"Would you be interested in selling your incredible chimes through Hattie's website?"
"How did you get Hattie to agree to that? She's been resistant to change for decades now."
Eden lifted one shoulder. "I just helped her see the potential. Once she realized how it would help all of the talented crafters in this town, she was interested."
Hazel smoothed back dark hair that sported strips of gray. "I used to sell my chimes years ago." She rotated, studying her deck. "Ralph keeps telling me I have too many. He insists I either need to sell some or give them away." Then her lips turned up in a wicked grin. "If I sell some, then I can make more, right?"
Eden laughed; a light, cheerful sound that put the windchimes to shame. "Right."
"Then I'm game." Hazel held up a finger. "As long as I don't have to do anything other than make the chimes."
"I'll take care of everything," Eden assured her, and while the women talked business, Rudy continued to study the chimes.
Hazel's creativity never ceased to amaze him. She used anything and everything to make beautiful wind chimes: wooden beads, seashells, buttons, crystals, old hangers, and even wooden spoons.
Eden amazed him as well. She had great ideas when it came to presentation and layout, within her photos as well as on the website. And she was great at building people up with compliments and flattery.
"I'll come back tomorrow when the light is better and take some pictures," Eden said, making Rudy realize how dark it had become.
It would be fully dark by the time they got home. For some reason, he didn't mind at all. A moonlight stroll down a country road would give him plenty of opportunity to convince Eden to stick around.
Thanks a lot, Mom, for planting ideas in my head.
CHAPTER12
"Aren't her chimes amazing?" Eden asked as they started their walk home. When Alice suggested Rudy take her to meet Hazel, Eden had no idea she would enjoy the evening so much. "I loved the vintage keys and the rainbow of crystals. Oh, and did you see the one with the miniature hummingbirds?"
"My favorites were the tea pot pouring out the strings of clear and blue crystals and the horseshoe with bronze and turquoise beads and charms hanging from it."
"She's so creative. Are all the women in Providence crafty?" Eden shot Rudy a sideways glance.
"What makes you think the women are the only ones who are talented around here?"
She grinned at his defensive tone. "Right. I'm sure there are plenty of skilled men like Harold. But seriously, why is it that everyone here can create such amazing things?"
"I suppose it's because we have fewer distractions than you do in the city, so we spend more time developing our talents." He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "And probably because it's too expensive to drive to the city every time we want something, so we learn how to make things ourselves."
"It's no wonder you have a lot of free time. There's nothing to do around here." Her voice was teasing, but he bristled just like she expected.
"Hey." Rudy stopped walking, and she turned to find him with his hands on his hips. "There's plenty to do. You just need to have a little creativity."
"Okay, besides playing games with your family, what do you do for fun?"
"Camping, hiking, and fishing." He started ticking off activities on his fingers as they started walking again. "Barbecues, picnics, football, soccer, and baseball." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Bonfires, riding horses, and four-wheelers—"
"Oh, riding horses and four-wheelers sound fun."
"Out of everything I listed, that's the only thing that sounds fun to you?"
She scrunched her nose. "I'm not much of a camper or fisher. Hiking sounds fun though."
"Maybe I'll have to talk to Jake Winters and see if I can take you to the Double Diamond to ride sometime."
Was he making plans to take her on a date?
The idea thrilled her, but they couldn't start dating. The future was too uncertain for her. She shouldn't encourage a relationship when she wasn't planning on sticking around. That knowledge didn't stop little tingles of electricity from racing up her arm, however, every time their hands or arms brushed as they walked.
A part of her wished Rudy would just take her hand and hold it in his. But he knew, as well as she did, that getting involved with each other would only be asking for heartache when she left Providence.
