Renne sat in her truck a solid hour before she realized that she had left her keys and boots inside of Swayde's house. Taking a deep breath, Renne tapped her fingers on her steering wheel, contemplating what to do next. No matter what she did, it would be an awkward encounter with Swayde. Before Renne could make a decision, she saw Swayde's front door open. Turning the porch light on, Swayde walked down the steps of his porch; he had something in his hand.

Renne opened her truck door, stepping down to meet Swayde halfway. "Forgetting somethin'?" Swayde asked, holding out her cowboy boots and keys.

"Thanks. I was just about to come back in and get them." Renne said sheepishly, taking her boots and keys from Swayde. Setting her boots on the ground, Renne slipped her feet in to them before making her way back to her truck. Opening the door, Renne hopped inside. She grabbed the door handle to pull it shut, but a strong hand pulled it back open.

Swayde stepped around, putting himself between the cab and open door. "Where are you goin', Regg?" His voice calmly asked.

Renne's fingers played with her keychain, her eyes cast downward. "Mamaw and Papaw's."

Swayde let out a sigh, placing his hand on the top of the door. "Reagan, please don't do this. Don't leave me again." Swayde said in a pleading voice. When he said it, memories of her leaving him five years ago played in his mind; it shattered his heart then, and he didn't want that happening again...he couldn't have it happen again. When Renne looked up at him, Swayde knew that she was thinking about that day, too. Taking a deep breath, Swayde continued, "You don't have to stay the night, but at least just come inside and sit a spell so we can talk." This time Swayde knew that he had to do everything possible to try to keep Renne from leaving.

Renne hesitantly nodded her head, jumping down from her truck. "Fine, but I can't stay long. I need to get back to mamaw and papaw's tonight." She said, pointing a finger at Swayde, walking past him. Swayde just smiled in response as he followed Renne inside.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Renne woke up the next morning to bright light shining in through the bedroom windows. Peeling herself out of bed, Renne grabbed the sweatshirt sitting on the chair beside the bed. Slipping it on over her head, Renne yawned, feeling like she hadn't slept at all. Opening the bedroom door, Renne made her way to the kitchen to get herself some coffee.

Once the coffee was finished brewing, Renne made her way outside, to the porch swing, grabbing a blanket from beside the couch in the living room on the way out. Looking out across the land, Renne took in the scenery, lowering herself onto the porch swing Taking the time she was blessed with, Renne closed her eyes to spend time with God.

Shortly into her prayer, Renne heard the wooden screen door to her right squeak open and slam shut. Opening her eyes, Renne smiled at the person who walked out. "Hey, good morning."

"Mornin'. Mind if I join you?" Swayde asked, pointing to the spot next to Renne on the swing.

"Absolutely." Renne picked up her blanket, making room for him. Once he sat down, Renne leaned back against him, loving the warmth he provided.

"I see you found my sweatshirt." Swayde smiled, dropping an arm around Renne's waist, fingering the hem of his sweatshirt that fell midway down Renne's thighs.

"I hope you don't mind me wearing it." Renne looked up at Swayde, smiling.

"Not at all. It looks better on you than it does on me, so it's fine."

"Thanks." Shifting slightly to better see Swayde, Renne added, "Thank you for allowing me to spend the night."

"It was late. I didn't want you drivin' back. Plus, it gave us more time to talk." Swayde smiled, looking down at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"True. You...you're alright with our decision, right?" Renne asked, hoping Swayde would say no.

"Yeah, yeah of course. I think it's best for both of us." Swayde replied, a tone in his voice that made Renne wonder if he was lying.

From her pocket, Renne heard her phone ring. Pulling it out, she read the name on the screen.

"Who is it?" Swayde asked, trying to see Renne's phone.

"It's Matt." Renne said in a stiff voice.

Tilting back his head, Swayde let out a heavy, annoyed sigh.

Ignoring it, but understanding why he sighed, Renne said quietly, "I should probably answer it."

Swayde hesitantly sat up a little as to unwillingly leave Renne alone to talk to Matt, but Renne scooted closer to him, silently asking him to stay.

"Hello?" Renne picked up, breathing out her introduction.

"Hey, Renne. I was...wonderin' if you had a minute to talk?" Matt asked. There was something off in his voice, but Renne couldn't put her finger on it.

"I'm a little bit busy..." Renne looked up to Swayde, asking him what she should do. When Swayde nodded, and mouthed the words 'go ahead,' Renne added, "But I have a couple minutes."

"I just wanted to tell you that I really miss you and this break that we are on has made me realize that I want us to be together." Matt paused, before adding another word. "Forever."

Renne shot upright, concerning Swayde; his hand dropping from her waist. "Are you proposing to me over the phone?" She shouted in frustration. Behind her, Renne felt Swayde put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Matt chuckled. "No. I'm not that shallow." Renne would easily argue that with him, but she didn't dare. "I'm fixin' to come down there and see you."

Renne couldn't help but let a short chuckle slip. "Why?"

"Because I want to be there for you during this hard time. I want to show you that I still care and I really wanted to talk about this break. We haven't gotten to talk for over a week, Renne...I miss you." There was the sweet talking side of Matt again that Renne had always fallen for.

"We can talk about it later, Matt. I do not think that it is a good idea for you to come down here right now." It took everything in Renne to not completely blow up on Matt. She wanted to enjoy her time with Swayde, not talk to Matt.

"Can you please just promise me that things will be okay between us?" Matt asked in an almost pleading voice.

Renne took in a deep breath, rubbing a hand over her forehead. "That is a promise I do not think I can make right now."

"Renne, what did I do to make you suddenly hate me?"

Renne had an entire list of things, 'cheating on me' being on the top of the list. "Matt, I do not hate you, but there is a lot goin' on in my life right now and I cannot handle everything. I apologize, but this is how it's goin' to need to be."

After talking for less than five more minutes, Renne was finally able to hang up the phone. Leaning back against Swayde, he asked her in a concerned voice, "Everything okay?"

Renne let out a long breath, pulling Swayde's arm tighter around her. "I'd rather not talk about it, if that's okay?"

"Of course." Swayde plastered on a smile, stroking her hair.

"Thank you. So, what is the agenda for today?" Renne asked, taking everything in her to not bask in this moment of her and Swayde cuddling.

"Well, how long do I have you here for?"

"I just need to pay some bills and work with Riot and Cruiser some today, but besides that, I have nothing goin' on. Why?" Renne looked up at Swayde.

"I have a lot I was hopin' to get done. I need to get some hay from the hay barn, empty the manure spreader, check fences, and drive out to the far pastures and check their waterers. I would enjoy the company if you wanted to join me?" Swayde teasingly gave Renne puppy dog eyes.

With a chuckle, Renne responded, "I guess I could stay long enough to help you out."

"Great! And what were your thoughts on seeing Mallory today?" The tone of Swayde's voice changed to a more somber one.

"I was hopin' if we had time we could take the kids for ice cream, but as much as I would love to see Mallory, I do not want her to be overwhelmed with the constant visitations." Renne took in a deep breath. She had told Swayde about the favors Mallory asked of her sister, but she hadn't yet told mamaw and papaw. "We can play it by ear." She added.

"Alright." Swayde shifted slightly, about to stand up, but stopped moving when Renne groaned. "What?" He smiled, looking down at her.

"Do we have to go to work yet? Why can't we just lay here for a little bit longer and enjoy this moment." Renne snuggled up closer to Swayde, bringing out his chuckle. "Just five more minutes." She pleaded, closing her eyes momentarily.

"You said that you could only stay for five minutes last night, and you ended up spendin' the night." Swayde softly stroked Renne's soft hair.

"Ug. Fine. You're so complicated." Renne teasingly replied, standing up from the porch swing with the blanket wrapped around her.

"Where are you goin'?" Swayde still sat on the swing, a confused look on his face.

"We have a lot to get done today, remember? Come on, cowboy." Renne motioned for him to follow her into the house to get ready for the day.

Swayde playfully rolled his eyes, standing up off the swing, following Renne inside the house.

After changing clothes, and drinking come coffee, Swayde and Renne made their way out to the barn where Swayde's work truck sat. Hopping inside, Swayde started the old truck.

The two worked great as a team, loading, unloading, and stacking the hay bales. Making their way back to the barn, Swayde hooked up the spreader to his John Deere tractor, climbing up into the cab.

"Do you want me to take the Gator out and start riding the fences?" Renne asked, secretly hoping she could ride with Swayde in the tractor.

From the seat in the cab of the tractor, Swayde had his hand on the door handle. "Y'know, why don't we wait on that? I'll come with you to do that once I'm done spreading." Swayde hesitated, looking like he might ask Renne to join him in the tractor. "If you really wanted to do something, you could take my truck and check the waterers." He offered Renne; handing his keys over to anyone else to drive was a huge deal for Swayde, so Renne was thankful he trusted her enough to drive his truck.

"Sure, I can do that." Renne said, looking up at Swayde.

"Alright, here." Swayde dug his hand into his pocket, pulling out his set of keys. Tossing them down to Renne, he added with a smile, "Just be careful with her."

"Always." Renne replied, catching the keys, turning away from the tractor. With her back to Swayde, a huge smile conquered her face. It was the kind of smile that made the corner of your eyes wrinkle. Looking around her as she walked to Swayde's truck, she thanked God for blessing her time in Wyoming. Doing this kind of ranch work is what she had missed most about Wyoming; her time here had not been at all what she had expected it to be, but in a very good way. Hopping in the driver's side of the truck, Renne concluded her prayer with a realization. "And God, thank you for remindin' me what true happiness feels like."