Rachel hugged Katie close to her, but looked directly at Ty. “I see how you played that,” she said. “And you’re right. I will see a doctor, because it’s the only way to get you people to leave me alone.”
Busted. But it would give them all peace of mind, especially since he would have to drive down to Denver tomorrow for his appointment. If there was anything precarious about Rachel’s health, he wouldn’t feel right leaving.
Rachel’s agreement was enough to get the crowd to disperse, and Ty escorted her into the family room, where she immediately sat in what seemed to be her favorite chair. Anytime they were in that room, Rachel gravitated to that chair.
Even though she’d said she was feeling fine, Ty couldn’t help noticing that as soon as she sank back into the chair, she closed her eyes. Annoyance? Or fatigue?
Maybe a bit of both.
Ricky came up alongside him. “She looks just like my Rosie. I can’t believe it took me so long to see the resemblance. I believe there has to be something of Rosie in her, since that was Rosie’s chair.”
Rachel opened her eyes and looked at them both. “Really? You’ve never said that before.”
A tender expression filled Ricky’s face. “Well, I’m saying it now. There are times when I look at you, and it’s like staring right at your grandmother when she was younger. I wish she could have met you. You two would’ve gotten on real well.”
“Tell me something about her,” Rachel said. “A new story, one I haven’t heard before.”
As Ricky told Rachel the story of how he and Rosie had met, one Ty had heard dozens of times, he left the room to call the local doctor.
Once the doctor came on the line, he briefly explained the situation. Being in such a small town, they didn’t have a lot of medical options, but this was always a good place to start.
“Let me talk to Rachel,” the doctor said.
He figured that was where they’d end up anyway, given privacy laws, so he brought his phone into the family room and held it out to Rachel. “She wants to talk to you.”
When Rachel took the phone, Ty motioned to Ricky that they should leave the room to give Rachel some privacy, but Rachel said, “No, it’s okay. It’s better that you’re here to listen in so you know that everything’s fine.”
He was grateful, because even though he wasn’t that worried, it was always reassuring to hear good news from a medical professional.
But as the doctor quizzed Rachel about what was going on, he could see the furrow in Rachel’s brow deepen. It wasn’t the reassurance he was looking for. In fact, it seemed like, based on the conversation, what Rachel said was nothing, might actually be quite serious.
Instead of giving the phone back to Ty when the conversation ended, Rachel dialed another number. “She wants me to see my doctor in Denver as soon as possible. I’ll make an appointment for tomorrow.”
Not the answer he wanted, but at least Rachel was taking it seriously and doing what had to be done for her health. As Rachel made arrangements with her kidney doctor to go in the next morning, Ty thought about how he could make getting her to that appointment work with his own. He’d asked for the first available so they could get moving on Rachel’s kidney transplant. And now it seemed even more critical that he make it happen.
He just needed to find a way to get his appointment taken care of without telling Rachel what was going on and getting her hopes up. He’d heard stories about the operation getting canceled in the waiting room because of one failed test. How could he do that to her? At least they were both going to the same hospital, which made the logistics easier. Maybe he was making too much of it, but it seemed like Rachel had already had so many setbacks and near misses that it would be unfair for her to have to potentially face one more. Just because they were this close didn’t mean they were already there.
Besides, it wasn’t just Rachel’s disappointment they’d have to manage, but Ricky’s, as well. The older man had been following Rachel’s case, and even though Ricky had been told multiple times that it was illegal to offer money in exchange for a kidney, Ty knew the old man would do just about anything for more time with his precious granddaughter.
He wasn’t going to let anyone get excited until they were wheeling Rachel in for surgery.
So Ty prayed with all his heart that they’d get through this final hurdle, and that soon Rachel would have her new kidney.
Once the arrangements were made, Katie climbed up into her mother’s lap. “You’re going to be okay, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Rachel said, looking at Ty.
He knew what she was reminding him of. If Rachel didn’t survive, he would be the one to make things okay for Katie.
It hurt his heart that she had to go through this, but hopefully tomorrow’s tests would be the green light they all needed to stop living in fear.
Wanda entered the room. “Ready for supper? I thought we’d eat with the hands tonight, so they could all see Rachel’s doing better. Everyone has been asking about her.”
Rachel hesitated, and Ty wondered if she really was as okay as she’d been saying. It bothered him that despite all the progress they’d made in being open with one another, she still downplayed the times when she wasn’t feeling well.
“Yay!” Katie said. “Maybe Hunter will be there with Lynzee!”
The little girl’s excitement only made the pained look on Rachel’s face worse. No, she wasn’t feeling well.
“Why don’t we have a quiet evening here instead?” Ty suggested. “I’ll grab some plates for us from the barbecue, Katie can pick out the movie and we’ll all sit in here and have some family time.”
Though disappointment flashed on Katie’s face
