Renne was staring at eight guys standing in Swayde's kitchen, all dressed in black suits, cowboy hats, and cowboy boots. Sure, she loved her man in Wrangler jeans and a plaid shirt, but man, he did clean up nice in a suit. 

           "Ooh. You look nice. Somebody gettin married that I don't know about?" Renne grinned, oblivious to the serious tone in the room. She crossed the room, maybe more comfortable in Swayde's house than she should be. Filtering herself through the group of men, Renne made her way up to Swayde, standing on her tip toes to give him a kiss. He turned his head right before their lips could meet, so Renne settled for a cheek kiss. 

           "Uh, no, it's a funeral." Swayde said flatly.

          "Oh, no. Who died?" Renne asked, putting her keys down on the island. Her mood was instantly dropped. 

        Several of the guys left the room, sensing that Swayde and Renne needed a minute alone. Plus, it was almost time for them to leave for the funeral anyways. Clearing his throat, Swayde's voice was quiet, sad, and his eyes still hadn't met Renne's. "Uh, Bernie Keith. Our old rodeo buddy. He was on his way home from Cheyenne after his Fourth of July rodeo event and got into a bad car wreck. He was...killed instantly." Swayde said, his head was turned down.

         "Oh, Swayde. I'm so sorry." Renne wrapped her arms around Swayde's middle. He hugged back with one hand. Swayde's words shocked her; they hadn't quite hit her yet because she found it impossible that Bernie was dead. They just saw him three days ago; how could he be gone? 

          "Yeah. And we gotta get goin'. I'll call you later tonight, okay?" Swayde pulled away.

          "O-okay." Renne replied. "I'll talk to you soon. Be safe." She said, confused with the whole situation. Everything was happening to quickly that her mind barely had time to process.

           Swayde sniffed and placed a kiss on Renne's forehead. "You too."

           Renne's mind was still spinning with the news of Bernie's death. They had just seen him a few days ago; how could this have happened? How did the car wreck happened? What about his wife...and his kids? At the thought, Renne's heart grew heavy. His kids would grow up without a dad, just like how Mallory's kids were going to grow up without a mom. 

           Everything in Renne wanted to go with Swayde to the funeral, to be with him and comfort him. She wanted to call Bernie's wife and cry with her, but she was fighting enough battles, getting ready for her husband's unexpected funeral. 

           Deciding keeping busy was better than sitting around and letting her mind reel, Renne began to start cleaning Swayde's house. He was a good housekeeper, but with everything going on recently, dishes were piling up, the floor was in need of a good sweep, rooms that needed tidied up, and there was laundry that needed done. 

        Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Renne decided to start her cleaning frenzy in the living room. Picking up a few blankets, Renne folded them neatly, putting them back on the couch and in their respectable bin beside the couch. Grabbing a few pieces of trash, left over from a snack, or small meal, Renne tossed them in the waste can in the kitchen before analyzing the living room again. She saw a few DVDs on the stand that they had watched, so she put them back in their places on the shelf next to the TV. 

          Beside the front door, Renne made sure that all the boots were with their mates, and set together on the horseshoe rack. She hung up some ball caps, jackets and cowboy hats on the hooks above where the boots belonged. 

          Satisfied, Renne progressed through Swayde's house. As she stood at his sink, washing the dishes that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher, Renne's mind thought back to the morning of July third when the group baled straw, and then to the morning of Taylor's soccer game. Today was July sixth. It had been only two days since Bernie passed, Renne figured, since Swayde had said he had been killed driving home from the rodeo, which was on July Fourth. Had exhaustion caused the wreck that killed the beloved husband, friend, dad, uncle? Was it from an injury that he had sustained at the rodeo, or possibly a heart attack or other medical issue? Another thought crossed Renne's mind, but she didn't want to go there. However, it was a possibility. Maybe it was a drunk driver that had crashed into Bernie's truck, causing a crash that would recklessly end a wonderful man's life, just because someone was selfish enough to get behind the wheel of a vehicle intoxicated. Kind of like the person that killed Renne and Mallory's parents that night when Renne was just seven years old. 

                Renne scrubbed the innocent casserole dish so hard that she was sure that the glass would break under the stress, as her mind thought back to the accident that made her an orphan at such a young age. The person that had killed two innocent people was Swayde's older brother. He was under age and drinking at a party and was the "most sober" of his friends, so he was the one who volunteered to go buy more beer, even though he was supposed to stay home and babysit 9-year-old Swayde. Swayde had told Renne that he felt like it was his fault that his 19-year-old brother drove drunk, but Renne had tried time and time again to convince him that it wasn't his fault. His brother made the decision to get behind the wheel and drive. The crash resulted in the death of three people: Renne's parents, and Swayde's older brother. 

              Renne found out when she was much older, when she was 19 in fact, that Renne's grandparents knew who killed her parents, and Renne's sister, Mallory even knew. It was Mallory's idea for her grandparents and Swayde to keep quiet and not tell Renne until she was a little older. Part of Renne's heart still resented them for that decision, but she has tried to come to grips with it, and understand why they didn't tell her. 

               All Renne could do was pray that it wasn't a drunk driver that killed Bernie as he drove home from Cheyenne after the rodeo on July Fourth. Renne's stomach churned; gosh, she hoped it was anything else but a drunk driver. Her parent's accident had made her swear off alcohol almost completely. Sure, maybe once ever year or so she would have one drink with friends, but it was always at her house, and no one ever had to drive- they would spend the night, or have a entirely sober, designated driver to get them home safely. 

             Taking a deep breath, after realizing she had been holding it in, Renne paused her aggressive scrubbing of the now clean casserole dish. Resting her hands on the edge of the sink, she stared down at the soapy water. She knew she needed something to try distracting her mind, since chores apparently wasn't enough. 

             Rinsing the bubbles off her hands, Renne went back into Swayde's living room where she turned on his Bluetooth speakers and began playing some of her favorite upbeat country music. She turned the volume up loud enough that she could hear it in the kitchen, and then turned it up some more. 

             As she finished the dishes in the kitchen, Renne sang along to the songs. It was enough of a distraction to keep her mind thinking less of Bernie and more about Swayde and his house. 

             After the dishes, Renne tidied up the rest of the kitchen, making sure everything was where it belonged, and then did inventory on his food. Opening the fridge, Renne's eyes scanned the empty shelves. "Yeesh. You need groceries, my man." She mumbled, going to grab a pen and paper to make a shopping list. After doing inventory on Swayde's pantry, too, Renne had a decently long shopping list. Later, after the chores here were done, she would make a trip to the grocery store, but she wanted to get stuff done here first, especially since she wanted to wait and hear from Swayde on when he is coming home, since she wanted to be there when he got back.

             Next, came the bathroom. Swayde was really a good housekeeper, so there wasn't much to do in the bathroom. Renne just cleaned the mirrors, cleaned the toilet, made sure that the trash didn't need taken out, and ensured that the toilet paper and essentials were all stocked up. 

            Lastly, Renne finished with the bedroom. First, she started a load of laundry, finding two baskets of clothes, and a basket of towels that needed washed. Ironically, one basket was almost all Renne's clothing, some items which she had been looking for, so that was the basket she put in the washer first. 

            Once all the clean clothes were folded, and the bedroom was tidied up, Renne switched the clothes into the dryer, starting a load of Swayde's dirty clothes. 

           Just as she was finishing up, Renne's phone buzzed in her pocket. Seeing it was Swayde, she quickly went to the living room to turn the loud music down, taking a seat on the couch for a minute while she answered the call. "Hey, babe." She tried to sound happy, despite the turmoil going on. 

          "Hey, just wanted to call and tell you the funeral service just got done, but you're more than welcome to stay at my place tonight. I'm not sure if there's groceries or not, but help yourself. You know the routine." It was so good to hear Swayde's voice. That was the most he had spoken to her since he got the phone call about Bernie's passing, assuming that was what the phone call was that he got the morning of Taylor's soccer game. However, something was off in his voice, but Renne wasn't sure what it was.

           "Okay, thanks for the offer. I was already planning on it." She chuckled, rubbing a hand nervously over her thighs. "Are you not coming home tonight?" Her eyes glanced to the time on the digital display. It was already supper time; no wonder she was getting hungry.

          "I was actually going to stay with some of the guys at their place if that's okay?" 

          Part of Renne wanted to tell Swayde no, that she wanted him to come home so they could talk, and she could try to be there, but Renne knows what it's like to grieve, how it feels to lose someone very near and dear to you, to lose them so suddenly. So, Renne just left it alone, knowing Swayde needed this time with the guys. They knew Bernie better than she did. "Y-yeah. Sure, babe. That's fine. Whatever you need to do." Inwardly, she wanted to smile at the fact that he felt he needed to ask her permission to have a night away, but she still appreciated the gesture. 

           "Thanks, babe. You can just sleep in my bed, too. I know you sleep better in there than you do in the guest room." There was just something off in his voice, and Renne prayed it wasn't what she thought it was. That wasn't like Swayde, but this whole unexpected situation wasn't normal, either.

            Renne had almost forgotten to check if the guest room and office needed cleaned, but Renne knew no one hardly ever went in there, so she decided to pass over it. Plus, if she wanted to get to town and get some groceries tonight yet, she would have to leave as soon as she was off the phone. 

           "I appreciate it. So you're coming home tomorrow, then?" Renne missed her boyfriend. This was the least they had talked, or seen each other, since she broke up with Matt and moved all of her stuff back to Wyoming. 

           Silence hung in the air as someone in the background on Swayde's end said something. "That's the plan." 

           "Okay, honey. Please be careful." She paused. "I miss you." 

           Swayde took in a breath. "I miss you, too. I gotta get goin'. I will see you tomorrow, darlin'." 

           Renne hung up, standing off the couch as she let out a heavy breath. Grabbing her shopping list off the table, she grabbed her keys and purse off the hook by the door, slipped into her boots, and headed to her truck. 

             First thing once she was in her truck, Renne turned on truck's radio, then the air conditioning. It was going to be a long trip into town and she needed a distraction. 

            After twenty minutes of driving, Renne's mind was reeling and she was growing restless. Taking out her phone, she called the one person, besides Mamaw, that could provide her with infinite wisdom and create a distraction in Renne's mind. 

          "Hello?" 

          Renne couldn't help but grin at Marjorie's voice. "Hey, Marg. You got a minute?"

         "I always have a minute for you, Miss Reagan Renne." 

          Renne would always be thankful to God that He put this wonderful woman in her life. Marjorie was just proof that true friendship knows no age, nor no boundaries. 

           As she drove, Renne told Marjorie everything that was going on, and asked her advice on what to do. They ended up talking so long and so in depth, that before Renne knew it, she was at the grocery store. 

        Not ready to hang up the phone, Renne continued talking to her friend as she got a shopping cart and strolled through the aisles. It wasn't long before the cart was completely full. Swayde needed a lot of groceries, and Renne figured it was best if she bought him actual food instead of frozen meals, bread, and peanut butter. There was only so much grilled cheese that she could handle him making. Besides, she figured, and desperately hoped, that she would be back to spending a lot of time with Swayde again, so that meant she would be doing a lot of cooking at his house. 

          "Alright, Marjorie. Well, it was wonderful talking to you, as always, and thank you for letting me talk. I am in the checkout line now, so I am going to go so I can load up these groceries." The friends hung up the phone, Renne paid for the groceries, loaded them in her truck, and headed back to Swayde's house. 

         After all the groceries were put away, Renne's belly was grumbling louder than a thunder clap in a storm. She inwardly chuckled at herself as she tossed a frozen dinner in the microwave. Literally she had just said that she was getting sick of frozen dinners, but knowing it would just be her tonight, Renne knew it wasn't worth dirtying up the dishes she had just cleaned to cook herself a small meal. 

         Eating by herself in Swayde's living room was lonely. It was so quiet and empty without him there. She wanted to spend the night there, but she missed him deeply. Any kind of distraction would be good, again. Once she finished eating, Renne walked out to Swayde's barn. She fed all his horses, and took the Gator out to make sure that the cattle by the barn had water and hay. 

        Satisfied with the chores she accomplished for the day, Renne called Mamaw, telling her about Bernie, and saying she was staying at Swayde's tonight. 

          After a cool shower, Renne made her way into Swayde's bedroom. She checked the dresser drawer that she usually kept some of her clothes in. To no surprise, she had a sleep shirt and shorts, but she was missing her boyfriend dearly, so she opted to wear one of his tshirts instead. 

         Snuggling under the covers for the night, Renne breathed in deeply, the woodsy, calming scent of Swayde filling her nostrils. Her exhausted body told her busy mind that it was time to sleep, especially since she had been up all last night with her mind racing worrying about Swayde and her sleep filled with bad dreams. 

         Shortly after her head hit the pillow, Renne was asleep. Tonight wouldn't bring about any dreams. Instead, Renne's mind let her get a restful night of sleep, in preparation for what she didn't know would be a long, hard week ahead.