Orihime didn't easily let go of the moment Reese had held up her personal clothing, nor Renji snatching them away. Try as she may, the blush stayed with her the next two days, surfacing when she needed it least.

She hadn't the boldness to inquire of Renji what he'd done with the panties, but she found out when she next did laundry – a slightly mixed load of t-shirts and tank tops – two afternoons later when he'd went out to curse at the long grass in the backyard.

There they were, in the washing machine, staring back at her from the center agitator top. Not folded, she realized, and glad they weren't, but not tucked away where she wouldn't find them, either. With a cautious glance to the basement staircase, she scooted the underclothing into the washer and piled the shirts on top of them, then started the water for a wash cycle.

"I could have said they were Lieutenant Kotetsu's," she murmured to the filling machine as she measured out the detergent and poured it in. From above the bleat of a goat made her look to the wide window that faced the garden spot in the yard. "Samson. Silly creature."

She heard Renji yell something at the goat and then saw the animal trot past the basement window toward the front of the house.

She finished starting the load of laundry and went out to the backyard where Renji had forsaken the mower he'd tried to get into working condition that morning. He now opted for garden implements.

He gave her a sharp look as she emerged from the back door, eyes flicking over her denim shorts and lime tank top. "You sure you want to spend another day digging this out?" He pushed his headband back an inch, tempted to quit the task at hand and find out if Chesney was anywhere near a beach. But one look at the hesitant fingers Orihime had at her scoop collar as she smiled at the emerging vegetable plants drove thoughts of swimming from the possibilities.

She nodded, fixing her ponytail into a higher dangle along her back. "You don't have to help if you don't want to, Renji," she said, looking around for her small spade she'd used to wrestle the tomato cages into position. She grabbed it and knelt at a cage that was leaning under the weight of a loaded tomato plant. "I can do this."

"I don't mind." He watched her carefully shore up the metal cage. "Mower doesn't run, so we might as well finish this."

She smiled and finished uprighting the cage. Digging out the garden proved fruitful. It had taken them two days to find the exact perimeter of the small garden, but when they did, they also found a clump of raspberry bushes among the thorny brambles. Samson had helped.

Twice Renji had driven the goat out of the small backyard of the house in the early morning, usually when he was trying to contact Soul Society. It was a sporadic effort with the damaged communicator, but mornings seemed best.

Orihime tugged at a tangled root that protruded from a walkway in the garden, her mind drifting to the few pages of newspaper Renji had allowed to remain in the kitchen. "Did you see the newspaper?" She knew he had; he'd already taken the articles about the inmates still at large. "Yesterday's edition."

He had just sunk the hoe into a tough bramble base that was strangling a raspberry bush. "Yeah, but nothing interesting." He frowned as she pulled the root from the ground with a grunt. "What did you see?"

She tossed the root out of the garden and nearly struck Samson as the goat trotted back up to them.

Renji gave the animal a growl. He half expected Mayes to be in pursuit, but the goat was alone, and began munching contentedly on briars and leafy berry branches alike near Orihime.

"Beat it," he said, taking a step toward the goat, who just looked back at him without care or fear. "Why aren't you on a leash?"

Orihime answered for the goat. "He's just helping us, Renji."

He decided to let the animal sample the thorns. "What did you see in the paper?"

"There's a big end of the summer picnic this weekend," she said, looking up as he paused working the bramble out of the ground. "Everyone in town is invited, and that would mean us, too. It's at the park at the edge of town. There's a bake sale for the schools, a pie auction and a potluck dinner and sports games."

Thoughts of soccer flashed through Renji's mind, as did thoughts of a potluck dinner. He frowned at her, eyeing the auburn hair that parted over her neck. "Everyone is invited?"

She nodded, brushing her hair from her face as it fell over her shoulder. She clipped the hairpin on the side higher. She smiled hopefully, seeking an outlet for entertainment in what was a very dull small town. "It might be fun."

He had to admit fun had been scarce lately. "Do you want to go?"

"Do you?" Her eyes went to the raspberries tucked in the bushy foliage. "I could make a raspberry and sweet bean paste pie for the auction, and the bake sale is taking donations."

Renji wasn't sure if Chesney Hollow was ready for Orihime's cooking, but he nodded. "We could go. Maybe see some of your classmates before the school year starts."

"Oh, yes." She stood and put her hands on her hips, estimating their work of the last few days. It had taken several mornings and a few afternoons, but the vegetable patch was taking shape. Gone were most of the weeds and scraggly plants that had no blooms. She smiled at the newly separated rows of overgrown tomato plants and summer squash. "I've never had a garden. I like it. It made vegetables through all that." She gestured to the heap of weeds and tall drying grass they'd pulled. "I think I'll plant an eggplant in a pot back home. But next summer."

He leaned the hoe on the grass, which was in dire need of mowing, and studied her. "I think it's easier to just buy the vegetables at the grocer."

She gave him a sideways glance, pleased when his grin widened. "But this is more fun."

"I can think of better ideas of fun." He shook his head and waved Samson away from nibbling on the healthiest raspberry bush. "Where's your widow?"

Orihime shooed the goat, flapping her arms until Samson got the hint and bleated before making a springy trot to the side of the house again.

Renji watched Orihime kneel to finger a few raspberries that were still slightly green. "Did you really mean all that about Ichigo and Rukia, Orihime?"

His tone was low, not the usual growl it held when he spoke of Ichigo, but sincere.

She nodded, pausing as she reached for a raspberry bush. "Do you really think of her as a little sister?" she asked, turning to see him better, surprised that she wanted to actually know; not just the standard answer he'd decided to give, but the truth.

He nodded.

She turned back to the raspberries, choosing the plumpest, mind sifting through her next question before deciding against it.

He pulled at his t-shirt, feeling the late morning's heat. "I think we're done here."

She nodded, pushing her auburn ponytail to one side of her shoulder as it fell again. "Have you heard anything about the paperwork for school yet?" She collected a few ripe berries, inspecting them. She stood and offered him a few of the reddest. "Do you like raspberries?"

He nodded, taking a few. "Isane said they're sending someone. Not sure who." He popped a berry in his mouth, finding is slightly tart, but sweet enough. "She said Fourth Division is backed up with casualties. Captain Kurotsuchi unleashed some kind of half-formed Arrancar experiments from one of Szayel's labs." He saw the alarm lease her face. "Nothing too serious, Orihime, but it's swamping Fourth with minor injuries and using up manpower."

"Oh. I'm glad it's not too serious." She pulled a thorny stem off a berry and ate it.

He watched her push a few berries around on her palm. "You know people around here assume we're living together," he said, watching her fingers pause around the berry.

She looked quickly to him, a bit of smile turning one corner of her mouth. "I know." She nodded slowly, watching his hand grip harder around hoe handle. "But people do that here."

The heat of the sun seemed to press insistently on Renji's back as he chose his words. "This was more of a rush assignment than last time. It was important to isolate you from, well, nearly everyone you usually hang around with." He shrugged, hoping the sun would quit burning a hole in his back. His agitation was matched by Orihime's blush.

"Is it okay with you?" she asked, watching his face intently, holding her breath as she hoped for a specific answer.

He nodded, grinning slowly. "Yup. You?"

She nodded, offering her open hand with a few more berries. "I don't mind."

A thumping of footfalls and low whinny suddenly came from the thicker part of the trees at the back of the yard. Both Orihime and Renji looked there to see a horse and rider appear from the birch trees.

Orihime immediately recognize the rider. "It's Sylvi," she said, wiping her hands on her shorts.

He nodded, glancing to the girl on the horse making its way across the long grass of the yard. He looked back to Orihime as she waved to the local girl.

"Hello!" Sylvi called as Sylvi dismounted and gathered the reins to pull the horse behind her. "Hi. Ooh, you found a garden." She gave Renji a nod. "Hi."

"Hi." He looked back to Orihime, and then they all looked to the side of the house as a grumble came from that area. He turned back to Orihime. "Back in a minute."

"Okay."

Renji left the girls in the backyard and rounded the house, sorely wishing he could carry the sword Isane had left. Twelve gauge or not, he was more comfortable with an edged weapon. The grumbling became louder as he got to the front of the house. At the bottom of the porch steps was Mayes.

She gave him a pointed look, in one hand a rope that was tethered to Samson, in the other a blue basket. She moved the basket from the goat as it tried to nose its way in. "Afternoon, fella."

Renji nodded. "Good afternoon."

"Have you seen Reese?"

"No. Is he supposed to be here?"

Mayes shook her head, lifting the pail higher as Samson lipped at the edge. "I haven't seen him since yesterday, which is unlike him. He usually comes for breakfast, if he's sober. Guess he's fallen off that wagon again."

Renji looked down the driveway, making a mental note about the handyman.

"Doesn't happen often," Mayes said, shaking out her worn apron as Samson pulled at the rope. She tugged back. "He's done good the last few years." She stood straighter, which didn't do much for her height. "You're cordially invited to the Chesney Hollow Sixty-Fourth Summer Picnic. I'm head of the Women's Auxiliary. Being new here, just wanted you to know." Her eyes wandered to the side of the house. "Does your young lady bake?"

He grinned, nodding. "Yeah, sometimes."

"Good. She can make a pie for the pie auction." She held the pail out to him. "Huckleberries. If she wants raspberries, come on over and get them. Good crop this year."

He took the pail, eyeing the blue berries inside. "Huckleberries?"

She nodded, turning down the path to the drive. "You see Reese, send him on over. He's got chores and brush to burn. I'm too old to mind everything. That's what I pay him for."

He shook the berries in the pail, hopes rising when he thought more about a pie. Behind him he heard his communicator give a warbled ring from an overhead window. It paused, and then warbled again.

"Bid high, Renji."

He looked to Mayes' slowly moving form. "Bid for what?"

"The pie auction. They auction off the pies and the highest bidder gets to eat the pie with the pie maker. Pretty girl you got there." She chuckled, giving him an amused smile. "Wouldn't want another fella eating pie with her, would you?"

"No." The word came out automatically, but Renji figured he meant it, on some level.

She turned back down the driveway.

"You need help with the chores?" he asked. "If Reese doesn't show up."

"Nope. Just making him feel guilty. Thank you anyway."

Mayes hobbled on down the drive as Renji inspected the berries. He felt a slight shift in spiritual pressure, a faint flicker that he barely detected due to Kurotsuchi's heavily insulated gigai. He glanced around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, and for a few seconds wondered if the widow had collapsed. It was a weak pressure, definitely no one he knew.

From above he heard Orihime's voice drift out of an open second floor window. It was followed by Sylvi's, but the local girl's voice was still on the main floor, judging from the sound of it. Renji's gaze followed the tree line at the woods, searching for any disturbance. He absently picked out a few berries from the bucket as he headed around the side of the house when Mayes' hoarse tone squawked from the road.

"What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here. Get on back home."

Renji waited for an answering tone, but no one replied, so he figured she was yelling at Samson. By the time he got to the backyard the slight pressure was gone. He looked to the garden and then the small shed. No one was around, nothing amiss, except the dun horse that was eating grass by the shed. It raised its head and looked at him, and then returned to grazing.

"Eat it all," Renji called to it. He wished it would.

By the time he got to the back door, he was certain he'd imagined feeling anything. The muggy heat of the day was the only substance in the air. He went in and pulled the door shut behind him, spotting Sylvi in the kitchen.

She had her hands stuck in the pack pockets of her jean capris, waiting near the bottom of the staircase that met the living room.

"Is Orihime upstairs?" He set the bucket on the counter near the sink and popped the berries in his mouth. Two chews into the fruit he wanted to spit them out. The sour, tart flavor was only slightly offset by a berry flavor. He forced a swallow, grimacing.

Sylvi giggled at him. "Not good?"

He got a glass from the cupboard and ran himself some water from the faucet. "No. Do you like huckleberries?"

"They're not sweet. Kind of like a blueberry, but not sweet." She nodded. "Orihime's upstairs. It's okay if she comes over to ride, isn't it?"

Renji gulped down the glass of water, attention on the backyard where the horse was eagerly cropping long grass. "How far back do you live?"

"About a quarter mile or so." She looked to the staircase as Orihime descended. "There's a horse trail running straight back. We've got the gentlest horses in three counties. Mom trains them for handicapped children." She smiled as he looked to her. "You can come to. We've got plenty of horses. All real nice mounts."

He glanced to Orihime as she appeared at the bottom of the steps. She looked a little different, something slightly off, something –

He realized she was wearing a sport's bra, flattening out her usual volume. He also realized he was staring.

Orihime kept some of the blush from her cheeks at his notice. "Sylvi said we could go riding. She'll teach me." She nodded enthusiastically to convince him. "Can I?" She switched to Japanese and added, "Please, Renji? She said you can come, too."

He found himself nodding without thinking, instead focusing on the persuasive pout forming at her lips. "I'll follow in a bit," he said before returning to English, clearing his throat. "If you want to, sure. I'm waiting on a phone call," he excused, mostly for Sylvi's sake as he looked to her.

"Okay," Orihime said. "Oh, I heard your phone ring earlier."

He nodded. "I left it in my room. Damn thing's near broken. Barely makes a call."

Orihime perked up her ponytail as Sylvi sent a confused look to Renji, and then her.

"His room?" she asked.

Orihime looked to Renji.

"But I thought ... I mean I thought ..." Sylvi said, frowning slowly at each of them. "You live together. Right? You mean –"

Renji shot a glance at her, acutely feeling the pink bloom on Orihime's cheeks. "My room. Our room. Sometimes the pronouns slip my mind."

Sylvi nodded. "Oh."

He shrugged, giving Orihime a grin that was supposed to help. It did little to lessen her blush. "Widow Mayes dropped you off some huckleberries, but they're not sweet."

Orihime looked to the pail. "Oh, good."

"Just follow the trail back?" he asked, glancing to Sylvi.

She nodded.

"Be careful," he told Orihime, taking the few steps to intercept her as she followed Sylvi to the back door.

"I will."

For a moment both Renji and Orihime felt the weight of Sylvi's probing scrutiny on them, something expectant in the girl's attention, expression inquisitive.

Proof, Renji decided.

He caught Orihime's hand, mostly to keep her near, and kissed her cheek as she passed. A small smile came to her lips as he remained close, debating making the contact more convincing.

Her eyes rose to his, seeing for a moment the deliberation in him. Her fingers grazed the hem of his t-shirt before touching her cheek. "You'll be there soon?"

He nodded, hand tightening on hers.

"Okay."

He watched them leave out the backdoor, Orihime glancing back to him for a fleeting moment, her smile widening as they left.

He followed them out a moment later and watched from the porch.

At the shed Sylvi was standing with the horse and Orihime. He watched her speak for a few moments and then pull herself up into the saddle. She took her foot out of the stirrup and Orihime put hers in. He had to grin at the few seconds of hesitation as Orihime made slow work of climbing up onto the horse behind Sylvi. She'd traded her shorts for the typical capris and her sandals for sneakers.

Upstairs the communicator rang again, but Renji waited until the horse and riders were out of sight in the shaded woods before turning to answer it.

Orihime didn't think much about the ride through he trees to Sylvi's house, and barely paid enough attention to the instructions the blonde girl gave her in the corral at the green and black barn. She nodded fifteen minutes later as Sylvi repeated the instructions as they stood at the wooden fence that circled the corral. In no time flat, Sylvi had added another horse to their plans, saddling a leggy palomino gelding that immediately warmed to Orihime, affectionately rubbing its forehead on her shoulder, nearly knocking her over.

It broke her thoughts from her musing of the recent event in the kitchen. She pulled her thoughts from the brief contact of Renji's lips on her cheek, a slight touch that still left the pink on her face. She blamed the past two days in the sun at the garden, but she knew it wasn't that.

Besides, it wasn't a real kiss. Not intentional. Just for show.

She frowned at that thought.

She blinked as the palomino, named Gingerbread, sniffed her ponytail. She gave him a smile and pet his silky neck as Sylvi measured out the looped reins for her.

Sylvi gave her nudge of an elbow. "Your face is still red." She adjusted the stirrups on either side of the horse and ducked under the gelding's neck. "You still blush when he kisses you?"

Orihime giggled nervously, adding a new layer of red to her checks. "Oh, we've been out in the garden, in the sun. I guess I got a little sunburn."

Sylvi patted the horse's neck. "Okay. Ready to try out Gingerbread?"

Orihime nodded, trying to refocus her thoughts, but not quite succeeding, nor wanting to. "I just climb up?"

Sylvi held the horse's bridle. "Yes. Remember to keep the ball of your foot in the stirrup and your heel pointed down. Boots are better to wear, but we're not doing anything fancy. Ready?"

Orihime nodded again.

It was another few minutes of instruction, and then Orihime felt ready for their first slow walk around the corral. She sat somewhat tensely on the horse, hands clutching the reins, legs clamped around the saddle as the horse followed Sylvi and her horse along the black fence.

"Not hard, is it?" Sylvi asked, turning to look back at her from her horse leading.

"No, not at all." Orihime let her legs relax a little, smiling at the slow motion of the horse as it obediently followed the dun horse. Feeling accomplished as they completed their second circle around the corral, she gave the grounds a better study.

The modest two story house sat between the collection of stables and fenced areas and the road. It was one of the flatter areas Orihime had seen lately, most of the grounds divided by black fencing and sectioned corrals. The trees were mostly along fences or bunched near lean-tos in the pastures where more horses were grazing. It was well-kept, but not expensive, she decided, and most of the horses, Sylvi had explained, were on the older side, past their spunky days.

Orihime looked to the tree tops, expecting to see Renji on a limb. She figured that was what he meant when he said he'd join them later. Her eyes searched the trees, most being broadleaf. She frowned, making another pass over the greenery as the horses began their third circle. She pushed her riding helmet back, frowning as she looked for a familiar black-robed shinigami.

"Want to trot?" Sylvi asked, pivoting in her saddle to see her.

Orihime looked to her. "Sure. That's not too fast, is it?"

Sylvi shook her head, giggling. "No. You'll like it." She cautioned Orihime again about the stirrups, and then clucked her tongue, kicking the dun horse into a jog.

Gingerbread followed suit. Orihime caught her breath at the jarring motion, glad she'd traded her bra for one with more support, and clamped her teeth together to keep them from rattling.

After a round about the corral, Sylvi looked behind her at Orihime and the palomino. "Want to try something smoother?"

"Uh ... yes ... please," Orihime said in jolts as the horse jogged.

"Okay. We'll canter."

Orihime tensed her legs, expecting worse, but Sylvi took the horses into a smooth, gentle lope around the corral. It was an easy gait, welcome after the trot, and Orihime found it simple to move with the horse now. She smiled, giggling as they completed their second pass.

Sylvi pulled the dun horse to a stop and watched Orihime urge the palomino up next to her. "Fun, yeah?"

Orihime nodded quickly. She saw Sylvi look past her, and turned to see Renji approaching across the unfenced yard from the trees. She waved, getting a wave in response.

"Are you going to the town picnic this weekend?" Sylvi asked.

Orihime turned back to her. "I think we are. I read about it in the newspaper."

"You'll like it. Everyone goes. Charlotte Myers will probably win the pie auction. She does every year," Sylvi added in a sour tone. "Are you going to enter a pie?"

Orihime nodded. "I think so. Will you?"

Sylvi shrugged. "Why not? I get shot down every year by Charlotte – everyone does — but Delmar bids most for my entry, so it's not a total bust."

Orihime looked to Renji as he met them at the corral fence, smiling at his grin.

"You look like you know what you're doing up there, Orihime," he said, tugging on her shoe lace as the horse brought her near. "Do you like it?"

She nodded. "It's easy." She stroked Gingerbread's buff colored neck as the horse sniffed Renji's arm on the top fence rail. "You should try it, Renji."

"Maybe another time." His hand slipped to her ankle, making her look to him quickly. "Ready to go home?"

She nodded. "Okay." She turned to Sylvi. "Thanks for teaching me how to ride."

"Anytime. Mom will have horses at the picnic, but anytime you want to ride, come on over. You have my phone number, and my work hours are dropping with fishing and swimming seasons closing up." Sylvi raised an eyebrow at Renji. "We've got plenty of horses."

He dodged Gingerbread's attempt to taste his ponytail as Orihime climbed out of the saddle and dropped to the ground. "Maybe." He tousled Orihime's hair she'd taken out of the ponytail as she removed her riding helmet, grinning at the flush setting over her cheeks. "Wobbly?"

She nodded, making an effort to stand on her legs that felt jellified. She pushed a hand through her hair as Sylvi dismounted and took the helmet from her. "Thanks, Sylvi. It was fun."

Sylvi nodded. "Anytime. See you at the picnic."

The day's heat hadn't lessened much as evening loomed on the west as Renji and Orihime made their way back down the horse trail to the rental house. The muggy air was thick with insects and humidity, and the canopy of trees overheard offered only intermittent shade in what should have been a cooler part of the day.

Orihime found her legs were more than merely wobbly. Twice on the trail she found herself limp, but not quite falling. Renji chuckled and grabbed her hand, pushing a low hanging tree branch out of their way.

"Still shaky?"

"Yes. It was fun, but kind of different. Sylvi said my legs will be sore later," she added, and then regretted it. Her eyes shot ahead of them to the shadowed trail as he looked to her.

"A long bath and you'll be fine."

She nodded.

Renji and Orihime had just made it to the backyard when the smell of smoke grew strong. He pulled her behind him, eyes moving carefully over the premises for the cause of the smell, until spotting the dark gray plume in the early evening sky that originated from across the road.

Orihime tried to peek around him for a better view. "What's burning?"

"Nothing important," he said as they crossed the yard, his posture still alert, but not as wary. "Widow Mayes mentioned she had some brush to burn. Must be that."

Once inside the house, however, the smell of smoke thinned, until Renji preceded Orihime down the upstairs hall for his usual check on the second floor. Here the smell was different; not quite fainter, he decided, but a different type of smoke.

"What is it, Renji?" Orihime asked as he paused them, seeing is attention on her bedroom at the end of the hall. "It still smells like smoke up here, but the windows are open." She turned to look behind them. "We left the windows open. It's too hot to close them."

He nodded, continuing down the hall, frowning as he tried to identify the change in smell. At Orihime's bedroom door it was stronger, unlike the smoke had been from the backyard. He opened the door wide, keeping Orihime behind him out of the room.

He glanced around the room. Everything was in its place; the bed was neatly made, her few personal items and toiletries on the small dresser, window half open. Nothing was disturbed.

"Is everything okay?" she whispered at his shoulder, her fingers pressing at his arm as he studied the room.

Renji finally nodded, passing off the change of smell as something in the breeze that brought it. He looked down to the top of her head, grinning at the zigzag of part in her hair.

"Everything's fine."

She nodded, a slight twinge of soreness catching her lower back, making her moan. "Ugh, I'm already sore."

He watched her hand drop to the back of her shorts as she passed him into the room. "Take a tub. Soak in the bubbles and you'll feel better."

She took her hand from her capris and looked to him, seeing his eyes rise from her most tender area.

He chuckled at the faint blush beginning at her cheeks. "I'll see you downstairs after your tub."

"Okay."

He pulled the door most of the way shut and went back down the hall, still conscious of the smell of smoke, trying to place the distinct change he couldn't quite pass off as his imagination.

He paused at the window at the end of the hall near the stairs and his bedroom that overlooked the front yard. The smoke that was curling up from Mayes' place was getting thinner, dissolving into the lavender dusk skies. Behind him he heard the tub water run from the bathroom, and then a soft, muted grunt from Orihime as she closed the door.

He figured he'd meant it, telling her how he felt about Rukia and Ichigo. Jealousy came in many forms, and sometimes the strains ran closely together. He figured the emotion could be just as intense, whether romantic or brotherly. He hadn't thought much about it before Ichigo had entered Rukia's life.

Having his childhood friend need anyone other than him was new. Ichigo had stepped into that role, the role of protector and companion that Renji had always had.

He turned from the window and looked down the hall as the smell of jasmine scented bubbles invaded the remnants of smoke.

It was definitely a better trade.