"Not anymore. I'm moving you to on-call." Robert started to walk away then turned back and pointed a finger at him. "Show up for your shift at the dunking booth this afternoon and make sure you're at your assigned spot to direct post-firework traffic tonight. Otherwise, you're free to show your girl a good time."
My girl.
Rudy liked the sound of that. Could he convince Eden to make her move to Providence permanent and become his girl?
* * *
Kennedy nudged Eden's shoulder."You should go race."
"No way."
They'd been watching foot races grouped by age and gender for the last forty-five minutes on the grassy field at the northeast corner of the park. Eden enjoyed cheering on first Rudy's nephews and then a couple of his teenage nieces, but she had expected the MC to stop after announcing the eighteen and nineteen-year-olds. However, he'd just called for the twenty to thirty-year-old men to line up at the end of the field. The women would be next.
"But you're a runner," Kennedy said. "I bet you'd win."
Eden wiped the perspiration from her brow. It was hot enough already, the last thing she needed was to work up more of a sweat.
"I'm not a sprinter."
Unless I'm getting soaked in a freak rainstorm.
Eden shook her head. "I can't believe they're still having people race."
"They stop after the fifty-year-olds, because anyone older than that ends up injuring themselves when they run." Scott gave a rueful smile, and Eden understood why her friend fell for the quiet, grumpy man. He was almost as attractive as Rudy when he smiled. He really should do it more often.
Eden looked around as the noise around them intensified.
The whole park was a hubbub of activity with a large blow-up slide and bouncy house, an obstacle course, and climbing wall. Pop-up canopies created improvised booths for carnival games, face painting, and a fortune teller. There was even a small petting zoo and a dunking booth. A variety of food trucks and other vendors filled one whole end of the park.
Families laid out blankets and camp chairs in every square inch of shade and set up additional pop-up canopies, intent on spending the whole day at the park.
The starting gun sounded yet again, and Eden jumped.
"Go Rudy!" Hearing one of his sisters call his name, Eden looked up to see Rudy sprinting down the field.
Her cheers joined that of his siblings as he pulled ahead of the other racers. He'd definitely been holding back the night they ran home in the rain.
The whole race was only fifty yards—it had grown longer as the age groups got older—and over in a matter of seconds, but Rudy beat the other six runners by at least five yards.
It seemed such a silly thing to be proud of him for winning a little race, but she hurried toward him and gave him a hug. "Way to go, Speedy!"
He'd shed his uniform shirt, gun belt, and Kevlar vest, leaving him in his tan pants and an olive-green t-shirt with a sheriff's department insignia on the chest that hugged his torso like a second skin. The color complimented his fair skin and auburn hair, making him look incredibly sexy.
Rudy hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Hey, gorgeous. If I'd known you were near the finish line, I would have run even faster."
"You won as it was."
"But it would have been more impressive if I'd won by a bigger margin."
"I'm plenty impressed." She smacked his shoulder before pulling away. "Why aren't you in uniform? Aren't you on duty all day?"
He wrapped and arm around her shoulders and led her away from his family. He leaned his head close to hers. "Don't tell anyone, but I think my boss is a romantic."
"The sheriff?"
"Yes. He saw me with you, obviously, and he told me to go win my girl over." Rudy's grin was so big it made Eden's heart stumble then race. Or maybe it was his words that made her heart race so fast it could beat all the women who were now racing.
Her mouth dropped open. "Your what?"
