'Mom, I'll be fine!' Mercedes promised for the fiftieth time as she handed her boarding pass to the girl at the check-in desk, her phone clamped firmly between her shoulder and her ear.

'No, Mom… Yes, Mom…' Mercedes smiled apologetically at the amused looking clerk as she handed her luggage over.

'Ok, Mom… No, I actually have to go now… Really have to go.' She tried to pull the phone away from her ear but her mother kept talking, repeating all the same advice she'd given Mercedes as a kid, even though Mercedes was 24 years old now and only flying a couple of states over, not across the world. By the time her mother had repeated the words 'don't take candy from strangers.' for the third time Mercedes was officially at the end of her tether.

'Mom.'

'Flight AA219 to Nashville, Tennessee is now boarding. Could all passengers for this flight please make your way to Gate 61. That's all passengers for flight AA219 to Nashville, Tennessee, please make your way to Gate 61. Thank you.'

Mercedes eyebrows rose as the check-in clerk spoke in perfectly modulated tones to sound just like the flight announcements that would echo periodically through the small airport.

'Oh baby! You better go!' Her mother insisted on the other end of the phone, as if Mercedes hadn't been trying to do just that for the past 10 minutes. 'Don't want to miss your flight, you know you can't get a refund on those things.'

'Uh huh,' Mercedes nodded into the phone with a grateful look at the attendant, whose brow was wrinkled sympathetically as she waited for Mercedes to finish up on the phone. 'Listen, I don't know what the reception will be like on the ranch I'm staying at, but I'll talk to you just as soon as I can, ok?' Mercedes promised, thinking that 'as soon as she could' would probably not be until she'd set foot back in Ohio.

The trip was supposed to be relaxing, but Mercedes knew that it wouldn't be if her mother called every few hours to make sure she hadn't been kidnapped. Mercedes revelation prompted more worried chatter on the end of the line but she was able to stop it with a firm reminder that she had a plane to catch.

'Of course, Sweetie. Have a good time.' Mrs. Jones sounded like she was on the verge of hiring a bodyguard to protect her daughter on her two week vacation, so Mercedes was careful to sound extra reassuring as she said goodbye. She sighed with relief as she hung up and smiled gratefully at the attendant who had saved her from her mother's constant worrying.

'Thank you.'

'Not a problem!' The bubbly blond replied, shooting Mercedes a warm smile of her own as she handed back her boarding pass. 'I was raised by a single father and two older brothers, so I know overprotective when I see it.'

'Oh, ouch!' Mercedes winced, 'I bet your dates had fun.'

'It was a laugh riot.' the blonde deadpanned, nodding slowly until the two women broke into amused laughter.

'Well, have fun in Tennessee, Miss Jones.'

'Thanks, uh…'

'Stacey.' The woman supplied, shaking Mercedes' hand.

'Well, thank you, Stacey. I'm certainly going to try!'

The flight over was fairly uneventful, there had been one tense moment when the plane had hit a pocket of turbulence, forcing Mercedes to seriously rethink her plan to travel alone, but thankfully it hadn't lasted long and she'd arrived at the airport in one piece. She had been advised to take a cab from the airport to a nearby bus station, and then from there get the bus that would drop her off somewhere in the vicinity of the ranch she was staying at. Someone would apparently be sent to pick her up from there.

It was when the bus dropped her off on a dirt road next to a whole load of dark, foreboding-looking trees that Mercedes began to wonder if she'd maybe made a mistake in opting for a 'secluded' getaway. She'd booked the ranch on a whim after scrolling through the millions of places that offered an 'authentic Cowboy experience' in Tennessee. That wasn't really Mercedes' thing, she wanted to rest, not wake up at the butt crack of dawn to shovel manure. No thank you. Something had drawn her to the ad for the Nightingale Ranch, although she wouldn't have been able to tell you what, and she'd been delighted to find that the words 'authentic' and 'Cowboy' were nowhere to be found. She'd studied the pictures online and though it looked charming, and with unusual gumption she'd picked up her credit card and booked a room for two weeks the following month.

Now Mercedes found herself hoping that she hadn't fallen into one of those traps killers and kidnappers always seemed to lay out on Criminal Minds. Not even being saved by Shemar Moore in a flak jacket would be worth that foolishness. Mercedes kept one eye firmly on the trees as she waited for the person who was coming to pick her up and take her back to the ranch. She'd phoned when she got on the bus, as she'd been advised to do, but she'd thought that someone would have been there waiting for her, instead of having to wait for them.

Mercedes sighed, glad that she knew what she was looking for, a powder blue Chevy pickup truck, at least the kidnappers wouldn't be able to catch her out that way. Unless they snuck up on her, or threw a bag over her-

… Was it her, or was that the sound of breathing behind her?

Very slowly, her purse gripped in her hand ready to be used as a makeshift weapon, Mercedes turned around…

… and came face to face with a long, white face speckled with grey. Large brown eyes blinked down at her from beneath lengthy silver lashes as the creature came to investigate this new person in the middle of its habitat. Mercedes stayed very still as the horse took a couple of steps closer to her, its grey mane trembling with every step it took. She didn't know what to do. Should she run? Or would that make it chase her? Should she say something, or would the sound of her voice agitate it? Why wasn't it tied to anything? and how could a horse be that stealthy? She hadn't heard it at all.

Gingerly, Mercedes edged one foot to her left and shifted her body to follow it. The horse remained where it was standing, eyeing her as she moved her foot again and edged slightly further away from it. After Mercedes had made it about five steps to her left the horse shook its mane with a whinny that made Mercedes' heart race, and took one horse-sized step to align itself with her again so it could continue watching her.

'Um… Horse. Horsey.' Mercedes spoke tentatively to the beast, holding out a hand as if that might ward off any immediate attack it might be considering.

'Go… away.'

She made a gentle shooing motion with her outstretched hand, but it made absolutely no difference to the animal that continued to watch her calmly, swishing its ears against the cool summer breeze.

'Ok, so that's not… working!' Mercedes finished her sentence with a startled shriek as the horse pushed its warm muzzle into her open palm, happily nuzzling it as Mercedes stood frozen in surprise. Once she'd realised that she wasn't about to suffer death by horse bite, Mercedes found that the sensation really wasn't all that bad after all.

She gave the horse's long forehead a tentative stroke, but her hand stilled when it let out a soft whicker in response, but she resumed the motion once she was sure the sound had been a positive one. Mercedes grew more comfortable with her strokes as the horse stepped closer and nuzzled at her, laughing when it nudged at her neck, breathing a gust of horsey breath over her as it made its affections known.

'Hey!' Mercedes protested, moving away from the beast's kisses. 'You know, you really ought to take me out on a date first!' she told the animal with a chuckle, 'I'm not that kind of girl!'

'You heard the lady, Ranger.' A deep voice drawled from behind her, and Mercedes found herself taking a worried step closer to the horse. Sure, she'd been afraid of the creature a few minutes before, but she was far more inclined to trust the four legged animal than the mysterious voice that may well have come from the woods. The horse seemed to sense her discomfort and moved in front of her slightly.

Mercedes turned to face the stranger and was relieved when her eyes landed first on the powder blue truck parked a few yards away on the dirt path. She then sought out the source of the voice and was met with a tall figure regarding her with an amused expression. Mercedes had to look up at him to see his face, and took an inventory of his features as she did so: long, muscular legs in blue jeans, a well-worn soft plaid shirt that fell loosely over a flat stomach. Firm biceps bunched against the fabric of his sleeves as he held his arms crossed against a broad chest that tapered down into a slim waist. The man's face held large, pink lips quirked in a half-smile, and pair of bright green eyes twinkled at Mercedes in amusement from underneath a pale, wide-brimmed cowboy hat.

Wow.

Her heartbeat kicked up a notch as Mercedes hastily stroked the horse's flank in an effort to get her blush and instant attraction to this man under control.

The man had removed his cowboy hat just as soon as she'd seen him, revealing short dirty blonde hair that had been brushed back away from his forehead and fixed in place by the hat he'd been wearing.

'Sam Evans, Ma'am.' he informed her, holding out a hand for her to shake as his eyes took in her soft lips, large doe eyes and plush, curvy body. He licked his lips involuntarily as Mercedes shook his hand, his thumb swiping at the smooth skin of her wrist before he told himself to get a grip and stop hitting on his paying guest. He didn't want her to change her mind and book somewhere else because he'd been coming on too strong. The ranch was doing ok, but they could definitely use the extra money her stay would bring.

'Sam.' Mercedes repeated, committing the name to memory.

'Yup.' Sam confirmed with a curt nod, 'And am I right in thinking that you're Miss Jones?'

Sam thought it was pretty the way the afternoon light reflected off the woman's satiny brown skin as she nodded. She looked like some kind of delicious fruit, just beggin' for the tastin'. Don't go there, Sam. He reminded himself again. Stop thinking about hitting on the paying customer! Jesus!

Sam walked on over to her luggage to give himself something to do other than stare at her and picked it up, surprised to find that it wasn't at all as heavy as he'd expected it to be.

'And you met The Lone Ranger here.' he gestured a hand towards the horse and it neighed in answer. 'Ya'll seemed to be gettin' on pretty well.'

Mercedes looked sidelong at the horse and giggled when it seemed to be doing the same thing to her.

'Yeah.' she admitted, 'Its name's really 'The Lone Ranger'?'

'Sam smiled, and gave the horse a friendly pat.

'That it is, ma'am. She's my dad's, he used to watch the reruns on TV when he was a kid and dreamed of being a Texas Ranger when he grew up. Obviously, that didn't happen because we live in Tennessee,' Sam let out a warm chuckle that somehow managed to make Mercedes feel as if her whole body were bathed in sunlight, 'but I think Ranger here was enough to satisfy those dreams. Weren't you girl?' Sam gave the horse another pat before he nodded his head towards his truck and started off towards it.

'I admit to being kinda surprised to see you with Ranger. She seems to prefer to keep to herself these days' he explained as he hauled Mercedes' suitcase into the flatbed of the truck. 'My dad can't ride her anymore so she mostly takes herself out. We just trust the old girl to bring herself back.'

Sam fitted his hat back on his head and unlocked the passenger door, but he raised a hand to the back of his neck and rubbed it bashfully when he got a look a how the cab of the truck hovered on a level with Mercedes' waist. She really was kinda tiny, and he hadn't anticipated that.

'I didn't think to get a step…' He apologised as Mercedes braced her hands on either side of the door to try and lever herself up. 'No, don't do that.' he insisted, releasing Mercedes' hands gently from the metal. He got her to turn around and anchored his hands around her waist, lifting her up onto the seat with ease.

'There you go.' Sam closed the door and made his way to the other side, completely unaware of the look of surprise that now coloured Mercedes' features.

He'd just lifted her. Like she weighed nothing. Without batting an eyelid.

Mercedes wasn't ashamed of her body in any way, but she hadn't expected to be picked up and moved around like some kind of 100lb cheerleader either. This was most definitely a first for her, and she was even more intrigued to find that she'd actually liked it.

Sam, on the other hand, was freaking out a little bit. He shouldn't have touched her. Now that he had he just wanted to do it again… and again, and again. He tried not to think about the way his hands had felt clutched around her waist, or the way they'd sunk into her softness and how much more incredible she'd looked up close. He very carefully kept his thoughts away from the smell of strawberries and expensive chocolate that had drifted up from her skin as he'd leaned into her…

And she was going to be in his house.

For Two. Weeks.

Sam lifted his hat to run a hand through his hair before he climbed up into the cab beside her. What was it about this woman that had him so hot under the collar? He was 26 for goodness sake! He should not be reacting to touching a girl - a woman - he corrected, like a teenage boy at his first dance.

Mercedes felt her skin prickle with the heat of just being near this guy. He wasn't even really her type! She'd never been attracted to cowboys, unless they were of the Dallas variety, and yet here she was practically having hot flashes because some blond with a dashing smile touched her waist. Mercedes knew that she would be a mess for the next two weeks if she didn't get herself together soon, and she resolved to ignore whatever attraction she might feel towards Sam Evans. If she ignored it, it would go away.

Something felt wrong with that sentence, but Mercedes wasn't going to dwell on it to see what it might be. Sam turned on the radio at Mercedes' request as soon as they were both buckled up, although neither of them were really listening to it. They were both lost in their own thoughts as they stared out the truck windows; Sam at the road ahead, and Mercedes at the acres of corn, green grass and flower fields that flew past as they drove by.

This would have been the ultimate relaxing holiday, Mercedes lamented internally, her eyes trained idly on a passing field full of cows. She stole a look back at Sam only to catch him in the process of stealing a look at her. Their faces split into identical embarrassed smiles as they turned away again, Mercedes' cheeks burning and a blush already coloured the top of Sam's ears, staining them a tomato red. Then again, Mercedes told herself, maybe relaxing is overrated. Sometimes learning was fun too, and she'd sure enjoy learning about Sam.

'Oh, I love this song!' She shifted in her seat as one of her favourites came on the country music station Sam's truck radio was tuned to.

'Me too.' Sam reached over to turn the dial up as the intro played, looking at the woman in the passenger seat out the corner of his eye as the verse started, leaning forward against the steering wheel as they burst into song, apparently both having the idea to sing along to the hit to ease some of the awkward tension between them.

'Cause God blessed the broken road/That led me straight/ To you.'

Sam insisted on singing the guitar solo, which had Mercedes falling about laughing in her seat as he really got into it, wiping away tears of mirth from her eyes as they sped along the dusty road towards Sam's ranch.