A/N: Just wanted to let everyone know that there are only SEVEN more chapters until this story is finished. Thanks to all who have r/r so far! You guys (or girls) rock!

CHAPTER TEN
(chapter title – He Could Be The One & Barnyard Dance)

Sierra sighed and watch Taylor bathe Love Bug. She was sitting on the porch of the guest house. He was a short distance away, hosing down the horses, shirtless. Sierra strummed her guitar and wrote down lyrics to a song she was working on. It was hot out, according to Roger, it was close to 98 degrees.

Mimi, Roger, Maureen and Mark, along with the four youngest kids, were down at the swimming hole, having fun. Dianna was at a movie with friends, leaving Taylor and Sierra to do what they wanted.

"Hey. Why don't you come join me?" Taylor suggested, leading Love Bug right up to the screened-in porch of the guest house.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Sierra asked, humming some words as she wrote them down.

"Dad's making progress with Hercules, just thought you ought to know." Taylor told Sierra. That got her attention.

"That's amazing!" Sierra squealed, setting her guitar down and exited the guest house. Taylor put Love Bug back in her stall and took Sierra's hand in his. Ever since Taylor asked Sierra to be his girlfriend, both of them wanted to spend each lasting moment with each other. Dianna had a boyfriend, so the four of them planned on double-dating sometime.

Taylor guided Sierra to his room and had her sit on his unmade bed. Sierra closed her eyes as Taylor kissed her neck, kissing every inch of her.

"Should we close your door?" Sierra asked as Taylor laid her down and got on top of her.

"No. Ever since I told my dad I was dating you, he wants me to leave my door open." Taylor explained, his hands sneaking up Sierra's shirt. He carefully lifted it off her head, kissing her chest. Sierra discarded her bra as Taylor drew her close to him. They had agreed to go slow, which Taylor was respecting. They had also agreed when they made out, that they would go from the waist up. Sierra wasn't ready for the next step yet and Taylor wasn't either.

"Taylor, can I ask you something?" Sierra asked once the two of them ended out their make out session.

"Sure."

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Sierra asked. Taylor tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes.

"I think you're drop dead beautiful." He answered. Sierra felt herself blush. "Can I get you anything?"

"Some of your aunt Maureen's strawberry lemonade would be great." Sierra told him, following him out of his room and to the kitchen.

"That sounds good. I'll join you on that." Taylor told Sierra, kissing her temple.

The two of them helped themselves to a glass of lemonade and a lemon cookie. They then headed back to Taylor's room to watch a movie and hang out.

Sierra ended up leaving a little early, claiming that she wasn't feeling well, which she wasn't. Taylor kissed her hand and told her to have a quick recovery.

The following day, Sierra spent the entire day in front of the toilet. Mimi did what she could for her daughter, but she was on call, so she couldn't spend much time with Sierra.

She did have visitors during the day, ranging from Roger to June. June made Sierra a get-well card, which Sierra appreciated.

Sierra was resting when she felt someone sit down on the bed next to her, taking her hand and gently squeezed it. She opened an eye and saw Taylor sitting beside her.

"Hey." Sierra croaked.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

"Like crap."

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do or get you?"

Sierra shook her head and coughed. Taylor went to get Sierra some water and brought it back to her. He sat behind her, helping Sierra swallow the water.

Taylor ended up staying with Sierra that night, since Mimi and Roger were on another date. It was their fifth one that week.

Sierra rested her head on Taylor's shoulder as they watched a movie on TV. Taylor ran a hand through Sierra's hair as they watched the movie.

"I'm gonna take a shower, okay?" Sierra announced, getting the supplies she needed from her duffel bag and limped for the bathroom.

"Do you need any help?" Taylor asked. Sierra shook her head as she turned on the shower. The movie was over, so Taylor turned off the TV and picked up the book on Sierra's bed.

"No, but thanks for asking." Sierra called, poking her head out the bathroom door.

He stopped reading when he heard her singing beautifully. He recognized her singing I'm Yours by Jason Mraz.

Sierra got out of her shower and made her way over to Taylor. He smiled at her and held her in his arms.

"You feeling any better?" Taylor asked. Sierra nodded and got under the covers, Taylor right next to her. "How come you never told me that you had a beautiful singing voice?"

"It's not that great." Sierra said.

"I can see you selling a thousand CDs if you would put yourself out there." Taylor told her, his lips gently caressing her skin.

"I also play guitar. Would you mind if I played a song for you? I actually wrote it for you." Sierra told Taylor, getting out of bed and limped over to her guitar. She got it out of its case and tuned it. "This is Lola, she's been there for me for as long as I can remember."

"You wrote a song for me? You didn't have to." Taylor told Sierra, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Yes, I did want to. Now, shut up and listen. It's called He Could Be The One." Sierra told Taylor as she tuned her guitar.

As Sierra sang the song to him, Taylor could tell she poured a lot of passion and time into this song. He felt himself smile throughout the song.

When the song was finished, Taylor applauded loudly. Sierra blushed and put her guitar away.

"I love it. Thanks, Sierra." Taylor thanked Sierra.

"You're welcome, Taylor." Sierra told him, placing a kiss on his cheek.

The two of them talked for a while longer before Taylor had to go – he had a rodeo competition in the morning. He would be taking Love Bug and would be gone all day.

"I love you." Sierra blurted, covering her mouth with her hand.

"I love you, too, Sierra. You're the best thing that ever happened to me." Taylor told her, kissing her cheek.

That night, Sierra had a hard time sleeping. She kept tossing and turning, her body temperature ranging from very hot to freezing.

"No, Taylor! Don't do it! Don't go! Please don't go! NOOOOOOOOO!" Sierra screamed, sitting up in bed, sweat pouring down her face.

Mimi, who's room was on the other side of the guest house, sprang out of bed when she heard her daughter's cries.

"Sierra, shh. It's all right. Baby, I'm right here. What happened?" Mimi soothed, rubbing Sierra's back.

"I had a horrible nightmare that Taylor died during his competition. I was begging him not to go, but he didn't listen to me." Sierra explained, still in tears.

"Oh, baby. I'm so sorry. It's okay." Mimi soothed, rocking Sierra like a child. As she rocked Sierra, Mimi sang a Spanish lullaby, knowing that it would soothe Sierra.

A couple minutes later, Sierra was out like a light, but Mimi stayed right by her, just in case Sierra needed her again.

Early the following morning, Sierra got up and headed to the barn. She saw Taylor standing outside of Love Bug's stall. Love Bug was in a set of cross-ties and Taylor was brushing her.

"Hey. I just wanted to come by early and wish you luck today." Sierra told her beloved.

"Thanks. Oh, before I forget, there's a dance coming up – it's actually in a week – and I was wondering if you wanted to go with me." Taylor said, moving to Love Bug's left back leg so that he could clean out her hoof.

"You mean, like a date?" Sierra squealed.

"Yes, like a date. So, what do you say?"

"Sounds like fun." Sierra said, kissing Taylor's lips. He gently dropped Love Bug's leg so that he could return Sierra's kiss. He wrapped his arms around her petit frame, holding her close to him.

"I'll be thinking about you all day." Taylor told Sierra as he broke away from her. Mark was ready to go – he was competing in the adult competition and would be taking Smokey – his Quarter Horse gelding. Gunny, Mark's regular horse, was lame, so Mark would be taking Smokey this time.

"Good luck to both of you!" Sierra called as she watched the trailer zoom down the driveway. She drew her blanket closer around her and headed to the main house.

As she entered the kitchen, she could hear Maureen, Roger, Dianna, Riley, Amanda, June, Marie and Mimi singing Sugar Pie Honey Bunch as they made breakfast.

"What are all of you doing up? Oh, I forgot – we live on a ranch where everyone is up before the butt-crack of dawn." Sierra said.

The younger kids laughed while the adults shot Sierra a dirty look. Dianna giggled behind her hand.

After breakfast, Sierra was bored the rest of the day. She wrote some, read some, watched Roger work with Hercules a bit, wrote half a song before she got writer's block. She even played some Wii with the kids, but got bored after half an hour.

"Why don't you come to the mall with me? We can find dresses for the dance." Dianna suggested to Sierra. She then turned to Maureen. "Momma, would that be all right?"

"I don't see why not. Make sure to take your phone and your purse and anything else you might need." Maureen called after the girls. They already had their phones and purses – that was all they needed.

They arrived at the mall 20 minutes later. Sierra hated the mall and avoided it like the plague. Dianna smiled at her and walked towards the entrance, Sierra following right behind her.

Dianna seemed to know where she was going, so Sierra willingly followed her. Hopefully, the shopping wouldn't take too long and Sierra could watch some of the Olympics on TV.

"So, what kind of dress are you looking for?" Dianna asked as she dragged Sierra into Dress Barn. They instantly went for the back of the store – it's where the cheap knock-offs were and according to Dianna, were just as pretty as the originals.

Sierra fell in love with the first dress she tried on. It was a checkered periwinkle blue knee-length sleeveless dress. Around the hem and neckline was a pattern of white lace.

Dianna bought the fourth dress she tried on – also a sleeveless dress, but hers was a light green with quarter-length sleeves and the hemline ended just below Dianna's knees.

They also bought accessories to go with their dresses. Sierra found a necklace with a silver horse-head charm and earrings that matched her dress. With the earrings came a matching bracelet.

Dianna also got a bracelet and earrings that matched her dress. The necklace she chose, however, looked beautiful on her. The chain was silver with an intricate pattern of light, lime, dark and light green beads that formed a heart.

The girls paid for their purchases and went to get lunch at the food court. Sierra went to get a baked sub at Charlie's while Dianna went to get Chinese food at Yin & Yang's.

"So, Sierra, what's life back in New York?" Dianna asked.

"Busy and crazy. Everywhere you go, people cover the streets and sidewalks. The summers are super hot, so I stay indoors. Winters are freezing. Spring and fall are beautiful – the weather is so wonderful during that time." Sierra answered.

"When and where do you ride?" Dianna questioned.

"I ride in Central Park, well I used to until we moved toward the country. I now ride at Parker's School of Horsemanship." Sierra answered, taking a bite of her turkey sub.

It was silent after that. Sierra was curious to learn about Dianna, too. She also wanted to learn more about Roger's first wife, Lucy.

"What was your aunt Lucy like?" Sierra wanted to know.

"You would've loved her. She was sweet, kind, gentle, loving, funny, awesome and loved her family very much."

"What did she do for a living?"

"She was a doctor. Kind of ironic, isn't it? She's a doctor and she doesn't know she has cancer."

"What kind of cancer did she die from?"

"Lymphoma."

Sierra's stomach dropped. She had lost a beloved childhood dog to lymphoma and had also lost a good friend to the deadly cancer, too.

"When I was seven, I had a good friend – Lilly. She, Katie and I would play every day after school. Suddenly, Lilly got really sick and stopped coming to school. My mom ran into Lilly's mom at a school event and Lilly's mom said that Lilly died from lymphoma. It was really hard on Katie and I because we had lost one of our best friends." Sierra rambled.

Dianna reached across the table and took one of Sierra's hands in hers.

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Dianna said. Sierra smiled and threw both her and Dianna's trays away.

By the time the girls arrived home, it was a little after 3:00, the perfect time for Roger to work with Hercules. It was perfect because it was usually cooler by 3:00 – Roger didn't like working his horses in the heat. They were making beautiful progress – Hercules now allowed Roger to touch him from his neck to his hindquarters. Roger had also started brushing and changing Hercules' bandages.

Sierra noted how Hercules' behavior had changed. He was no longer a vicious monster, but he wasn't a cuddly little kitten either.

"Good boy, Hercules. There ya go." Roger soothed the horse. Sierra leaned against the rail, her eyes forward. Dianna had offered to take their purchases inside. Sierra saw that Hercules had his head on Roger's shoulder, a sign of trust between horse and owner.

Roger then walked a few feet away from the horse. Hercules did a complete 360 and followed Roger around the arena. Sierra couldn't believe what she was seeing. She felt tears in her eyes as she watched Roger and Hercules walk around the arena, Hercules three strides behind Roger.

Sierra went inside and sat at the kitchen table. Maureen smiled and poured her a glass of water. Sierra gulped it down in four gulps and placed her glass on the table.

"You okay, sweetie?" Maureen asked.

"I'm just worried about Taylor, that's all." Sierra admitted.

"Well, I have good news – I just spoke to Mark and he said that Taylor did wonderfully in the competition. He got four firsts and a second. The boys should be heading home soon." Maureen told Sierra.

"That's awesome! I can't wait to see-" Sierra was cut off by her cell phone going off. She looked down at the screen and saw a text message from Taylor.

On my way – cant wait to see you! Hope u had a gr8 day!

-T

Sierra squealed and texted him back.

Can't wait to see you, either. Maureen said u did wonderfully in ur classes! Can't wait to hear all about it!

-S

It was towards 10:30 at night when the two-horse trailer rolled onto the ranch. Sierra had been reading on the porch, but quickly got to her feet when she saw the trailer.

"TAYLOR! YOU'RE HOME!" Sierra squealed, running towards her true love. Taylor smiled and ran towards Sierra. They met in the middle and Taylor picked Sierra up, swinging her around him as if he had been gone for a year instead of just a day.

"I told you I would be back." Taylor whispered in Sierra's ear, kissing her jawline.

"Okay, okay, lovebirds. Can you two help me get the horses out of the trailer and put things away instead of sucking each other's faces off?" Mark asked.

The three of them worked together to get everything put away. Mark offered to muck out the trailer if Taylor and Sierra wanted to catch up.

Sierra and Taylor sat on the porch swing outside the main house, looking up into the beautiful night sky. It was dotted with stars, something Sierra wouldn't be able to see in the city.

"Wow. I haven't seen stars like this in a long time." Sierra said, resting her head on Taylor's shoulder. Taylor kissed her cheek and held her in his arms.

The screen door opened and Mark, Maureen, Roger, Mimi, Dianna, June, Marie, Riley and Amanda came out onto the porch. Even Minnie – June's Husky/Wolf puppy joined in on the fun.

"Great. There goes the romantic evening I had planned." Taylor joked as Roger and Mimi sat next to them on the porch swing.

"You know, Roger, Sierra plays guitar like you do." Mark told his brother, taking a sip of his beer.

All of them sat on the porch for a while longer before Roger, Maureen and Mark got the younger kids inside. Mimi and Sierra went to the guest house to get some sleep. Taylor, Roger and Dianna went to their respected rooms to get some sleep.

A week later was the barnyard dance. Taylor looked at himself in the mirror in his room for the hundredth time. He had changed his shirt and hat twice, not liking the style or color of each.

"Taylor Jacob Davis! Hurry your butt downstairs! There's a young lady here named Sierra who says she's looking for you!" Maureen called up the stairs. Taylor rolled his eyes, picked a light blue T-shirt and a black cowboy hat before heading down the stairs and felt his heart stop.

Standing before him was an angel. She wore her hair in a ponytail with the end curled. She wore a dress of periwinkle blue and wore cowboy boots on her feet. Around her neck, she wore a necklace with a horse head charm. In her ears she wore periwinkle blue earrings and around her right wrist, she wore a periwinkle blue bracelet.

"You look-" Taylor struggled for the right words, but finally settled on, "stunning."

Maureen, Mimi and Roger took picture after picture of Taylor and Sierra. Dianna and her date, Michael, would be meeting them at the dance.

"Have fun kids!" Maureen called after them.

It wasn't far to the dance, so the two of them decided to walk. Taylor didn't let go of Sierra's hand for a moment – he wanted her with him forever and always.

When they entered the dance hall, the dance floor was packed and the tables surrounding the dance floor were empty. Sierra spotted Dianna and dragged Taylor towards her.

Sierra ended up having a lot of fun. She danced to the Cha Cha Slide, Hoedown Throwdown, some Lady Gaga, but it was mostly country songs that were playing.

Dianna and Sierra were sitting out a dance when a girl with reddish-blond hair wearing a pink dress with quarter-length sleeves strutted over to them. Taylor removed himself from the dance floor and went over to the table he, Michael, Sierra and Dianna were sharing.

"Who the hell is she, Taylor?" the newcomer asked. Sierra looked up at the girl – she was pretty – had hazel eyes, reddish-blond hair and angel-like features.

"She's my new girlfriend, Jen." Taylor growled. "What the hell are you doing here, anyway?"

"I'm here to have fun and to win you back." Jen told Taylor. Taylor shook his head.

"If you think I'm taking you back, you're wrong." Taylor told her.

"You know I'm much better for you than she is." Jen told Taylor, running her fingers through his hair. Taylor backed off and took Sierra's hand in his – a slow dance had come on and the two of them found a spot on the dance floor. Sierra had been practicing her dancing all that morning and wanted to impress Taylor.

Halfway into the song, Sierra rested her head on Taylor's shoulder and felt him bring her in closer to him. She looked into his eyes and felt him place a kiss on her forehead.

It was after the dance. Taylor, Dianna and Sierra headed back to the ranch. Sierra was carrying her boots because her feet were aching. She held Taylor's hand in the other, laughing and walking with him. Dianna and Michael had gotten into a fight, so it hurt her to see these two lovey-dovey.

"Would you two please stop!" Dianna snapped. Taylor shot his cousin a confused look.

"Dianna, are you all right?" Sierra asked her friend.

"No, I'm not all right! Michael and I got into a fight at the dance and it makes me sick to see you two being all lovey-dovey!" Dianna shouted, running the rest of the way to the ranch.

Sierra and Taylor ran after their friend as fast as they could. Sierra stumbled, but caught herself. She didn't realize she had hurt Dianna's feelings and promised to be more sensitive whenever Dianna was around.