I hugged her to my chest. “I will. I promise.”
The five of us had agreed to meet late in the day in the center of town. The setup for the apple festival was simple. The sidewalks were lined with vendors all the way down the main drag of our historic downtown. A few minutes after nightfall, the parade would begin. That’s when Leola would be seen going down the road, and right before that was when we would make our big move. It would be big. It would be spectacular. It would also be dangerous.
And the whole town would be there.
I left Lady just as Rufus arrived to pick me up. “Are you a sight for sore eyes,” he murmured as he opened my door.
I smiled up at him. “I would say the same about you.”
“Would you?”
Before I could answer, he pressed his lips to mine, and heat flamed across my face. I melted onto him and slid my hand over his concrete bicep. His palms slipped over my cheeks, and I felt myself falling so far, so fast.
I had to tell him the truth.
When we parted, I said, “There’s something I need to tell you.”
Worry flared in his eyes. “Is it bad?”
I shook my head hard. “No, not at all, but I want to tell you tonight, after this is over.”
“Okay. Whatever you want.”
I gripped his hand. “Promise me that you’ll let me. No matter what.”
“Are you sure that you’re okay?” He was definitely worried. “If you want to, you can just tell me now.”
“No!” His eyes widened. Whoa. Way to freak him out. “I mean, no, it can wait a little while.”
Rufus needed to focus on the plan, not be distracted.
“If you say so,” he acquiesced. “But if you need to talk earlier, you can. I don’t want to worry about you, Clementine.”
A wobbly smile tugged on my lips. “Don’t worry about me.”
“All right.” He shut my door and crossed around the hood of the vehicle. When he slid behind the wheel, Rufus shot me a mischievous wink. “Ready for this?”
I buckled my seat belt and steeled my core. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
Downtown was hopping by the late afternoon. The vendors were packed, and folks were spilling onto the street, their hands full of apple products—from crafts to food.
Rufus, dressed in his usual leather, stood out like a sore thumb. Unfortunately so did I.
People stared and murmured every which way. Rufus draped his arm over my shoulders protectively.
“This will all be over soon, and your innocence will be known.”
“I hope so,” I murmured.
“It will be.” He kissed my forehead, and the heat from his mouth left an imprint on my flesh. “Now. Let’s meet the ladies and get this plan into action.”
My phone rang just then. It was Malene. “We’re on the corner. I can see y’all from where we’re standing.”
I glanced around until I spotted Malene, Urleen and Norma Ray. “I see you. We’ll be right there.”
As Rufus and I moved through the crowd, I spotted Hadley walking with Pete. Then I saw Bailey Darsey being escorted by Willard toward a funnel cake vendor. My heart crunched in my chest.
I couldn’t deal with that right now.
