Shane released me from the hug. “It’s just so unexpected. An accident?”
I dropped my voice. “That’s what Chief Sluggs thinks, but I don’t believe it.”
He nodded. “Yeah, Sluggs has a habit of labeling every suspicious death an accident.”
“He does?” This was news to me. “You’re kidding.”
Shane scrubbed a hand down his cheek. “Wish I was, but he’s known for doing that.”
“And he still gets re-elected?” I asked, incredulous.
Julie handed Shane a cup of black coffee, which he thanked her for. “No, I’m not, and yes, he still manages, election cycle after cycle, to remain in office. I think folks feel bad for him and hope he’ll die during his next term.”
I choked on a sip of mocha, nearly gagging with laughter.
Shane patted my back. “You okay?”
It took a second for me to regain my composure, but I managed nonetheless. “Yeah, I guess what you said shocked me, is all.”
Shane’s lips formed a grim line. “So you don’t think her death was accidental?”
I gripped his arm. “Shane, we found her smothered in poured concrete. There’s no way it was an accident.”
His brow stitched together. “We?”
My heart dropped. Great. Now I had the pleasure of explaining about Rufus. “Um, yeah. After I left you, I went for a drive and wound up finding this guy who’s suffering from amnesia. Anyway, to make a long story short, I ended up taking him to the barn so he could sleep there.”
Confusion filled Shane’s face, and my heart sped up. “You went out to the barn?”
Mayday! Mayday! Warning,I shouted inside my head.You are ruining it with Shane! Salvage the situation or he’ll never ask you on another date and you’ll never have the chance to kiss him!
I rubbed his arm and batted my lashes. “Did I tell you what a great time I had last night?”
His lips coiled into a cocksure grin. “Did I tellyouwhat a great timeI had?”
We stared at each other, and I felt the tension rise in the room and the humidity thicken. It was mine and Shane’s energy, our inner desires for each other filling the room with electricity.
“Excuse me.”
The rising energy dissolved as my gaze flickered to Rufus, who stood in front of us.
“How are you this morning, Clementine?” he asked casually as if he hadn’t interrupted what could become the most significant relationship I’d had in forever.
I glared hot coals at Rufus. “I’m great. Saw you enjoying yourself with the children. Telling them a story.”
He dismissed me with a wave. “It was only a fable that I improvised. They thought I was visiting from another country.” Rufus glanced down at his clothes. “I suppose dressing the way that I do lends itself to that.”
My gaze absently cut to his crotch, and I wanted to scream. When I glanced up into his eyes, amusement filled them.
I could strangle Rufus for so many reasons, but the main one right now being the fact that my cheeks burned something fierce.
Bless Shane for extending his hand. “Shane Prader. How do you do?”
Rufus shook it. “I would introduce myself, but alas, I have forgotten who I am and am relying on the hospitality of strangers until I’m able to remember. However, for the time being you can call me John.”
Shane frowned. “Maybe you should let the doc check you out.”
“I’m afraid my malady might have a different cause,” Rufus said.
