Renne took a deep breath as she took one more look in the mirror before proceeding downstairs. "Swayde?" Renne called through the quiet house. The was no answer. After checking the kitchen and living room, Renne reckoned that Swayde must still be outside in the barn. With that, she made her way outside and to the barn, her camera in the bag on her shoulder, in case a photo opportunity came up.
When Renne got to the barn, she opened the squeaky door and stepped inside. Sure enough, Swayde was in the barn...correction, he was in the hay mow in the barn. Renne took in a breath as she tried hard to not think about the memories that had been made in that mow. From the times, as kids, Renne and Swayde would jump out of the hay mow and into the large pile of hay raked up in the middle of the barn floor from the old hay that had fallen off bales or uneaten from the horses stalls. When they got slightly older, Renne's dad, with the help of young Swayde, had made a rope swing that hung from the rafters of the barn. The kids would climb up the ladder to the hay mow, then grab the rope, swinging to the middle of the barn, and dropping into the pile of hay on the barn floor. Quite often, Renne and Swayde would play hide and go seek in the large barn; the best hiding places were always in the hay mow.
As careful as they were, there were times when rebellious Renne would get caught sneaking into the house past her curfew after getting home from a date with Swayde. Getting caught meant getting grounded, and also meant that Renne and Swayde were not allowed to see each other during that time. However, the young couple thought that three days of being apart was too long, so Swayde would come over around feeding time when Renne was in the barn so that they could see each other. However, when one of Renne's grandparents would come out to the barn, Swayde would quickly climb up the hay mow ladder and hide behind the bales of hay until the coast was clear.
That hay mow held so many memories for Renne. Renne opened her eyes and let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Hey Swayde." Renne said, calling up to him.
Swayde looked down at Renne and smiled. "Hey. I'm almost done up here. I'll be down in a second."
"Do you want help?" Renne asked before she processed it.
Swayde seemed to hesitate. "Sure." He replied.
Renne climbed up the ladder and stood beside Swayde. She grabbed a hay bale without a word of instruction and threw it down to the barn floor below them where they would then stack them on pallets to eventually feed to the horses.
After a few silent minutes, Swayde and Renne had thrown thirty hay bales down to the floor below. Swayde sniffed and took off his black Stetson, wiping a hand over his sweaty forehead. A smile took over his face. He walked a few steps to his right, closer to the ladder and grabbed the old rope that they used to use as a rope swing in their childhood. The look in Swayde's eyes told Renne what he was thinking. "Wanna swing down just like old times?" Swayde asked, his half grin conquering his face.
Renne chuckled and just shook her head. She walked over to where Swayde was, but then climbed down the wooden ladder instead of swinging down. Swayde waited until Renne was safely on the floor, then climbed down the ladder himself. After stacking the bales, Swayde asked, "Are you ready to see my ranch?"
Renne nodded and grabbed her camera bag from the ground then waited patiently for Swayde. When he was ready, he led her outside and to his truck. "I see you're still drivin' this same hunk of metal." Renne teased Swayde just like he had earlier today about her truck.
Swayde shrugged. "Can't seem to let her go." He said, a double meaning in his words. Renne and Swayde held eye contact for a few seconds before Swayde looked away, getting into his truck.
The truck ride to Swayde's ranch brought back so many memories for Renne, just like everything here in Alpine Ridge did. Slowing down to turn right, Swayde nodded at Renne's camera bag sitting next to her. "You're still takin' pictures, I see."
Renne pushed some hair out of her face. "Yeah. Matt actually just bought this camera for me for Christmas last year. The old one finally stopped workin'. I never thought that I would love takin' pictures as much as I do, but now I take my camera with me everywhere I go." Renne paused. "I can show you some of the pictures once we get to your ranch, if you'd like."
"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be cool. So," Swayde started. He reached down to his right to change gears as he slowed down to stop at a stop sign. Swayde looked at Renne before turning left. "What would you like for lunch?"
"Are you offering to cook?" Renne raised her eyebrows at Swayde.
"Don't laugh." Swayde smiled at Renne. "I know what you're thinkin', but I've gotten better."
"Okay. Okay." Renne put her hands up in defense. "So you make coffee and cook now? Wow, I really have been gone a long time, huh?" Renne said. The look on Swayde's face told her that, to him, she was gone way too long.
Swayde pulled into his ranch a few minutes later. A wooden arch now greeted them as Swayde pulled into his driveway. "Here we are." Swayde said, after driving down his long driveway and parking his truck in front of his house. Over the last five years, he had made a lot of improvements just from the look of the exterior of the house and the driveway.
After turning off his truck, Swayde slid out of the driver's side and ran to Renne's side, opening the door for her. It was a gesture Renne hadn't seen in a while. Matt stopped opening doors for her after they had been dating for a couple years. Renne missed Swayde's chivalry.
Swayde led Renne inside to his ranch house. As they walked in, Swayde pointed out the many improvements he had made over the years. Stepping through the front door, Renne saw that Swayde had added some decorations, but not many. Each room still looked a little bare for her liking, but it was Swayde's style. Each room had a little flare to them that screamed Swayde's name; his house was kept up and well maintained, but loved.
It seemed like forever ago since Renne had been to Swayde's ranch, but at the same time, it felt like just yesterday. She still knew where all the rooms were and knowing Swayde, he hadn't moved the location of the silverware or plates or anything, so she was still well equipped enough to make them lunch. That being said, Renne made her way into the kitchen. Swayde was close behind her. "So," Swayde started, opening up a cupboard and pulling out two plates before Renne could. "You never answered me. What do you want me to make you for lunch?"
Renne leaned against the counter top behind Swayde. "Well, I mean, I would really love a steak and baked tater, but I had that last night, so I don't really care. Whatever you have is fine."
"I could do grilled cheese or spaghetti." Swayde shot a smile at Renne. "I would offer PB&J, but I want to make you something a little nicer."
Renne smiled. "Grilled cheese or spaghetti. You haven't learned any news recipes in five years?" Renne said teasingly.
Swayde just chuckled. In reality, Renne didn't mind spaghetti or grilled cheese. Even though those were the only two meals that Swayde really knew how to cook when they were dating she still never got tired of them. When Swayde would cook, the grilled cheese sandwiches were often burnt a little...sometimes a lot...and the spaghetti noodles weren't always tender, but it was the thought that went into the meals that made Renne love them."I'll take a grilled cheese sandwich." Renne told Swayde.
"Good choice, 'cause I'm out of spaghetti noodles." Swayde chuckled. He turned back to his stove and began preparing the bread and griddle to make the sandwiches. "Go sit down, I got this." Swayde turned and told Renne.
Renne obliged, and took a seat at the small, round kitchen table. She watched for a few seconds as Swayde busied himself in the kitchen. She couldn't help but smile when she heard Swayde humming and whistling to himself, just like he used to.
Tearing her eyes away from Swayde, Renne grabbed her cell phone to send a text to Matt. She wasn't surprised that he had texted her. It was his typical one: "I miss you." Renne texted out her response and sent the message. Matt replied almost immediately, not answering Renne's question about how lessons are going today. As Renne was sending a text in response, fixing to ask again how lessons are going, her phone buzzed again with another text from Matt. It was a picture of him standing next to his horse. Matt was making a sad face; the caption said, "Ranger misses you too." The picture made Renne chuckle as she texted him back. Seeing the background of the wide open sky and her ranch and Matt made her wish that she was back in Montana.
Before Renne could miss her ranch too much, Swayde came over and set a plate down on the table. There was a delicious looking grilled cheese sandwich on it. It wasn't even burnt; she just had to taste it now to make sure it tasted as good as it looked. Swayde sat down beside Renne with his own plate and a small bowl of tomato juice.
"You still eat yours with tomato juice?" Renne asked Swayde, making a face.
Swayde took off his cowboy hat, placing it on the table, against the wall, and responded to Renne, "There ain't no other way to eat it." He said with a smile. He bowed his head and prayed over his meal. Renne did the same.
Sinking her teeth into the sandwich, Renne realized just how hungry she was. Suddenly, she stopped chewing. Looking down at her sandwich, she said to Swayde, "Ham and onion? You remembered?"
"That always turned my stomach, but it was your favorite. Of course I remembered." Swayde replied casually, dipping his plain grilled cheese in tomato juice.
Renne, unsure what to say in response to Swayde's sweet comment, continued eating her sandwich in silence.
After lunch, Renne asked Swayde if he wanted to look at the pictures of her ranch. He said sure, and sat back down at the kitchen table after taking their dirty plates into the kitchen. Renne scooted her chair closer so he could see the pictures on her small camera screen. "That's Revival and Lilly. Lilly is one of my students. She has Down Syndrome." Renne explained. She kept slowly flipping through the pictures, giving Swayde an explanation of each. One of her and Matt came up. Renne stopped; she felt herself blush.
"Is that Matt?" Swayde asked, he turned to look at Renne.
"Yeah. That's Matt." Renne replied. She went to the next picture.
Renne felt fingers on her hair. She turned to see Swayde looking at her. It was a look she hadn't seen from him for...well, about five years.
"You cut your hair." Swayde started. He ran his fingers down Renne's shoulder length brown hair.
"Yeah, I kinda miss it long, to be honest."
"I do too, you were always so beautiful with long hair."
Renne set her camera down. Why did he have to do this? They were close...too close. Renne pulled away slightly and looked away from Swayde's gorgeous blue eyes. "Thanks for lunch. It was really good." Renne said, changing the subject. She forced a smile. "You've definitely gotten better." Renne looked back to Swayde. Renne knew she should probably leave, but found she couldn't; it was almost like she was glued to her seat.
Swayde dropped his fingers from Renne's hair, but kept looking at her. "You're welcome. Your grandma has given me a lot of tips these past few years."
Renne chuckled. "Is there anything that she hasn't taught you how to do?"
"Yeah. How to get over you." Swayde said, no laughter or teasing in his voice.
Renne hated what she was feeling right now as her and Swayde leaned closer to each other. She watched as Swayde's eyes flashed between her lips and her eyes. Swayde reached a hand up to caress Renne's neck as he leaned closer to her yet. Just before their lips met, Renne quickly pulled back. This couldn't happen. She was with Matt. Swayde had hurt her so bad five years ago, and there was no going back. No, she didn't still have feelings for Swayde, did she?
"We should probably get back to the ranch." Renne said, standing up from her chair. She grabbed her camera and quickly walked out of the kitchen, not fixing to let Swayde protest. Footsteps behind Renne told her that Swayde was following her to his truck.
The whole truck ride back to her grandparents ranch was silence and awkward. Swayde nor Renne said a single word. Renne knew that Swayde was thinking about the exact same thing that she was: their "almost" kiss. When Swayde pulled into the ranch, he kept his truck running, telling Renne he wasn't getting out.
"Thanks for the ride." Renne mumbled, slipping out of Swayde's truck, closing the door behind her. Making her way into the house and up to her room, Renne tried hard to not think about how her stomach was filled with butterflies as her mind was filled with thoughts of Swayde. It didn't help that the first thing she saw when she walked in her room was that picture of her and Swayde from a few years ago. Walking over to the fireplace mantle, Renne picked up the picture. They were so happy back then...so in love...how could all that change? Or did it?