"So why did you invite me out here?" Renne asked Swayde as they rode out in the truck to feed the cattle. "I know that you could've fixed those fences by yourself. And you certainly don't need my help feeding the cows." She said, looking at Swayde.

"That's true, but I know how much you have always loved doin' this kind of stuff. Besides, I like the company. It can get kind of boring out here all by myself." There was something in his voice that told Renne he wasn't telling her the real reason. Sure enough, Swayde added, "And I thought that maybe you coming out here would help to get your mind off of your sister." Swayde looked over at Renne.

"Yeah...it has helped distract me from Mallory. That's for sure. Well, that and the stress back in Montana."

"Something else happen?" Swayde asked, turning right to head down to the pasture where the steers were.

"You remember last week when Matt and I had that huge fight because one of our kids got arrested?"

"Yeah...his name was Jerome, or something, wasn't it? Matt let him leave because Jerome said he was goin' to a Bible study."

"Yes. Well, Lacey, my best friend, called me just to catch up and she mentioned how it's good news that Jerome didn't have to go jail. Long story short, Jerome is on house arrest, per our request, but the judge said that he has to wear an ankle tracking bracelet that doesn't span longer than the perimeters of Healing Hearts. Because he wasn't drunk, he hadn't even had one drink, but simply was trying to do the right thing by being a sober driver for his friends, it impressed the judge. What didn't impress her though was that Jerome tried to out run the cops. Because of that, his community service has been extended. He only had a month left on his probation, but now he has to serve another ten months without parole. So it's mainly good news, but my point is is that I heard it from Lacey and not Matt."

Swayde must have been thinking of something to say. The way his body tensed up, just like it did every time Renne mentioned Matt, Renne thought Swayde might be mad at Matt. "Maybe he just forgot, or didn't have time to tell you. I'm sure he's busy with the ranch and everything and I know how busy you have been with your grandparent's ranch and helpin' with your sister and everythang, so maybe he wanted to wait until both of y'all had time to talk. Besides, us guys have horrible timing."

"I don't know. I don't really want to think about it right now, to be honest. I'm afraid if I start talkin' about it then I'll start getting madder and I don't want that." Renne replied. She was upset at Matt. Ever since she had come back to Wyoming, she felt that there was a tension between her and Matt. She prayed it was all in her head, but she couldn't be sure.

"How did you two meet, anyhow?" Swayde asked, changing the subject. He flipped the switch on the dash that turned on the automatic feeder on the bed of the truck. All the cows flocked towards them at the sound of their feed being dispensed.

"At college. It was actually really funny. Typical story...I was lost and late to class. I came in halfway through the year so that was crazy enough. Matt and I were actually heading to the same building. His class was two doors down from where mine was, and got out about five minutes before mine did so when I walked out of my class, I was completely lost, but he was standing right there with a smile on his face, waiting for me. He gave me a tour of the whole campus because that was the last class of the day. After the tour, he offered to take me out to coffee." Renne chuckled. "I'll never forget how he asked me. He said, 'there's one last place that you have to see. It's a little ways to walk, but it's worth it. They have the best coffee and fudge around.' And I chuckled and told him I would have to go there sometime. He then said, 'well, what are you doin right now?' I told him nothing, and he said, 'then let me buy you a coffee and fudge. Afterall, the tour wouldn't be complete without it.' So I obliged. We went out, he bought me coffee and fudge. It was the worst coffee I had ever tasted, but the fudge was decent. I teased him that he knew it was terrible and that he was just trying to spend more time with me and wanted to ask me out, and that little coffee shop was the best he could do. He admitted that it was true. So after talking for a couple hours, he asked me if I was seein' anyone and I told him no, then we exchanged numbers and planned to meet at that little coffee shop the next morning and he would walk me to my first class. It was great, and we met up at that shop every day for a couple weeks, and went on a couple dates off campus and then one day he didn't show up. No explanation. I tried calling and textin' him, but I didn't get anything in reply. So I went to his apartment to make sure he was awake, because he often slept through his alarm. Well, he was at his apartment, awake, but he was in the parking lot with a girl. Making out. And he saw me and ran after me, but I kept walking. After that day, I would see him around campus with that girl. After I saw him and his girlfriend, he stopped waiting for me after class and everything. Then one day, about a week and a half after I saw him with his girlfriend, he was standing right outside of my class with a dozen red roses. He apologized and told me that he could explain. So of course, he asked me if he could talk to me over coffee and fudge at that little cafe, so I said yes and that's when we started to seriously date. Well, it took me a few weeks before I really forgave him and agreed go go out with him, but that's essentially the 101 on the first several months of our relationship."

"Had he ever been in any other serious relationships before you and that other girl?"

"Only one other relationship that could classify as serious, but all of the girls on campus swooned over him."

"But he essentially cheated on you."

"Technically not. He and the other girl had been dating for like three months when we had only been together for a month or so. And their relationship was an off again and on again type of relationship."

"Ahh...I see." Swayde replied. He flipped off the auger switch on the dash, then drove out of the long pasture and headed towards one of his smaller pastures. "So, how have y'all managed to stay together for this long? What, with all these other girls 'swooning' over him and how he's gone a lot on the circuit."

"Well, it hasn't been easy, that's for sure. And I've noticed recently that we have bickered and fight a whole lot more than we used to, but he is also away a lot more recently as well. To answer your question, I'm not entirely sure. I guess we just have. Sometimes, I feel like my ranch is the only thing holding us together and it's the only reason he comes back, but I know it's not necessarily true."

Swayde didn't seem to have a response; he just nodded his head. Just then, they pulled up to a gate and Swayde got out to open it. He asked Renne to pull his truck forward through the gate so he could close it behind them. Renne obliged. When Swayde climbed back into his truck, he asked Renne, "What did you sat his last name was?"

"Ramon. Matt Ramon."

"Oh, yeah. I've heard of him in the circuit. He's not half bad." Swayde chuckled. "So if y'all ever get married, you're name would be Reagan Renne Ramon. That's a lot of R's."

Renne seemed to think it over. "That would be. I've never really thought about that. Wait a minute, what makes you think that we are gonna get married?"

"Well y'all have been together for, what? Three years? Four years? Y'all have been bound to have talked about it before." Swayde's voice fluctuated as the truck bounced over the bumpy pasture ground.

"We have...once...he got into a real bad bull ridin' wreck and it made him wake up to what he really wanted in life. But that was almost a year ago and he hasn't really brought it up since."

"I don't mean to pry. But do you think that he's not fully committed?"

"I've honestly thought that to be honest. I need to have a talk with him and ask him where he thinks it's goin' because we ain't gettin any younger, and we have been together for a long time."

"Do you love him?" Surely Swayde had heard Renne tell Matt that she loved him, but this time when he asked, it was him asking if she really loved Matt.

Renne mulled it over, but didn't need to hesitate too long. "Yes."

"Can you picture yourself spending the rest of your life with him?"

Renne looked over at Swayde. For the first time in a long time she remembered how clearly she could picture herself spending the rest of her life with Swayde, but Matt? She wasn't so sure of that.

"I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed, Swayde McAllister." Renne said with a smile on her face.

"What? That I taught myself how to make Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo?"

Renne chuckled. Swayde completely butchered the pronunciation. His thick country accent added to the bad pronunciation. But she didn't say anything because it would've sounded just as funny coming out of her mouth as it did coming out of his. "Well yes, but mainly that you didn't burn your kitchen, or your house, down in the process. Heck, you didn't even set off the smoke alarm." Renne rinsed her and Swayde's plates off then slipped them into the dishwasher.

"I'm just full of surprises, I reckon." Swayde smiled at Renne.

"Ain't that the truth. By our second year dating, I was convinced that you never really planned any of our dates because every time I asked where we were goin' or what we were fixin' to do, you would always tell me it was a surprise. So I went with the flow and they always turned out great." Renne wet a towel and wiped off the kitchen table.

"Hey now, I planned out every single one of our dates. Except for our impromptu ones."

Renne gave a resign smirk at Swayde over her shoulder. "Sure you did." She said sarcastically.

"I did!" Swayde defended.

"How am I supposed to know which ones were impromptu and which ones were planned?"

"I reckon you just have to trust me." Swyade said. Just then his cell phone rang in his pocket. Pulling it out, Swayde read the caller ID. His smile faded as he told Renne, "I need to take this." Renne nodded her understanding.

Walking to the opposite side of the small kitchen, Swayde answered his phone. "Hey Doug, what's up man?"

Renne strained her ear to listen in to the conversation when she heard it was Doug. She knew eavesdropping was bad, but it was Doug, so what if something was wrong with Mallory?

Swayde's back was to Renne, as was hers, but Swayde turned around to look at Renne as he whispered, "Yeah, she's right here. Why?" Renne turned around to look at Swayde to ask what was going on, but he had already turned his back to her again. "Really? Well, is she okay?" Swayde asked, walking towards the door. He leaned against the frame.

Renne was now out of ear shot from Swayde's whispering, and she had to hear what was going on, so she walked closer to where Swayde stood. To protect her cover, Renne began to wipe off the kitchen counters.

"Okay. So what would you like us to do?" Swayde asked. There was a pause. "That bad?" Swayde's voice was a little louder now. This worried Renne. Swayde closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, and rubbed a hand over his forehead. "Y-yeah. We can do that. We will be right over." Another pause. "Yeah, okay. See you soon. Thanks for calling, man." Swyade hung up his phone and quickly turned around. He looked surprised to see Renne standing right there, towel in her hand.

Before Renne could ask anything, Swayde brushed past her to grab his cowboy hat, keys, and wallet off the counter. On his way back, Swayde explained the phone call. "We need to get to the hospital. Doug is on his way there now. Mallory had a bad side affect to her chemo." Swayde was now outside on his porch, his speed walk never slowing as he made his way to his truck. Renne followed quickly behind him.

"Did he say what was wrong?" Renne asked, jumping into the truck. She hadn't even finished buckling her seat belt when Swayde started his truck and peeled out of his parking spot.

"Just that Mallory had a bad reaction to chemo. Doug said she's havin' trouble breathing, so he's takin' her to the ER. Your grandparents are on their way to pick up the kids." Swayde said as he sped down the road.

"Trouble breathing? Swayde, that doesn't sound like a reaction to chemo." Renne said, worriedly.

"I don't know, Reagan. I'm just the messenger. That's all that Doug told me." Swayde said harshly. His truck engine revved loudly as Swayde sped down the dirt road on their way to the hospital.

After what felt like forever, Swayde finally pulled his truck into the emergency room parking lot. Renne hopped out before Swayde's truck was fully stopped. The two sprinted in through the hospital, barely stopping to ask the nurse where Mallory was.

After running down the hospital hallways, Renne and Swayde finally reached Mallory's door. Renne placed her hand on the handle and was about to fling it open, but Swayde's calm voice stopped her. "Reagan, let's go in calmly." Renne looked into Swayde's caring blue eyes before she nodded. Taking a deep breath, and trying to act calm although her heart was beating wildly, Renne slowly turned the door handle and made her way into the room. Swayde walked in close behind her.

Mallory was sitting up in her bed, Doug sat alongside her, holding her hand, and a doctor and a nurse were standing beside the bed.

"We- we came as quickly as we could." Renne said, taking in the scene. The nurse had a straight spine and her hands were folded politely in front of her. The doctor stood beside the nurse with one hand in the pocket of his clean, white coat and the other clenching his clipboard on his chest. His facial expression told all the people in the room that this wasn't the first time he had to deliver bad news to one of his patients. Renne would go as far as saying his reaction almost looked like he didn't care, like he was bored. Renne immediately walked to Mallory's side. Bending down, she gave her frail sister a hug.

"Thank you for coming. I love you, Rebel." Mallory's weak voice whispered between pumps of the oxygen machine.

"I love you too, sis." Renne replied, standing up. She patted her sister's shoulder. It was so hard for Renne to see Mallory like this. Renne tucked some of her hair behind her ear just to try to hide the tears rising in her eyes.

The doctor clearing his throat made Renne look up at him. "Yes, well, now that everyone is here, let's get on with the meeting." The doctor glanced down at his clipboard, then back up. He looked directly at Swayde and Renne. "What we explained to Doug and, uh..." The doctor check his clipboard again for a name. "Mallory, was that the reason Mallory was having difficulty breathing is because the cancer has spread to her lungs."

"So it wasn't a reaction to chemo?" Swayde asked from beside Renne.

"No, I'm afraid this is worse then that." The blunt doctor said.

"So, what are the possible treatments?" Renne asked worriedly. No one else seemed to have a voice.

The doctor sighed. "And this is where we left off in our discussion. Doug and Mallory wanted you two here for this. I had just explained to them that there really isn't any treatment that could be done at this point in time..."

Renne felt her knees start to go weak at what the doctor was saying. Swayde must have read Renne's body language because he reached out and grabbed her hand, lacing their fingers together. Renne squeezed Swayde's hand as if it was the only thing keeping her standing. She was scared to let go.

The doctor looked between Mallory and Doug, up to Swayde and Renne, then back to Mallory. Renne didn't like what his eyes said. "You guys need to start discussing the possibility of hospice care at this point. There is just nothing else we can do for you at this point. I'm sorry."

The room fell silent except for the clicking of Mallory's oxygen machine. Renne felt a sob climbing up her throat, but she shut her mouth to prevent it from being heard. She squeezed Swayde's hand tighter instead; he squeezed right back.

"H-hospice? Wh-h-how soon?" Renne stumbled over her words. Swayde's thumb was running circles on her hand, a gesture that comforted Renne in the midst of this bad news.

"I'm afraid within the next week or two. The cancer has spread so rapidly and to such a great magnitude that there is nothing we can do to stop it at this point."

Renne tried to process everything. The doctor was telling Mallory and Doug more information, but Renne didn't hear a word of it. She tuned everything out. Looking up, she hoped Swayde would give her one of his reassuring smiles that told her everything was going to be okay, but instead, Swayde was staring straight down at the ground with his jaw clenched. This was going to be hard on him as well.

Swayde and Renne visited Mallory for as long as they were allowed after the doctor left with the defeating news. Even though they were now sitting, Swayde still tightly held onto Renne's hand. She was so thankful that he was here for her; she wasn't sure how she could make it through this without him.

When Mallory fell asleep, Doug turned to Swayde and Renne, "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think it's best if we let Mal sleep now. I'll keep y'all updated; whenever I hear something, I'll let y'all know." Doug's voice was quiet and hoarse.

"Thank you, Doug. We really appreciate it." Swayde's voice replied quietly. He stood up from the chair, his hand still holding Renne's. When he felt a slight pull on his hand, Swayde realized that Renne wasn't standing up. Instead, she still sat, staring at Mallory's still body, tears on the brinks of her eyes.

Bending down, Swayde whispered into Renne's ear, "It's time to go now, Reagan. Come on." Swayde said, nearly pulling on Rennes's hand to get her to stand.

Before leaving the hospital room, Renne gave her sister a hug and told her she loved her. Casting one last glance over her shoulder, Renne prayed that God would let her see her sister just one last time.