I do not own Glee nor the original novel "Wishes" written by Jude Devaraux. I just simply borrowing the amazing story and put my OTP in it. All credits go to the amazing author.
Sam turned back at Mercedes' scream. The end of the porch where she'd been standing was gone. It had collapsed under the weight of the rain, and Mercedes was nowhere to be seen. He covered the distance to the end of the porch in two strides and saw Mercedes floundering in a deep pool of water. He didn't think about what he did but jumped in after her.
"Mercedes, are you alright?"
"Yes" she yelled back, gulping water and clinging to him. The pool was deep but not very big, so he was able to pull her to the side in just a few strokes. He grabbed her waist, finding a toehold, pushed her up to the safety of the muddy street.
"Let's get out of here" he shouted when he was out of the pool. Rain was beating him in the face. He put his arm around her protectively, and began to run to the old stables where her buggy and his horse were tied. But just as they reached the building, a brilliant flash of lightning lit the sky and thunder cracked over their heads. Sam's horse reared, Mercedes' horse reared, and both horses broke away from where they were tied. Sam pulled Mercedes to him as the two horses ran past them into the rain.
Sam stood for a moment, staring after the horses. He knew he had not only tied his horse but shut and bolted the stable door. The door hadn't looked rotten enough that the horses could have broken it so easily. A shiver from Mercedes made him turned his attention to her. With his arm still around her, he led her down the street to a dilapidated old house that was falling in on one side, but he could see a chimney, and he hoped the fireplace was still working. There was firewood stacked inside the house, and after checking to see that the flue was clear, he built a fire, blowing on a little pile of dried sticks and paper. It was some time before he had the fire going and he turned to look at Mercedes. He knew he was wet and cold, but Mercedes' lips were blue.
"Do you have anything else to put on?" he asked. "Is there something in the buggy?"
"I – I don't know" Mercedes said, teeth chattering. "It's Aunt Santana's buggy"
"I'll go see" Sam went outside into the rain, ran to the half-rotten stables, and searched the carriage. He found a small lab robe and the picnic basket. Bending over to protect them from the rain, he ran back to the house. Mercedes was shivering harder. He knelt and threw more wood on the fire. He then opened the basket and withdrew the tablecloth.
"It doesn't look like there's a chance of this rain letting up, and I can't find the horses until morning" Sam looked up at her. "Maybe you'd better get out of those wet clothes. You can wrap this around you"
Silently, Mercedes took the tablecloth and walked to the far side of the room. Her hands were so cold she had trouble unfastening the buttons of her dress. She kept glancing at Sam – at his broad back as he knelt before the fire. She didn't understand why she'd been so angry at him earlier, but she hated his insinuation that she was interested in him for his money. The last thing she cared about was his money. If she had realized that he loved her, she would have lived with him in the worst hovel in America. When she was down to her chemise and knickers, she hesitated to remove them, but they were cod and clammy next to her skin. She looked at Sam and her hands began to tremble even more, but this time not from the cold. With shaking fingers, she removed all of her clothing and wrapped the tablecloth about her bare body. She unpinned her hair and shook the wet mass about her shoulders. She walked back to the fire and stopped a little behind Sam.
"You look cold, too" she said, softly.
"I'm all right" he answered and there was hostility in his voice.
What was it Aunt Santana had said about men? Mercedes wondered. It hadn't made sense at the time, but now she remembered something about Sam not thinking she was his best friend. He was right; she hadn't been his friend. She sat on the floor, very near him.
"How is your brother's foot?"
"All right" Sam said tersely, not looking at her.
"And did your mother get over her cold? Is she acting again?"
"Yeah" He snapped out the word. "Everybody at home is fine" He turned to glare at her. "And they'll be glad to see me again. People at home trust me. They don't believe I'm a liar"
Mercedes couldn't bear his stare. She looked back at the fire. "I was wrong" she whispered. "I told you that. I tried to believe you, but I couldn't believe you'd want someone like me" she looked back at him. "I still can't believe it. You could have any woman on earth. Why would you want an old maid like me? I'm not exciting, I quit school when I was fourteen, I'm not anything special at all"
"You make me feel good" Sam said softy, and he leaned toward her as though he might kiss her, but then he pulled away. "You did make me feel good. I thought you felt about me as I did about you, but I was wrong. I think you believed me you loved me in spite of the fact that I was a low-life, philandering nobody who was after your father's money"
"True" she said. "I did. After the Harvest Ball, after I heard so many dreadful things about you, I still went to my father's office to see you. Even thinking the worst about you, I still loved you. It has been a joy to discover that I'm in love with a good man"
For a moment, he seemed to sway toward her, then he pulled back. "A rich one, you mean. Tell me, has your father drawn up any contracts having to do with Evans Construction? Is that why you lost weight? Did you and your family think you could snare a rich fish easier with a smaller worm?"
"How dare you" Mercedes said under her breath. "I never even knew about your money until after you'd returned from abandoning me"
"I didn't abandon you!" Sam stood and glared down at her. "I received a telegram saying my father was very ill. I suspect your treacherous little sister sent it"
Mercedes also came to her feet. "You leave my sister out of this. Irene has been a great comfort to me. All those months you were gone and no word from you, I -,"
"I wrote you. I wrote you about everything. I sold every stick of furniture, every blade of grass I own so I could come be with you, and then you told me to get out of your house"
"And you told me I had three days, yet when I came to you, you threw me out" she shouted back at him. "Maybe one of your women would have left her family in three days, but I couldn't. I would have followed you everywhere"
"Ha! You can't leave your dear sister for even one day. You may as well be a prisoner in their house. You cook for them, clean for them, adore them. And for what? What do they give you in return? They don't want you to marry and leave them, because where else could they find such a servant as you?"
Sam's words were too close to home. She turned away as tears started to form. He took a step toward her but didn't touch her. The tablecloth had fallen off her shoulders, and he could see them shaking with tears. "Mercedes, I'm sorry" he said softly. "It hurt more than I can say to find out my love wasn't returned. Maybe I've been spoiled, I don't know. I've only fallen in love once before in my life, with Holly, and she loved me in return. There was never any question that we loved each other. Holly trusted me, she -,"
"And her family knew your family?"
"Of course. We'd grow up together"
"My family didn't know you. You were a stranger to us and you – you paid attention to a woman no man in town had ever even looked at, much less loved. You -,"
"That is the strangest damn thing" Sam said, his voice rising. "What's wrong with this town? I was glad that the men saved you for me, but they must all be blind or stupid. You're by far the prettiest girl in town. You're smart, you're funny, and you're the most desirable female I've seen in years"
Mercedes turned to look at him. "You're the one who's blind. I'm fat old Mercedes Jones – only good for cooking and ironing and -,"
Sam pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "You were made to love and be loved. Why couldn't they see that?"
"I'm glad they didn't" Mercedes whispered against his lips. "If I'd married someone else, I wouldn't have met you"
Sam held her against him, and his hands roamed over her body until Mercedes wasn't sure she could breathe. He released her abruptly. "Look – ah – this is going to be a long night. Maybe we ought to eat something and get a little sleep" he said.
Mercedes looked at him and knew what she wanted to do. She wanted him to make love to her. Maybe out of her own stupidity, she'd lost her only chance for marriage and a home of her own, but she wasn't going to lose this opportunity to spend the night with the man she loved. She wasn't going to let pride or convention stand in the way of one night with this beloved man. She smiled at him and moved the basket nearer to the fire. As she looked inside it, she said, as though it meant nothing.
"You'll catch your death in those wet clothes. You'd better remove them. You can wrap up in the lap robe"
Sam didn't say anything and she didn't look at him, but she heard him turn and walked to the far end of the room. Mercedes was shaking as she withdrew one package of food after another from the basket. She couldn't identify some of the items. In the bottom were three bottles of wine, once champagne, plus lovely crystal glasses. She was wondering how the glasses had not been broken when she saw Sam's bare foot across from her. She looked up slowly, up muscular calves to heavy thighs, then a small robe about his waist. She'd never seen a nude man before, and the sight of Sam's broad, thick, sculpted chest made her mouth dry. She sat back on the floor with a thunk.
"Oh my" she whispered. "My goodness, my"
To his consternation, Sam found himself blushing. "I, ah, ah – anything good to eat in there?"
Mercedes kept looking at him and swallowing. She had no idea an unclothed man could be so utterly, splendidly beautiful.
"Champagne" Sam said, bending to pick up the bottle. He quickly popped the cork, then sitting, he filled two glasses and reached across the basket to hand Mercedes one. "What shall we drink to?" he asked.
"To love" Mercedes whispered, her eyes roaming over his body.
"Oh, God, Mercedes" Sam said with a groan, then he quickly pushed the basket out of the way and was onto her. "I can't wait for our wedding night. I've wanted you since the first time I saw you" He was kissing her neck. "I've behaved so well. I've kept my hands off you, but I can't bear this torture any longer. Please" he whispered.
"Teach me" she whispered as she kissed his ear. "Teach me everything"
Sam didn't answer as he kissed her neck, his hand moving the cloth off her shoulder. When he had the cloth half off her body, she could feel his skin against hers, his hard body against her soft smoothness. His body was so lean and hard, so full of planes and angles. She ran her hand down the side of him. His lap robe was gone and she touched the leanness of his buttock.
"Mercedes" he whispered before his mouth descended to her breast. There were no words of thoughts to express how his mouth felt – that this man who had taught her so much, who had given her the greatest gift of all – love, should give her this wonderful, heavenly, physical joy was almost more than she could bear. Instinctively, Mercedes arched her body up against his as his tongue made circles on her breast. His hand ran down her body, caressing her, touching her skin. He moved his hand inside her thighs, stroking, kneading, making her feel things she never dreamed existed.
Sam rolled to the other side of her, his body slightly off of hers. Mercedes looked at him in the firelight, his eyes half closed with desire. His lips were full and slightly parted. She touched his lips, running her fingertips over them lightly, then ran her fingers down his neck, across his chest, down his hips and to his thighs as far as she could reach. She closed her eyes and put her arms around him, and he moved fully on top of her. Mercedes wasn't sure what she was doing, but instinct, desire and love combined to make her raise her hips to him. When he first entered her, she gasped at the pain, but when he started to withdraw, she clasped him to her.
"Don't leave me" she whispered.
"Never"
Sam went slowly with her, pausing now and then, waiting while she adjusted to this new emotion. "Mercedes, I …" he said, and then he was blinded with passion. Mercedes' eyes opened. He hurt her, true, but this building force in him – this overpowering, all consuming passion she felt in him touched some inner, deep woman's core of her, and she lifted her hips higher to receive him. With his final thrust, she wrapped her legs about him and pulled him deeper and closer to her. She wanted all of him she could get.
Sam lay on her for a moment, his body lightly covered with sweat. "Did I hurt you?"
"No"
"Mercedes, I meant to wait. I meant to wait for a bed and a beautiful hotel suit and -,"
She put her fingertips to his lips. "I am more than happy. If I never have any more of than this, it will be enough. I will always remember this night. When I am home alone, I –"
"Alone?" he lifted off of her. "Home? What is this, blackmail? You mean you're still choosing them over me?"
"I thought you were going back to Nashville. Just this morning you were packing"
It took a moment but Sam relaxed against her, moving to the side and pulling her close in his embrace. "I figure I would have made it to Louisville before I turned around and come back. I'm not sure I could make it without you. My entire family – aunts, uncles, cousins, all of them – laughed at me for being so lovesick while I was home. All I wanted was to get back to you"
Mercedes snuggled her cheek against the bare skin of his naked chest. "I ate. I was so miserable while you were gone that I ate pounds of food. Whole cakes. Pies. One day, I ate an entire rump roast"
Sam ran his hand down her body, over her now, flatter stomach, down her thighs and frowned. "What happened to you? Half of you is gone"
"Not quite half. I don't know, I just kept losing weight by the day. Don't you like my new size?"
"I guess I'll get used to it, but if you wanted to gain some weight, I wouldn't mind"
She smiled at him. "Every other man thought I was fat before. They -,"
"Fat? You looked great. Not that you don't look great now, but – Mercedes, I love you no matter what size you are. Just so long as you aren't one of those women who picks at her food. I can't stand that. Women should laugh, and eat and enjoy life" he smiled down at her. "They should be like you were at the Puckerman with all those kids"
"Tell me about the women you know who laugh and eat and enjoy their life"
Sam pulled her to him and told her about growing up in an old, enormous house in Nashville and it being filled with happy, energetic women who came to act and sing with his mother. He remembered long meals with so much food on the table, the centre would bow, and the woman would eat for hours and told stories of who was sleeping with whom, and they'd sing and act. They'd argue about acting technique and how an aria was to be sung. Sam's father, Dwight, would sit at the head of the table and be the judge. He'd make the women act and sing again and again and again, then, he'd tell the women they were each a perfection. The women always pretended to be offended, but they loved having a handsome man as their adoring audience.
"And were you also and adoring audience?"
"I love every one of them. I love their voices, their tempers, their demands. I love their big breasts and big hips. I love the enthusiasm they had for life. They ate, drank, loved and raged with passion"
"I'm not sure I am as – as passionate as those women"
"You love your family so much you were ready to give me up for them"
She knew he didn't realize how vain he sounded. "That was no great sacrifice. You were a penniless clerk in my father's office"
"I took the job to be near you. I never wanted to imprison myself, but a man in love will do a lot of foolish things"
She snugged his arms across her chest. "You came back for me. I did doubt you, and I am sorry. I won't doubt again"
"Now, you'll go with me?"
"I'll follow you anywhere. I'll be as faithful as a – a dog"
Sam laughed at that. "What if your little sister tells you I've kidnapped the Sunday School class?"
"I might believe the choir, but not the Sunday School"
He squeezed her tightly. "Mercedes, answer me. It's my whole life you're playing with"
Part of Mercedes was fearful. Lately there had been something compelling about her family, something so compelling that she felt she couldn't leave – not as long as her family needed her.
"Mercedes" Sam said, as though warning her.
"Irene needs me" she could feel him getting angry. "Maybe we could find her a husband. How many brothers do you have?"
He relaxed at her joke. "Not enough for your little sister. She could -,"
Mercedes turned in his arms and kissed him. "The fire's going out, and I'm hungry. Maybe we could eat, and maybe we could do this again. Is that possible?"
He bit her earlobe. "I might be able to manage it" Sam rolled away from her, then watched her pull the cloth back over her body. "You really don't mind having our wedding night early?"
"There will be a wedding?" she asked softly.
"As soon as I can arrange it. That is – if you agree – and, considering the hell you've put me through, you damned well ought to agree"
"Yes" Mercedes said, her heart in her eyes. "Yes, I will marry you and live with you and bear your children and love you forever"
He kissed her hand. "That's all I want of you: your body, your soul, mind. I want every part of you"
"What do I get in return?"
"All my love. Contrary to popular opinion in this town, I love only one woman at a time"
"As faithful as a diamond?" she asked, eyes twinkling. He smiled and stretching – reaching for his wet coat. Sam looked in the inside pocket and withdrew a box. "Speaking of diamonds …" he opened the box to show her the ring with big diamond. "For you" he said softly. "If you'll have me. Me and my temper and my jealousy"
"I'll have you with or without the ring, with or without money" She looked at him, love in her eyes. "I really don't care about money. It's you, I love"
"I know that. Give me your hand"
He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her gently. "Now, about that wedding night" he said, pushing her to the floor. They made love, then ate hugely, then made love again, then ate again. Toward dawn, they slept, wrapped about each other's bodies – tired but happy.
A strong, bright ray of sunshine came through a broken window and woke Mercedes. She sat up with a jolt. Sam, still half asleep, reached for her to pull her back down to him.
"I have to go" Mercedes said, trying to pull the tablecloth from under Sam so she could cover herself, but he was too big to budge.
"Mercedes" he said, his tone tempting her back into his arms. She rolled away from him and went back to the corner where her clothes were heaped. They were still damp and cold, but she struggled into them as quickly as she could. Sam rolled onto her stomach and looked up at her.
"Honeymoon over?"
She paused a moment as she looked at him – all six feet of him stretched out, bronze skin against white damask, and almost dropped her clothes and ran to him. She caught herself.
"I have to get back. My family will be worried about me"
"Worried about their breakfast, more likely" Sam muttered, but not so Mercedes could hear. Something she'd said last night had made him pause. She'd asked if he wouldn't have believed an Evans over a stranger. Whatever else Mercedes' father and sister were, they were her family, and it was only right that she believed them.
"I'll find the horses" Sam said, and reluctantly he stood and began to dress. "Think there's any food left in here?" he asked as he opened the basket. There was so much food left it looked as though they'd not touched it. "This thing is bottomless"
"It seems that way" Mercedes said, looking over his shoulder. He caught her to him. "Maybe it's just me, but everything seems to be more beautiful than it's ever been in my life"
"I agree" he said, kissing her. Mercedes was the first to push away. "I have to return"
Sam sighed and released her. "If I can find the horses"
At that moment, an answering nicker came from outside, and he opened the door to see both horses standing in the mud as though they were waiting to return. "My luck has run out" Sam said heavily, making Mercedes giggled. Within minutes, he had her buggy hitched and his horse tied behind. As soon as they stepped into the buggy, their euphoric mood left them. They didn't talk. Both of them were afraid of what awaited them at the Jones house in Lima.
Santana greeted them at the door. At first, she was concerned about their long faces, afraid they hadn't made up their differences. (Santana had stopped watching them after they'd entered the cabin and had, instead, used her want to spy on her former twentieth first century friends) But the then she saw their fingers entwined and realized that their sad faces were from dread of Irene and Dwayne.
"At last!" Santana said. "Mercedes, the most incredible thing has happened!"
"Are Irene and father all right?" Mercedes asked dully, clasping Sam's fingers.
"More than alright. Look at this telegram from your father"
Mercedes read it twice before she looked up. "Irene has eloped?"
"It seems she fell in love with some farmer and married him the same night. She doesn't even want to come back for her clothes; she wants them shipped. And your father is marrying someone too. He wants to stay in Columbus until the wedding"
Mercedes just stood there, blinking. Sam frowned.
"You know, there's something odd going on here. Yesterday, there was that pool of water Mercedes fell in, and then this morning it was gone. And the horses ran away even though I'd locked them inside the stables. And there was that bottomless basket of food. And now this. I think -,"
Santana narrowed her eyes at him. "Haven't you ever heard the old saying 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth?' Mercedes is free of her obligations to her family and free to marry you. Are you questioning that?"
"No, I just …" he stopped and smiled. "You're right. I'm not questioning anything. Well, Mercedes, how about marrying me next week?"
"Yes" Mercedes said softly, just beginning to realize that she was indeed free. "Oh, yes, I'll marry you" she turned to Santana. "You'll stay for my wedding, won't you?"
"I can't. My job's done now, and I have a date" she smiled. "A date with heaven"
"You're leaving?"
"Right away"
"But you can't, you -,"
"Five minutes after I leave you won't even remember me. No, no protests. You have each other now. You don't need a nosy old aunt around"
Mercedes kissed Santana's cheek. "I will always need you. You are a very kind person" She leaned toward Santana's ear. "I don't know what you did, but I know that last night was your doing. Thank you. I will thank you all my life for your generous heart"
Those words meant a lot to Santana. No one had ever called her generous before. "Thank you" she whispered, then straightened. "I must go" She looked at Mercedes. "Any wishes for the future?"
"I have everything I want" Mercedes said, moving closer to Sam.
"I have a wish" Sam looked down at Mercedes and remembered his first wife dying in childbirth. "I hope we have a dozen healthy kids and their deliveries are easy on their mother"
"Done" Santana said then she kissed Sam's cheek. "You'll have all your children, and the deliveries will be safe and easy" she turned and went up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, she paused and looked down at them, lovers engrossed in each other. Santana had never done anything that made her feel as good as getting these two together had. She gave a little sniff, wiped a tear from her eye, and said, "Beam me up, Finny!" and she was gone from the Jones household and from the Jones memory.
The Junction
Tina was there to greet Santana, and she was smiling. Santana, once again wearing her burial clothes, took a moment to adjust to the foggy Junction after leaving Sam and Mercedes.
"I did well, didn't I?" she said, pretending she'd never shed a tear at leaving. "You thought I couldn't do it, but I did"
"You did very well" Tina said, smiling brighter. "You did especially well by not making Mercedes hates her family. You could have let her see how selfish they really are"
Santana was a little embarrassed by the praise, even though it felt very good. "There was enough hate and jealousy. I didn't need to spread any more" she mumbled.
"You did very well indeed. Now, shall we continue?"
Santana's mind was on Mercedes. "I guess so" She started walking beside Tina, then stopped. "Could I see what happened to Mercedes? I'd like to be sure she did okay"
Tina gave a little nod and led the way to viewing room. Once they were seated comfortably, the screen before them began to clear.
"It's now Christmas 1899" Tina said. "Two years to the day since you left, and Sam and Mercedes have been married for two years"
The fog cleared and Santana could see a beautiful red brick mansion situated on the hill, near the Abram's house. The house was filled with people.
"That's where they lived. Sam built the house after they got married two years ago. Those people are Sam's relatives who came all the way from Nashville, then there's the Abrams from Lima" Tina smiled. "Mercedes doesn't know it, but she's already carrying her second child. She -,"
"Shh" Santana said. "I want to see for myself"
Lima, Ohio
Christmas 1899
Mercedes smiled as she watched the scene in front of her. Their relatives and family were talking and laughing in the living room. Her father and Irene couldn't make it since they were spending Christmas with their respective family in Columbus but Mercedes didn't really mind it. The Evans family was so welcoming that she had felt like she was a part of their family ever since the first time they met each other two years ago.
"Merry Christmas, darling" Sam whispered as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek. Mercedes smiled and leaned closer to his hard body.
"Merry Christmas" she said. A loud cry made them looked at each other.
"I'll go and take him" Sam said as he headed to crib which had been put near the common room.
"It's mine!" Artie said as he took his daughter from the crib. Sam smiled as he watched Artie brought his daughter to Quinn and then looked at the crib. He was greeted with large green eyes, staring back at him. He chuckled when his son smiled at him. He reached for him and before he managed to bring his son to Mercedes, he was being surrounded by his mother.
"My grandson is awaked! Give him to me. Nana wants to play with him" Mary said in a child's voice, making Jason laughed. He went to his grandmother and Sam went back to get Mercedes.
"Mary took him?" Mercedes asked, chuckling when Sam nodded. They went to join everybody in the common room. Sam and Mary smiled as they watched Jason waddled back to forth between his grandparents and made them laughed at his antics.
The Junction
Santana smiled fondly as she watched Sam and Mercedes played around with their son. Her heart soared with happiness at the look of pure happiness on Mercedes' face. Nobody deserved it more than her.
Thank you so much to everyone and each of you who have read this story, review it, follow it and favorite it.
Awa
