Loving Justice (El Camino Real Book 2) (5 page)

The only person she called was Hampton. He came after her, but she didn’t return to Bronco. Too much water had run under the bridge. It was time to move on.

Present Day...

Justice leaned against the wall and observed the festivities. The lodge had been transformed into a white and silver winter wonderland. Even the outside had been transformed. Small white lights graced every tree and gas lanterns were lit all the way around the lake. This was a celebration fit for a King. Justice sighed, he hated parties. Especially weddings. Especially Christmas weddings. Draining a glass of sickly sweet punch, he watched Jase’s fiancée flit around like a butterfly in a greenhouse, trying to be everywhere all at once. He didn’t know who she was trying to impress, but she wasn’t succeeding with the King siblings, especially Abby. He’d heard her mutter the words ‘vegan’ and ‘land shark’ under her breath more than once. Jase didn’t even look that excited about the impending nuptials and he was the groom. But then who was he to judge? Justice had a horrible track record when it came to women.

“Yuck! Gross!” A small boy’s protest rose above the band playing peppy love tunes.

“Ha! Little Harold doesn’t like the food either.” Trace elbowed Justice.

“I’m not sure I ever want kids,” Trevor drawled as they watched the little hellion race back and forth across the room in his spiffy blue suit, almost causing several people to trip or spill their drinks.

“Careful, in just a couple of days that cute little monster is going to be part of Jase’s new family. He’s the ring bearer, Pam’s sister’s kid.” Justice pulled his hat down over his eyes and folded his arms with an air of superiority.

“I feel sorry for Jase. He wanted Scout to be the ring bearer, and I can guarantee he’d get the ring to the altar. I’m not sure about that little rascal,” Shiloh muttered under his breath. They all knew how much their brother loved his old faithful German Shepherd.

“You have a point.” Justice couldn’t hide a smile when little Harold tried to run between Ms. Horne’s legs. They both skittered around like dancing penguins. Ms. Horne loved occasions, she’d spent her life teaching piano lessons to sticky fingered children and running the only motel in town.

“Want another drink?” Trace asked Justice as he picked up a beer from a passing tray.

“Nope, none for me.” He had barely taken a drink since the night Abby had been hurt. That was the last time he’d lost control. Charlee had picked that time in his life to disappear. For some reason she had cut him out of her life as completely as Abby had cut Cade from hers. He watched Abby watch Cade from across the room. If only…if only.  No. Justice closed his eyes. He refused to think about Charlee now.

A scream rent the air.

“What in the hell is going on?” He stood up straight and let his eyes rove over the hall.

“My baby! My baby!” Pam’s sister was running.

“He’s on the ice. He followed Jase’s damn dog out on the ice,” someone else screamed.

Everyone ran for the door and out into the frigid weather. East Texas was seeing the harshest cold front that had blown through in many a year. It wouldn’t last, but right now the ponds and lakes all had a layer of ice. When Justice pushed his way through the crowd, he could see Harold’s family standing on the bank, begging the little boy to turn around and come back. There was no sign of Scout.

Everyone held their breath as the toddler made his way out into the middle where the ice would be the thinnest. A collective gasp caused Justice to turn around, and he felt his heart go in his throat when he saw Cade—big, strong, brawny Cade Tallbull moving out to save the boy. He heard Abby begin to cry and beg for him to come back. “No, Cade, no!”

Her pleas didn’t stop him. Cade kept moving out to save the child. To his mother’s relief, the little boy scampered to the other side, safe and sound. But Cade was still out on the ice. He stopped and tried to turn around but a loud crack ripped the air and in a heartrending rush the big man disappeared into the black, icy water. Justice felt like he was reliving a nightmare because Abby’s screams for Cade sounded exactly like they had the day the barn burned. Justice started to go to her, but she began to move. Horrified, he realized Abby was heading out on the pond to the place Cade had disappeared. She called, she yelled for him to surface. They stared at the hole Cade fell through. The clock was ticking. Something was wrong.

“No! Abby, no!” Justice began to run out on the ice. “No!” Someone grabbed him.

“You’re too heavy, King, you’ll never make it. Not like that.” All of the brothers fought to go to their sister but none of them could stop her. Without hesitation, she dove into the water to find Cade. Screams rent the air.

“Oh, God, no,” Justice whispered. “Call for help,” he asked whoever was listening. “Shiloh, get ropes, whatever you can find to help.” The idea of his small sister underneath the frigid deadly water was inconceivable. What if she died? What if they both died? “How long have they been under?”

“Too long,” someone said.

“Don’t say that.” He heard his mother cry.

Suddenly, the water churned, and he saw Abby surface. Then he saw Cade’s head bob up. Miraculously, she had him. No, he had her. Abby wasn’t moving.

“Hold on, Abby! We’re coming!” Shiloh was easing out, crawling, so as not to put too much weight on any one spot on the ice.

Justice followed. Both of them were on all fours. “Here, take this rope, Cade.”

“Help us, please,” Cade begged. “My hands are numb, they’re not working.” The cold seemed to drag every moment out.

Justice knew hypothermia was a deadly possibility. “Is the ambulance here? How about life flight?”

“Curtiss Parker’s here and one of Pam’s uncles is a physician,” Trace answered. “They say the helicopter is grounded because of the weather.”

Justice groaned. The next few minutes was chaotic. They got the couple into the house and started trying to help them. His mother was almost hysterical. If it hadn’t been for his father, things would have got out of hand. Bless his heart, he settled everyone down and got them on the road with promises that someone would call when they had some answers about the young couple’s condition.

At Pam’s relative’s orders, they got Cade into a warm shower and then under some heated blankets. “She saved me, Justice,” was all he could mutter. “I was caught. My boot was caught in some damn debris.”

“You both were lucky.” Was all he could manage. The weight of the realization of what could have happened—both of them dying—left Justice stunned into silence.

“How is she? How is Abby?”

“She’s alive.” Shiloh assured him. “Doc Parker’s working on her.”

“I want to go to her.” Cade was adamant.

“Just wait.” Justice stopped him, remembering how careful Abby always was that no one see her unclothed. He had no idea how intimate Cade and Abby had been, but he wasn’t taking any chances with his sister.

Cade wasn’t happy, but he didn’t fight Justice about it, for which he was grateful. Finally, prayers were answered, and Charlee’s father came out to tell them that Abby should be fine. “She was lucky. I think her adrenaline was running so high, it kept her body temperature elevated enough to save her.”

Justice was shaking with relief when he took the older man’s hand. There was no love lost between the two of them. In fact, Justice despised him. He’d hurt Charlee. Countless times he’d gone to her, held her when she cried, begged her to let him do something. But she had been adamant, Charlee hadn’t wanted to risk going into foster care. She hadn’t wanted to leave her home. There came a day when Justice’s father, Sam, had gotten involved, and Curtiss Parker had gotten help. As far as Justice was concerned, it was too little too late.

“I’m grateful,” was all he could manage. It was on the tip of his tongue for him to ask about Charlee. He didn’t. The answer would be the same. Years had passed and there had been no word. Nothing. The reality left a bitter taste in Justice’s mouth. He blamed Curtiss Parker for Charlee disappearing, but he blamed Charlee too. She could’ve called him. She could’ve written. Instead, she’d made a new life for herself with some other man.

He walked the old doctor out, shutting the door behind him. The events of the day had his mind whirling. Feelings of déjà vu were haunting Justice. The last time he felt like this, Charlee had been here. He could remember her running up at the scene of the fire, out of breath and scared to death that he’d been hurt. After that day, his memories of that time were muddled, thanks to his drinking and the fuckin’ cluster headaches. But he knew she had been there for him.

Sometimes the fact that he couldn’t let her go disgusted him. Yes, she’d been his best friend, a constant in his life, but that didn’t really explain the way she haunted his dreams.  

“I’ve got to get out of here for a while,” he muttered to no one in particular.

“Where are you going?” Trace asked. His younger brother stood by the fireplace, unwilling to go to his room while his sister was still unconscious.

“Out for a ride, I’m just going to check the herd.” Justice went to the closet and got a pair of gloves.

“We have men hired to do that.”

“I know, I just need to clear my head.” Putting on his coat, he buttoned it up.

“Well, be careful,” Trace called after his brother as he went out the door and into the night. “All we need is for you to fall in a hole or something.”

*  *  *

Charlee rubbed her arms against the chill. She stood up from the dining table and checked the temperature. No, it wasn’t cold in her apartment. With the heater and the gas fireplace, it was a comfortable seventy degrees. Maybe someone had walked on her grave.

Before returning to her paperwork, she walked to the patio door and looked out into the darkness. The complex she lived in was nice. All she would have to do was pull open the glass doors and yell and several hundred people would be able to hear her. Her cozy one bedroom apartment was located about two blocks from the beautiful Pennybacker Bridge near the Colorado River in Austin. Even in her own estimation, she’d come a long way from Bronco or, for that matter, from the Pine Ridge Reservation.

Sometimes the reality of all that had happened weighed her down. There wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t think of Justice. She placed her hand on the small star on the leather cord she still wore around her neck. Did she ever cross his mind? So many times, she’d almost called. So many times she considered making the drive to Bronco. But what could she say? Charlee knew in her heart that she owed him an explanation. Over the years, as time passed and she hopefully became wiser, Charlee realized Justice hadn’t hurt her intentionally. What had happened wasn’t all his fault. She’d known he’d been drinking when she let him talk her into bed.

And the baby…she didn’t even know if Justice would believe her if she told him about the baby.

Hampton Forbes had tried to get her to call Justice. He and his partner, Weber, had become her good friends. They’d stood by her when she buried her mother and brought her home from the reservation clinic when she’d lost the baby.

It had been a boy.

Shepherd and Associates had given Charlee a part time job and made her aware of scholarships available to someone of her ethnic background. It hadn’t been easy, but Charlee had returned to school. She’d changed her degree from pre-med to science, majoring in geology. It seemed like a good idea. The oil and gas industry was big in Texas, and she’d learned quite a bit about it from Justice. They had played among the oil field pumps. Charlee had often lain in the grass and watched the big arm of the pump go up and down. She’d told Justice it looked like a big woodpecker. He’d laughed at her. In her mind’s eyes, she could see them running through the narrow canyon near Lavaca Creek. It had been a magical place. Even though it was on El Camino land, neighborhood kids had snuck away to play there. With the hills to climb and shallow caves to explore, it had been a natural place for games of cowboys and Indians. And when the creek rose, the canyon would hold water. They played pirates, jumping from ridge to ridge, brandishing peach tree switch swords. Justice was always careful. If it rained too much, he’d pull them out before the water rose to a dangerous level.  

Pouring a glass of milk, Charlee curled up on the couch to read. The reports could wait until the morning. She worked as a consultant for the state, dealing with environmental issues such as water conservation and the impact of fracking. But her first love was still Texas history. She’d minored in archaeology and enjoyed exploring the Texas countryside to find evidence of a past long forgotten. Charlee picked up her Kindle off the coffee table and pulled up the latest copy of the Texas Heritage Magazine. She’d almost had a heart attack when she’d come across an article on the King family and their contribution to the state. Their ranch, El Camino, had been in their family since the mid-1700s. Hungrily, she’d scanned the piece for some information on Justice. But it wasn’t a gossip magazine and the most personal piece of information contained within it was the fact that Jase would be marrying soon. She wondered if Justice had married. The idea made her heart ache. He’d probably married Zelda and had six kids by now. Feeling sad, she laid down the e-reader and fell over on the couch with a groan. Covering her head up with the afghan, Charlee fell into a restless sleep.