Janie nodded as Wanda and Ricky came around her, Katie clinging to Wanda’s side.
“He didn’t want you to not be mad at him anymore just because he gave you a kidney,” Ricky said. “Ty needed you to know that this kidney was no strings attached, so he asked us all to keep it from you until he could explain himself.”
Wanda nodded. “He told us that if you figured it out, to apologize on his behalf and that in the meantime, you can have access to all his files so you can find out anything you want to know for yourself. I have a sealed envelope in my purse with a paper inside it that has his passwords. He said you can use the information however you wish, and that he meant what he said when he wanted no secrets between the two of you.”
Tears filled Rachel’s eyes. She’d completely underestimated him. Yes, she was frustrated at how he’d kept so much from her. But he’d actually listened when she called him out on it. And here he was, giving her a demonstration of how willing he was to work to make things right between them.
And for him to give her a kidney...
Yes, she could understand his not wanting her to feel beholden to him. He’d done his homework. You couldn’t just make it happen overnight, which meant that he had been willing to make this sacrifice through the good times and the bad times that they’d shared.
Even when she’d thought he was angry with her.
He could have made the decision to back out at any time.
But he’d chosen to stay.
Just as important, though insurance would cover most of the expense of the surgeries, Ty would have to take time off work, probably having to dip into his savings to do so. A huge ask for anyone. And he’d willingly done it.
Even with his explanation, he was putting the ball in her court and giving her control over where she wanted the relationship to go.
Which meant, even after all the things she regretted saying to him, he’d still been willing to go through with the surgery.
Ricky cleared his throat. “He also wanted me to tell you that I know about the Bennett twins. We talked about his investigation, and what information was best for me to know or not know.”
The old man’s eyes filled with tears, and Rachel knew that Ty had told Ricky the truth.
“I’m not angry with him for keeping it from me. Deep down, I knew all along. It was one of the things Cinco and I used to fight about. Not just whether or not bull riding was safe, but the fact that I didn’t like the way he was carrying on, with all the partying and women. I clung to the good memories of Cinco, because facing the kind of man he’d been made me question what kind of man I was, raising a son who did so much wrong.”
Wanda put her arm around Ricky and gave him a squeeze. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You forget that I was on the ranch when Cinco was in his late teens. You tried your best. I used to sit on the porch with Rosie, telling her my fears if I ever became a mother. That if the two of you could raise someone who turned out like Cinco, what chance did Steve and I have? She told me that we do the best we can with our children, but it’s up to them to make decisions for themselves. And when we finally did have our Grace, I learned she was right.”
A tear streaked down Ricky’s face as he hugged Wanda back. “I didn’t know that about you and Rosie. She and I fought a lot about Cinco in those days, and I guess I always thought she blamed me for how he turned out.”
Watching the healing happening between Ricky and Wanda over the past, and hearing how Ricky’s own involvement with Cinco, his beloved son, wasn’t so cut and dried, it made her again realize just how little credit she’d given Ty. More important, it made her realize how complicated relationships were. She’d always assumed complications meant they were wrong. But maybe it was working through the complications that made a relationship right.
As Ricky and Wanda continued their conversation about the past, they moved over to the small sofa on the other side of the room, and Janie took their spot, lifting Katie on the edge of the bed so she could be closer to her mom.
“I’ll bet this is all confusing for you, isn’t it, Katie?” Rachel asked. Her stomach twisted at the thought of how close she’d been to dying and how she hadn’t done a good job of preparing Katie for it. Thankfully, it hadn’t come to that, but her poor daughter must have been worried sick.
She was grateful that despite her own mistakes, Katie seemed to be doing just fine emotionally.
Katie shook her head. “Not really. You were sick, so Ty made sure there was a way for you to get better. That’s what I love about Ty. He always finds a way to make things better.”
Funny how the thing that often annoyed her about him was one of Ty’s best qualities. And how Katie, lacking the baggage Rachel had, so readily trusted him. Looking back, though, Rachel had to admit that what she viewed as being controlling was just Ty’s way of making things better.
In some ways, Rachel had been just as controlling. In her desire to not be hurt again, she’d kept too much to herself, rather than letting others share her pain.
As she looked around the room at the people who’d shown love to both her and Katie, she wished Ty could be here so she could tell him how much she appreciated all that he’d given them.
She’d been wrong to compare Ty to Chris. Yes, they both could be domineering, but Chris
