"If you think that was taking advantage of me, you're more of a naive country boy than I thought."
"You know what I mean. I should have let you go to bed, rather than selfishly use you as a pillow all night."
She stepped close to him then, and it was all he could do not to pull her into his arms again. "You needed a friend. I enjoyed being that friend."
Friend. Right.
Except at some point, when he'd finally been able to block the nightmare of the evening from his mind, the thoughts he'd had concerning Eden had gone way beyond friendship. It's amazing he'd managed to keep his hands from wandering and not make out with her half the night.
I'm such a selfish jerk.
He could never take advantage of her like that again. She deserved more respect than what he'd given her last night. He needed to put some distance between them.
He took her by the shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead before pushing her away. "Thank you for being my friend."
Did he imagine it or did a flash of disappointment flit through her pretty brown eyes?
Or maybe he was just projecting his own disappointment.
CHAPTER16
Rudy's dad heaved a sigh as he helped him settle on the couch. "Thanks, son."
He carefully lifted his dad's broken ankle onto the sofa and propped it on a pillow. "You're welcome, Dad. Do you need me to get you anything else?" He made sure the TV remote and a water bottle sat within easy reach.
Sheriff Winters insisted Rudy take some time off, so he'd been here all week to help his mom care for his dad, for which he'd been grateful. His mom was a strong woman, but he feared she'd wear herself out before his dad fully healed.
"I'm fine." Dad waved Rudy away. "Stop fussing over me."
Grinning, Rudy backed toward the door. "Well, Mom's out grocery shopping, so holler if you need something."
"I won't." This time his grumble made him sound like Scott. "Stop trying to smother me."
He took one more lingering look at his dad before leaving the room. Bill Wheeler was not a patient man, but his whole family was so glad he was still with them, they couldn't help smothering him.
Rudy's sisters stopped by daily with treats and things to help entertain him. His brothers-in-law and some of the grandkids had shown up to help in the garden several times, and this Saturday, all the men had decided to forgo working on Scott's house to help finish up the addition at Mrs. Jacobs’ house.
Fortunately, his dad didn't need to undergo back surgery. Thanks to modern medicine, the surgeon had been able to inject bone cement into the cracked vertebrae to help it heal. He still needed to wear a brace that limited his mobility for six weeks, however. And he wasn't so lucky when it came to his ankle. He now sported a metal plate and numerous screws, which only limited his mobility even more and made him further dependent on others, and he hated it.
Rudy stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and studied the beautiful dark-haired beauty at the table, pouring over Hattie's ledgers. Things were running smoothly with the website nowadays and that disappointed him. He missed working side by side with Eden in the evenings.
She had amazed him this past week. Even though she'd admitted to being overwhelmed, she'd patiently taken care of Debbie's kids for forty-eight hours.
Debbie had arranged to come home immediately once she heard about their dad’s accident, but a canceled flight dragged the journey out for two days.
Eden had helped tirelessly with his dad and around the house too, lifting the burden placed on his mom. She spent more time in the kitchen than his mom did lately, and she seemed to be the only one who could tease his dad out of his grumpy moods. Every little act of kindness Eden did made him fall a little deeper for her.
He kept reminding himself marriage was not part of the plan for a few more years, but his reasoning was beginning to sound faulty.
Her phone rang while he stood there admiring her. After checking the screen, she set the phone down again. But she must not have felt like she could ignore it, because she snatched it up again.
"Hi, Dad." Her voice was quiet, but not nearly as annoyed as he'd expected, considering her father was on the other end.
Had she mended the rift with her dad sometime in the past month?
"He's doing better, but he'll be laid up for some time."
They're talking about my dad.
