Renne's stomach growled loudly in the large, bookshelf lined office at the ranch. Pressing a hand against her stomach, she glanced at the time, realizing how long it had been since she ate last. Getting last minute preparations ready for the trip to Montana was taking much longer than anticipated. 

          The wooden chair Renne was sitting in creaked as she stood up from it, walking out of the french doors of the office. Her moccasin padded feet walked her into the kitchen as she scrounged around to see what food would satisfy her hunger.

         Opening the fridge door, Renne wasn't surprised to see how few options there were. Mamaw and Papaw were out of town for the week, and had offered the grocery shopping to Renne, who willingly accepted, but had been putting off the trip for several days. Staring at the nearly empty fridge, Renne greatly regretted her decision to procrastinate. 

       Letting out a sigh, Renne checked the freezer, cupboards, and pantry, all of which held the same conclusion as the fridge. The majority of food behind the wooden doors were non-perishables: vegetables, pasta, fruit, and the likes. Wanting to get back to work as soon as she could, Renne decided she didn't have the time, nor the patience to make a pot of spaghetti, or wait for meat to be thawed out. 

       Walking back to the fridge, Renne grabbed the last yogurt from the shelf, checking the label. Her nose wrinkled when she saw it was strawberry cheesecake flavored, but it seemed like her best option. Grabbing a spoon from the drawer, Renne fetched the bag of granola from the pantry, adding a handful to her cup of yogurt. Taking a seat at the kitchen island, Renne lifted the spoon to her lips, the cold treat instantly welcoming her taste buds. Trying to ignore the sour taste of one of her least favorite kinds of yogurt, Renne's stomach growled loudly again, reminding her of her hunger. 

       Just as she was about halfway finished with her yogurt, Renne heard the front screen door open, the springs creaking as it opened before snapping shut. The sound of hard soled boots walked across the entry way floor as they made their way into the kitchen. 

      A small grin tugged on the corner of Renne's lips, knowing who the guest was; she could tell simply from the sound of his walk. Sure enough, Swayde entered the kitchen, his lips forming a smile as he made eye contact with Renne, crossing the kitchen to give her a kiss on her cheek. 

        "And, to what do I owe the pleasure of getting to see you with this unexpected visit?" Renne watched him as he began to raid the cupboards of the kitchen, as well. 

       "I'm starvin', and I have no food at my house." Swayde stood with his back to Renne, each hand holding open a cupboard door as his eyes scanned the limited amount of snack choices. "Are we goin' through a shortage, or something?" He teased, turning back around to face his girlfriend. 

     "Mamaw and Papaw put me in charge of the grocery shopping, but I have been too busy with work and the ranch to make the trek into town to shop. Guess I have put it off long enough, though." Renne lifted her spoon to her lips again, almost spitting out the sour yogurt. Forcing herself to swallow it, Renne lowered the spoon back into the cup, pushing it towards Swayde. "Here, you can finish my yogurt. I can't stomach it." At the mention, she rubbed a hand over her still-not-satisfied grumbling stomach. 

      "Thanks." Swyade took the yogurt, leaning back against the counter, finishing off the rest of the cup. 

      Renne slid off the bar stool that she was seated on at the kitchen island, walking out of the kitchen. 

       "Wait, where are you goin'?" Swyade asked, walking with her towards the stairs. 

       "I'm getting my boots on, then we," She turned around to point a finger at Swyade's chest, a look in her eye, "are going grocery shoppin'." Turning back around before Swayde could protest, Renne jogged up the stairs, Swayde on her heels. 

       "I ain't complainin' about shoppin' with you. This whole week since you have been here, working, I have done nearly all my cooking, and I just threw a bunch of stuff together, so I used up most of the food in my kitchen as well." Swayde leaned against the door jamb as Renne grabbed a pair of her cowboy boots off of the rack beside her closet. Picking up the wallet off of the peg beside her door, Renne walked past Swayde, standing on her toes to drop a kiss on his cheek. "Let's giddy up." She trotted down the stairs, not stopping for anything. Once she was outside, Renne instinctively hopped into the passenger seat of Swayde's truck, buckling her seat belt as she waited for him to join her. 

      "Man, my girl really is hungry, huh?" Swayde chuckled, plopping his cowboy hat on his head as he started up his truck. 

      "Yes, sir. And you know what happens when I shop when I am hungry." Renne admitted, smiling when Swayde grabbed her hand as he backed out of his spot. 

       The drive to the grocery store seemed to drag on, despite Swayde driving over the speed limit to get there just a little quicker. Finally, Swayde backed his truck into a spot in the large parking lot, shutting off his truck and walking over to Renne's side, opening the door for her. 

       Entering the air conditioned store, Swayde grabbed a cart, asking Renne where they should start, to which she responded with pointing a finger at the produce section. 

     "I should have known." Swayde grinned, pushing the empty cart to the fresh fruit side. Patiently, Swayde pushed around the cart, standing out of the aisle way as he stood back, watching his girlfriend examine each apple carefully before picking out the best ones to add to the bag. 

      "Okay, I think that should do it." Renne spun the full bag, twisting a twisty-tie around it to keep it closed. Adding it to the cart, she smiled at Swayde, adding, "Onwards to the next aisle." 

       "Are we pickin' out groceries for me and mamaw and papaw, or for an entire army?" Swayde teased as he observed the gracious amount of fresh fruit in the cart. 

      "Oh, this fruit will all be gone by the end of the week, guaranteed. Besides, I warned you to not let me shop when I am hungry." Renne winked, turning down the baking aisle. 

       As Renne grabbed a bag of flour and sugar, Swayde looked at the cake mixes and brownies, picking out two boxes of brownies, adding them to the cart. Even though Renne baked everything from scratch, Swayde didn't, and he was hoping to try to impress his girlfriend by making some brownies for their next date. The second box was a form of insurance, in case something went wrong while making the first box. 

        After a long trek down each aisle, the cart was stacked to the brim, ready to overflow if one more thing was added to it. The couple made their way to the check out line. Renne, knowing she didn't want to have to make another trip into town soon for groceries, scanned her eyes over the large quantity of items in the cart. 

       "Okay, we have granola bars, cereal, fruit, stuff for pizzas, things for supper, water bottles. Are we forgetting anything?" Renne asked Swayde. 

      "Yeah." He replied simply, his eyes looking at Renne, rather than at the cart. 

      "Shoot, what did we forget?" Renne was wracking her brain. Her and Swayde's trip to Montana was only a few short days away, so she wanted to make sure all the necessities on their list were met. 

       Swayde stepped beside Renne, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her up to him in a quick kiss. "That's what we were forgettin'." 

       "You're a flirt." Renne teased, swatting him in the chest, turning away from him as a red blush began to rise to her cheeks. 

        As the line in front of them cleared out, Renne began putting the groceries onto the cart. Once all their food was on the belt, Swayde told Renne he was going to run to the bathroom really quick, giving her his credit card to pay for the groceries. 

        Renne watched over her shoulder until Swayde was in the bathroom before she pulled out her own card, swiping it on the machine. Swayde had paid for Mamaw and Papaw's groceries as a thank you to all they have done for him enough times before when Renne didn't go grocery shopping with him; it was Renne's turn to thank him. Just as the transaction was completed, and all the grocery bags were perched in the cart, Swayde walked out of the bathroom. 

         "You didn't use my card to pay for the groceries, did you?" Was the first thing Swayde said when he greeted his girlfriend. He could tell by the look in her eyes, and the way she didn't make eye contact with her. 

      Renne shrugged as she held out his credit card back to him, a small smile tugging on her lips as she rested her hands on the stuffed cart, pushing it towards the door. 

        "You are a horrible liar, my dear. Whatever you do, never play poker." Swyade chuckled, teasing. As they walked out of the store, Swayde's eyes looked up and down Renne. The boots she wore today were the same darkened, worn leather square toed ones she wore nearly every day. It was her favorite pair, obviously, based on the rips in the leather, and the worn sole. Her jeans, once a dark wash, were now a faded shade of blue. It wasn't that the outfit was immodest or messy, but Swayde could tell she hadn't spent money on herself in a very long time. It was just another attribute that he adored about her- her willingness to put everyone else's needs in front of herself. The realization sparked an idea in Swayde's mind. 

        Once they exited the store, Renne stopped, giving Swayde a playful look. "Wanna go for it?" 

       Swayde, chuckling, didn't even have to ask what it was that Renne was referring to. Pushing his hat further down on his head, Swayde hopped up onto the cart behind Renne, resting his feet on either side of hers on the basket. "Hold on tight." Swayde pushed them off, as the cart rolled through the parking lot, picking up speed the further it went. 

       Renne was laughing too hard to notice how fast they were going, or how hard the heavy cart was to steer. Thankfully, Swayde was still behind her and was strong enough to slow the wild bull of a cart as they neared his truck. Safely stopped beside Swayde's truck, the couple, still laughing hard enough to cry, got down from the cart. Swayde fished for his keys in his pocket, unlocking the cab, but only after giving Renne a kiss on the cheek, which made a huge smile break out onto her lips. She loved how Swayde had the ability to make her feel like a kid again, but in a good way. Every situation they shared, they found a way to make it fun, even a menial task like grocery shopping can result in them laughing hard enough to make their stomachs ache. 

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

       "Babe, the ranch is back to the right. You made a left." Renne pointed out once they were back on the road with their literal truck load of groceries. 

       Swayde's only response is a playful smirk, as he silently reached over, grabbing Renne's hand and continued driving down the road, away from the ranch. 

       Without any other words of correction, Renne waited patiently to see where Swayde was taking her. Within minutes, his truck pulled off of the main road and into the parking lot of the large Western Store. Glancing to her left, Renne raised her eyebrows in question as she silently asked Swayde the reason for the stop.

         "I know we haven't eaten lunch yet, but I figured that can wait until we are finished here." He let go of Renne's hand to turn off his truck, hopping out and opening the passenger door for Renne. Before Renne could even ask, Swayde answered, "We are gettin' you a new pair of boots and jeans." When she opened her mouth to protest, or make an excuse about how she doesn't need new clothes, Swyade leaned forward, dropping a kiss on her lips, pulling back with a, "No arguing." He grabbed her hand, leading her out of the truck. 

        The couple entered the large Western wear store and were immediately greeted by the smell of real leather. Taking a deep breath, Swayde inhaled the smell, asking Renne where she wanted to start. 

      Knowing it was past the point of trying to talk Swayde out of the impromptu shopping trip, Renne pointed to the women's jeans section in the back left hand side of the store. 

        Surprisingly, not too long after they arrived at the store, Renne had already picked out three pairs of jeans- mainly because they were on a buy 2, get 1 free sale- and a pair of boots, almost the exact same as the old pair that she currently wore. Standing in the checkout line, Renne pulled out her card for the second time that afternoon, but before she could even pull it out of her wallet, the beep of the credit card machine could be heard. Looking over at Swayde, Renne realized what he just did. Since she paid for the groceries, he had bought her new clothes, partially as a thank you, but mainly because he wanted to treat his girlfriend, giving her something nice that she very much deserved. 

         "Thank you. You really did not have to do that for me." Renne said once they were seated in the truck, heading back in the direction of the ranch. 

        "I have wanted to take you clothes shopping for a while now, but we never really had much time. Plus, I wanted to do something nice for you, since you always do nice things for everyone else." He lifted Renne's hand that he held to his lips, giving it a kiss. 

        As Swayde drove back to his ranch, he couldn't help but think about everything that him and Renne had been through in the past, and how much it had helped them grow together. This was what the rest of their life would be like, and that alone was enough to certify that they would be able to get through anything, as long as they were together. She was the kind of woman that he wanted to give it all up for; he wanted to spoil her, the kind of woman that he would do anything for to ensure she was happy, to ensure she would never lose him. Mainly, however, the last realization was the most important to him. No, that was his biggest mistake he ever made: letting Renne leave all those years ago. It just showed him how much harder he had to make sure she knew he would never do anything to hurt her like that, ever again.