"You don't want to sit by Kennedy?" He leaned against the fender of his car, crossed his ankles, and folded his arms as she settled into her chair.
Eden grimaced. "I'm afraid she'll grill me about us."
"Us?" Rudy laughed. "Is there an ‘us?’"
"I don't know. We haven't had a chance to have that talk, have we?" Shielding her eyes from the sun, she looked up at him.
With the way they kissed in the entryway of his parents’ house a few nights ago, Rudy sure hoped there was an "us.” But he was afraid he might have come on too strong and scared her away.
He straightened and shifted until he cast a shadow across her face. "You’ve been sobusythe last few days, I thought maybe you were avoiding me."
They'd hardly had a chance to talk, let alone kiss again, since Eden had spent the last two evenings following up with vendors who worked day jobs to fill the orders that continued to pour in thanks to her social media efforts. She was also still recruiting new artisans from all over the county.
She gave him a knowing look. "And you were the one who avoided me on Sunday by playing soccer with your nephews all evening."
Despite the confidence with which he'd kissed her and his intentions to convince her to stay in Providence, he couldn't help recalling the magnificence of the house she grew up in, of the life she'd led before coming here. Would she really be content to settle down in this little town with him?
Rudy took his time scanning the surrounding area for potential problems or threats before turning back to Eden. "I admit I'm…concerned about how our 'talk' might play out."
She got to her feet now and looked him in the eye. "Why are you concerned?"
He scanned the noisy, growing crowd again before looking at her. "I don't want to hear that you're not planning on sticking around." His voice was low and vulnerable.
She lowered her gaze for a moment before lifting her face again. "I can't make promises I'm not sure I can keep."
The sheen of tears in her eyes pricked at his heart. Eden felt as torn as he did. Both of them wanted something they weren't sure they could have.
"I know." Despite being on duty and in front of hundreds of people, Rudy wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. He pressed his lips to her temple. "We do need to have a serious talk, but I think we can both agree that this isn't the right time or place."
A police siren signifying the start of the parade punctuated his words.
Eden gave him a small smile and nod as she stepped out of his embrace.
Rudy looked across the street to find Sheriff Winters, arms folded, staring at him. Without looking at Eden, Rudy said, "You'd better sit in your chair, or you'll get me fired."
Eden's gaze followed his. "Is that your boss?"
"Yes, that's the sheriff, and he doesn't look happy."
Eventually Sheriff Winters' attention shifted elsewhere, and Rudy did his best to remain alert while enjoying the parade.
Eden was every bit as excited about the little things that set this small-town parade apart as he'd hoped she'd be. She put her hand over her heart and said, "How precious," when the preschool dance group stopped in front of them and performed their little routine. Then she tapped her foot with the music when the older groups did their dances.
She commented about how cute or pretty each float was and laughed out loud when the lawn-chair brigade stopped in front of them and did a hilarious dance routine with their folding lawn chairs. They were followed by four motorcyclists who rode in formation, making figure eights and tight circles. Then local ranchers did a similar drill with their horses, followed by a harried teenage boy scrambling to pick up the horse droppings.
Eden chuckled when an assortment of old tractors in pristine condition passed by, and grimaced when a float full of taxidermy animals appeared, displaying deer, elk, coyotes, and even a mountain lion.
She got to her feet and pointed at the sign on the side of the truck that pulled the trailer full of animals. "Wait. Ralph Walker taxidermies animals?"
Rudy nodded. "Have you met Ralph?"
"Not yet, but he sent me a text yesterday inviting me to come check out his animals. He wants me to sell them on Hattie's website." She pulled a face and shuddered. "He can't be serious. No one wants that in their house."
"You'd be surprised. There's more than one avid hunter around here."
"Ugh, I feel sorry for their wives." A frown lingered on her face as her gaze followed the trailer. "How would you even ship something like that?"
"It might be best to ignore Ralph's texts."
