When she rushed over here this afternoon, she didn’t know she'd be spending the night. It didn't look like Alice would be returning tonight, so she hoped she would hear if one of them woke up in the middle of the night. Maybe she'd have to ask Kennedy to come over in the morning, so she could run home and take a quick shower and pack a bag.
Speaking of Kennedy... Eden couldn't believe her best friend hadn't bothered to let her know about Bill's condition yet. She pulled out her phone as she picked up the pile of wet towels to take to the laundry room. She was halfway down the hall when she saw a dark figure looming where the front hall met the kitchen.
"Aah!" She dropped the towels and pressed a hand to her racing heart, freezing with indecision.
Did she lock herself in the girls’ room to protect them from the intruder or did she go to William's room? Could she rip William from his bed and hurry to the girl's room before the prowler attacked?
The figure turned to face her, and the dim light over the kitchen sink illuminated the side of his face. A familiar, rugged, handsome face covered in a heavy five o'clock shadow.
"Rudy?" She dropped the towels, slipped her phone back into her pocket, and hurried toward him.
The closer she got the more pronounced the tortured expression on his face and in his red eyes became. He looked so exhausted and beaten. Again, she asked herself who had been at the hospital for Rudy?
Without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him. "How's your dad?"
He clung to her, holding her in a vice-like hug and let out a lengthy sigh. "He's in serious condition and heavily sedated, but he’ll survive, thank goodness. Hopefully with no lasting damage."
The band that had been around Eden's chest all afternoon and evening loosened and she sucked in a deep breath. Well, as deep as she could with Rudy hugging her so tight. She relaxed her hold, but he showed no inclination of releasing her, so she kept her arms around him, giving him the comfort he seemed to so badly need.
He sniffed a few times, and Eden's heart constricted. This afternoon and evening must have been a nightmare for him. Knowing Rudy, he had probably been the pillar of strength his mother needed and now he relied on her strength.
Except she didn't feel very strong. She didn't know how to comfort this man that she cared an awful lot about with something so difficult.
Eventually, his hold loosened, and he stepped back but didn't meet her eyes. "Thank you. I needed that."
She put a hand on his arm and ducked close to meet his gaze. "Anytime. I want you to tell me everything. But first...have you eaten?"
"Yes, Mom refused to go home for the night, so Scott and I insisted she go to the cafeteria. We all choked down sandwiches and soup."
"Probably a far cry better than the mac & cheese I made for the kids." The quip didn't trigger a smile on Rudy's face like she'd hoped. She took his hand and led him into the family room. "Tell me what happened to your dad."
Rudy sat on the couch next to her and propped his elbows on his knees. He scrubbed his hands over his face. "I was mobile when I heard the call for an ambulance come through. So I headed straight to the address. I beat the ambulance there. As soon as I turned onto Aspen Lane, I knew the call was for Mrs. Jacobs' house, and I knew my dad had been injured." Rudy tugged at his hair now. "I found him on the ground behind the house with Mrs. Jacobs standing nearby, wringing her hands. He was in such excruciating pain he couldn't move at all."
Eden rubbed Rudy's back much like she had in the kiddie pool when he told her about his friend Parker. He still wore his brown uniform pants, but he'd shed his uniform shirt, Kevlar vest, and gun belt, leaving him in a tan t-shirt.
"It took the ambulance forever to get there, and I felt so helpless. Other than lifting the ladder off him, I couldn't do a darn thing for him." Rudy rocked a little as he continued to talk. "He'd been in the process of climbing from the ladder onto the roof when he slipped. He wasn't sure exactly what happened, but the next thing he knew, he was on the ground with the ladder on top of him."
"Oh no." Eden's words were soft.
"Because he kept complaining of pain in his back and ankle, they x-rayed those areas first. He has a fracture in the L1 vertebrae—that may need surgery—and an ankle that's broken in two spots. He'll almost certainly need surgery on it." He scrubbed his hands over his face again. "Just as the doctors were preparing to send him to the Tri-Cities to be seen by an orthopedic surgeon, his blood pressure plummeted. So they rushed him in for an MRI."
The hands Rudy now raked through his hair trembled as badly as his voice. Eden scooted a little closer and leaned against him, wrapping an arm around his back.
"They found a tear in his spleen. Probably caused by the ladder falling on him. They took him in for emergency surgery. It ended up being worse than they originally thought, and they almost lost him."
"Oh, Rudy, that must have been horrendous for you and your family."
He nodded and leaned back, pulling her into his arms as he did so.
She leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his stomach.
"I just kept praying that he would be okay. I'm not ready to lose my dad yet." His voice caught, and she held him a little tighter.
Eden thought about the conversation she had with her dad today. It felt like an eternity ago, but they'd made a little progress in mending their relationship. At this point, she couldn't ask Rudy to go to dinner with her father. Not with everything that was going on with his dad.
"I've been praying all day too." She lifted her head to see his face. "Is he really going to be okay?"
"I hope so." Rudy tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "He'll be transported tomorrow via ambulance to the Tri-Cities to see an orthopedic surgeon. He'll likely undergo surgery on his ankle and maybe even his back. Either way, he's looking at a lengthy recovery."
