Rachel shook her head. “It’s okay. Janie is coming to pick her up.”
The expression on her face made him think that she was feeling even worse than she’d let on. After all, she would have usually put up a fight at the idea of Janie coming all the way out to the ranch, not wanting to inconvenience her friend.
A commotion in the hallway made Katie turn and run out of the room. “Sam!”
Janie entered, shaking her head. “Those kids. I didn’t think Sam could be any happier friendship-wise after Ryan moved here. But adding Katie has made them the Three Musketeers, and it’s hard to imagine life without all of them together.”
“She’s never had friends like Sam or Ryan before. I see what everyone here means about lifelong friendships,” Rachel said, a small twinkle in her eyes.
Even when she was this exhausted, she always seemed to find a small reserve of energy when it came to loving her daughter.
Janie laughed. “The boys were arguing the other day about which one of them was going to marry Katie, and they finally settled it by saying they’d take turns. I wasn’t sure how to break it to them that marriage doesn’t work that way.”
Ty couldn’t help smiling at the description. He didn’t blame them. Katie was as adorable as a little girl could get, with the sweetest disposition. Like her friends, Ty looked forward to the time he spent with Katie. Rachel was doing well with her, and as he looked at the lines on her face again, he wished she’d let them all do something more for her.
Once again he thought about her need for a kidney. The doctors couldn’t give them any information on potential donors until they were close to actually being able to do a transplant, but everyone they’d talked to who’d gone in for testing had said they weren’t a match for one reason or another.
His conscience pricked him again as he thought about the card on his desk. Katie deserved a life with her mother. As it was, Rachel was already limiting her activities because she couldn’t do as much as she got sicker.
Katie deserved better.
And as he watched Rachel and Janie laughing about their children’s antics, Ty couldn’t help thinking that Rachel deserved to have a life full of love and enjoyment. Her life had been so hard this far, and now that she was finally surrounded by family and friends who loved her, she didn’t get to enjoy it the way they all would have liked.
Selfishly, as much as Ty tried not to think about it, he also couldn’t imagine his life without Rachel in it.
Ty hoped that someday Rachel could accept the friendship of those around her without automatically being afraid that she was somehow intruding.
But that took time, something they may not have much of, if Rachel’s current appearance was an indicator.
Rachel looked at the door. “I suppose we should go make sure the children aren’t getting in Ricky’s way.”
Once again Rachel was worrying too much. Janie seemed to agree with him. She looked over at Ty, then shook her head as she turned her attention back to Rachel. “You let them be. I keep telling you I’ve never seen Ricky look happier. You have no idea the gift you’ve given him, so don’t you dare take that away from him.”
That same tired smile filled Rachel’s eyes. “I’m glad. I just hate the thought of being a burden on anyone.”
Janie put her arm around her. “Surely you’ve figured out by now that if you were a burden or bothering us, we’d tell you.”
As they walked out of Ty’s office and down the hall, the sound of laughter in the kitchen told them that the trip to the barn had not happened yet.
“There was an emergency at the bunkhouse Ricky had to deal with,” Wanda said. “The kids were expecting something fun, so I couldn’t disappoint them. I hope you don’t mind waiting until the cookies are finished to leave.”
Janie grinned. “As long as I get to bring some of those cookies home with us.”
Running over to Ty, Katie said, “You should help us. We could make another giant cookie like we did the other day. Sam didn’t get to try it.”
Her enthusiasm brought a smile to Ty’s face, but Wanda scowled.
“Not today, you’re not,” Wanda said. “You two make a mess of my kitchen with all your crazy experiments. We’re making normal cookies so Janie can take some home.”
The worried look on Katie’s face told Ty that she didn’t realize Wanda was joking. He gave the little girl a small nudge and winked at her. “Next time,” he said.
Katie’s smile warmed Ty’s heart, and once again, he couldn’t help thinking of how the arrival of the tiny family had brought so much joy to his life.
Wanda looked over at Rachel. “You don’t look like you’re feeling very well,” she said. “What are you thinking for dinner? We were doing the barbecue for the hands tonight, so I was hoping you would join us. But you don’t look up for it. I’ve got some soup I can heat up. Leftovers from last night.”
Rachel shook her head. “Actually, I’m not that hungry. I think I’ll go upstairs, do my treatment and go to bed.”
A concerned expression filled Wanda’s face as she examined Rachel. “Are you sure you don’t want anything to eat? You need to keep your strength up.”
Rachel shook her head again. “I had a big lunch, and I ate late, so I’ll be fine.”
They chatted for a few minutes, and Ty found himself with the ever-present smile that invariably came with spending time with Rachel, Janie and the children. When the cookies were out of the oven and sufficiently cooled, Wanda put them in a container for Janie to take with her and the kids back to her house. Even though they’d told Rachel a couple of times that she
