Loving Justice (El Camino Real Book 2) (10 page)

“Oh, Charlee,” he said, pulling her into his lap. She didn’t have to say the rest. He knew her history as well as she did—Parker’s wife drowning when she was five, Curtiss blaming her, his drinking, and his abuse. “You know, I would have spared you all that if I could.”

She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. “You made my life bearable. You made me happy. And I guess it all turned out for the best. After the run-in I had with my father, what happened with you in the diner spurred me to do something about my situation. If I hadn’t been so angry, I never would have been brave enough to go through his office and find the papers. I would have missed the three months with my mother.”

“Three months?”

“She had cancer,” Charlee said sadly. “We didn’t have much time.”

“God, I’m so sorry.” He wrapped his arms around her. “You have to know that whatever I didn’t do or didn’t say, I was out of it.”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “I understand.” She did. The headaches and the pain medication threw him for a loop. “You shouldn’t have been driving that day.”

“Yes, mama hen.” For a few moments, they sat there just holding one another before he spoke. “I’m so glad you’re back and I want to know everything. Just consider your time booked. I want to see you tonight.” Justice kissed her on the cheek. Having her sweet body pressed up to his was playing havoc with his libido, and now wasn’t the right time for him to do anything about it. “But right now, I have a meeting to get to. You’ll never believe what’s going on.” He laughed. “I have a hole in the ground on El Camino big enough to bury a T-Rex.” Looking at his watch, he helped her stand. “I’m about to be late for a meeting with someone named Cortez that the state has sent over to tell me what I did wrong and what it’s going to cost to keep me out of trouble.”

Tightening the belt on her robe, Charlee stood straighter. “Actually, you’re not late, Justice.”

At his enquiring look, she explained.

“I’m Cha’risa Cortez. That’s my real name. Your meeting is with me.”

Justice’s expression was one of astonishment. “You’re Cortez?” he asked with disbelief.

“Cha’risa was the name my parents gave me. Charlee was close, I guess. I still use it, but I’ve dropped the Parker.”

Justice shook his head, ruffling his hair with his hand. “Wait.” He looked pissed. “So, you didn’t come back to see me. You didn’t come home. You’re just the one they sent to see how many laws I’ve broken and how high of a price I’m going to have to pay to get it fixed.”

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 appeared. “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.”