Renne impatiently checked her phone for the third time in five minutes. Standing beside her truck, an exhausted Renne looked at Swayde who seemed to be taking his sweet old time making sure their load wouldn't shift or get tossed about on the way to Montana.

          "Are you about ready to leave?" She asked for the third time in a half hour. It seemed to her that Swayde was stalling leaving. Renne's voice was slightly more irritable than she had meant for it to be. Sure, she was looking forward to this trip with Swayde, she just wasn't looking forward to what could potentially happen when they got there, and the conflict that could ensue. This would be the first time that Renne would see Matt since she broke up with him.

          Letting out a heavy breath, Swayde stopped what he was doing to face his normally patient girlfriend. "Why do you keep asking me th at?" He rested a hand on the side of the truck bed.

         "Why are you getting so upset about this? If you don't want to go, then just tell me?" An exhausted Renne spread her arms out wide, standing beside her truck.

         "Don't start that with me, please. You know I want to go on this trip." He pointed a finger at her as he checked the latch on the horse trailer again. "I never said I didn't want to go, so please do not put words in my mouth."

        "Then what is it?" She followed him as he did a walk around, making sure everything was secure and ready for the long haul.

         Swayde spun around on his heels, making Renne step back. "I am exhausted. I got no sleep last night. I am nervous about leavin' my ranch behind for an unknown amount of time. And frankly, I don't feel like seein' Matt while we are there." Swayde admitted, turning back around to tying down the tarp on the back of Renne's truck.

         Renne paused, glancing at her uncharacteristically irritated boyfriend. She knew she was the one who started this and she was sure that her nagging Swayde only made it worse. "Well, I'll drive the first leg of the trip so you can rest in the truck. And don't worry about your ranch, Kyle and Bernie know what they are doin' and they will take good care of the place. And as far as seein' Matt," She walked over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "You don't worry about that. I'll make sure I keep you otherwise preoccupied with chores and such. Just think about how much fun we will have together, please? This will be the first trip that you and I have taken together in such a long time. Besides the time a few months ago when you drove me to Colorado to see my clients and friends Jerry, Laurie, and Grace who moved there after Jerry got a job promotion." Renne chuckled at the memory. "That was one of the nicest things that anyone had ever done for me. But anyways, before then, I think that the last time we took a long trip together was the summer of my sophomore year of high school."

         "You're right." Swayde sighed, agreeing with his girlfriend, relieving himself from his worry.

          Renne pulled back slightly. "Wait a minute, did you really just admit that I am right? Man, do you feel alright?" She teasingly lifted a hand to Swayde's forehead as if checking for a fever. 

           Swayde sputtered like a horse. "Very funny." Turning sideways, he grabbed the passenger side door of the truck for Renne. 

          Renne walked forward, but stopped to look at Swayde. "Can we please not start this trip out like this? Bickering at each other? It's goin' to be a very long ride if this is how it's going to go." 

          His eyes locked on Renne's, he turned serious. "You're right, sweetheart. I'm sorry. I was being selfish because of my exhaustion and nerves. Forgive me?" He asked, sincere.

          "Of course. I know that this trip might be stressful by nature, but I know that as long as you're there, it will make everything better." With a grin, Renne stood up tall, placing a kiss on Swayde's lips. Before he could so much as kiss her back, Renne slipped into the cab of her truck, ready for this trip now, more than ever.

        Once inside the truck, Swayde turned to Renne. "First stop, coffee, then Montana." 

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

           Renne rested her head back against the head rest, closing her eyes as she let out a heavy sigh, her second cup of gas station coffee in her hand. 

         "You alright there? Too much cheap, stale coffee, and greasy gas station food for you? Do you need me to pull over?" Swayde asked, concerned, resting a hand on Renne's thigh. 

        "No, I'm alright, thank you, though. I am just starting to get nervous is all." Renne chuckled, glancing at the man driving her truck. Seeing how handsome he looked in his black Stetson and Oakley sunglasses only made Renne more nauseous, but for a whole other reason than nerves. That man still brought butterflies to her stomach, even after all the years that they had been together. "Actually, since we are so close to the ranch, I can go ahead and take over on the driving." 

         "Okay." Swayde nodded, checking his mirrors before pulling off the road, turning on the hazard lights as he got out of the truck.

       Taking her coffee with her, Renne pulled open the driver's door, sliding behind the wheel. "Let's get this show on the road." She grinned, dropping her truck into drive, turning off the hazards before pulling back onto the road, expertly driving with only one hand as she took a sip of her now cold coffee with the other. "Bleh, this coffee is cold and too weak." She chuckled, chugging the last gulp of it, setting the empty cup next to Swayde's in the cup holder. 

        "Do you want to stop and get some more?" Swayde asked, rolling down his window, sticking his arm out, letting the breeze run up his sleeve, rustling the material. 

        "Nah, that's alright. We are less than an hour from the ranch. If we have time when we get there, I will make some then." Renne grabbed the sunglasses from her visor, slipping them over her eyes as the morning sun shined brightly through the windshield. 

         Fifty-two minutes later, Renne slowed her truck before pulling into the driveway that led to her ranch house. Stopping in front of the large iron gate, Renne punched in the code on the keypad. A few seconds later, the large gate opened with a creek; with a smile, Renne pressed her foot down lightly on the gas pedal, creeping her truck down the gravel driveway.

         Rounding the curve, Renne smiled as she saw her house, that was blocked from the view of the road by trees, come into focus. It felt like so long since she had been back here, and seeing the scenery, part of her missed it, but only a very very small part. 

           "Here we are." Renne stopped her truck beside the house. 

           "Reagan, this is beautiful." Swayde said in awe, hopping out of the truck. Taking off his sunglasses, Swayde stood in front of the truck, staring at the large wood sided house. 

         "Thank you." She slipped her arms around Swayde's middle. "I just wish we could move it to Wyoming with us." 

       Turning to face his girlfriend, Swayde grinned. "I promise to build you an even bigger and even better house than this one day, if that is what you want." 

        "Of course." She kissed Swayde. "Thank you for making this trip with me." 

        "No problem, darlin'." He grinned. 

       Renne started walking backwards, spreading her arms wide. "You ready for the grand tour?" 

      Chuckling, Swayde followed Renne. "Yes, ma'am." 

      Renne unlocked the door, calling out to make sure it was empty. Tossing her keys on the kitchen counter, almost like she still lived there, Renne stepped into the living room, but quickly stopped in her tracks, making Swayde almost run into her. 

        "What's wrong?" Swayde asked. 

        "These boxes." Renne motioned, stepping into the room. Kneeling down beside one of the several cardboard boxes, she glanced at it, seeing her name written on the top. Opening it, she saw several of her belongings messily thrown into the boxes. "Looks like Matt packed up my stuff." She stood up, brushing her hands on her jeans. Letting out a sigh, Renne faced her boyfriend. "And he did a crappy job of it, too, by the looks of it." She turned back the boxes, resting her hands on her hips. "I am goin' to have to repack all of these." Running a hand over her forehead, in an attempt to soothe the wrinkles that she was positive were forming, Renne let out a heavy breath that could blow out a fire. 

        "Hey, remember what we said? We are goin' to make this trip fun." Swayde slid his hands around Renne's thin waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "We just got here. Try not to get stressed." 

        "You're right. And you know what? Most of this stuff isn't very fragile, so as long as we pack it well in the trailer, it will be fine." Stepping forward, out of the embrace of Swayde's arms, Renne picked up the first box in front of her. "Mind helpin' me take them outside?" 

        For his answer, Swayde grabbed a box, following Renne outside. As Swayde set his box down to unlatch the trailer, Renne looked around at the land that she was proud and blessed to have. Even though she had lived here for five years, it never felt like home to her, at least, not like how Alpine Ridge feels. 

         "Oh, shoot. We should grab a sharpie to mark these boxes." Renne said as Swayde and her walked back inside to grab another set of boxes. "I'll go grab one." After her search in the kitchen, in all the drawers that should contain a marker, and even the ones that shouldn't, Renne's search came up marker-less. "I'm goin' to run out and check in the truck. Be right back." She called, stepping outside. 

       Leaning into her truck, on the passenger side, to check the glove box, Renne heard a voice behind her. "Renne?" The male voice called, making her stop her search to spin around, coming face to face with no one other than Matt. "What are you doin' here?"

       "I'm takin' the rest of my stuff home, and tyin' up all the loose ends." Renne felt herself becoming incredibly agitated. Seeing Matt now, Renne knew that she made the right decision to leave him behind. Honestly, she was entirely unsure what she even saw in Matt to begin with. 

      "Well, I know that. I just meant that I wasn't expecting to see you back here so soon." Matt slipped his thumbs through his front belt loops, presenting a cocky stance. 

      "I told Christine to leave you a note. I know she did, so it's not my fault that you didn't get the message." Her words spoke a double meaning. 

       Before Matt could even think of a response, Swayde walked out of the house, around the front of the truck to check on Renne. "Hey, Reg, everything alri-" He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his worst enemy. "Matt." His voice was stern, protective. Stepping closer to Renne, almost as if to shield her, Swayde set his jaw set firm.

         "I just saw a truck pull in the driveway and stopped over to see who it was. Since I am here, y'all need any help?" Matt motioned to the house with one hand, his horse's reins in the other. 

         "No, we are just fine here. We don't need your help with anything." Swayde seemed to put an extra emphasis on the last word. 

         "Alright, well, I guess I will just be headin' out, then." He stood up straighter, probably in an attempt to not look so small next to Swayde. "Renne, I look forward to our meeting later." With that, Matt mounted his horse, riding back towards the barn. 

        "What meeting is he talkin' about?" Swayde asked the second Matt was out of sight. 

        "Honestly, I have no idea. We haven't scheduled one yet." Renne grabbed the sharpie out of the glove compartment in her truck, walking back inside her house. Staring at the rest of the boxes, she sighed. "This is fixin' to be a long week here."