Page 35 of Macaron Massacre
Noah’s chest expands as he stares down at it. “I bought you a ring, Lottie.”
“Excuse me?” I’m not sure how to feel or if I even heard him correctly. “What for?”
“It’s an engagement ring.” His sad eyes pull over my own. “It gave me hope just to do it. You know, made me feel as if we were still headed in the right direction.”
“Oh, Noah.” I pull his hand close as the two of us just lose ourselves in one another’s eyes.
The scent of expensive cologne engulfs us as Everett pops up between us, his eyes flashing like cobalt lightning.
“What did I miss?”
I take a deep breath. “Nell spent the day stripping, and Noah bought me an engagement ring.”
Everett pulls my hand from Noah’s and examines the rock on my finger. “Looks like you said no. Good call, Lemon. They frown upon polygamy in this state. Take notes, Noah. It’s still one wife per union.”
I take Everett by the hand. “We’d better get a move on. Class starts soon, and Meg said she’d take us to Claret.”
I find my sister in the back with her jet-black hair pulled into a ponytail, a stack of what looks like rubber handcuffs in her arms.
I’m about to say hello when I spot a familiar face in the distance. “Hey, isn’t that Scott Dushane?”
Everett leans in and squints. “The guy running against Mayor Nash? Yup. That’s him.”
“Huh”—I take a blind step forward—“what do you think he’s doing here?”
A husky laugh erupts from Noah. “I can take a guess.”
Meg shrugs. “You’d be wrong.” She sighs as she eyes him laughing it up with a couple of the girls. “But I have a feeling you’d also be right. He’s running some new community service crap. Something to do with human trafficking. He spends time alone with each of the girls just to make sure they’re in a safe environment. He’s been at it for weeks. He makes the rounds at other clubs, too.”
Everett shakes his head. I know that look. He’s not convinced. “He has an agenda, all right. And I’m willing to bet it’s not that altruistic.”
Noah’s chest pumps with a silent laugh as he slaps his once upon a stepbrother over the shoulder. “You’re just sorry he beat you to the punch.”
“Touch me again and I’ll punchyou.” Everett manufactures a short-lived smile just for him.
Meg hitches her head toward the back. “Follow me. Claret is probably getting ready to leave, so you’ll only have a few—” Meg is about to finish her sentence when we run into the woman of the hour herself. “I’ll see you all downstairs!” Meg shouts as she takes off.
Nell floats up and shrugs over me. “I tried everything I could, Lottie, and now she’s convinced her office is haunted by her dead father.”
Hey? Maybe that will work for us.
“Claret!” I try to sound surprised by our seemingly impromptu run-in, but she scoffs at the sight of me. She’s wearing a tight-fitting baby blue dress, and she looks adorable with her red hair up in a messy bun.
“I figured you’d come hunting for me next.”
For a second, I think she’s speaking to me, but thankfully she’s looking right at Noah.
“I’d watch my back if I were you, Detective Fox. My mother is livid with you. She’s beginning to think the Ashford Sheriff’s Department planted that knife in her flower bed. Who would really hide evidence like that out in the open? It’s obvious someone is trying to frame my mother.”
“How are you holding up?” I wince as I try to change the subject. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“I’m fine.” She rubs her arms and glances around the vicinity. “It’s strange, though. It’s as if I could feel him sometimes, you know? Watching me. I think his spirit is restless. He’s let me know he’s very unhappy with me.”
“Why would he be unhappy with you?” My heart gives a few palpable wallops as if it were readying for a confession.
Claret gives Noah and Everett a wary look. “My father and I weren’t exactly on the best of terms lately. In fact, just before he died, the last thing I said to him was ‘I hope you eat it soon.’”
“Eat it?” Everett lifts a brow. “As in death?”