A Marriage In Wyoming

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He would have to earn her trust to make that happen, a task he looked forward to with pleasure. Setting up in a new town, Rachel would no doubt feel isolated, maybe even lonely. Bringing her into the community, into his circle of friends and family, would be his primary goal.

As he turned onto the county road that would take him to the ranch, Garrett blinked hard at the sudden vision in his mind’s eye—Rachel and him as a couple, serving Christmas day dinner to the guests at the shelter in Casper, alongside a couple of red-haired kids. Their kids.

The image stopped his heart for a second. That kind of family—mom, dad and kids—had disappeared from his life when he was twelve years old. His memories from before that time were few, but he could recall an afternoon at the county fair. He had ridden the roller coaster with his dad and Wyatt and Ford while his mother held baby Dylan. He’d eaten cotton candy, visited the animal barns and the craft exhibits, ending the day with a ride on the Ferris wheel. Without a doubt, the day had been one of the best of his life.

Something about Rachel Vale had dredged up that sense of joy. Maybe it was her gentleness with Lena, or a certain sweetness in her smile. Beautiful, intelligent, dependable and devoted to her patients—now that he considered the matter, the lovely lady doctor struck him as the perfect woman with whom to build the kind of family he’d been missing for more than twenty years.

Garrett shook his head. “Slow down, man,” he said aloud, driving under the sign for the ranch. “You don’t even have the horse and the cart in the same county, let alone one in front of the other.”

First, Rachel would have to relax her guard, accept him as a person she could rely on. Not to mention resolving the small matter of her resistance to the fundamentals of his job description.

Then...if she shared this powerful attraction he’d experienced all day...then they could investigate this falling-in-love business. Together.

When he parked the truck near the ranch house, he realized that tonight had been designated a homemade ice cream event. All the teenagers—except for Lena—were gathered on the front porch with bowls in their hands. Caroline and Ford sat in rocking chairs with their own servings.

Caroline got to her feet as he came up the steps. “Perfect timing. Let me get you some ice cream.”

He put up hand. “No thanks. Not tonight.” After a day spent worrying about Lena’s blood-sugar levels, the thought of a sweet dessert didn’t hold much appeal.

She stared at him with a worried frown, since he always enjoyed their ice-cream concoctions. “Are you okay?”

“Sure. How’s everybody here?” He noticed Justino sitting on the corner of the porch, focused on his phone. “Did he get dinner?”

“He didn’t really want anything, but I convinced him to finish half a burger and some salad. And he did eat his dessert.” She sighed. “He’s been texting constantly since he got here. I didn’t have the heart to cut him off. Lena must be so scared.”

“The nurses are taking care of her. She ate some dinner and was feeling much better when we left.”

Ford stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m guessing you had a pretty hard day.”

“I just stood around. Lena’s the one with the illness.” Garrett opened the screen door and led the way into the living room, for a less exposed conversation. “Did you reassure the rest of the kids?”

“We explained that she was getting better but didn’t define the exact problem.” Ford gave a slight shrug. “We weren’t really sure how to deal with that.”

Garrett shook his head. “Me, neither. Teenagers hate being different. And Lena’s pretty image conscious. I’ll have to talk with her about what she wants everybody to know. Though, really, I don’t believe we can keep it quiet. We all live pretty close together here.”

“The whole situation is going to be complicated,” Ford said. “Just making ice cream will challenge Lena’s new lifestyle. But the others will be disappointed if we don’t continue the events.” He paused for a moment. “I’m wondering if the best thing wouldn’t be for Lena to be at home as she learns to adapt—fewer distractions and temptations in an environment she can control.”

“Not at all.” He hadn’t discussed his conversation with Mr. Smith over the telephone, but he described it to Ford and Caroline now. “He basically abandoned Lena to my care. So, ready or not, I’m her support system. We are her support system. We’ll have to figure out how to help her adjust.”

“Mr. Garrett?” Becky Rush and Lizzie Hanson, the other two girls in the camp, stood at the front door. “Can we come in?”

“Sure. How are you tonight? Did you have a good afternoon?”

Becky, a redhead with freckles, nodded. “We went for a long trail ride to part of the ranch we hadn’t seen before.”

“We came to a pond,” Lizzie added. “Deep Pond, is that right?” She looked at Caroline, who smiled. “There was a whole herd of deer grazing in the grass. They stared at us for a long time and then bolted into the trees. They were beautiful.”

“They had fawns with them,” Becky said. “Pretty big ones, but they still had white spots.”

“We wanted to ask about Lena.” Lizzie played with the ends of her blond hair, not meeting Garrett’s gaze. “When can she come back?”

“It’ll be a couple of days,” he said. “She has to learn how to take some medicine when she leaves the hospital, so they’ll be helping her with that new routine. But soon enough we’ll have her here again.”

Becky swallowed hard. “It was scary when she fell. I was afraid she hurt herself.”

“We all were,” Caroline said. “But this was a problem that had been getting worse for her over a period of days or weeks, not something that suddenly happened.”

“And nobody else will get sick?” Lizzie asked, cheeks flushing bright red under her makeup.

“Nobody else can get sick,” Garrett assured her. “Don’t worry.”

“I want her to get well.”

“We all do.”

Having asked their main question, the girls returned to the porch.

“I’ll discuss this with Lena tomorrow,” Garrett said. “And advise her that giving the other teens the whole truth is the best idea. I promised Justino we’d go to the hospital after breakfast.”

Ford shifted his balance, a familiar sign of irritation. “We need you here, too. These six kids deserve attention. Then there’s ranch work to do, and Wyatt’s a long way from being ready. Dylan’s spending more of his day in the studio working on his sculpture. Caroline and I both have jobs in town that we’ve been neglecting.”

“And I have a church to take care of.” Garrett pulled in a deep breath. “I understand that we’re all stretched to the limit. I’ll do the best I can to be in three places at once.”

“We all will,” Caroline said, easing the tension. “Did you like Rachel? I loved how she dealt with Lena.”

“She’s great.” He was careful not to sound too enthusiastic. “Having her at the hospital made everything much easier. And I think Lena already understands she can depend on Dr. Vale.”

“I imagine we’ll be depending on Dr. Vale quite a bit ourselves,” Ford said. “We’ll require someone to help us cope with Lena’s condition. None of us is remotely educated.”

“I’m sure Rachel will provide great backup.” Which would, luckily, give him a chance to know her better. “I did pick up some information at the hospital this afternoon when the nurse talked to Lena about insulin. And tonight I’m going to research diabetes more on the internet.”

Ford shook his head. “You’re not her parent, Garrett. You can’t manage this as if you were.”

“Her dad consigned her to my care. What else can I do?”

Caroline put a hand on his arm. “We’ll work it out, Garrett. All of us together will support you and Lena through this.”

He put his palm over her fingers. “Thanks. Between the Marshalls—you included, Caroline—and Rachel Vale, Lena’s got the best family available.”

But the next morning, Garrett wasn’t sure even the Marshalls and Rachel Vale would be enough. When he and Justino arrived at Lena’s room, Kim Kaiser was there. And Lena was in tears.

“No, no, no,” she wailed. “I can’t.”

Justino rushed to the bed. “What’s wrong?”

She threw herself against his chest. “I can’t give myself shots. It hurts!”

Kim stood calmly on the other side, with a syringe and other equipment laid out on a cloth. She glanced at Garrett. “This isn’t unusual. It’s a pretty challenging prospect, giving yourself a shot. But—” she moved her gaze to Lena “—it has to be done.”

“Even with the insulin pump?”

“The pump portal has to be changed, which is similar to an injection.” As the sobs continued, Kim moved her equipment to a nearby table. “I’ll give her a few minutes,” she said and left the room.

As if Rachel were there to tell him so, Garrett knew he had to respond rationally to help Lena calm down. She was a high-spirited, emotional girl. But she would have to exercise some logic in order to save her own life. Still, there was something to be said for the empathetic approach he’d learned as a minister. Maybe the two could work together...

He waited until she quieted and reclined again on her pillow, still holding tightly to Justino’s hand. “I can understand how upsetting this is,” Garrett told her. “Why would you deliberately stick yourself with a needle?”

Lena sniffed. “I hate shots. Since I was little.”

“Here’s the thing, though.” He’d stayed up reading and now had a good grasp on the facts. “Your blood sugar will change during the day depending on what you eat but also on what you’re doing and other factors you can’t even control. Because your body isn’t monitoring that level for you, you have to do it yourself. Sometimes your blood sugar will be low, and you’ll need to eat. Sometimes it will be high and you’ll need insulin.”

He paused and made sure he had her attention. “The thing is, if you want to stay well—to feel good and do the things you enjoy, including being with Justino and your friends—you must take injections. Now, you can find somebody to do that for you—me, for instance. But that would mean finding me, interrupting whatever I’m doing, pulling up your shirt or pulling down your pants so I can inject you.”

“No!”

“Or you can take responsibility for your health. Learn to accept that this is something you have to do to take care of yourself, like brushing your teeth.”

As Lena gazed at him, tears flowed down her cheeks. “I don’t want to.”

Garrett put a hand over hers. “I know. And I’m sorry. But it’s necessary in order to keep you happy and alive.”

When Kim returned, Lena was resigned, though far from cheerful. “I guess I have to do this,” she said. “But I hate it.”

“You’ll get used to it,” the nurse reassured her. “Eventually it’ll be no big deal.” She moved her equipment back to the side of the bed. “Now, here’s what you’ll do.”

Garrett drew Justino out of the room with him, to give Lena privacy. “It’s a hard thing,” the boy said. “I can’t stand that she has to suffer this way.”

Another parental moment. Garrett sighed silently. “But if you are going to help Lena manage her health, you can’t feel sorry her. You have to be brave so she can be brave. Does that make sense?”

The boy heaved a deep breath. “I guess so. I can try.”

“Lena’s dad isn’t much help.” Garrett decided to be honest. “So you and I and Dr. Vale are going to be her team. Her cheerleaders. Can you do that? For Lena?”

Justino nodded decisively. “I can.”

“Good job.” The voice coming from behind him was Rachel’s.

Garrett pivoted to face her. “I didn’t realize you’d arrived.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation, but I couldn’t help overhearing.” She smiled at Justino. “Garrett is right. You can be a big help to Lena. I’m sure she’ll appreciate your encouragement with the changes she’ll be making in her life.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I know you will. For you,” she said to Garrett, “I brought books.” She held out a couple of volumes, one a thin paperback but the other quite a hefty load. “The big one is more of an encyclopedia—don’t try to read it cover to cover. The smaller one is about coping with diabetic teenagers. I unpacked the boxes in my office this morning and there they were.”

“Thanks.” In the midst of a serious medical situation, he could still notice how her shirt matched the blue of her eyes, how her khaki slacks showed off a small waist and rounded hips, how her russet hair caught the light. “Did you have a restful night?”

“It was fine.” She didn’t meet his eyes. “How’s Lena this morning?”

Garrett related Lena’s response to the prospect of injections and how he’d handled it. “She agreed to cooperate, at least.”

“I’m afraid it’s going to take more toughness on your part and Lena’s to succeed.” Her voice was cool, her expression distant, as if she didn’t want to be talking with him.

Kim Kaiser came out of the hospital room. “I’m giving Lena a break, a chance to absorb what I’ve showed her. This afternoon we can all go over what she’s learned. Will that work for everyone?”

“Sure.”

Justino immediately went inside to be with Lena. Garrett watched the nurse make her way down the hall and then looked back at Rachel. “Having second thoughts?”

She was watching Kim retreat down the hallway. “I beg your pardon?”

“My guess is that you woke up this morning and decided that you let me get too close last night. So today you’re making sure to put space between us, so I won’t get the wrong idea.”

When her startled gaze came to his, he gave her a quizzical smile. “Do you really think that’s going to work?”

* * *

RACHEL DIDN’T LIKE being so easily read. “Why would you come to mind at all this morning?” She made herself hold his stare, but she could feel heat rising in her cheeks.

“For the same reason you came to my mind. Simple attraction.”

She restrained herself from rushing into denial, which would only confirm his suspicion. “That’s a pretty big assumption. We only met yesterday.”

“But we spent most of the day together—several dates’ worth of time, in my estimation. I believe I know you pretty well already.”

“I doubt that. And I’m sure I don’t know you.”

“Evidently well enough to declare that we’re incompatible.”

“That’s based on one obvious fact.”

“Which to me makes it a pretty shaky conclusion. As a rational person, shouldn’t you investigate further and determine whether you’re right or whether you might, in actuality, be wrong? We could be the most well-matched couple in Bisons Creek. And that’s saying something, since we have married folks approaching their fiftieth wedding anniversary.”

Rachel shook her head. “You’re persistent, I’ll give you that. But why put ourselves through the pain of trying out a relationship that simply can’t succeed? I’m going to be busy establishing my practice. You have your church, your ranch, the teenagers you’re working with and now Lena’s diabetes. Neither of us has time to wedge another person into our lives, especially when that person will only make trouble.”

“Make trouble?”

“I’ll get impatient with your faith-based approach to life. You’ll try to change my mind, draw me into your church, which I’ll resist. We’ll argue and then we’ll break up, with a lot of torment on both sides. I’m suggesting we avoid that distress by keeping our connection casual.”

His smile faded and he gave a long, low whistle. “You’ve got it all figured out, after one day.” Hands in the pockets of his jeans, he shrugged. “I think you’re wrong about both of us. As I see it, we could learn from each other, improve both our lives by sharing our points of view. I’m not some wild-eyed hermit who sees visions and hears voices. I’m just an ordinary guy who hopes to make things better for the people of his community with a little faith, hope and love. And the greatest of those is love.” He sighed. “If casual is what you want, though, that’s what you’ll get. Ready to check in with Lena?”

“Of course.”

He let her go into the room ahead of him, his usual polite approach. But Rachel noticed a difference in the air around them, as if a light had dimmed and there were shadows where there used to be brightness. Garrett seemed to be himself when talking to Lena and Justino, telling jokes and relating stories about his adventures on the ranch. He was certainly as polite as ever when she joined in the conversation. But the coolness of his gaze when he glanced at her, his politeness as he listened when she spoke, put a chill in the air. She wished she had a sweater to warm up.

Kim Kaiser returned in the afternoon to give Lena and Garrett an intensive session on insulin—the different types and how to measure it, the kinds of situations that called for adjustments in dosages.

Lena soon got frustrated. “This is worse than school! I can’t understand all these numbers and names.”