"Here ya go, darlin'." Swayde handed Renne a cup of coffee as he took a seat next to her at the dining room table. 

        "You're the best. Thank you." Renne willingly accepted it, hugging her hands around the cup.

        "Getting an early start I see." He said with a chuckle as he scooted the chair closer to the table, looking at the screen of Renne's computer. "Whatcha workin' on?" 

          After taking a sip of her coffee, Renne replied, "I am tryin' to find out information about how much I could sell the house for, and how much the land out here is worth." Scrolling on her laptop screen, Renne stared at the numbers and charts. 

         "Man, perks to you because I don't know how you can do mathy stuff first thing in the morning." Swayde chuckled, taking a long draw of his coffee.

          With a grin, Renne nodded at Swayde. "Yeah, says the one who is already dressed for the day before eight in the morning." Swayde was dressed in his Wranglers and a black undershirt that was tucked into his jeans. Renne, on the other hand, was perfectly comfortable in her pajamas. 

         "I don't know, darlin'. I think you're looking awfully adorable in your sweatpants and sleep shirt." Lifting his porcelain mug to his lips, Swayde attempted to hide his grin.  

          "Next thing I know, you're goin' to say that my bed head looks cute, too. Good thing I put it up in a ponytail today." She continued her research on her laptop until she felt Swayde's eyes on her. Looking up, Renne saw him giving her an adoring look. "Oh don't even say it." 

         "But you do look so stinkin' cute, even with bed head.  It's literally impossible for you to not look cute." 

       Renne sputtered like a horse, shaking her head as she focused back on her work. Changing the subject, she chuckled, "Y'know. It's awfully hard to get a good estimate on my house when no one in Montana is selling their houses. And, finding a real estate agent out here is awfully slim pickings. However..." An idea sparked in Renne's head. "No...I don't want to even think about getting involved in that. Never mind." She waved a hand in front of her face. 

          "What's that?" Swayde stood up from the table, walking into the kitchen to get a second cup of coffee. 

          "Matt's dad is a real estate agent." She said in an emotionless voice.

        Swayde returned to the table, standing behind Renne. Resting his hands on her shoulders, he replied, "Yeah, you really don't want to get involved with that. Here's an idea. I know you won't like it, but...what if you just skip all the formalities of listing it and having an agent and everything and just make Matt an offer? That way it's a one and done sort of thing and it'll get done quicker and hopefully less trouble in the long run." 

         "I know that is what I should do, but part of me doesn't want to sell the house to Matt. I mean, I know that he is still living here, and he loves the house, but I just don't want him to have any part in my ranch at all." She continued scrolling through the listings on her laptop, tapping her fingers against her coffee mug. 

         Swayde began to softly rub Renne's shoulders in an attempt to relieve some of her stress, knowing how easily she got worked up when dealing with the business side of things. "I understand that, sweetheart, but as much as we do not like it, Matt is one of the reasons why you even have this ranch, and if you sell the house to someone besides him, that puts him in a position where he has to find somewhere else to live, and you did just mention how there isn't much of a housing market here right now. Don't get me wrong, I am not tryin' to take his side at all, nor am I tryin' to back him up, but I am just trying to get you to think of all sides of it." 

       Renne twisted her head around. "Who are you and what did you do with my boyfriend?" She chuckled. "The Swayde I know would never ever take Matt's side, or try to defend him. But I do understand where you are coming from. Besides, the quicker I get this transaction rolling, the quicker that I can have the ranch fully back in my name, and the quicker we can get back home to Wyoming." Reaching up, she rested her hand on top of Swayde's, looking back to her laptop screen. 

        "That's my girl." Swayde bent down to kiss Renne's cheek. "Now that we got that established, do you want to take a break and go pack up your tack?" 

      "That sounds like a great idea." Renne shut her laptop, standing up from the chair. Looking down at herself, still in her pajamas, she chuckled, "I should probably go change clothes though." 

        "I'll be waiting right here." Swayde grinned, picking up his coffee mug, leaning back against the dining room table as he watched Renne walk to the guest bedroom on the middle level of the house. These past two nights in Montana had been...interesting...to say the least. Matt had not stayed at the house at all either of the two nights, and Swayde and Renne could only assume that he was staying with Chris, wherever she lived. Not that the couple was complaining about not having to see Matt, but it was also slightly strange, considering that he is supposed to be the sole caretaker of this ranch currently. 

        Swayde scrolled through his phone, checking to make sure that he hadn't missed any texts or calls from Kyle or Bernie about how things were going on Swayde's ranch. After shooting both of them a short text, "just checking in," Swayde was surprised to hear the bedroom door opening already, revealing a fully dressed Renne. As she walked out in her Wranglers and a tank top, she pulled her pony tail through the hole in the back of her ball cap, settling it on her head. 

       "Ready, cowboy?" She crossed the house quickly, casting a quick glance at Swayde before walking to the door, slipping into her cowboy boots. Just as she was about to open the door, she remembered her cup of coffee that was still sitting on the table. Holding up her pointer finger to Swayde, asking him to wait just a minute, Renne grabbed her mug of coffee off the table, drinking the rest of it in one big gulp before setting it back on the table, walking out the door that Swayde held open for her. 

        Renne sped walked to the barn, Swayde taking his time. Once they both arrived in the barn, Swayde grabbed the saddle that Renne handed to him, asking, "Why are you in such a rush, babe?" 

         "I just want to get things done so I can get back on the house and ranch business stuff." Renne went back into the tack room, grabbing her other saddle, setting it down on the horn before grabbing her bridle bags and lead ropes. When she walked back out, she saw Swayde standing with his arms folded, the saddle he was holding, now on the ground. "What's wrong?" 

      "Us packing up your tack was supposed to be your break from working, darlin'. I just kindly recommend that you use it as a break. That's all." Swayde chuckled slightly, but being serious at the same time.  

       "I am using it as a break." Renne walked back into the tack room, grabbing the plastic bin in the corner, emptying out the cupboards with some of her items: old pictures of the ranch, some plaques she had made, etc. Deciding to leave the horse medications, and some other little things that would be beneficial to the ranch, Renne moved on to the lower cupboards. "I'm not doin' paperwork and such right now, am I?" She looked sideways at Swayde, shooting him a wink. 

       "You know what I mean. I wanted you to take your time with this...we have all week to get the rest of the stuff done." In one of the horse stalls in the barn, down the aisle, Swayde heard a horse neigh, eager to get out. Sparking an idea in his mind, Swayde looked back to Renne. "Actually, I have an even better idea." Bending down, he picked up a saddle and pad, walking down the horse barn. 

      Renne, noticing her boyfriend was no longer standing by the door, let out a groan, standing up from her spot and walking out of the tack room. Seeing Swayde about halfway down the aisle, she knew exactly what he was up to. "And just what do you think that you are doin' there, sir?" She stood with both hands on her hips. 

       Swayde turned around, walking backward down the aisle. "You and me are goin' on a little trail ride." His face sported that smirk that told Renne she did not have a choice; she was about to do whatever Swayde wanted her to do. 

      Just like that, Swayde had her exactly where he wanted her. He knew that she would very rarely ever turn down a trail ride, but even still, "We don't have time for a trail ride right now." Attempting to hide her grin, that held anticipation for their ride, Renne wondered how long Swayde would allow her to play along with his little game that she was trying to play. 

       Swayde disappeared outside of the barn, most likely to set the saddle down out there so they could tack up the horses. 

       Rolling her eyes, Renne let out a groan before going back in the tack room to grab two bridles and reins, brushes, and her other saddle and pad. Walking down the barn, she walked to her horse's stall, walking inside and quickly brushing him down before tacking him up. Leading him out of his stall a couple minutes later, Renne swung up on his back, making Swayde, who was on his phone, his back turned to Renne, spin around, giving his girlfriend a look. "Well come on, cowboy, what are you waitin' on?" 

       With a grin the size of the Montana sky, Swayde tucked his phone back in to his pocket, about to ask Renne which horse to fetch, considering he wasn't familiar with her horses that she had on the ranch. 

     "Right inside this big door, first stall on your right. Grab the sorrel. His name is Cowboy." Renne grinned, answering Swayde before he could even form the question. She steered her horse, Buster, around in circles, seeing how his temperament would be, considering that she hadn't ridden him in a while. Heck, very few of the horses here ever got ridden for pleasure anymore. It was a sad fact, but it was true. Things on the ranch had become so busy and had taken off so well that there was never time. The majority of the horses here are used strictly for riding lessons and/or work. 

         Renne knew her boyfriend was right in offering for them to take a trail ride. It was certainly much needed. As she sat atop her horse, Renne looked out at the scenery that she was blessed to call her own. Taking a deep breath, she knew there was no denying that she would miss the mountains, the endless blue skies, the town itself, but then again Alpine Ridge in Wyoming, with Swayde was where her true home was. Montana had become a major part of her life, and she had no plans to completely shut down the Healing Hearts location in Montana, but her real life was in Wyoming, so that was where she knew she needed to be. 

        "All set, cowboy?" Renne grinned when Swayde rode up beside her. 

       "You talkin' to me or the horse?" Swayde chuckled, adjusting the reins in his hand.

        "Both." She smiled, knowing that she would never get used to how good Swayde looked on the back of a horse.