Eden's stomach churned a few minutes later when Rudy led them up the front steps of a small cottage-style home and rang the doorbell. "Are her cookies really that bad?"
Rudy pulled a face that made her laugh. "Besides tasting like salt, lard, and flour, they are hard as a rock. Seriously. I tested it once. They’re like that salt dough my third-grade teacher had us put our handprints in before baking it. Miss Georgie always has cookies on hand, but the problem is, you never know how long ago she made them. Could be days, weeks or even months."
Now Eden was the one who grimaced. "So how do we say 'no' if she off—"
The door opened to reveal a stooped, blue-haired woman who looked to be in her late seventies. Her face split into the biggest grin Eden had ever seen, lighting up her pale blue eyes.
"Good evening, Miss Georgie," Rudy said with a smile of his own. "My mom thought you'd like some homemade bread and fresh jam."
"Rudy! What a nice surprise. It's been ages since I've seen you." She stepped back and beckoned them in. "Have you grown again?"
"Not since you saw me last week," Rudy said under his breath. "No, ma'am. I stopped growing about eight years ago."
Miss Georgie peered at Eden. "Who is this lovely young woman? Is she your girlfriend?"
Again with the girlfriend thing?
Eden's eyes widened. Was that why Alice insisted Rudy take her for a walk? Was she trying to force a relationship between them? Alice, with her cheerful smile and friendly attitude definitely seemed like the meddling matchmaker type.
"Uh...no. Eden is just my friend."
Once again Eden sighed in relief. Not that there wasn't a certain appeal to being the girlfriend of a good-looking man who respected his mom, washed his own dishes, and took time to play basketball with a neighbor. Someday, some lucky woman would be fortunate to have Rudy call her his girlfriend, but it wouldn't be Eden.
It couldn't be her because she wasn't planning on sticking around this little town. It was just a pit stop while she figured out what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.
"That's too bad. You're such an attractive couple." Miss Georgie closed the door. "Isn't your mother the sweetest woman? I do love her fresh bread, and no one makes jam quite like Alice." Miss Georgie waved them toward a floral loveseat. "I haven't had visitors in ages. Have a seat. Have a seat. Let me get you some tea. I just made fresh cookies yesterday. Or was it the day before?" She bustled off into the nearby kitchen.
"It was probably the week before last," Rudy said under his breath as he took a seat.
Evidently Miss Georgie didn'tofferher visitors cookies, she simply insisted on feeding them. Eden had expected Rudy put up some resistance, but knowing the kind of person his mother raised him to be, taking time to visit with a lonely old woman seemed to be par for the course.
Miss Georgie chattered from the kitchen while she heated water and laid items out on a tray. Eden only heard half of what she said and was unable to make sense of the words she did hear. Her gaze roamed the small living room that was lined on both sides with stacks of boxes and totes, leaving a narrow path down the center to the TV. A fancy lace doily lay atop each stack of boxes.
What on earth is in the totes? Is the woman an organized hoarder?
As if reading her mind, Rudy pressed his shoulder to hers as he whispered, "They're full of yarn."
Trying to ignore the warmth that raced through her at the contact and his warm breath against her cheek, she asked, "All of those boxes," she pointed around the room, "are full of yarn?"
"Well, it's actually crochet string." He pointed to a bulky spool of thick thread nestled on a brown stand near a recliner that Eden assumed was Miss Georgie's usual seat.
"Is that..."
"A toilet paper holder? Yes. It holds the thread quite nicely, don't you think?"
Eden nodded. It did indeed. The spool of string was the same size and shape as a roll of toilet paper. If it spun as smoothly as toilet paper it probably made crocheting a lot easier.
Before long, Miss Georgie carried in a tray and set out a teapot, cups, and a plate of shortbread cookies.
Eden's stomach tightened. After Alice and Chase's warnings, Eden had no desire to try the infamous cookies. How did she refuse without offending the woman?
Miss Georgie took the decision out of Eden's hands by plopping two cookies onto her small plate with a thunk.
Rudy gave her a tight grin and mouthed, "Hard as a rock."
Determined not to offend their hostess, but also not interested in breaking a tooth, she decided to follow Rudy's lead. When he made no move to pick up a cookie or sip his tea, she felt the need to at least pretend. She picked up a cookie and tried to break it. The biscuit truly was as hard as a rock. Crumbs didn't even flake off in her hand.
Rudy rolled his eyes and gave a subtle shake of his head beside her.
