's going on then C.J.? What does he want to know?"

C.J. paused a long moment.

"About things…things that don't really matter," she said, "He wanted to know why I quit with Jack."

"Why did you?"

She'd expected that question but still didn't know how to answer it except to say she had her reasons.

"It wasn't working," she said, "Maybe I just don't want to go into criminal law."

Julia frowned.

"Yeah but I never seen you quit anything," she said, "Not as long as I known you."

"This is different…it's just a job, an internship really…you know I worked for him some time ago."

C.J. didn't want to get into all the history of both times she'd worked in Jack's office. She'd put that all behind her and focused on the horses except…she struggled to forget.

"Jack's a strange character," Julia noted, "My parents…my family backed one of his campaigns but they stopped…I don't know why. My father said that Jack had acquired new friends…drifted apart from his father."

"I don't know about that," C.J. said, "but I do know he had some people hanging by the office…and some of them worked for him off the books."

Julia digested that.

"Sounds about right…he had some enforcers didn't he," she said, "A couple of guys who maybe were used to do jobs that he didn't want to dirty his hands."

Julia was hitting too close to the mark for C.J.'s comfort. Probing into that part of the town's politics wouldn't do any good.

"I ran into Nadine today," Julia said, "Same as ever…complaining at the general store about her husband taking off on her."

Dylan…a man C.J. definitely didn't want to talk about. Her hands shook a little as she sipped her tea.

"He's always taking off," she said, "There's not more to it than that."

Julia thought about it and nodded.

"I suppose so…but she might be going to the sheriff's and fill out a missing person's report this time."

C.J. sighed.

"She did that last time and he showed up less than a week later with flowers she said, asking for forgiveness."

Julia rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'm not sure about this time," she said, "I have a bad feeling…"

C.J. didn't want this conversation to continue so she got up to refill her glass of iced tea while Julia watched her go.