She'd insisted they avoid a relationship, thinking that if they weren't involved romantically, she wouldn't fall for him, but she hadn't expected him to sneak under her skin like he had. Every time she turned around, she discovered something about him that endeared her to him. Whether it was the way he so respectfully did the things his mother asked, played basketball with a disabled neighbor, or built a website for her. It all made her fall a little more.
She cleared her throat and fanned her face. Thank goodness her father couldn't see her. "I'll see if Rudy is available this Friday and let you know. But Dad, you'd better be nice. No talking down to him and treating him like he's beneath you just because he's from a small town."
"I'll be on my best behavior."
"I'm not sure that's good enough," she joked in a dry tone. It had been a long time since she'd been able to joke with her father like this.
"Probably not." He chuckled. "I promise I'll try not to be too hard on him for taking my daughter away."
"He's not taking me away." Then because she feared he might guess she and Rudy weren't actually in a relationship, she added, "At least not yet."
"Until you marry him," he grumbled. "Then you'll move to that godforsak—” He cleared his throat. “I mean to that small town, and I'll never see you again."
Eden caught her breath at the thought of marrying Rudy. Never in all her life had she thought she would be content to settle down in a small town, but if it werethissmall town where she'd already met so many amazing people, and with a certain handsome sheriff's deputy... Well, the thought no longer appalled her like it did a little over a month ago.
"It's not like I'd be moving across the country. You'll only be an hour and a half away."
"Yeah, but will you come to visit?" Her dad's voice was quiet, serious.
"If we can put our difference of opinions behind us, and I don't feel like I'm constantly being judged for my life choices, I'll make it a point to visit on a regular basis." Eden shifted in her chair, uncomfortable with the lie she was perpetuating. Even though the thought of marrying Rudy appealed to her, she still wasn't sure they belonged together. She wasn't convinced God wanted her to be with him.
She ended her call with her father and tried to focus again on Hattie's ledgers, but her mind kept drifting to Rudy. Had she really admitted to herself that she was in love with him?
No, I may be falling, but I'm not there yet.
It was only a matter of time though. If she kept spending time with him, she'd be so deep that she'd never find her way out.
Her phone rang again.
Thinking it was her dad again, she answered without checking the caller ID. "Hello."
"Oh Eden, thank goodness you answered!" Alice's panicked voice was so loud, Eden had to pull the phone away from her ear. "Bill was in an accident. Can you come to Debbie's and watch the little ones so I can go to the hospital?"
"Absolutely." Eden sprang to her feet the moment Alice said Bill had been in an accident. "I'm on my way!"
The drive to Debbie's house couldn't have been more than three miles, but Eden struggled to take a deep breath the whole way. She hoped whatever accident Bill was in it wasn't like her mother's.
Eden had planned to go over in an hour anyway to help Alice fix dinner just as she had for the last three nights.
Her stomach remained clenched as she parked in Debbie and Austin's expansive driveway and raced to the front door. Alice opened it before she could even knock.
"Is Bill okay? What happened?"
Worry filled Alice's tear-stained face. "I don't know other than he fell off the roof at Mrs. Jacob's house."
"Oh no."
She waved behind her into the house. "The kids are eating a snack right now, if you want to, you can just fix mac & cheese for dinner. They'll probably eat that better than the chicken parmesan I planned to make."
"Don't you worry about a thing." She caught Alice's arm as the distraught woman went to step off the porch. "Are you sure you should be driving?"
Just then Scott dove up in his truck.
"I'm not driving. Rudy sent Scott to come take me to the hospital."
"Good. I'll be praying for Bill." Eden wasn't sure Alice heard her since she was already opening the door to climb into Scott's truck.
Eden pressed a hand to her chest as she sent up a prayer for Bill. Then she sent up another one for Rudy's family.
