Alright since I made Tora post hers, here's mine! Also, if y'all get back on her I can get y'all chapter four right quick cause she working on it!

Enjoy!


Day One

The sun was barely up and the dew on the grass hadn't evaporated as Sam whistled as he walked to his parent's house, the smell of breakfast filling his nose. He waved at a few of the other workers as they went about their morning chores, the same hard line on his face.

As he entered the house, he was greeted by his father who was in the kitchen cooking up some bacon and eggs. "Good morning son!" his father said cheerfully. "Hungry?"

Sam sighed, grabbing a cup and fixing him some coffee. "Why are you so chipper?" He questioned.

His father chuckled and smiled. "Oh, I guess I'm just excited to have a new member of the family. To help around the ranch, to learn about how things work here."

He gestured to the food on the table. "And I'm happy to feed her too if she ever decides to show up for breakfast."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You're really serious about this plan? You think it's going to work?"

Dwight chuckled and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands together on top of the table. "I'm old fashioned enough to know when something is meant to be, and I think bringing this girl here is exactly that- a sign from above that we could all use some fresh blood around here."

Sam shook his head. "She has never worked a single hard day's work in her life. She's gonna slow me down... not to mention those ridiculous shoes."

He smirked. "I see she made a big impression on you."

Sam shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, this is my home, my land and I don't want anyone coming in here messing things up. We were lucky her father gave the ranch back to us." He said firmly before taking a sip of his coffee.

Dwight nodded in understanding before patting Sam's shoulder with one hand and smiling warmly at him with the other.

"But son," he said slowly,"That's even more reason to view this as a good thing. Just because something is different or new doesn't mean it can't be good, it just takes time." He stood up from the table and placed one hand on Sam's shoulder as he walked past towards the door."Now we'd best hurry if we want us both ready for her first day."

Sam rolled his eyes, choosing to eat a few slices of toast while thinking over everything that happened. Two years ago they'd hit a rough patch and lost their ranch in an auction and for two years they were stuck in a weird limbo until recently when his father got a call from Joe Jones. He still remembers the look on his parent's faces when they were told that the ranch would remain in their family.

He couldn't help but feel a twinge of bitterness as he thought about how they had to rely on someone else's generosity to keep their legacy alive. But, he knew deep down that he couldn't hold onto that resentment forever. He had to move on and make the best of what they had.

He finished his breakfast and made his way up to his sister's room to see if she had an extra pair of work boots for the new girl. He looked and saw that the light wasn't on and knocked lightly before opening the door.

"Stace?" He said, easing his way over to her closet.

His little sister groaned, turning over. "It's not four yet." She grumbled and he smiled, shaking his head.

"I just need to borrow a pair of your boots" he whispered, turning on the light to the closet. He searched until he found her boots. "I'm taking the black boots, you don't use them."

"Yeah? Whatever, go away." She muttered pulling the cover over her head.

"Pop cooked. Better get it while there's still some. Jack, Stevie and DJ haven't made it yet." He informed, before shutting off the light.

"What! Why did he cook so early?" His sister asked, scrambling out of bed.

Sam chuckled. "You told me to go away." He teased, holding his foot out making her trip before running out of her room.

He laughed, running down the stairs when he heard her shout he was gonna pay for that.

"Good morning Sammy boy!" His brother Stevie said, sitting at the table with four plates. "Heard the new girl arrived, heard she was cute."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Jack thinks every woman is pretty."

Stevie was the third oldest in the family, and he was handsomer than his brothers. People often stopped to stare at Stevie or ask for directions, and though he was young he carried a weight easily. His blonde hair was shoulder length, and his eyes were green-blue. He stood taller than most, too.

Him and Stacey were identical twins. She was his opposite in many ways: they had the same hair and eyes, but she was shorter than him, her features were softer and she was stunning. She was slightly taller than their mother, and she was the only girl in a family of boys, though the roughest out of them all. She was the one who handled the ranch's finances; she oversaw both buying and selling for their family. She could ride almost any horse and break it herself if necessary. Her strong personality sometimes made her argumentative, but she always knew what to do, what needed to be done.

Jack greeted them with an excited energy. "Ready for today?" He asked teasingly to Sam. "She's gonna be under your reins."

Sam huffed, looking at his watch. It was 3:50 and he had a feeling that she wasn't going to be awake in time to start at four. "Let's make a bet."

Stevie and Jack both looked at their brother intrigued. "What kind of bet and what do we win?" Stevie asked, smacking Jack's hand away when he tried to take a piece of his bacon.

"If she isn't at the barn when I arrive, you both have to tend Besse's stall and milk her, if she is I'll do all of your chores today." Sam replied and they both smiled.

Jack shrugged, grabbing some sausage. "Deal, Besse likes me."

Steve's eyes grew wide. "Yeah but she hates me! Which cottage is she in?" He asked, jumping up from his seat, grabbing two biscuits before running out the door.

Sam smirked. "You do know that anytime Besse sees Stevie she immediately attacks everyone near him, right?"

His older brother shrugged again. "And you and I both know she's not going to be awake so there's no point of stressing it. You'll still be stuck with her and your day will be longer because you have to train her. So who's really losing? You have to show her how to do everything so that means we don't have to have anything done until you get there." Jack replied, with a bright smile.

"Fuck."

Sam sighed and left the kitchen, resigned to his fate. He grabbed his hat from the hook by the door and went outside. He made his way across the ranch in no time at all, taking long strides and never slowing down. His mind raced with all the things he would have to do to train the new girl.


He reached the barn and sure enough she wasn't there. He sighed, annoyed before storming off towards the cottages. He walked straight up to hers and banged but got no response, no matter how hard he knocked or yelled her name.

"I hope you're dressed." He said before taking the spare keys from his pocket and unlocking the door. He walked inside, looking around, seeing clothes everywhere before seeing her sprawled out across the bed sleeping soundly with an eye mask that wrapped around her ears.

He frowned before a devilish smile came to his face. Quietly he placed the boots he'd been carrying down as he crept past the bed into the bathroom. He looked around until he found a bucket, quickly he filled it with cold water before walking back into the bedroom.

"FOUR AM SHARP!" He shouted before tossing the bucket of water over her head.

Her eyes flew open wide and she gasped in shock as she felt droplets of water dripping from her hair and clothes. Struggling to untangle herself from her sheets, she quickly jumped out of bed.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She snarled, her voice shaking with barely-contained rage.

The man just laughed cruelly before responding, "I thought it was time to wake you up! You have a lot of work to do so I figured I better get you moving."

She glared at him with venom in her eyes as she bawled her fists and stepped closer. "You could have just knocked on the door if you wanted to wake me up!"

He rolled his eyes and waved his hand dismissively. "Where's the fun in that? Besides, this was way more effective! Now go get ready quickly cause we have a lot of work ahead of us today!"

Mercedes scowled at him, her anger still burning in her chest. She wanted to hit him for his arrogance and insensitivity, but she knew it wouldn't do any good. Instead, she let out a long sigh before turning around and heading towards the bathroom to get ready for the day.

He watched her go with a smug smile on his face. Mercedes was clearly angry about being woken up in such a manner, but he took some satisfaction in knowing that it had worked. Now that she was awake, they would be able to get their work done quicker, especially since he had to literally show her everything.

With a contented sigh, he grabbed the boots he had been carrying and put them beside the door before leaving. He headed towards the barn where he would have to spend the next few hours teaching Mercedes how to tend to the horses and other animals.

As he walked through the fields, his mind slowly started drifting back onto thoughts of her-the way she looked when she was mad and how her hair glowed in the sunlight as she turned away from him. He quickly shook his head and told himself to focus on his task instead of letting his thoughts wander like that.

Steeling himself for what was to come, Sam finally reached the barn door. He paused before pushing it open, taking in a deep breath and letting the scent of hay and leather wash over him. His heart skipped a beat as he stepped inside, greeted by the warm glow of lanterns and friendly nickers from the horses inside.

Sam moved slowly among them, running his hands through their manes and speaking softly to them in calming tones. As he tended to each stall, Sam unconsciously began humming a tune that his mother had sung to him when he was younger—a reminder of happier times which seemed so far away.

Just then Mercedes pushed open the doors with an annoyed look on her face. "What do you want me to do?" she asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

Sam sighed heavily, annoyed that his peaceful moment had been interrupted by Mercedes. He turned slowly towards her and began to speak in a harsh tone. "You really know how to ruin somebody's mood, don't you?"

Mercedes had no patience for his quiet moment - she stepped forward and invaded his personal space. "What do you want me to do?" she asked again with an edge to her voice.

Sam looked down at Mercedes' feet and saw that she had put on the boots he had left for her. He smirked devilishly, his mood changing from annoyed to deviously amused in an instant.

"Fine, sweetheart," he growled. "Since you're so eager to work, I will show you once and then you'll do it."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, starting to turn her head away but Sam quickly grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "If you mess up," he continued in a stern voice. "You will do it until it's right, understand? I don't care if it takes all damn day. I expect it to be done to my standards."

He released her chin and stepped back, watching with narrowed eyes as Mercedes frowned. Without warning, her small hand came across his face, fast and hard.

"Let that be the last time you put your hands on me." She spat bringing her hand up again to slap him but he quickly stopped it, pulling her close and staring down at her intensely.

His eyes bore into hers as a wide range of emotions troubled his face, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he slowly ran his tongue along his bottom lip soothing the sting from her tiny hand. His breathing had increased and his tone chest moved up and down rapidly before he snarled, letting her arm go.

"That was your only freebie." He spat, walking towards the horses, looking over his shoulder seeing her still standing where he'd left her. "Come on rich girl, you're not gonna learn from over there."

Mercedes stood there defiantly with her hands on her hips. "You don't need me over there to show me."

Sam slowly blinked, mentally counting to ten to calm his rising anger. "How do you expect-" he stopped his question, counting again. "Either come willing or I will move you myself."

She scuffed, bringing her right hand up, pretending to check her nails. "I can see the horse from here."

His jaw clenched before he nodded. "Fine," he said before turning and unlatching the gate, clicking his tongue before repeating the same steps five more times. "I'll lead them to the field, then you can start cleaning their stalls, but you're going to need some supplies first. My dad showed you where the extra hay and tools were yesterday so I don't need to."

He led one of the horses over to where the saddles were before placing it on the horse. He secured the straps before mounting it. "All of that should take no more than forty minutes. I have to feed the goats, I'll be back and it better be done."

Mercedes' eyes widened with disbelief as she exclaimed, "Wait, you expect me to do all of that in forty minutes?" before stepping boldly in front of the horse.

Sam quickly tightened the reins stopping his horse from moving. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" He bellowed, jumping off of the horse, he grabbed Mercedes by the arm and yanked her away from the animal with such force that her feet barely touched the ground. "Rule one, don't you dare step in front of my horse like that again! Do you have a death wish?"

She huffed. "How do you expect me to learn anything if you insist on being a pompous asshole?"

"I tried- look, I don't want you here anymore than you want to be but this-" He said, pointing at everything around them. "Is my livelihood, I don't have a bank account sitting with millions of dollars in it and I damn sure don't have time to hold your hand all damn day. If you want to leave then by all means leave but don't come here acting all entitled and expect any of us to entertain it."

She wrapped her arms around herself. "We both know I can't leave."

"Then shut your mouth and pay attention. We have a long list of things that need to be done before twelve and you've already wasted twenty minutes." He replied before walking over to his horse.

He looked back nodding her over and reluctantly she came, he tapped her leg and she looked at him confused. 'Give me your foot."

Mercedes looked at him like he was crazy but did as he instructed and lifted her leg to his waiting knee. He began untying the boots she was wearing. "What are you doing?"

"Pay attention." He said, as he finished unlacing the boots. "These are your new best friends, you need to make sure they're tight but not constricting. I will lace them this one time then you're on your own." He explained and she nodded

Mercedes watched as he expertly laced up her boot, the leather tightening snugly around her foot. She couldn't help but feel a tingle of attraction towards him, despite his tough exterior. She wondered what it would be like to feel his hands on other parts of her body, to hear his deep voice whispering in her ear.

As he finished with her first boot, she eagerly lifted her other foot to his waiting knee. He began to lace up her boot, his rough fingers brushing against her skin. She bit her lip, trying not to moan at the sensation.

Suddenly, he looked up at her with a stern expression. "What's wrong with you? Why can't you focus?"

Mercedes flushed, realizing that she had been daydreaming instead of paying attention. "Sorry, I just got distracted," she mumbled.

"Well, you better snap out of it," he growled. "We don't have time for you to be lost in your own world."

She nodded, trying to control the heat on her cheeks as she continued watching him lace her boot.

He was done in a matter of minutes and he got up, walking over to his horse. He grabbed a rope that was laying on the ground and swung his foot onto the stirrup. "What are you doing? Shouldn't you be showing me how to clean the stalls or something?"

Sam rolled his eyes as he looked down at Mercedes. "Listen up, I won't repeat this," he said. He began to explain all of the steps that were needed for her to properly clean the stalls. "First you need to get some hay and use it to cover the floor so it doesn't get mucky. Once that's done, you have to remove any droppings or leftover feed and then scrub down each stall with a brush and warm water. Make sure to rinse well afterwards! When you're all done, refill the water buckets with fresh water and add in some grain if they need it. Got it?"

Mercedes looked at him before throwing her hands up and shaking her head. "You expect me to go in there and scrub it?" She asked disgusted. "No, i think I want to like... feed the chickens or something that doesn't involve horse shit."

Sam raised an eyebrow at her and let out a chuckle. "Well, if you'd rather shovel chicken poop, be my guest. But the horses are our priority right now, so you better get started on those stalls if you want to get paid." He turned and made his way towards the field, leading the horses out of the barn.

Mercedes groaned, her fists balled at her sides as she watched Sam lead the horses to the field. She couldn't believe she was stuck with this dirty job while he got to play cowboy. She grumbled under her breath, turning and heading back into the barn in search of the supplies that she would need.

The barn was dim and smelled of hay and animal droppings. Mercedes wrinkled her nose as she squinted her eyes searching for the supplies that Sam had mentioned. After a few minutes of searching, Mercedes grew frustrated. "I don't even know where the stuff is!" She shouted, throwing up her arms.

Just then, a voice from behind her made her jump. "It's all right there," it said calmly. Mercedes turned to see a teenage boy standing there, his eyes twinkling. He pointed to a corner of the barn where various tools and supplies were neatly stacked on shelves and cabinets.

Mercedes smiled "Thank you... why are you up so early?" She asked.

The young boy walked closer, smiling. "I have morning chores." He replied, walking over grabbing the things she would need: a rake, shovel, bucket, scrub brush and broom, as well as more hay for bedding material for each stall. "You're gonna need all of this to clean the stalls."

"They make you do chores this early?" She asked concerned, taking the items he presented. "Aren't there like child labor laws?"

He laughed, shaking his head. "It's my family's ranch, so if I don't do my chores it puts everyone else behind." He replied and Mercedes saw the same resemblance to Dwight. "I'm DJ, Dwight, Jr."

Mercedes was surprised, though it made perfect sense; she should have guessed it was Dwight's son. She smiled. "Nice to meet you DJ," she said, extending a hand.

DJ shook her hand before continuing his explanation. "If I don't get the chores done, my dad will be upset, says it will build character." He glanced out of the barn towards the field where Sam was tending to the horses. "I guess Sam's not going to help you much."

Mercedes laughed and shook her head. "Well, he's a jackass so..." she replied. She looked around at all the supplies that DJ had gathered for her and smiled gratefully. "Thank you for this, I really appreciate it."

DJ simply shrugged and gave her a small smile. "No problem," he said softly. "But, Sam's not that bad, just like to have stuff done right. Anyway, I gotta go. See you around."

Mercedes took a deep breath as she assessed all of the supplies in front of her. She grabbed the rake, looking at it like it was alien. She walked over to the first stall, scrunching her nose. "Oh hell to the no!" She attempted to move the old hay around, gagging when it hit something semi solid. "Uh-uh, uh-uh, nope!"

Dropping the rake, she stomped out to the fields seeing Sam had dismounted his horse and was currently feeding it carrots. She walked over to him, tapping him on the shoulder and huffing.

Sam turned around, cocking an eyebrow as he saw her. "What do you want?" He asked, side eyeing her. "We have a job to get done and I'd like to get back home before dinner."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "As if you weren't going to do that anyways," she retorted. "I just think for everyone involved that I don't clean the stalls, I can… like play with the horses and you can clean them."

Sam dropped his head before looking at his watch. He was now behind by an hour and that meant he wouldn't be getting home until late tonight. "What... did you even attempt to clean one?"

"Look, I am not meant to shovel animal feces, there has to be something else." She said and Sam felt a headache coming on.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a long breath. "Fine." He replied tightly. "Come with me." He instructed. Smiling and flipping her hair, she gladly followed him. Sam led her back to the barn waiting until she was fully inside before quickly locking them inside.

"What the hell?"

Sam said nothing, the tools were quickly snatched up and thrown in the first stall with a loud clatter. He quickly strode back out and marched over to Mercedes. "You can slap me later," he growled before sweeping her off of her feet and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She shouted, but Sam only tightened his hold on her.

He marched back over to the stall, his patience already worn thin. "Sam, what are you doing?" Mercedes demanded, her voice taking on a note of fear. "Put me down, please!" Sam said nothing, instead he did what she asked and dropped her directly onto the floor of the stall.

"Now, clean it." He snarled, slamming and locking the door for good measure. "You want out? Then you will make this stall spotless!"

"Sam!" Mercedes screamed, banging on the door. "Let me out right now! Sam!"

Sam ignored her, going to the second stall and starting cleaning. He didn't know what he was doing, he had absolutely no experience with this sort of thing. But he did have experience in breaking horses and if she wanted to act like an entitled brat then he was gonna treat her like he did wild horses.

He was gonna break her if it was the last thing he did.


Two hours and several cuss words later, the stalls were cleaned and the horses tended to. After they tended the horses, they had to feed the other animals,including the pigs, chickens, and cows. As they worked, Sam watched her every move, making sure she didn't slack off. She could feel his eyes on her and it made her skin crawl.

Despite her exhaustion, she kept going, determined not to let Sam break her. When Sam finally allowed her a short break she walked past him without saying a word. Covered in sweat, dirt and tears, She had never been subjected to such treatment and would make sure her father knew just how horrible Sam was.

Her break was only brief and when she saw Sam approaching she started shaking her head. "No, no." She said, backing away from him.

Sam rolled his eyes. "We have to tend to crops now." He said, looking at his watch. "We're three hours behind so we'll have to skip lunch."

"Excuse me? You expect me to work this hard and not eat? That's where I draw the line, you will feed me or I will kill you!"

Stevie, Jack and Dwight watched in amusement as Sam tried to remain calm but he was losing that fight fast.

"Should we help him?" Jack asked.

"Eh, he lost the bet fair and square, beside it's kinda hot seeing someone as cute as her yell at Sam." Stevie replied.

Dwight chuckled, patting his sons on the shoulder. "Well you remember the rules, if you don't work you don't eat. So if his work isn't finished, guess who's not eating?"

Stevie groaned, jumping over the fence. "I'll be damned if I don't get to eat!" He said before walking over to where they were currently arguing.

Jack shook his head, chuckling. "I'm going to let him handle that, I'm going to grab Stace and run into town for a few more supplies."

"Take DJ too, he needs to get off the ranch for a while." Dwight said.

"When are you going to tell them that her dad gave us the land back and money?"

Dwight looked at his eldest before sighing. "Sam doesn't need anymore reason to resent that girl and as far as Stevie… he doesn't need reason to slack anymore than he already does." He answered with a soft laugh. "I will be letting DJ sleep in more, he deserves to be a teenager."

Jack nodded. "The longer you keep it away from the worse it'll end up. He took it the hardest when things went down, this is amusing now but it won't last." He said before walking away.


please excuse any mistakes! I hope y'all enjoyed this! More to come! Also Sam tirppin... HARD!