He wanted to kiss her?
Why did that make her more nervous than the fact that he’d just said he’d be there for her no matter what?
“I...”
Ty turned away. “It’s okay. It was a dumb thing to say. You’re not at a place right now where that was remotely appropriate.”
Maybe not, but did she want to die without having experienced the joy of being kissed by Ty? Being in his arms had been so wonderful.
What would it be like to sit here, holding each other, kissing and planning their future together instead of talking about what would happen if she didn’t get a kidney?
That a man could know she was so sick and still like her so much—maybe it meant she should take a chance. Maybe something worse than dying would be to never know what it meant to be loved by a man like Ty.
“I’d like you to kiss me,” she said.
He searched her face, his eyes full of questions. “Are you sure?”
Rachel nodded, leaning in to him.
Ty placed his hand on her cheek, cupping it gently as he came closer. “You have no idea how long I’ve thought about this.”
She’d never been the type to make the first move or to go around kissing random men. But Ty wasn’t a random man, and she’d never been so sure of anything in a long time.
As she leaned in to close the gap between them, Ty met her halfway, tenderly brushing her lips with his, and as he wrapped his other arm around her, drawing her closer, she wished she’d been braver sooner.
When she pulled away, she knew it hadn’t been just a simple kiss.
They’d exchanged something very deep, something very special, and for the first time in her life, Rachel could actually believe that someone meant it when they said they’d always be there for her.
Chapter Nine
Whoa. Not that Ty thought of himself as an expert kisser, but that had to have been somewhere in the top ten of the most powerful kisses of all time. Kissing Rachel had profoundly changed something in him. It was as though his heart doubled in size, and all he wanted to do was keep her close to him.
After their kiss they’d sat on the swing in silence, Rachel resting her head against his shoulder, and Ty didn’t want the moment to end.
When he and Rachel were talking about her future, he’d prayed for answers, and, as had been happening so often lately, he thought once again about donating one of his own kidneys to Rachel.
He’d been thinking a lot about the Bible verse that said there was no greater love than laying your life down for your friends. So wouldn’t he be willing to donate a kidney for her?
The answer, deep in his heart, was yes, even if it cost him his life. Rachel deserved that. Katie deserved that. While it was touching that Rachel trusted him enough to raise Katie, he shouldn’t have to. Rachel should get to.
He wanted more moments like this, and if God wasn’t willing to answer their prayers, at the very least, Katie could have her mother around to watch her grow up.
Rachel sighed contentedly, and he kissed the top of her head.
Lord, please give me more of these moments.
Part of him wanted to tell Rachel about his decision, but he also didn’t want to give her false hope. He might not be a match. Several potential donors had been turned down, because while they were technically a match, they’d had other health problems preventing them from being a candidate.
Besides, something in his heart told him that this newfound conviction about helping Rachel was between him and God. He wanted to glorify God, not himself.
Rachel shifted, turning to look at him. “As much as I don’t want this to end, I need to get inside and do my treatment. It’s past time.”
Before he could respond, his phone rang. It was Ricky’s ringtone, so he answered right away.
It didn’t take long for Ty to realize this wasn’t an issue he could solve over the phone. Ricky was dealing with a drunk ranch hand and couldn’t manage it alone.
“I’ll be right there,” Ty said, hanging up, then turning to Rachel. “I hate to leave you, but—”
She smiled. “It’s fine. I’m going to bed after my treatment.”
“Okay.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He went to the barn, where Ricky was trying to reason with a drunk ranch hand who’d been seen leaving one of the guest’s cabins. It was too bad, because the cowboy was a good worker when he was sober. But the Double R had a strict policy about not getting involved with the guests, as it caused too much trouble when the guest left with a broken heart.
As Ty handled the paperwork terminating the ranch hand, he wondered how Ricky would feel about Ty becoming involved with Rachel. He supposed he should talk to the older man about it, but right now it felt too new, too special.
And yet, it was the right thing to do.
Once they solved the problem with the ranch hand, Ty walked with Ricky back to the main house.
“I need to talk to you about something,” Ty said.
“Did you find Cinco’s child?” Ricky asked. “I know you’ve been spending all your energy fielding calls about Rachel, but I hope you’ve had time for that, as well.”
He hadn’t made any progress on that front, though he had gone ahead and reopened Ricky’s account on the DNA site in case a relative was looking for him. Not only would it potentially give them access to Cinco’s child, but it could also connect them with donors for Rachel.
“No,” he said. “Actually, it’s about Rachel.”
Ricky stopped and looked at him. “Not more bad news?”
“I’m interested in her romantically,” Ty said, knowing that Ricky didn’t like beating around
