To Not Let Go

Chapter Eighteen

         "Renne, what a surprise. We weren't expecting to see you back here. How are you?" Sandra Ramon stood awkwardly in front of her son's ex-girlfriend, or ex-fiancee, if you wanted to count the very short time her and Matt were engaged. Sandra had wanted to hug Renne, or at least shake her hand to be cordial, but she wasn't sure how appropriate that would be considering they hadn't seen each other, or really spoken, for over a year. Not to mention that Sandra noticed Renne's "new" boyfriend was present as well.

        "I am doin' great! My boyfriend, Swayde, tagged along on this trip with me to help me move all of my stuff back home to Wyoming. I decided to give him the tour of town while we were out here." Renne motioned to Swayde, reminding Sandra that he was there. 

      "Nice to meet you." Mrs. Ramon nodded to Swayde, not offering her hand, or more than two seconds of her attention before turning back to Renne. "How long are you in town for?" 

      Renne glanced at her boyfriend before looking back to Sandra. "I'm not sure. We are planning on staying out here for about a week."

        "Well, in that case, it would be really nice to have you over for a coffee or something. Y'know, catch up a little." She stepped closer to Renne, as if to purposely shut out Swayde, not including him in her invitation. 

           "We will be pretty busy getting things situated at the ranch, honestly." Renne stepped closer to Swayde, reaching out a hand to him, as if to say it was time to go. "In fact, we do have a lot we need to get done, so I think it is best that we get goin'." Renne smiled cordially, turning away from Sandra. 

        Once outside of the antique shop, Renne let out a breath that she did not know she was holding. 

        Swayde looked sideways at his girlfriend. "Was that who I think it was?" 

        "Matt's mom?" Renne exhaled. "Yes. That is why I was hesitant about going in there, to be honest, but it's alright." 

          The sound of cowboy boots clicking against the pavement was the only sound that could be heard.  "She seemed nice." Swayde said, without thinking much. 

          "Yeah. Wanna go see that pastry shop I was tellin' you about?" In the back of her mind, the encounter with her ex's mom was still weighing heavy, but she tried not to let it bother her, knowing that would get her nowhere. Instead, she decided to enjoy this time with her boyfriend, who she was immensely thankful for for joining her on this trip. 

        "Yes ma'am." Swayde grinned, reaching out a hand to Renne as they strolled down the town, looking in the windows of the unique shops.  

                                                     ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        Renne flapped her t-shirt against her torso a couple times, creating a fan of cool air, as she wiped a hand over her brow before pushing the muck rake back into the sawdust bedding in one of the horse stalls at Healing Hearts. 

         Just as she slung the load into the muck bucket, Renne saw someone leaning against the open stall door. Sandra. Matt's mother. Renne attempted to not visually let her eye roll be seen, but that was hard to do. 

       "Don't you have hired hands to do that kind of work for you?" Sandra folded her arms over her chest as she gave Renne a cockeyed grin. 

        "Yeah, but I love doin' this kind of work myself. Plus, it's Saturday, so I told all the hands to go home since we don't have lessons today." Renne explained, turning back to her work, tossing the manure into the bucket with a little more force.