"You know, I just realized something..." Renne started, glancing over at Swayde as her handsome boyfriend sat behind the wheel of his truck, driving with one hand since his other was preoccupied holding Renne's, his thumb tracing little circles on the back of her hand. 

       "Yeah, what's that?" Swayde asked, looking to Renne, his blue eyes covered by sunglasses, his black Stetson on his head. 

      Looking back out the dash, Renne continued, letting out a breath. "I haven't seen Doug or Mallory's kids since the funeral." Her voice was quiet at the mention of the passing of her sister, who had passed after a long battle with cancer. Growing up, Renne and Mallory had had their moments, but at the end of the day, they were best friends. 

       "That's not your fault. Things have been crazy since you got back." Swayde defended his girlfriend. 

        "I made a promise to my sister that I would take care of her kids, yet I haven't seen them since I got back." 

       Swayde, slowing down at a stop sign, lifted Renne's hand to his lips, kissing it before reassuring her, "It's okay. We are on our way there now to see them. I know that Doug understands." 

      Renne didn't reply. Instead, she let out a heavy sigh, looking out her window as Swayde drove them to the last place her sister called home. 

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

         Renne dropped her clenched fist onto the wooden front door of what used to be Mallory's house. After knocking a pattern of three knocks, Renne took a step back, tucking her hands into her back jeans pocket. Feeling a hand on each of her shoulders, Renne was thankful Swayde was with her.

        Feeling Swayde's presence was enough to make Renne relax some under his strong, comforting hands that he rested on her shoulders. As they waited for someone to answer the door, Swayde dropped a kiss on the top of Renne's head. "It's goin' to be okay." He said, sweetly, reassuring Renne. 

       Growing up, Doug, Renne, and Swayde had all been close friends. However, Doug and Mallory never really got along well; everyone said it was just a front to mask their true feelings for each other. Those rumors ended up being true; shortly after Renne had left her family, fleeing to Montana, her sister and Doug got married. They were married for just about five years before cancer took over Mallory's body. Shortly after Renne had come back to Alpine Ridge, God called his daughter home to spend eternity with Him. 

       "Doug did say to meet him here at noon, right?" Nerves took over Renne's body as she turned to give Swayde a concerned look. "Should I knock again, or ring the doorbell?" 

       A small smile rose to Swayde's lips as he gave her a look. "Yes, sweetheart. It's all good. He's probably tryin' to rassle up the kids." In reality, it had only been about twenty seconds since Renne had knocked on the door, but to her, it seemed like an eternity.

       Sure enough, mere seconds later, the large wooden door creaked open, revealing an exhausted, worn out looking Doug. On his hip was his daughter, Hope, a spitting image of her mom. 

       "Hey, y'all. Come on in." Doug greeted, his voice tired, depressed. 

        "Thanks, man. Good to see you." Swayde greeted Doug, shaking his hand after Renne walked in. 

        "Hey, Doug." Renne forced a smile, giving him a side hug, mindful of the sleepy four year old he was carrying. 

        Before Doug could form a response, the sound of giggling and screaming filled the entry way where the group stood. All eyes were on the two kids that were running through the house. Nine year old MJ, Mallory Junior, was screaming, chasing after her ten year old brother, who was having a giggling fit. "Taylor, I'm serious, give it back! It's my turn to watch TV." 

         "No, it's not. It's my turn to watch. If you want the remote, then come and get it." The siblings stopped right in front of their aunt. Taylor held the remote high above his head, laughing at his sister who was jumping, trying to reach it. 

        "Taylor..." MJ drew out, near tears at the taunting of her brother. 

        "Okay, you two. That is enough." Doug intervened, grabbing the remote from Taylor, making him let out a disappointed groan. "Both of you, go to your rooms and pack up your clothes." 

       "But-" Both kids tried. 

        "Now." Doug's voice was stern and serious. He watched as both kids walked out of the entry way, obeying, going straight to their rooms.  

        Letting out a heavy sigh, Doug shut the front door behind the couple, turning to his daughter on his hip, "Why don't you go pick out your favorite toys to take to Auntie Reagan's house for the weekend?" 

      Hope's freckle dusted cheeks turned a soft shade of red as her sparkling blue eyes lit up, nodding her head vigorously. Doug bent down, setting his daughter on the ground. Standing back up straight with a soft groan, Doug and Swayde gave Renne a look, silently, but politely asking her to give them some guy-talk time. 

       "Come on, Hopie. I will help you pack up your stuff." Renne smiled at her youngest niece, grabbing her soft hand as she led her aunt to her bedroom. 

      As they walked down the hallway, Renne looked around the house at the various pictures and memorabilia her sister had left behind. It was clear that Doug was trying his best to keep up with the housework, but being a now single dad, working two jobs, and raising four kids all on his own, various tasks had become low on his list of priorities. It was evident to Renne that all of this was becoming a little too much for him, though it had only been a little over two weeks since his wife passed. Keeping her focus forward down the hall, Renne said a thank you prayer to God, knowing that they came to help at the most perfect time. 

       "Auntie Reagan, you have to see the new Barbie doll I got!" Hope tugged at her Aunt's hand, leading her into the pink walled bedroom that she shared with Susan, one of her older sister's.   

         "Hi, Auntie." Susan looked up momentarily from the book that she was reading to greet her. Curled up on her bed, her face deep in a book, there was a duffle bag at the foot of her bed, already packed for the weekend at her Mamaw and Papaw's house. 

       Renne smiled as she looked at her sister's two youngest kids. Hope looked almost exactly like Mallory, and her personality was even very similar, already at her young age. Susan, however, was almost entirely an opposite of her mom. Quiet, introverted, and a book lover, she was similar to Mallory when she was her age, but Susan was a lot like her dad. Renne remembered when 23 year old Mallory told Renne about the guy that she was dating at the time. His name was Christopher, and he seemed like a genuinely good guy. At the time, Mallory had already had two kids with her first husband, Dan. Dan was not a good guy; he got Mallory started on drugs and gambling, leaving her after news of being pregnant with MJ, when Renne said that he had to choose between her and their kids, or drugs and his other girlfriends. 

        Mallory had met Christopher at the grocery store, and they instantly hit things off, dating and becoming very serious very quickly. For a while, things were going very well, and Mallory had seemed like she had turned her life around for the better, thanks to Christopher. However, when Mallory gave him the news that she was pregnant with his child, Christopher had asked for some time to think about it all. For a while, he had enjoyed being a fatherly figure to Mallory's kids, but when it came time to be father to a child of his own, the tables were turned. After a few months to think about it, Christopher decided he would stick around and be a father to two kids that were not his, and one daughter that was his. A month before Susan was born, Mallory and Christopher got married, only for him to be tragically killed in a practice mission for the military. 

        Sure she would never love again, Mallory struggled to raise three very young children all on her own. It didn't help much that both of her parents had passed away, and her sister had left her family. Somehow, Mallory did it, and did it well. She went to rehab for her drug and gambling addiction, and raised three young children before falling in love and marrying Doug, being blessed with precious little Hope. 

         Snapping out of her reminiscing, Renne turned her attention back to Hope, "Show me your new doll you got." Renne took a seat down on the floor as Hope ran to her closet, dragging a cloth bin pouring over with various dolls and doll clothing. 

         For the next twenty minutes or so, Renne and Hope played with Barbie dolls, dressing them in different outfits, giving each of them names and occupations. Between outfit changes, Renne made Hope pack up one of her own outfits into the small suitcase she would take to Mamaw and Papaw's for the weekend. 

         Right as they were all finished packing, Renne realized the time; they had been here for almost an hour, and there was still no sign of Swayde or Doug; Renne knew they must have been having a pretty serious talk to be keeping busy for this long. Closing her eyes for a few seconds, Renne said a silent prayer, asking God to comfort Doug in this hard time. 

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

         "Alright, try it now." Swayde called, rolling out from underneath the old work truck Doug had out in the barn. It was Mallory's truck from when she was younger, and just recently, the starter had gone bad in it, but Doug hadn't had time to work on it. Since Swayde was there, and willing to help, the team worked together to get the old truck up and running again. 

         Doug turned the key, the truck immediately rumbling to life. For the first time in weeks, a small smile tugged on Doug's lips as he hopped out of the cab, firmly shaking Swayde's hand.

        "Thank you, man. I can't tell you how much this means to me. As I'm sure you know, this truck was Mal's. It stopped running shortly after she passed, and when the starter went out, it felt like I lost another part of my wife, too." He patted a hand on the hood of the old truck, a faraway look in his eyes. Clearing his throat, Doug turned away from Swayde. "I really appreciate the help." Doug thanked, his voice holding a double meaning to his words. 

       "It's my pleasure." Swayde shut the hood, wiping his hands on a shop towel before placing his cowboy hat on his head, giving his buddy a look. "But I know that you could very easily have fixed that starter by yourself after Reagan and I took the kids this weekend." Leaning against the truck, Swayde looked Doug straight in the eyes. "How are you really doin'?"

     Doug sighed. Swayde had caught him in his own trap. Looking away, a tear rose in his eye. "Let's just say that I am really glad y'all are taking the kids for the weekend." 

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

        Swayde lifted his hand to rat a knock on Susan and Hope's bedroom door, but stopped in his tracks when he looked at the scene in front of him. The three girls were all sitting on the floor, a mess of various dolls, doll clothing, and other toys sprawled all around them. Leaning against the door frame, Swayde couldn't help but smile at how good of a mom Renne was to any kid she met, especially her own nieces and nephew. Something in his stomach churned as he watched the woman he knew he would marry, and have kids with one day. 

        Little Hope sat on Renne's lap as they sat on the floor. Renne was pretending to be the doll she and the girl's were playing with. As she mimicked a teenager's voice, Hope and Susan chuckled, making Swayde chuckle quietly, too. 

       Though soft and quiet, Swayde's deep laugh had distracted the girls from their playtime, making all three pairs of eyes turn and look at him. 

       "Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to come and see how things were goin', and if y'all were ready to head out yet, but it seems like I have taken away from a very fun game of doll house here." Swayde announced, walking further into the little girl's room. 

       "That's alright. We are just about finished. Girls, let's clean up, and see if your brother and sister are just about ready to go." Renne suggested, beginning to put away the mess they had created. 

        Once everything was all packed up and put away, Renne stood up off the floor, lifting Hope onto her hip as Swayde grabbed both girl's overnight bags, hoisting them over his shoulder. 

        Hope, asking to be set down on the ground, quickly disappeared into the kitchen to grab something from the pantry. Susan followed behind as Renne went to check in on MJ and Taylor, when she discovered that they were back out in the living room, resuming their fighting over the television remote. 

      After doing her head count, Renne realized that Doug was no where to be seen. Turning to Swayde, she asked over the sibling argument proceeding in the background, "Where's Doug?" Her eyebrows were furrowed together in concern. 

       Swayde took in a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his short, thick beard. "He's outside." His voice set a tone that told Renne there was more to the story. 

      Shifting her weight from one boot to the other, Renne momentarily ignored Susan tugging on her hand, asking for attention. "Is everything okay?" She quietly asked her boyfriend, who was also in a funk of a mood. 

      Hesitation was evident in Swayde's response. "I'll tell you later." He said only loud enough for them to hear. 

       Nodding her head, Renne bent down to talk to Susan who was still vying for attention, her question clearly very important. As she gave her niece her consideration, Renne kept Swayde in the corner of her eye as he walked into the living room, breaking up the fight between MJ and her older brother. Something must have gotten into those two. Sure, they argued like all siblings do, but today they seemed to be extremely disobedient and constantly fighting. They hadn't even left Doug's house yet, and Renne already knew they were in for a long, crazy weekend. 

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

         The ride back to Mamaw and Papaw's house was weirdly quiet, considering the truck had four young kids, and two adults. Let alone the sound of the old truck rumbling down the road, country music softly playing through the speakers. 

        MJ and Taylor decided they wanted to fight over who got to ride in the front seat on the way back to the ranch, so Renne and Swayde made an executive decision to make them both sit in the back. There, that would teach them to get along, or be quiet- one of the two. Thankfully, it seemed to be the latter. Since Susan was just old enough and tall enough to not require a car seat, she sat in the front, between her aunt and honorary uncle. Little Hope got the middle seat in the back between her feuding oldest siblings, mainly because that seat could securely hold her car seat, but also because Swayde and Renne knew the fighting would be minimized if their littlest sister was between them. 

        As Swayde drove back to Renne's grandparents ranch, she cast a glance at him, and her insides leaped, a smile rising to her lips. Although her sister's kids could be a lot to handle at times, Renne loved how good Swayde was with them. It was just another time that Renne knew she was with the right man; she could not wait for them to have kids of their own. 

      Looking back out the windshield Renne thought about the promise she had made to her sister when she was on her deathbed. Renne solemnly swore to take care of her nieces and nephews. Although she would never be able to replace the role of their mom, Renne knew she had to try her best. Especially since now Doug was a single dad, fathering three children that were not his own. Although she hated thinking about it, Renne worried about what would happen if Doug decided he could not handle it all on his own. 

      Knowing it was all in God's hands, and He had a plan, Renne rested on that, knowing that God does not give his children more than they can handle.