A Touch of Scarlet. Liz Talley

a town meeting and a protest would be just what she needed to make her feel productive. Useful. Powerful.

      She had less than a week to help organize opposition to the censorship of The Magpie’s Jewel. Her blood roared with purpose. She’d fight the good fight.

      No man could stand in her way.

      Not even the memory of the man she loved still.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      SIX DAYS LATER, Scarlet wiped her brow with the damp cloth she’d stored in the ice cooler at her feet and lifted her sign with purpose.

      “Children have rights!” she shouted, circling the flagpole and World War II memorial centered in the front of the Oak Stand branch of the Howard County Library. Other protestors joined her in her cries for justice. There were more than twenty of them. All from different walks of life, all gathered with purpose—to protest the library board’s removal of The Magpie’s Jewel from the shelves of the children’s sections of the seven library branches.

      “It’s hotter than hell today,” Meg Lang grumbled, tugging her long skirt up so air circulated around her pale legs. “Wish I’d worn something cooler. Thought the black emo look would stage well for the cameras. I’m paying for my stupidity.”

      Scarlet smiled. Rayne’s assistant had likely let vanity get in the way of practicality. The Texas sun played no favorites as it bore down upon the shoulders of the protestors. Meg wore a tight T-shirt that declared Protest This! with a not-so-polite gesture below it, along with a long, tight black skirt and combat boots. Her short hair stuck to her head, making her look as if she were a silent-screen goddess. Well, it would have if not for the silver ring piercing her nose.

      “Yeah, I don’t think I could wear any less without getting arrested.” Kate Mendez groaned, fanning herself with a now pudgy hand. She was way too pregnant to be out in the sun. A fact her husband, Rick, complained about every five minutes on the dot. Currently, her husband stood on the sidewalk with the yummy Oak Stand Police Chief.

      Scarlet eyed Adam as he watched attentively from the sidelines. He stood with several townspeople who had gathered as news cameras whirred, capturing the sweating but determined protestors. “Bet he’d do it, too.”

      “Who? Adam?” Kate brushed away a trickle of sweat. “Maybe. He’s a by-the-book kind of guy, but he hasn’t taken our signs away and made us leave even though technically we don’t have a permit. Although, I think I might let him cuff me if it means spending some time in the AC.”

      Scarlet thought she might let him cuff her with or without air-conditioning.