Before Eden could put her phone down, another text came through:Don't have too much fun with Rudy.A winky-faced emoji followed the taunt.
Eden shook her head and tossed her phone on the bed. What will it be like living under the same roof as the handsome deputy?
As she hung up wrinkled clothes from her suitcase in the closet, she kept asking herself what she was doing.
I'm moving in with people I hardly know just to avoid going home and facing my dad.
Finished unpacking, she sat on the edge of the bed wondering what to do now. She felt strange searching out Rudy's mother for the purpose of entertainment, so she decided to do some more job hunting.
An hour later with her head swimming with words like performance, expertise, implement, and collaborate, she set her laptop aside and rubbed her eyes. She slumped back against the pillows, more depressed than ever.
Sure, there were plenty of jobs in Spokane for which she was qualified, but she cringed every time she read a list of responsibilities that included things like: development of processes and services, interpreting policies and metrics, and problem identification and solution mapping.
They were all things she'd done at DuPont Analytics for years, and she'd come to hate them. She toyed with the idea of pursuing one of her childhood dreams of being an event planner or interior designer. But she wasn't sure she wanted to take that drastic of a turn, especially if it required more schooling.
Pushing it all out of her mind for now, she filled the tub with water and poured in some bubble bath. She had a novel to finish. After making sure she locked both doors, she undressed and slipped into the tub.
* * *
Rudy parkedhis cruiser behind the sheriff's office and hurried inside. He went straight to the break room and pulled both a water bottle and a Gatorade from the fridge. He chugged the water down without stopping then took the Gatorade back to his desk.
He was supposed to be off shift already, but he still needed to file the paperwork for an accident out on the highway before he left for the day. As far as injuries go, it wasn't a bad one, but the driver of a truck pulling a trailer full of porta potties fell asleep at the wheel. He panicked when he ran off the road and over-corrected. He ended up jackknifing the trailer, tipping it over. A dozen Honey Buckets were scattered alongside the highway.
Sheriff Winters assigned Rudy to stay on the scene until it was all cleaned up. He'd waited three hours for the company to get another truck and trailer there plus the equipment to reload the portable outhouses.
Three hours of standing out in the blazing sun with sweat trickling down his back beneath his bulletproof vest, soaking every inch of his body, was bad enough, but being surrounded by porta Johns made him gag repeatedly. He'd had to help lift many of them upright. They were supposedly clean, but...
Rudy shuddered. He couldn't wait to go home and take a shower.
Half an hour later, he finally called it a day and grabbed another Gatorade on his way out of the office. The ride home passed quickly, and he had his tie loosened and the top two buttons undone before he hit the porch.
As soon as he closed the front door, his mother called from downstairs. "Rudy, is that you? Come here for a minute, will you?"
He groaned. He didn't have time to help Mom with some task right now. He just wanted to get out of his sweaty uniform and wash off the stench that clung to him.
"I'll be down in a minute, Mom. I need a quick shower."
He continued undressing as he walked down the hall and into his bedroom. He tossed his gun belt, uniform shirt, and vest on the bed then stripped off the t-shirt he always wore under his vest. Opening the bathroom door that he didn't recall closing this morning, he froze.
Humid, floral-scented, warm air hit him nanoseconds before a feminine scream.
He turned to see Eden covered in bubbles in the bathtub. His bathtub.
She jerked upright, pulling in her arms and a shapely leg from the edge of the tub to shield herself. Her rapid movements sent bubbles flying out onto the floor.
Oh snap!
Much more colorful words flitted through his mind, but his mom taught him to watch his mouth around women, so he bit his tongue to keep them from flying out his mouth.
"What are you—"
"Get out!" Eden shrieked.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Rudy stepped back, pulling the door closed with him. Heat filled his body, as hot as if he stood out in the afternoon sun again.
Mom rushed into his room. "That's what I was trying to tell you. Eden is staying here now in Scott's room." She motioned to the door. "And sharing your bathroom, obviously." She stepped closer to the door and called, "Sorry, Eden dear, I forgot to warn you that the locks on the doors don't work."
She turned and swatted Rudy's shoulder.
