Heartbreak Town (COMPLETED)

Chapter Seven

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.