Only You (Love In Montana Book 6)

Renée woke up with a magical smile on her face the next morning. Last night Sawyer's confession seemed too good to be real. She just couldn't believe that he really loved her. They had gone straight to their rooms to sleep after Sawyer head kissed her forehead tenderly, wishing her a good night. "Good night, my love," he had said. It had made her dream of kissing him the whole night.

With a blissfully happy smile permanently plastered on her face, she went out to the dining room for breakfast. To her surprise Sawyer was already there, laughing with Ryder and Rihanna as they watched Ryan arguing with some girl near the door. Renée sat beside Rihanna and Sawyer turned to look at her.

"Good morning Ren, " he wished her, his gaze going to her pink lips and then to her fresh and glowing face. She really looked happy and he was glad to be the reason behind it.

"Good morning, Sawyer," she said, blushing furiously seeing where his gaze was stuck on. Rihanna nudged her with a knowing smile on her face. It made her blush more.

"Ryan's really looking like a cartoon the way he's madly throwing his arms with anger. I wonder what they're fighting about, " said Ryder, watching him and a girl.

"Isn't that Georgia?" Asked Renée with surprise, seeing their rivals family's daughter here. It was forbidden for her to come here. Then what was she doing here?

"Yes, that's Georgia. Her dad will ground her if he sees her here," said Sawyer.

"Today they're fighting but then one day I'm sure they'll fall badly for one another," said Rihanna watching them with interest.

"How do you know Anna?" Asked Renée looking puzzled.

"There's a very thin line between love and hate, you know. I can see the attraction between them from here. They're frustrated with their situation, " said Rihanna, knowingly.

Afterwards they ate breakfast and Sawyer rushed to work while Renée went to college with Ryder and Ryan. They couldn't interact much in the presence of the whole family. Before going away, however, he winked at her discreetly and drove away in his truck towards their dairy farm. That simple gesture made Renée happy and she looked forward to seeing him in the evening. Would he kiss her again?

With that hope, she sailed through the whole day. By afternoon Ryder dropped her at Wildcreek Ranch and drove towards their dairy farm. Renée walked into the house and freshening up, sat down to complete her homework.

By evening, she was too excited to even breathe, sitting in the living room and waiting impatiently for Sawyer to arrive. "You two should go out on that pending date of yours, you know," said Rihanna. Renée smiled shyly.

"Will you remind him please," she pleaded. Rihanna laughed.

"Sure, I will," she promised. Later they helped with dinner but still there was no sign of Sawyer. Her uncle Kevin and Ryder came home. Then uncle Keith came home yet Sawyer didn't return. Renée was very restless. Did he have all the work in the world that he couldn't come home to dinner also? Just before dinner her dad came home to inform that one of their horses had died due to food poisoning. It was Ryan's horse, Chestnut. Ryan was devastated and at a loss how his horse could be poisoned.

After an hour, Sawyer, Ryan and their granddad returned home, looking distraught and worried. "Who could have poisoned Chestnut?" Asked Rihanna worriedly.

"I have no clue. Georgia was the only outsider who was here. Maybe she did it to get back at me," said Ryder, with an angry growl.

"Don't jump to conclusions without any proof, Ryan. It could have been anyone or no one, " said his dad.

"No one? How?" Asked Ryder.

"He might have eaten some toxic thing, some berry or something, " said his granddad. Ryan shook his head.

"Not possible, grand dad. I didn't ride on him since yesterday morning," he told him.

Afterwards their mom returned looking gloomy. "So, was he poisoned mom?" Asked Ryan.

"Yes, we've found ionophores in his system along with apple pieces which he might have consumed twelve hours back," said Helena Wilson. "Ionophores cause toxicosis and lead to lethargy, cyanosis, depression, pulmonary edema, myocardial degeneration and eventually death within a period of 36 hours," said her mom.

Everyone was silent after hearing that but the question was who could have given Chestnut that poisoned apple? No one wanted to delve into that topic. Ryan's thoughts kept going to Georgia but he knew in his heart that shs couldn't do it. She fought with him but she wasn't mean. So was it her brother who came to drag her away?

"Georgia's brother, Greg was here to take her away with him. Maybe he has done it. He knows Chestnut is my horse," said Ryan. They called the sheriff and informed him everything. He tried his best to collect evidence but strangely there wasn't any, no fingerprints, no footprints, nothing. In the absence of any evidence, there couldn't be any case filed against anyone. After the sheriff left, it was quite late and everyone went to sleep.

The next few days, all the men were very busy and returned home late. Renée didn't get time to talk to Sawyer and neither did Rihanna find any time to remind Sawyer about his date with Renée. It was Friday night and Renée sat outside on the porch at the back, sulking like everyday. Sawyer didn't come out all through the week as she had expected him to, being either busy eating a late dinner with the other men or discussing some crisis at work.

She drew the stole around her and looked at the far away mountains. That night when they had confessed their feelings for one another seemed like a dream to her by now.  Suddenly the door opened and Sawyer emerged making her heart beat with excitement and anticipation.

"Hey Ren, I'm sorry I couldn't make it the last few days," he said, sitting down beside her.

Renée was quite. 'Just saying sorry won't do. Kiss me to show me that you're indeed sorry, ' she wanted to say but the words stuck in her throat and she just sat there in silence, unable to even utter a word.

"Ren? Are you angry with me?" He asked eagerly. His arms went around her shoulders as he pulled her close to his side.

"No I'm not angry. I know you've been busy," she sighed.

"Then?" He prompted.

"I just missed you," she whispered. Sawyer picked her up and placed her on his lap like he had done last time.

"I missed you too, my love," he whispered back, pulling her close to his body and hugging her tightly. They sat there lost in one another for a few minutes, both not wanting to break that beautiful embrace.

"When we didn't talk for the last few days, I started feeling like that night was just a dream," said Renée when he finally released her.

"This thing between us isn't a dream, Ren. I love you and you love me back. It's as real as the sun and the moon, as real as the stars twinkling up there in the sky. We are real, our love is real. We might be with each other or apart from one another in the new future. No one knows what our fate will be, Ren but whatever it is, you will always be the one I'd ever love," said Sawyer, his eyes reflecting the deep love that he felt in his heart. Renée nodded but his words brought a panic in her mind. Would they be driven apart?

"Why can't we marry one another and be together, Sawyer? Why do you talk of being apart? Will you give up on me so easily?" She asked him, getting down from his lap and staring up at his face illuminated by the moonlight.

"No my love. I'll try my best to convince our family, Ren but I can't fight them. They've done a lot for me," said Sawyer with determination.

Renée's face fell. "Why can't we elope? You don't need to fight them," she asked him.

Sawyer shook his head. "We're not doing anything wrong, Ren. We're not criminals that we'll elope. I want to do this the right way. I want to try to convince the ones who love us  first. Please trust me," he told her. He knew that she was young and still immatured. It would be difficult for her to realize the huge battle that they had in store for them in the near future but he wouldn't let anything come upon her. He'd take the brunt of their fury if the need arose. He would protect her from any punishment that they might inflict upon her.

"I trust you Sawyer. Do anything but don't give up on us, please," begged Renée, feeling like her heart would break at the thought.

"I'll never give up on us. As long as I'm alive, I'll give my everything to fight for you, Ren," he promised her. He pulled her into his arms, locking her in a warm embrace, an embrace filled with love and promise. A promise of a happily ever-after together.