To Not Let Go

Chapter Four

      Swayde let out a deep, nervous breath, looking in the mirror again, pretty satisfied on his outfit that he had picked out for him and Renne's date tonight. Even though they were going to a local steakhouse, it was the first real date that the couple had gone on for almost six years. Granted, over five of those years, Renne was in Montana, and had a serious boyfriend, Matt Ramon. Matt was everything short of a good boyfriend. The only good thing about him was that it was his family who helped Renne find a place to live, and even helped her financially get her therapeutic riding ranch open for business. Renne has the Ramon family to thank for her incredibly successful business that she had worked hard to have thrive over the last five years. 

        Several months ago, Renne had been in her barn office when she got a phone call from her grandmother with the harrowing news that Renne's sister, Mallory, had breast cancer, and Renne was asked to come back to Alpine Ridge to say goodbye. Sure enough, within just a few days, Renne was back in Wyoming in the town that she never thought she would step boot in again. Figures, the person who opened the house door when Renne got back was none other than Swayde, the one person Renne had hoped that she wouldn't have run into due to the fact that she had broken up with him five years prior, breaking up with the only man she had ever truly loved. 

       Slowly, but surely, Renne began to patch things up with her family, and with Swayde, all while trying to balance her sister being sick, and keeping on top of things with her ranch back in Montana, which included keeping things calm between her and Matt. However, Matt was never one to just settle down with one girl. No, there were things that he wanted that Renne would not give him, and in the end, resulted in Matt cheating on Renne, multiple times. 

       Not long after Renne had been back in Wyoming, visiting with her sister, Matt and Renne had gotten into a huge fight, resulting in them deciding to take a break. In that time was when Swayde and Renne realized they still had deep feelings for each other that never went away in the five years they were apart. The feelings never subsided, despite how they had left things years ago. 

       In the time that Renne and Matt were on their "break," Swyade confessed his feelings for Renne, and she did the same, resulting in a short fling that reignited the old love. The time they had together was wonderful, but both of them knew it wouldn't last because of the separate lives they had been living in the years they had been apart.

      Around the time that Renne's sister passed away, Matt showed up in Alpine Ridge, asking for Renne's hand in marriage. After a long range of emotions, Renne agreed to marry Matt, solely in an attempt to move on from her teenage romance with the guy that she was still clearly in love with, even years later. 

      In an attempt to get back to her life in Montana, Renne tried her best to stay busy with work and planning her wedding, but things very quickly changed. One night, Renne found out that Matt was still cheating on her, and the girl he had been having an affair with was pregnant with his child. That was the last straw for Renne. After giving Matt back the engagement ring, and packing up her stuff, Renne moved back to Alpine Ridge. This time, for good. Sure, there would be times that she would need to make a trip back to Montana to manage her ranch properly, but she was back home in the town she never stopped loving, with the man that she wanted to be with for the rest of her life. 

      Finally coming to her senses, Renne drove back to Alpine Ridge, and immediately went looking for Swayde. When she found him in the barn, she had confessed her feelings for him, sealing it with a kiss. The rest was history. 

        Swayde smiled at his reflection in the mirror as the excitement to take Renne on a date became greater and greater. Checking the time, he saw he had about five more minutes before he needed to leave to pick up Renne at Mamaw and Papaw's.