The ringingof a cell phone pushed its way into Rudy's consciousness. He shifted, trying to figure out where he was and why his neck hurt so bad.
A soft groan sounded from somewhere above his head, and something shifted under his cheek. His eyes flew open.
Pink filled his vision, blurry and soft. The same pink of the t-shirt Eden wore yesterday.
Oh snap!
He bolted upright, sending mini lightning bolts through his head that was stuffed full of cotton. Yesterday's nightmare flooded his mind followed by last night's events.
Eden had comforted him in a way no one ever had, not even after the accident that killed Parker. Her gentle touch had been so soothing, he'd been loath to lose contact with her. He should have insisted on going home or upstairs and let her go to bed, but he'd been selfish and continued to hold her.
He recalled them shifting at some point so she could lay down, but he still hadn't wanted to let her go, and when she'd encouraged him to snuggle with her and lay his head against her stomach, he did.
All. Night. Long.
He'd slept with his arms wrapped around Eden for the entire night.
His stomach knotted as Eden disentangled herself from him. He'd never slept with a woman before. He and Eden hadn't done anything inappropriate, but his mother would freak out if she knew he'd spent the night with her.
Eden finally managed to fish the annoying, ringing phone from her back pocket. "Hello."
"Eden, thank you for being such a lifesaver!" Rudy's eyes widened at the sound of his mom's voice coming through the phone. He scrambled away from Eden, but he could still hear his mom. "How are you? How are the kids? Did Rudy stop by last night to check in on you?"
Rudy made frantic motions with his hands, trying to signal to Eden not to tell his mom he was still there.
Her brow furrowed and she shook her head in confusion. "Um yeah. I had just gotten the kids to bed when he showed up."
"So everything's okay then?"
"Yes, yes the kids are fine. Don't worry. How is Bill doing this morning?"
"He's still in a lot of pain, so they're keeping him pretty heavily medicated, but he's out of trouble, thank goodness." Despite the good news, his mom's voice still sounded weary.
"I'm glad to hear that," Eden said.
"They'll be transporting him to the Orthopedic Surgical Center in Kennewick in an hour or so. I won't be allowed to ride in the ambulance with him, so I'm going to call Rudy to come take me home for a quick shower, and so I can pack a bag."
Eden looked at him. "Well he's—"
Rudy waved his arms in a frantic motion and whispered, "Don't tell her I'm here."
"I'm... I'm sure he'll be happy to come get you," Eden said.
The call ended and before Rudy could explain, his phone rang.
He stood and moved away from Eden before answering. "Hi, Mom. How's dad?" He listened to the same report she'd given Eden then quickly agreed to hurry over to the hospital.
When he hung up, he almost didn't dare meet Eden's gaze. He felt bad for imposing on her all night long.
"What were all the theatrics about?" she asked.
"My mom would freak out if she knew I slept with you last night."
Eden's cheeks turned rosy. "We didn't sleep together. Well, we did but not like...you know?"
"I know, but I feel bad for taking advantage of you all night."
More color tinted her cheeks, and heat crept up his neck at his choice of words.
