Loving Justice (El Camino Real Book 2)

by Hunter, Sable

  Charlee was taken aback. “No, it’s not like that at all. I’m here to help.”

  “Yea, right.” Justice turned his back on her. He felt like a fool. He’d seen this as some kind of romantic reunion, some homecoming of the heart. The reality was much less sentimental. “My mistake.”

  “Stop.” She grabbed his arm. It was like trying to move a mountain. “No, you’re wrong.”

  Justice looked over his shoulder. “Okay, answer a simple question. If that sinkhole hadn’t opened up, when would you have come back? Were you ever planning on seeing me again?”

  She moved toward him, her own emotions on the rise. “You will never know how often I thought of you or how much I longed to turn back the clock.”

  “So, why didn’t you? You’re the one who left.” He held his arms up. “I didn’t move. I never left, and I couldn’t get you out of my head. I goddamn dreamed about you all the time!”

  His outburst floored Charlee. “You dreamed about me?” She had certainly dreamed about him. Seeing how upset he was, she sought to placate him. “Look, let’s go check out the sinkhole. Until I see the site, I can’t really make a judgment. Take me to the ranch, and we’ll talk on the way. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

  He knew it didn’t make a lot of sense, but Justice felt betrayed. “I guess I don’t have a lot of choice, do I?” He turned to go. “I’ll wait outside until you get dressed.”

  Bam! The door slammed with enough force to cause her to jump. Charlee pushed her hair back and sniffed. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen Justice with his skivvies in a knot. Once he’d pouted for a week when she’d beat him in a foot race. Hurriedly, she pulled on some clothes. Padding from the closet to the bathroom, she brushed her hair and stuck her tongue out at the flawed reflection. Too bad there wasn’t anything wrong with the mirror.

  On the way out the door, she grabbed her phone so she could document the situation with notes and photos. A smile turned the corners of her lips up. Even if they were arguing, she was about to spend time with Justice. And that made all the difference in the world. When she stepped outside into the nippy chill, she saw Justice was standing by his truck—arms folded, one ankle resting over the other. His eyes met hers. He didn’t look happy. Actually, he was kinda cute in a snit. Charlee pressed her lips together so he wouldn’t see that she was amused.

  “You’re riding with me.”

  “Yes, sir.” She allowed him to hold her door, refraining from reminding him that it had been her idea. Small concession for his cooperation.

  When they were closed in and buckled up, he adjusted the heater so the warmth would blow on her. Beneath the tires, she could hear the gravel crunch and water sloshing out of puddles. Cutting her eyes at him, she saw he was staring stalwartly at the road. The radio was blaring out some country ballad about tractors and turnip greens.

  Enough. She turned the music off, and he immediately pinned her with a stare. “What’d you do that for?”

  “You’re ignoring me, and I don’t like it.”

  “Do tell,” he quipped. “Some things don’t change, you’re still annoying.” What had changed was powerful enough to make him hard. The tomboy was gone and ‘little Miss Sexpot’ had taken her place. He was in trouble.

  “And you’re still stubborn as hell.” And sexy as sin. But once bitten twice shy. Heck, she was awash in clichés. Softening, she sought to find common ground. “Tell me what’s been going on. I saw that Jase was getting married in a magazine article.”

  Despite his mood, he chuckled. “In typical King fashion, there was some excitement.” Briefly, he explained about Jase’s runaway bride and how Cade had swept Abby off her feet.

  “Wow, I’m so happy for her. She deserves to be happy.” Her mind went back to the night when she’d picked up Justice from The Broken Spoke. “I always knew they’d get together.”

  “Have you talked to Curtiss since you’ve been back?” He put his blinker on and started out of town.

  “Not yet. I plan to, we need to clear the air.” Charlee was shaking. She didn’t know if she was more nervous or cold. Trying to warm her hands, she placed them under her legs and sat on them.

  “Cold?” Justice noticed and reached over to pull one hand out, holding it with his own. “You should have worn some gloves.”

  “I didn’t pack really well.” Before she could say more, he whipped into a Dollar General and hopped out. In a few moments he was back.

  “Here, they’re cheap but better than nothing.” He held out a pair of purple gloves that made her smile.

  “Thanks for taking care of me. You always did.” She gazed at him. He was so dear to her heart.

  “We always took care of each other. Remember?” He knew he did…

  “Why don’t you go home, Charlee?” His mother’s voice pierced the haze of pain threatening to bust his head clear in two. Cluster headaches. Cluster. That was what they said he had. How could something that sounded so unimportant, like a piece of candy, hurt so much. Justice shifted in the bed, the sweat pouring off his body, wetting the sheets.

  “No, ma’am, I need to stay.” Charlee’s voice was sincere and determined. “You’ve been here all day. Let me stay with him at night. I can hand him water or a wet rag. I’ll come get you if he needs you.” She stood up and walked over to Mrs. King. “If you won’t let me stay in here, I’ll stand outside the window all night. My dad’s gone to bed, and I’ll return over there before he gets up. I’ll come wake you when I start to leave.”

  Justice heard them talking, but he couldn’t respond. He did feel some peace from Charlee’s words. The headaches came about twice a year, but they stayed with him for weeks. And when they did, he wanted to die. The pain was beyond what he could bear.

  He felt a kiss on his forehead. His mother. “I’ll be in my room. If you need me, tell Charlee.”

  Silence.

  Justice pulled the pillow tighter to his eyes. He felt like they were going to pop out of his skull.

  A dip in the bed behind him made him gasp. “Sorry, I just need for you to know I’m here.” A small hand came to rest on his shoulder. “When you want water, I’ll get it. Until then, I’ll just hold you. I’ve got something to cool you off.”

  Although the agony didn’t subside, Charlee’s presence helped. He wasn’t alone. Another shift and he felt a cold sensation cover his forehead. Justice winced.

  “Sorry, I know that hurts.”

  He could hear her voice hitching when she tried to talk.

  “Don’t cry,” he told her in a dry, raspy voice.

  “You’re bruised and bleeding on top of the headache.”

  Justice swallowed hard as he felt her small arm wrap around his shoulder. He knew what she was thinking about. It had been Charlee who found him banging his head against the stone curb of the old well. Over and over again. When she’d pulled him off, there had been blood on the stones. He’d begged her not to tell his parents. Justice didn’t want them to know that he was losing hope. Every time he had an ‘episode’ as the doctors called it, they seemed to get worse. If Charlee knew he’d gone into his father’s office and stared at his guns, she would never leave his side.

  “Rest, just rest, I’ll keep watch. You can trust me.”

  Justice heard her words. She was using his own words, the words he always said to her, to comfort him.

  He had promised to always be her friend, to protect her.

  When Charlee groaned, the sound jerked him out of his reverie. “What’s wrong?”

  “Why is that sad reminder of my silly crush on you still standing?” She pointed at the water tower.

  “So, you don’t love me anymore?” When she made a face at him, he grinned. “If you remember, Toby’s family owned the water tower. His Dad let him have his way, there was no love lost between Steve Malone and my father. Toby inherited the business. Our friendship didn’t survive till adulthood, so he left it up to razz me.” Justice became aware how uncomfortable Charlee appea
red. “Hey, I like it. After you left, that stupid water tower was the only thing I had left of you.”

  “Really?” His attitude about it sure had changed, but they’d grown up. Charlee couldn’t help but wonder what else had changed. “I’m relieved. When I first saw it, I imagined how much it probably drove you nuts.” Feeling uneasy, she pulled her hand back, ignoring the bereft feeling she was left with.

  “I’m smarter than I used to be,” Justice confessed. He regretted so many things. None of it had been Charlee’s fault. Yet, he’d lashed out at her. “You’ve got to know that I didn’t mean half the shit I said.” You’re my friend, not my girlfriend. You’re a tomboy. You’re not my type. For a time after the incident, he’d avoided Charlee. Not even inviting her to his seventeenth birthday party. He could still recall how hurt she’d been, how she’d cried. Thank God it hadn’t taken him long to come to his senses. Charlee was more important than pleasing his peers.

  “I know.” She nodded her head. Giving him absolution was easy. He didn’t have to know how much his words and actions had affected her life. Anxious to get back to a more comfortable topic, she got down to business. “When did you first notice the sinkhole?”

  Justice wasn’t ready to leave their conversation about the past, yet he let it go—for now. “We had a scare at one of the pre-wedding celebrations. A little boy wondered out on the ice at the lake.” When Charlee gasped, he assured her. “He made it off okay, but Cade fell through, got hung up in some debris, and Abby jumped in after him.”

  “Those two have had a hard time,” she couldn’t help but exclaim. “What happened?”

  “She saved him or there wouldn’t have been a wedding on Christmas.” His words were light-hearted, but Charlee could tell he was still shaken up about it. “They were both damn lucky. Your father came and helped.” When she didn’t respond to that news, he continued, “You know how stuff like that affects me. After it was obvious they were both going to be okay, I had to get some air. I rode out near Cave Canyon on Lavaca Creek where we used to play, and while I was out there, I heard a god-awful racket and the earth literally opened up in front of me.”

  The way he said it made her laugh. “I bet that put the fear of God in you. You’d be surprised at the number of sinkholes that have formed in the last few years. About forty percent of the US is prone to them. Some are caused by human interaction and some are natural. They’re common where the rock below the land surface can naturally be dissolved by ground water or some other liquid circulating through them. We have a karst topography in this part of Texas which is especially susceptible.”

  “It started out about six foot in diameter, but now it’s huge, about a quarter of an acre and growing.”

  Charlee shifted in her seat, turning to face him a little more. “Do you have any photographs on your phone? I’d like to see how it’s changed in the last couple of days.”

  “A few.” He handed his phone to her.

  She accepted it, careful not to touch his hand as she took the cell. “Good gracious.” She bit her lip. This was serious, but it was still fascinating as hell. “Did it take down the fence?”

  “Yes,” Justice said, glancing over to see what she was seeing. “We had to move the cattle and set up a detour. That’s why this is so critical. I can’t vouch for the safety of that section of road. We don’t want a car taking a header into the abyss.”

  “And the road isn’t just any road, this is El Camino.”

  Justice nodded. She understood. “I hope you’ll know I’ll answer any questions you might have. I want to fix this.”

  “Okay.” She nodded. “I’ll let you update me on your oil production, especially if you’ve been doing any fracking. That process complicates matters.”

  Justice pressed his lips together, deep in thought. “We have done some injection drilling, but not in that section of land. Smith Oil Services has been doing some for us. We’ll bring them into the conversation. Crockett Drilling is a different story. They’re set up on the old Halbert place about three miles south. Could their production affect my land?”

  “Certainly.” Charlee nodded. “Oil pockets, underground caverns and salt domes don’t necessarily follow property lines. I’ve known of an oil company that practiced sideways drilling. They were sneaky, stayed on their own side of the fence and drained their neighbor’s wells.”

  Justice couldn’t help it, he teased. “When did you get so smart?”

  She slapped his leg playfully. Slipping back into their old roles was easier than she expected. “I was always smart.” Realizing he wanted to know more, she shared. “I withdrew from A&M when I first went to South Dakota to spend some time with my mother.” Her face fell. “My father died before I was, uh, adopted. We were able to spend some quality time together before she passed. After that, I moved back to Texas and enrolled at UT in Austin where I changed my major to geology with a minor in archaeology.”

  Justice tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “You mean, you were that close all this time and you never picked up a damn phone?”

  She wanted to explain, but she just wasn’t ready. Many times she’d rehearsed in her mind how it would be to confess to him about their baby. About half the time she fantasized he would throw his arms around her in comfort and other times she imagined he wouldn’t believe her. So she just waited, even though she knew it wasn’t fair to keep him in the dark. “I wanted to. My world was turned upside down, Justice. I hated Curtiss Parker. My relationship with you had deteriorated.” Charlee closed her eyes. “I’ll do my best to try and make it up to you.”

  “Okay, I think maybe I can make some recommendations how you could do that.” She glanced over at him and saw his eyes were twinkling. Good, they could never stay mad at one another long. And it would be interesting to see if he would try for a repeat of that kiss. If he did, she might not stop him this time.

  “I’m open to suggestions.”

  “I’ll make a list.” Justice grinned as he slowed because they were nearing ranch property. His list might surprise her. “We’ll get the four wheeler and ride out there. You can look at it and tell me what our next step should be.

  As they drove under the arched gate, proudly displaying the name EL CAMINO and their brand, the crowned K, a sense of homecoming warmed Charlee. In many ways, she was coming home. This place and the people in it were more important to her than anything else. For a few seconds, she let herself imagine that nothing had changed. She could get out, run in, and pick up where she left off. Charlee and Justice. Just like old times.

  Except it wasn’t.

  She didn’t belong any longer. Still, that truth didn’t inhibit the pleasure she felt when she took it all in—El Camino. On either side of the paved lane was a wrought iron fence. And on the other side of that fence was vast acreage covered in lush grass, hay meadows, and deep blue ponds. Purebred cattle and horses grazed to their hearts’ content. Groves of pecans and peaches flourished in their season and cotton was still king. Wooded areas housed exotic game for supervised hunts and oil and gas wells were strategically placed to offer the earth’s resources yet maintain its beauty.

  The Kings were rich, and she’d been almost grown before she realized how wealthy. Yet, they’d never acted like it or made her feel any less—in any way. Charlee’s heart hurt with homesickness when the big rambling stone house came into view. But he didn’t carry her to his home. Instead, they veered left toward the ranch offices.

  Once they parked, he came around to help her out. “The four-wheeler is right outside the back door.”

  Her eyes looked around El Camino hungrily. “There’s been a lot of changes.” And growth. She could see new barns and a pavilion behind the main house. Dozens of cattle grazed on bales of hay. A few looked up at them and lowed.

  “Well, you’ve been gone eight years, what did you expect?”

  “You don’t seem to have changed.”

  Justice climbed on and motioned for her to join him. “Don’t be
so sure. Hold on to me.” He gave her a sexy grin.

  Oh, this was not a good idea. Touching his shoulder lightly, she crawled on behind him. “Okay.”

  “Hands around my waist, Charlee.” He waited.

  “Fine,” she ground out. Touching him didn’t use to be a big deal, but times had changed. Sliding her hands around his chest, she was aware of how solid, strong, and warm he was. Lord, she could get used to this. Charlee had to steel herself not to meld to his back and lay her head against him. Taking advantage of their proximity, she whispered, “Just don’t drive too fast. I don’t want to hit a tree.” Revving the engine, he took off—up one hill and down another. “King! What am I going to do with you?” She hid her face in his back, pretending fright. Actually, she could have held him forever. He felt so good in her arms.

  “You didn’t use to be such a chicken,” Justice yelled over her shoulder.

  “I’m older and wiser now,” Charlee countered.

  He slowed down, and she peeped over his shoulder. The sight that met her eyes caused her to gasp. The sinkhole had grown. Clasping Justice’s hand, she let him help her down. “Look, I see bubbles. This place is unstable.”

  “Yea, my foreman was standing here the other day and watched a stand of fifty foot pine trees just sink to oblivion. The county agent estimates this hole is seven hundred fifty feet deep.”

  “Jesus,” Charlee whispered. She let go of his hand and began to walk the perimeter. “How far away is Lavaca Creek?” She turned to look to the south. The stand of cypress which marked the bank could be seen in the distance.

  “A half mile, maybe?”

  Charlee began to walk. “I’d like to take some soil samples and get some ground penetrating radar out here and see what size opening we’re dealing with beneath the surface. What we need to do is fill it up and level out the water table. That would be easier than trying to fill it up with dirt.”

  “You’re talking about diverting the flow of the creek?” Justice sounded skeptical.