Renne checked the time on her phone again before tossing it onto her bed, frantically running around her room, attempting to get things ready for her lunch date with Marjorie, which she was running late for due to sleeping through her alarm, and taking forever to get chores done. Grabbing a ball cap, Renne threw it over her messy hair, making her way out of her bedroom. 

      Sprinting down the stairs, Renne grabbed her keys off the wall, jogging to her truck. 

      "Hey, hey, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Swayde called from across the yard, walking towards Renne who had just hopped into her truck. 

      "Meeting Marjorie for lunch, and I'm late." Renne opened her window so she could better talk with Swayde. Starting her truck, she leaned out her window just as Swayde walked over to her. 

       "When do you think you will be back?" Swayde asked, folding his arms, leaning over the open window, acting like Renne had all the time in the world to have a conversation with him right now. 

      "Who knows. Marjorie and I can talk all day. Why are you wondering?" She tapped her foot against the floorboard of her truck anxiously, checking the time on the dashboard. Renne hated to be impatient because she wanted to stay and talk to Swayde, but at the same time she also despised being late to anything. 

      "I was hopin' to take you out on a movie date. We can go see that one movie you have been talking a lot about." Swayde grinned, his blue eyes sparkling, making it even harder for Renne to leave. 

     "Man, two dates in two days? I'm feelin' awfully special right about now." Renne shot a smile back. She was forever thankful that he still works at Renne's grandparent's ranch; it meant that she got to see him practically every day.

    "Good. You should feel special. Well, you go have fun with Marjorie. Tell her I said howdy, and let me know when you get back here, and I'll come pick you up. I should be done with work around 6 tonight." Swayde leaned in, dropping a kiss on Renne's cheek, making them turn a shade of pink. He loved how, even now, he still had the ability to make her blush. 

      "See you in a bit, honey." 

     Swayde reluctantly stepped back from Renne's truck, tucking his hands in his pockets. "Drive safe. Don't speed. I know you're in a rush to get there."  

      Renne threw her truck in reverse, but kept her foot on the brake long enough to reply, "You know me too well." She chuckled; Swayde knew how her usually great driving turned not so great when she became rushed. "Thanks for bein' concerned." 

     "You're welcome. Plus, I don't want to go to this movie alone, and you can't go with me if you get hurt wrecking your truck." 

     "Yes sir." Renne released her hold on the brake, backing her truck out of her spot. As she pulled away, she saw Swayde still standing in the same spot. A smile rising to his lips, he gave Renne a wave, watching her drive away.

     Once she was out of Swayde's sight, Renne pressed her foot down harder against the gas pedal, her truck speeding down the back roads leading into town. The wind coming from her open window caused something to catch Renne's eyes. On her dash was a picture of her and Swayde from years ago. Even now, it was still her favorite picture of them together. Seeing Swayde's picture hiding part of the speedometer reminded Renne to drive safely. Slowing her truck slightly, Renne grinned, knowing Swayde was probably back home knowing she was on the road disobeying him. 

       To pass the time, and prevent her from speeding anymore, Renne thought about how her and Marjorie met.  The 71 year old and Renne became instant friends when they met a few months ago when Swayde and Renne were babysitting Renne's sisters kids for a weekend. After taking her nieces and nephew to supper at a pizza place, Swayde and Renne took them to get ice cream, where Marjorie approached Renne, while she was waiting in line. Marjorie had told Renne how cute of a couple her and Swayde made, and how cute their kids were. With a chuckle, Renne had told Marjorie that they were actually not her kids, rather her sister's children. 

       The more Marjorie and Renne had talked, Marjorie had begun to reiterate what basically everyone had said when they saw Renne and Swayde together. That they had "undeniable chemistry" and that they were "one of the cutest couples ever," that it was clear that they were "obviously in love, meant for each other." 

       Even though months had passed since Renne had first met Marjorie, she had said something that would forever stick with Renne. Marjorie had stated: "I can see the pure, true happiness and love between y'all...That kind of love is rare, and not many people are blessed enough to have it..." In addition, she had given Renne a slight lecture, saying, "I don't know what is keepin' y'all apart, but whatever it is, y'all should really try to work it out, because it is preventing you two from the life that y'all could have together...Don't let true love, a once in a lifetime love, slip through your fingers."  That day months ago had gotten Renne thinking about her and Swayde. Everything that Marjorie had said was right. 

      After their initial meeting, Marjorie and Renne had run into each other multiple times around town. Agreeing it was a God thing, and not just a coincidence, the two exchanged cell phone numbers, and agreed to meet up for coffee, and to chat. Keeping their promises, with the exception of only a couple weeks, Marjorie and Renne had met up every week at the same time, on the same day of the week, at the same diner every week. It was something that Renne had certainly looked forward to. 

      Grinning as her truck got closer to the diner her and Marjorie were meeting at, Renne had remembered that every single time, right before they said their goodbyes, Marjorie always smiled and said, "I have been, and will continue to pray for you and Swayde."  Glancing down at that picture of her and Swayde on the dash, a grin rose to Renne's lips as she said a loud, "Well, Marge, your prayers have certainly been workin'." 

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

        Swayde found himself humming as he carried the basket of clean, folded clothes upstairs to Renne's room at her grandparents house. His initial job as a ranch hand there had turned into him doing anything and everything he could for the family. Granted, he was not asked to wash the windows, do the dishes, clean the laundry, or be a handyman; they were all things that he chose to do, and did them willingly. 

       Pushing open Renne's bedroom door with the toe of his boot, Swayde walked, setting the basket of clothes on Renne's bed. Just as he was about to walk away, he noticed that Renne had left her phone sitting on her bed. Reaching over to pick it up, and take it downstairs where she would not forget it, a text message came in right as he did so. Knowing he was being nosy, he read the text message. 

       Immediately, his mood fell, his heart dropping to his stomach. The text was from none other than Matt, Renne's cheating, scum bag of an ex-boyfriend, well, technically, her ex-fiance, but that was a long story left for later. The text read, "Hey, Rein, when are you coming home? We miss you." 

      Swayde felt like his blood could boil, he was so angry. Renne had been lying to him this whole time. She had told Swayde that after she had broken up with Matt, after finding out that he was still cheating on her, and that they hadn't had any contact at all. Renne had even gone as far to begin making plans to move the headquarters of her Equine Assisted Therapy Ranch, Healing Hearts, down to Wyoming, just so she would not have to see Matt any longer. 

        Based on Matt's text, there had to be something that Renne was keeping from him. Clearly, the old couple was still in contact, and obviously, there was still something going on between them. Usually, it would take a lot to make Swayde this furious, but when it came to Matt, his tolerance was as brittle as a piece of spaghetti, breaking under the slightest force. 

       Swayde stupidly pulled out his phone to call Renne, demanding answers, but he remembered that she didn't have her cell phone on her, or else they wouldn't be having this predicament, and he would not be in this situation. 

         Now knowing he was for sure pushing his boundaries, Swayde attempted to unlock Renne's phone so he could have some answers. He wanted to know how long she had been keeping this from him, what else was going on between her and Matt, but most importantly, had they even broken up? Endless questions were running through his head as he tried password after password. Renne and Swayde had always shared their phone passwords with each other to prove that they were not hiding anything from each other, but for the life of him, Swayde could not remember Renne's. Taking a deep breath to try calming himself, he tried reassuring himself that it was probably for the better that he could not remember her pass code, not knowing if he wanted to see what other incriminating things he would find. 

       Setting Renne's phone down on her bed, just as he had found it, Swayde attempted to be reasonable. Him and Renne had always been open and honest with each other, and Swayde was sure that if Renne was keeping something from him, he would have found out before today. There had been zero signs that she still had any relations or form of communication with Matt before today, so possibly, it was just Matt being himself, wanting something that he could never have. That something being Renne. However, no matter what he tried to convince himself of, Swayde knew there was more to the story, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out what it was.

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

       "Hi, Marge, I am so sorry that I am late." Renne said, partially out of breath since she had been rushing around. Bending down, she gave her dear friend a hug before taking a seat across from her. 

        "Oh, dear, that is completely fine. It gave me even more time to pray." Marge's red lipstick lined lips turned up into a smile. Her hands wrapped around her hot cup of coffee. 

       "Thank you. I appreciate it." Renne smiled, setting her wallet and keys on the table. 

       "Here, you are, dear. I took the liberty of ordering your coffee for you." Marjorie pushed the Styrofoam cup towards her. 

       "You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate it." Renne grinned, taking a sip of the hot liquid, thankful for the caffeine boost to get her to wake up, and get going with her day. "So, how are you doin'?" 

       "Oh, I am just lovely. Kenny and I are actually planning a short trip to Nevada. One of my niece's are getting married, so we will be going down there for a few days."

        "That sounds like a lot of fun for y'all. I'm really glad that y'all are gettin' away for a few days, especially to spend time with family." 

       "Me, too. But, enough about me and Kenny. How are things with you and Swayde?" She said his name in a singsongy voice, with a smile on her face.

      Just the mention of that blue, starry eyed, handsome cowboy was enough to make Renne duck her head, a blush rising to her cheeks. "Uh, he is great. We are great, actually. Yeah, we went on our first official date in six years. It was the first time that we have gone out since I left him, and it was honestly really great. I know that I have been telling him over and over again that I want to take things slow, but honestly, I'm not quite sure why I have been saying that, because I think I...we, are ready to take things to the next level." Renne sighed. "I just...with everything going on...I don't want to start a relationship if..." She didn't want to finish her statement. 

       Marjorie gave Renne an understanding look. "Have you broken the news to him yet?" 

       Renne made a circle on her lid of her coffee as she let out a sigh. "About Montana? Not yet. I honestly don't know why I haven't yet; I think it's because things have been so great with us that I really don't want to ruin anything." 

       "I know you will make the right decision." Marjorie reassured. 

        Renne forced a smile, letting out a sigh. Marjorie had never been wrong; the person Renne was doubting was herself. 

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

         After saying their goodbyes, Marjorie and Renne parted ways. Once in her truck, Renne went to pull out her phone to let Swayde know she was heading home, hoping they could still go out and talk, but her phone was no where to be found. 

       Retracing her steps in her head from this morning, Renne remembered that the last time that she saw her phone was when she was getting dressed this morning. She had set it on her bed, and must have never picked it up. 

       Starting her truck, Renne made her way back home. Every mile she got closer to home made Renne grow more excited to see Swayde. By the time that she pulled into the driveway, she was practically bounding up the steps in anticipation to go on another date with Swayde. Entering the living room, Renne gave Mamaw and Papaw a hug and kiss on the cheek before loping up the stairs, headed for her bedroom. 

      Walking into her room, Renne saw that Swayde had done her laundry for her, folding the clothing and setting it on her bed in the basket. Renne knew it was Swayde, because every time that Mamaw does her laundry, she always puts the basket on Renne's chest at the foot of her bed. With a smile, Renne picked up her phone, about to text Swayde and tell him thank you for doing her laundry. 

      However, just as she was about to type in her pass code, unlocking her phone, Renne saw something that made her mood plummet, and her heart skip a beat. It was a text from the last person on this earth that she had expected to hear from. Renne involuntarily felt her jaw clenching as she opened the text with shaky hands. 

      Reading the message from Matt, anger began to rise inside of her as she wondered how he could have the audacity to text her in the first place, let alone send her a message like that. Renne had not talked to him since the day that she left him, nor did she have any plans to talk to him ever again, either. However, she knew that since he had become a large part of Healing Hearts, Renne was strapped to have to have some form of interaction with him, while he still worked for her ranch. That kind of communication was fine with her; she could handle that. What she was certainly not okay with, was him still trying to flirt with her, asking her when she was "coming home." She was home...Alpine Ridge was where she belonged; she realized that now. 

         Renne had no clue what Matt's ulterior motives were with texting her, but she knew that whatever it was, he certainly didn't deserve a response. 

       Letting out a sigh, Renne saw she had another unopened text message. As if the message from Matt wasn't enough to ruin her night, the short text from Swayde certainly put an even heavier damper on her mood. The text read, "Busy tonight. Can't do movie." 

      The text was sent not too long ago, so Renne knew  that something must have occurred within the past 20 minutes for Swayde to go back on their promise of a date. Ignoring the pang of disappointment that Swayde's text had caused, Renne typed out a response. "That's okay. I just got home. I accidentally left my phone here. I apologize for being gone so long. Do you still want me to come over?" 

      The second that Renne sent the text, Swayde had already opened it, immediately responding. "No, busy." 

         Biting down on her bottom lip, Renne texted back, "Tomorrow then?" She was never one to be clingy, but there was something bothering Swayde, and she had a hankering that he was mad at her for some reason. Her mind tried to think of what she had done to make him upset; things were great when she had left this morning.

        Renne's text went from delivered to read, but no response came through. Renne's eyebrows shoved together in confusion. The short, ticked off texts were not like Swayde at all. He was never one to blow her off, either. 

        Deciding Renne would get more out of talking to him, she knew hearing his voice would help to decipher if something was actually wrong, or if she was just overthinking things. Dialing his number, Renne held the phone up to her ear, waiting two rings before he picked up. 

        "Yes?" Swayde answered, curtly. Yup, something was definitely wrong. 

         "Hey, hon, everything okay? You seemed a little upset and short over your texts." Renne attempted to sound as cheerful and unbothered as possible, though she was wracking her brain. 

           "Like I said in the texts, I'm busy." There was a definite edge to his words. 

          "Okay. I was still hopin' to see you tonight. Want me to come over? I can help you with whatever you're busy with." She asked for the second time in the past few minutes.

          Swayde let out a heavy sigh. "I still have a lot to get done, then I'm headed to bed. Long day tomorrow." 

          Renne was about to give Swayde a chastising response for being so stubborn, but her mission was halted when a soft knock ratted on Renne's bedroom door, revealing Mamaw poking her head into the room. Motioning, Renne welcomed Mamaw into the room. Momentarily turning her attention back to her phone call, Renne told Swayde, "Hey, I'll call you back here in a second." She attempted to say in the most cheerful voice possible. Swayde didn't give her a verbal response, instead he just hung up the phone. Appalled, and surprised, Renne pulled the phone from her ear, looking down at the screen. Yep, Swayde had definitely hung up on her. 

       Tucking her phone into her back pocket, Renne turned her attention back to Mamaw, giving her a raised eyebrow look, silently telling her to state her question. 

       "Sorry to interrupt, but I was just fixin' to ask if you will be joining us for supper tonight?" 

        Renne glanced at the time on the clock in her room. It was already nigh on six. "Um, I actually don't know. Swayde and I had made plans, but he cancelled them, and now he is in a really bad mood, so I think I will head over to his place and see if I can't tell what is bothering him. I'll let you know either way, if I come home for dinner or if I stay at his place. But plan on me staying there for dinner."    

       "Okay, dear, hopefully everything is alright."

       "I'm sure it is." Renne cat a reassuring smile, not knowing what she was in store for when she went over to Swayde's. Hardly ever was he upset like this. 

       Making sure she had her phone with her this time, Renne walked out of her bedroom, heading to her truck. Starting the ignition for the second time in what felt like only a few minutes, Renne began her drive to Swayde's ranch. Over and over again, she attempted to think of things that would make him have such a drastic mood change from his usual joyful self, from this morning. Not a single thing came to her mind, even as she pulled into Swayde's ranch, parking her truck in it's usual spot, right next to Swayde's. 

       Trudging her way up the sidewalk, into his house, Renne was not the least bit surprised that his back door was unlocked. Walking inside, Renne could hear the television playing the evening news in the background. Frustration began to rise as she realized that Swayde was just putting her off. She was ignorant to believe that he was actually busy. 

       Practically stomping into the living room, Renne took in the scene before her. Swayde was sitting on the edge of his couch in his athletic shorts and a white t-shirt, his hair freshly showered. In front of him was a TV stand, a steaming microwave dinner sitting on top of it. 

        Renne began to feel herself become more and more upset the longer she watched the scene, no signs of busy work anywhere. It was evident that she was the one Swayde was upset with. He was deliberately ignoring her and blowing her off. 

      Clearing her throat, Renne lifted a hand, letting it fall with a slap against her thigh. Waving it in front of her, she motioned at the scene. "So this is your idea of being 'busy,' I see."