Loving Justice (El Camino Real Book 2) by Sable Hunter

off his head. His brand new hat. “Hey!” Making a grab for it, he just missed as the ornery female giggled and danced just out of his reach. Hitting girls wasn’t allowed, so he was forced to play nice. “Give me my hat, Zelda. Right now.”
    “Not until you give me a kiss.” Her big blue eyes twinkled and the smile on her face was bright, even if she was missing a front tooth.
    Suddenly another voice interrupted their squabble. Another female voice. “Give him his hat, now, if you know what’s good for you, beanstalk.”
    “Charlee Parker,” Zelda said the words with disdain. “Go away, you’re not welcome here.”
    “Give him his hat and I’ll go away.”
    Justice turned to see who was coming to his defense. And when he did, he had to laugh. Standing before him was the poorest excuse for a girl he’d ever seen. She was short, not even coming to his shoulder, whereas Zelda could look him in the eye. He hadn’t noticed her in the pageant, she must have been in the chorus, but she appeared to be celebrating her heritage. She wore a fringed buckskin vest and skirt which hung down to her knobby knees. Her legs were too thin and her hair was caught back in a ponytail. She wore a white hat with a string under her chin. Eyes the color of milk chocolate were leveled at Zelda as the girl called Charlee looked down the long barrel of a toy rifle. “I said give him his hat or I’ll give you a face full of something you don’t want.”
    “All I wanted was a kiss. Boys are supposed to like to kiss girls. Not girls like you, but pretty girls like me. My big sister said so.” Justice’s tormenter waved his black hat in the air. “Besides, I don’t have to do what you say. That gun isn’t real.”
    “It’s real enough. Take this, you big bully.” Charlee took aim and sent a spray of cold water right into Zelda’s face.
    “Ack! No!” she screamed, tossing Justice’s hat in the air, which he caught before it landed on the ground. “You’re going to be sorry, Charlee Parker! I’ll get even, just you wait!” Zelda wiped her face on her sleeve, picked up her denim skirt and flounced off, leaving Charlee and Justice to watch her go.
    “Whew! Thanks.” Justice held out his hand. “I’m Justice King.”
    “I’m Charlee Parker. I know who you are. I’ve watched you ride. I live behind you, just across the woods.” She shouldered her gun and gave him a friendly smile. “Want to play sometimes? I’m building a tree house and my dog had pups. I caught a grass snake in a tub and there’s some crawfish in the creek.”
    With all of the tempting bait she threw out, Justice had no choice. Charlee promised to be more entertaining than his little brothers and sisters. Toby was gone for the summer to stay with his mom, and Justice had been lonely. There weren’t many kids who lived near El Camino. “Sure, that sounds fun.”
    And so it began…
    The time he and Charlee spent together, all they had shared, still haunted his thoughts. She became Justice’s playmate, his confidant, in some ways—his protector. Justice loved his brothers and sister, but Charlee had belonged just to him.
    With a sigh, he locked the doors and headed to his suite to shower. Flipping on lights as he walked into the foyer, his boots echoed on the Mexican tile as he covered the distance from the living room to the stairs. He had a long day ahead of him. After he cleaned up, Justice had to run into town and pick up some grass seed before he met with the geologist. Tomorrow he planned to search all over town, and he wasn’t going to stop until he found Charlee. Removing his hat, he hung it on the end of his bed. Stripping as he walked, Justice tossed his dirty jeans, shirt, and briefs in a wicker hamper just inside the bathroom. Opening the glass shower door, he turned the tap and adjusted the water. He grabbed a brown towel from the linen closet and threw it on the rack. Taking some shower gel from the cabinet, he stepped beneath the