Justice for Erin (2017)

## Series

Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes, Book 9

Originally published on November 14, 2017

## Official Blurb

> Part-time bartender Erin Gardner is friendly to everyone who bellies up to her bar, including the local law enforcement and firefighters who keep her city safe. That’s where she meets game warden Conor Paxton, a regular who asks to join a canoeing trip she’s leading for her university day job. When the trip leads to something more, Erin couldn’t be happier.
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> Conor adores Erin, more than enough to help her continue to get over lingering self-esteem issues from her childhood. He’s thrilled he’s found someone who enjoys spending time in nature as much as he does.
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> Just when the couple thinks they’re on their way to a happily ever after, Erin finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. But there’s no way she’ll just lay down and die. She’s woman enough to save herself—and lead her man to her when she’s done.
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## Characters

### Main Character(s)

* Conor Paxton
* Erin Gardner

### All Characters (in order of appearance)

* Erin Gardner
* Conor Paxton
* Alex (Erin's student)
* Chad (Erin's student)
* Matthew (Erin's student)
* Jose (Erin's student)
* Daxton Chambers
* Cruz Livingston
* Quint Axton
* TJ Rockwell
* Calder Stonewall
* (Erin's boss)
* Mary Wells (Conor's sister)
* Karen Paxton (Conor's sister)
* George Parks (Karen's boyfriend)
* Alfred Wells (Mary's husband)
* Honey Wells (Mary's daughter)
* Sarah Wells (Mary's daughter)
* Pauline Paxton (Conor's mother)
* John Paxton (Conor's father)
* Mackenzie Morgan
* Mickie Kaiser
* Elizabeth "Beth" Parkins
* Cade "Sledge" Turner
* Sophie Carson
* Juliette Winston (Conor's colleague)
* Wayne Everett Humphries
* Hayden Yates
* Westin King
* Tucker "Moose" Jacobs
* Penelope "Tiger" Turner
* Pops (firefighter)
* Dirty-D (firefighter)
* Tank (firefighter)
* Buff (firefighter)
* Short Shit (firefighter)
* Smokey (Penelope's donkey)
* (Cruz's colleague)
* John "Driftwood" Trettle
* Hudson "Taco" Vines
* Corrie Madison
* Chase Jackson

### Characters Mentioned (but not appearing)

* (Erin's mother)
* Dallas Gardner (Erin's father)
* Thomas (Conor's colleague)
* Milena Reinhardt
* Laine Parker
* Adeline Christopherson
* John "Tex" Keegan
* Boone Hatcher
* Rayne Jackson
* Keane "Ghost" Bryson
* Sadie Jennings
* Emily Fletcher
* Sean Taggart (Sadie's uncle)

## Author Note

> Many of you know by now that I tend to write heroines who are struggling with something in their lives...thus making them more like you and me than perfection, fictional cookie-cutter women.
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> In this story, Erin has struggled with food and her weight her entire life. This is a fictional story, but what has happened to her, happens to thousands, maybe millions of women all over the world. Being overweight (or underweight, or any other kind of "different") is no excuse to treat someone like crap.
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> There's a reason someone is overweight. A reason you probably have no idea about. Molestation when they were young, verbal abuse, anxiety, a cry for attention...I could name a hundred different reasons...all of them perfectly understandable why someone would turn to food for comfort. The bottom line is that it is *never* okay to belittle, make fun of, take pictures of, mock, laugh at, or otherwise treat someone in a way you wouldn't want your own mother/sister/brother/husband/friend treated.
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> Think about it. You're at the gym and you see someone who is overweight. Instead of making fun of them or taking pictures to show your bestie later so you can laugh, why don't you *encourage* them. They're *there*! Trying to do what's best for themselves. I'll never understand how people can make fun of others when they're working out.
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> Take the time to watch a show like *My 600-lb Life*. Every single person on that show talks about how they want to die. How painful it is to get out of bed every day. How terrible it feels to go out in public because they’re *always* made fun of. How they would do anything to lose the weight. And every single person has reasons for how/why they turned to food for comfort. And those reasons might have broken you and me, but they’re still here. Trying to live their lives in this awful world that looks down on them because they’re overweight.
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> Before you want to roll your eyes at someone using an electric cart in Walmart or the grocery store, think about their feelings. Help them get something off the top shelf if they need it. And for goodness sake, if they happen to stumble and fall, be a decent human and *help them*.
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> There’s too much hate in this world. Maybe if we all stopped making fun of others, and holding everyone up to the advertising standards of “beauty” that are forced down our throats, we could look around and see beauty in our differences.
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> I hate to sound preachy, but I’m afraid I have. And you know what? I don’t care. This is important. You have no idea what someone is going through simply by looking at them. None. So be nice. That’s all. *Just be nice*.
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