Renne woke slowly with a startle at the sound of an old diesel starting. Sitting up in her bed, she knew exactly which truck was started. Looking down at the empty air mattress on the floor beside her, Renne knew that it was Swayde who had started the truck. 

         With a smile on her lips, Renne tossed the covers off her, throwing them to the side as she swung out of bed, checking the time on her phone. 9:15. She could not remember the last time that she had slept that long. Regardless, Renne quickly got dressed for the day, tossing on whichever clothes she grabbed first out of her dresser before slipping on a pair of cowboy boots and heading outside, grabbing a ball cap on the way out. 

        Arms spread wide, with a huge smile on her face, Renne walked up to the truck that was parked right by her house. "You got her started!" Just as she said it, the truck stalled. Dropping her hands, she chuckled. "Guess I spoke too soon." 

        Swayde hopped out of the driver's seat to walk up to Renne. Holding his arms out for a hug, Renne took a step back. "You are covered in grease! You are not getting near me with those hands until you wash up." Renne chuckled, watching Swayde playfully roll his eyes before popping the hood on the truck. "Glow plugs probably need changed." Renne assessed as she leaned over the engine beside Swayde. 

        "My thought exactly." Swayde looked sideways at his girlfriend; her beauty always amazed him. Plus she knew her ways around vehicles, and that was certainly attractive. 

         "How long have you been out here working on this?" Turning around, Renne leaned back against the bumper of the old truck so she was facing Swayde. 

        Swayde leaned into the hood of the truck, plunging himself hands deep in parts and grease, practically knocking his ball cap off. "Only about 7am. Then I had to run into town, but the tire shop didn't open until 8am." Standing up some, Swayde turned his ball cap around, so he wouldn't keep hitting the bill on the hood of the truck. 

       "Ti-tire place?" Renne stood off the truck, walking back to the trailer. "Swayde, you bought tires for the trailer already? How much do I owe you?" She was seriously dating the most amazing man in the world, and she could not be more blessed. 

       "Yeah, and don't worry about it. I told the guy who they were for, and he said that there was no charge. Said something about owing you a favor." Swayde grabbed for a shop towel to wipe his hands off. 

       "Are you for real? He doesn't owe me-" Renne thought back to a time two years ago when she had given him some hay, bedding, and horse feed because a fire had started in his horse barn, destroying nearly everything. Since it was so long ago, Renne had practically forgotten about it, plus, she gave those things to him without expecting anything in return. "I mean, I helped him out with some feed a couple years ago, but I did that out of the kindness of my heart, not to get free tires out of it. Plus, what I gave him was no where near how much those tires had to have costed." Smiling at the thought of the 70+ year old man who runs the only tire shop within 100 miles of the ranch. Renne would always love the small town hospitality out here; it was something that she would never get used to, but hoped would never go away. 

       "Small town hospitality for you, darlin'." Swayde grinned that heart melting smile. 

       "My thought exactly." The smile was returned. "So what made you decide to do all of this?" 

       Swayde plunged his hands down into the hood of the truck again. "Well, I could hear it in your voice and see it in your face how much this truck and trailer meant to you, and how much it would mean to you to have your horses home with you, so I decided to see if I could get the truck in running order, and then we can drive it back home with us." He fiddled with a loose wire, but was torn away from it when a hand on his arm pulled him away from the truck. 

         "In case no one has told you recently, you're amazing, and I appreciate you greatly. You really did not have to do all of this for me, but thank you." Renne grinned, wrapping a hand around his neck and pulling him down to her in a kiss. 

          "You're welcome, darlin'. Hey, I thought you didn't want me touching you with these greasy hands?" Swayde let go of Renne's waist to show her his blackened hands. He wiggled his fingers as if to pretend he was going to tickle her. 

          "Swayde McAllister. Don't you dare even think about it!" Renne tried to hide a chuckle. 

         As if he didn't hear what Renne said, Swayde swiped a finger across her cheek, leaving behind a long, black streak of grease. Taking a quick step back, Swayde expected Renne to reel back at him, starting a match, but instead, Renne just stood there watching Swayde's next move. 

       Before Swayde could even ask, Renne shrugged her shoulders. "I have to take a shower this morning anyways, so I really don't care how much grease you get on me. I was just giving you crap." 

       "I see." Swayde hid a grin, turning back to the truck. Sliding behind the wheel, Swayde turned the key again; the truck started without a hitch, a rumbling idle brought the old truck to life. Pressing his foot down on the gas pedal, Swayde revved the engine, seeing if it would stall again. However, the old truck kept putting on. Keeping it running, Swayde got out of the cab, walking to the back of it. Securing the electric brakes and the trailer neck to the truck's hitch, Swayde looked over at Renne. "Wanna take it for a test drive?" 

       "Sure, if you think it won't stall." Renne pulled her ball cap lower over her unruly hair before hopping into the passenger seat, buckling her seat belt and pulling it tight around her waist. 

         "She should be good." Swayde buckled his seat belt, pulsing the gas pedal again. The truck revved up perfectly, not acting like it was going to stall. "She must have just been grouchy the first time we tired starting her, cause now she seems fine." 

         "It's a good old truck." Renne ran a hand over the window sill on her door. Swayde shifted the truck into drive, slowly inching it and the trailer down the driveway. 

         After a solid 40 minute drive around, Swayde and Renne both reckoned that the truck was good for the drive home, and shouldn't stall on the way. 

        "So I guess now all that is left is loading the horses in and the last of the tack, and I think we are good to go. What do you think?" Renne grinned as she got out of the truck once Swayde backed it back in, shutting the truck door behind her. 

         "I think that sounds good to me. Even though I have really enjoyed this trip with you, I do miss the ranch. It's gonna suck driving back without you with me in the truck." Swayde chuckled. "I have an idea. Why don't we FaceTime the whole way back? Then it will be like you really are in the truck with me." 

       "That's not a bad idea, actually. Or, we should enjoy the couple hours of silence." Renne walked with Swayde towards her house. 

         "You just want a break from my lovely singing concerts I have in the truck when I am by myself." 

        "Oh, you do it even when I am with you, you goofball." Renne laughed, thinking about Swayde "singing" along to all the songs that come on the radio. 

       "Is my singing really that bad?" Swayde asked as he grabbed the house door for Renne, holding it open, allowing her to pass through. 

       Renne tilted her head from side to side as if pretending to weight out the options. "Don't quit your day job anytime soon, sweetheart." She teased, grabbing Swayde's chin and dropping a kiss on his lips. 

        As Renne grabbed a glass of water, Swayde checked the neatly organized to-do list sitting on the kitchen island. Leaning back against the counter, he read aloud, "Clean and load tack, clean and sweep house, load horses, get gas, go to bank, buy food in town for ride home." Taking the glass of water that Renne handed him, he took a swig before joking, "There is one thing on this list that you forgot to write down." 

        "Oh yeah, what's that?" Renne stood next to her boyfriend, looking down at the list. 

         Setting the lined legal paper and water glass behind him on the counter, Swayde wrapped his arms around Renne. "Yeah, you forgot to write on there that you have to kiss your boyfriend."

       "Oh is that right?" A smile lifted Renne's lips, showing her white teeth as she leaned forward, closing her eyes as she dropped a kiss on her handsome Swayde's lips. 

        A buzz from her phone in her pocket forced Renne back from kissing her man. Rolling her eyes, she informed Swayde, "It's Matt. We have to go into town at some point to finalize the sale of the house and farm and get all the paperwork completed. Mind if I answered it?" 

       "That's perfectly fine, sweetheart. I am goin' to call Kyle and make sure my ranch hasn't blown up or gone under yet." Swayde chuckled, pulling out his cell phone and heading outside. Renne knew how hard this trip to Montana was for him, what with being away from his beloved ranch for a couple weeks. That ranch was everything to him, and all of his hard earned money and all of his time was devoted and poured out into it. Sure, this wasn't the first time that Swayde had been away from it for a while, but this was the longest that he had been gone from his ranch, and that was what worried him. 

         Swayde pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing Kyle's number as he made his way out to the porch. 

        Stepping into her living room, Renne answered the phone. "Hey, I was just getting ready to call you."

         "Hey Rein, I am free this afternoon if you wanted to head to the bank and get those papers finalized." Matt actually sounded in a good mood. 

        "I'm free, too. Swayde and I need to make a trip into town anyways so we can meet you at the bank at 1pm." Renne checked the time on the clock in the living room once more before making sure she could make it to town by then. 

        "Uh..." Matt checked the time himself. "1pm sounds good. See you then." 

        Just like that, Renne was off the phone and walking outside to update Swayde on their plans. 

          "Well that was a quick phone call." Swayde noticed. 

          "Yeah. We are meeting at the bank at 1. I was hopin' you would come with me, then we could run to the store to get stuff for the drive home, too." Renne stood with her hands in her pockets. 

        "Sounds good to me." Swayde stood from his seat on the porch swing. 

        "You weren't on the phone long either. Everything okay?" Renne grabbed the door for her boyfriend as they walked back into the house. 

        "Yeah, Kyle didn't pick up the phone. Probably means that my ranch has gone under and all the animals died and Kyle just doesn't have the heart to tell me." Swayde smirked, making sure Renne knew he was teasing...kinda. 

        "Oh quit worrying your handsome head. Kyle owns one of the biggest ranches in the state and he's watched your ranch before, so stop fretting." Chuckling, Renne walked into the office, getting all of the papers ready to take to the bank. 

       "You're right, dear." Letting out a sigh, Swayde grabbed Renne's waist, turning her towards him and dropping a kiss on her lips. 

       Renne grinned as she kissed Swayde back. Turning back around, Renne began scavenging the papers she needed for their trip into town. She continued to remind herself that the sooner she got everything together, the sooner this sale would be finalized, which meant the sooner Swayde and Renne could be home, back to their ranches, and back with each other, completely free of Matt.