She'd only ever gone into anaphylactic shock once before, but it left her face swollen and her eyes bloodshot, puffy, and bruised. She owed him a sincere thank you though. If it wasn't for him, Kennedy really would have had to call her dad. But they wouldn't have had the opportunity to say goodbye. Her breath caught at that thought, but she still wasn't ready to talk to him. They were at too big of an impasse to bridge that gap just yet.
"Send him in."
"Okay." Kennedy leaned over and gave her a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay. I'll be back in the morning to pick you up."
"Thanks."
Kennedy had barely walked out the door before Rudy Wheeler, her knight in shining armor—well, in uniform anyway—walked in. He was one good-looking man with his auburn hair, a little lighter and redder than his brother's and his striking blue eyes. The man looked amazing in uniform, and even though he wasn't as tall and bulky as Scott, he was strong. He proved that when he carried her to his car.
He froze at the foot of her bed, and his gaze searched her face before skimming over the rest of her body and returning to her face again. His usual jovial smile was absent, and tension created little lines that fanned out around his eyes. "You're really okay?"
She pressed a hand to her cheek that grew warm under his scrutiny. "Yes. I'm sure I look awful, but I'm okay. Thanks to you." She gave him the sincerest smile she could muster.
"You nearly died. You have the right to look like he— I mean, garbage."
"Jeez, thanks. You sure know how to make a girl feel good."
He finally cracked a smile. "Sorry, that sounded pretty bad, didn't it." His posture relaxed a little. "Honestly, I'm just glad to see you alive. I thought for sure when they hauled you from my car, that I'd never see you again. Alive, anyway."
"Well, thanks to your quick action, here I am." She spread her arms in a "tada" motion. The action took more energy than she expected, and she dropped them again.
His cheeks reddened, and he shook his head, obviously uncomfortable with the praise.
She let her eyes drift closed for a long moment. They remained closed when she spoke. "It was amazing how you went into rescue mode and scooped me out of my car like that." Hopefully, her voice didn't reflect the breathlessness she felt at the memory of being in his arms. Unfortunately, that memory was fuzzy and very fleeting. Maybe she'd have to ask him to repeat his rescue.
Stop flirting with him.
"What did you say? You're flirting with me?" Humor filled Rudy's voice.
Frick! I said that out loud.
She didn't know what to say, so she just shook her head and gave a half-hearted wave of her hand. When she opened her eyes again, it was with monumental effort, and she looked everywhere but at his face.
No, she shouldn't flirt with Rudy. Sure, he was good looking and fun to be around, but he was a small-town boy. She had no intention of ever moving here. They didn't even have a spa and a decent bakery, so there was no point in getting to know Kennedy's brother-in-law better.
Rudy laughed. "You obviously don't remember the part where I almost dropped you."
"You almost dropped me?" She scowled at him now.
"Well yeah. You're not all that heavy but your whole body was limp, so you were dead weight."
Eden gasped and searched for something—anything—to throw at him.
He must have noticed her frantic search because he stepped to the side of her bed. "What's wrong? Are you having trouble breathing? Do you need me to get a nurse?"
Finding nothing but her IV tubing and the remote for the TV that was attached to her bed, she reached behind her head and pulled her pillow out. Before Rudy could guess her intent, she swung it and hit his shoulder.
His eyes widened and he flinched even though she was sure she hadn't hurt him. "What did you do that for?"
"That's for calling me dead weight."
"I didn't mean it like that. You're actually kind of skinny. Too skinny if you ask my mom."
"What?" She swung her pillow again. "Just stop talking. Right now."
Rudy pressed fingers to his lips, but his eyes crinkled, and his cheeks lifted.
Totally spent, Eden flopped back onto the bed with her pillow on her stomach. She didn't have the stamina for a pillow fight right now.
