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The Man Who had to Eat Crow

Sam's body felt like it had been dragged through the mud and then trampled by a herd of cattle. His calloused hands were now covered in fresh blisters, his back aching from hours of hard labor, and his head throbbing with exhaustion. No longer did he start his work day at four am - now, just to keep up with the endless tasks, he had to begin at two in the wasn't even the worse thing troubling him, no, the worse thing troubling him was the task of tending to Mercedes.

Sam trudged towards the stables, his mood dark and brooding. He couldn't believe that he was being forced to tend to Mercedes, the spoiled little princess who thought she was above everyone else. The thought of it made him furious, not because he had to do it - that only half bothered him - no, the stubborn brat refused to let him help her.

He knew why she was acting this way. She thought he was beneath her, just another ranch hand who didn't deserve her attention. But Sam wasn't going to let her get away with it. He had a score to settle with her.

As he approached her cottage, he sighed walking up the steps before knocking. "Are you going to let me in today?" He asked leaning his head on the door. It has been the same thing for the past three days, he would stop by to see if she needed anything but she would never respond.

His father had taken away the spare keys to Mercedes' cottage, preventing him from entering at will. The only time he knew anyone was inside was when Santana went in to change her bandages. As Santana had informed him, he was forbidden from being around either of them. He didn't mind, but when his mother asked if she had been eating, he realized he needed to step up his efforts. She had been refusing to eat any of the meals he cooked for her.

And yes, he was cooking now - that was one of his father's requirements; there were five in total:

1. Check in with them daily.

2. Ensure her comfort.

3. Make sure she ate every four hours - homemade food only.

4. Don't be a jerk.

5. Prevent her from doing anything that required lifting her arms.

Sam clenched his fists and knocked on the door a second time, bracing himself for another argument. "Mercedes, please open up. I have things to do."

"GO AWAY!" She yelled back.

He leaned against the door, feeling frustrated and exhausted. "You need to eat something. It's been three days."

"I don't trust you to feed me," she responded bitterly.

Sam rubbed his temples, trying to calm down. "Why would I poison you? You're not worth the trouble."

A few ranch hands passing by stopped to watch the scene unfold. Sam glared at them until they awkwardly shuffled away. "Just open the damn door, Mercedes."

"YOU TRIED TO HAVE YOUR DEMON COW KILL ME! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE TRYING TO KILL ME!"

"Don't make me break down this door!" He warned, his voice shaking with rage. "I will force feed you if I have to!"

She scoffed and spat back, "OH YEAH, THAT'S GONNA MAKE ME TRUST YOU EVEN MORE!"

Sam threw up his hands in frustration and stormed down the steps. "Fine," he yelled, "if you want to starve, then STARVE!"

He stormed off towards the stables, his heart pounding with anger. If she were under anyone else's care she would have taken the the damn offer for food, but since it was him, she acted like his main goal was to kill her. If it hadn't been his father chewing into him, he wouldn't even entertain any of this shit but deep down there was a sliver of him that felt bad. His father was right, it could've gone worse but he was also right in showing her Besse early on.

He stormed off towards the stables, his heart pounding with anger. If she were under anyone else's care she would have taken the the damn offer for food, but since it was him, she acted like his main goal was to kill her. If it hadn't been his father chewing into him, he wouldn't even entertain any of this shit but deep down there was a sliver of him that felt bad. His father was right, it could've gone worse but he was also right in showing her Besse early on.

He sighed, his anger slowly ebbing away. He had to find a way to get Mercedes to trust him - he couldn't force her; all he could do was try and be there for her.

He walked up to Misty, his horse's stall and stroked the mare's neck. This was the horse that he had trained for weeks in order to start helping out around the ranch. She was his best friend and as lonely as that might've sounded, it was the way he preferred it. "What am I gonna do, girl?" he murmured softly as she nuzzled against him.


The sun had sunk low in the sky by now but Sam wasn't tired anymore, instead a plan began forming in his head. He needed to show Mercedes that she could trust him - that he wasn't out for revenge or trying to take advantage of her disability - so he would start with small steps. He would make her cook with him so that she could see he wasn't trying to poison her… even if it wasn't a half bad idea.

Mercedes sat on the bed, feeling her stomach grumble but refusing to allow that man to help her in any way. She sighed, slowly easing off of the bed wincing when a rush of pain hit her. She was mad that she'd turn down the offer to go to the hospital but she knew what would've happened if she did, her father would've been alerted and then Marie. Her father wasn't the issue in that case, Marie was, she would've flown down here in all her pregnant glory and tried to murder Sam. A devious grin crossed her face at that thought, she would love for Sam to try this shit with her sister. But she wanted Marie to be safe and stress free so she had to pretend this incident didn't happen for the sake of her sister and her babies.

"Knock, knock. I come bearing snacks and medicine."

Mercedes smiled when she saw Santana carrying a bag of snacks. "Oh bless you!" She said, walking over to the Latina and taking the snacks. "I'm starving and that crazy man keeps trying to feed me food."

Santana leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, a smug smirk playing on her lips as she watched Mercedes.

"You know, you can't survive solely on snacks forever," Santana said.

Mercedes sighed and glanced down at the pills in her hand. "I know, but I refuse to eat anything Sam, no offense but I'm almost certain he's trying to poison me."

Santana snorted. "Sam? He wouldn't kill you, maybe just torture you a little."

Mercedes glared at her. "And that's supposed to make it better? I've only been here for one day and already have bruises all over my ribs because of him."

After a moment of silence, Santana nodded in understanding. "Okay, fine. You got me there. But seriously, you need to eat real food with those meds or you'll get hooked and we don't accept crackheads here."

Mercedes couldn't suppress her laughter as Santana opened her bag to wrap up a new shirt. "I mean, being addicted to drugs is so last season," she joked.

Santana raised an eyebrow and gestured for Mercedes to lift her arm. Mercedes quickly scarfed down two more cookies before pulling her shirt off of her right shoulder. "Well, in my world at least," she clarified. "There's always people trying to be trendy, but I've never been into that stuff. My dad would have sent me to some fancy rehab center if I had."

Santana nodded, slowly unwrapping the wrap until she could see Mercedes' skin. She gently pressed the area and Mercedes yelped in pain. "Okay, what's the real reason your dad shipped you off here?" Santana asked, rubbing some topical pain relief onto Mercedes' skin.

"I don't come from a palace or anything like that," Mercedes said through gritted teeth. "But yes, I do live comfortably and my house may be bigger than most, but it's not a palace. Ow!"

"So your dad just wanted you to learn to appreciate what you have?" Santana questioned, finishing up with the pain relief and tossing the used wrap into a nearby trash can.

She rolled her eyes. "No, he wants me to be like Marie and to understand the value of a dollar. I graduated summa cum laude with degree in accounting and finance.

Santana raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Wait, you have a degree in accounting and finance?"

Mercedes shrugged nonchalantly. "Yeah, I wanted to follow in his footsteps and take over the family business."

"Wow, that's impressive," Santana said sincerely.

Mercedes smiled proudly. "Thanks. I worked hard for it."

"So why aren't you working for your dad then?" Santana asked, genuinely curious now.

Mercedes sighed and looked down at her lap. "Because I'm not Marie," she admitted quietly.

"What does that mean exactly?" Santana questioned.

Mercedes took a deep breath and looked up at Santana. "Marie is my older sister. She's always been the perfect child, the one who never got into trouble and always made our dad proud. She's the one who's now working for my dad and in line for taking over the business."

Santana nodded, understanding now. "And you feel like you can never measure up to her."

Mercedes nodded sadly. "Exactly. No matter what I do, I always feel like it's not enough. Like I'm not enough."

Santana placed a comforting hand on Mercedes' shoulder. "Well, you're here now. And I promise you, you'll learn a lot about yourself and what you're capable of. You don't have to be anyone else but yourself."

Mercedes smiled gratefully at Santana. "Thank you. I needed to hear that."

Santana grinned. "Anytime, chica. Now, let's go get some real food in you."


Sam woke up earlier than usual the next morning and silently made his way to his parent's house. He knew where his father kept the spare keys, so he snuck in through the back entrance. He quickly found the keys for Mercedes' cottage and pocketed them before heading to their outdoor fridge. After grabbing some eggs, bacon, and milk, he searched through the outdoor cabinets and found a few other items that he thought might come in handy. With everything in hand, Sam headed towards Mercedes' cottage. He wasn't particularly fond of breaking into someone's private space, but he was hungry and he knew she needed some food too. More specifically his food.

It was unusual to see her at the dinner table, especially since she had been confined to her cottage ever since she got injured. Mary had prepared a mouth-watering spread of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and homemade biscuits. Everyone ate heartily and complemented Mary's cooking before heading back to their homes for the night. However, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of resentment towards her as he noticed her enjoying his mother's cooking without hesitation, even though she wouldn't eat his own dishes.

Sam tried not to let his jealousy show as he walked into Mercedes' cottage, setting the food on the kitchen counter. He wasn't surprised to see her still asleep when he walked inside her room, shaking his head. He hesitated waking her but he needed to get started and didn't need her acting like he'd snuck in to kill her. He walked over to her bed and gently shook her shoulder.

Mercedes woke up to the sound of her stomach grumbling. She groaned, rubbing her eyes and trying to shake off the sleep before seeing Sam standing over her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, looking around suspiciously. "How did you get in here?"

"With these." He replied and she quickly snatched them.

She hurriedly rolled out of bed, her tank top riding up and exposing her stomach while her panties clung tightly to her hips. Sam's gaze darkened before he turned away, biting the inside of his cheek to suppress any inappropriate thoughts. The sound of Mercedes rummaging through dresser drawers echoed in the room as she frantically searched for something to cover herself with.

"You can't just barge in here!" She said, storming into the kitchen.

He rolled his eyes. "I brought you food to make breakfast." he replied, gesturing towards the counter.

Mercedes looked at him skeptically. "Why would you do that?"

Sam sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I know we haven't gotten off on the right foot. And I know I'm not the easiest person to get along with. But I don't want to fight with you right now. So I brought food to make you breakfast."

Mercedes studied him for a moment before shaking her head. "No, no. I'm fine, I'm not even hungry." She said, right as her stomach grumbled.

Sam raised an eyebrow, amused by her response. "Right, you're not even hungry," he teased, making her roll her eyes.

Mercedes huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Fine, I'm starving. But I can make my own breakfast," she replied stubbornly.

"That's great, since you won't eat what I cook, you're gonna help me cook your breakfast." He said, smirking. "You can cook right?"

"Of course I can!" She replied arrogantly, rolling her eyes."I'm black"

Sam's eyebrows knitted together as he gave her a slow nod, acknowledging her words. "Being black and having the ability to cook don't correlate. If you never had anyone show you the basics then you can't cook." He turned away and began opening cabinets, searching for the necessary cookware.

Mercedes stood with her arms crossed, watching him intently. "And you think you can?"

A small smile spread across Sam's face. "I've dealt with livestock my whole life, you're getting the best meat and produce that even your money couldn't buy. My grandma cooked everyday and taught us everything she knew. I can cook and then some."

Mercedes watched as Sam confidently moved around the kitchen, gathering ingredients and utensils with ease. Her stomach rumbled again, reminding her how hungry she was. She couldn't deny that the idea of Sam cooking for her was tempting, but she didn't want to give in too easily.

Sam looked over his shoulder at her. "All the food is in front of you, there's no poison." He said teasingly. "Come on, I have to get to work soon."

As he began chopping vegetables, Mercedes shifted before walking over the counter. "Must be nice to have everything you need right there," she commented.

He snorted. "Hmm. You don't have everything at your fingertips?" He asked, handing her the knife. "Finish cutting these." He moved around her, grabbing a boiler and filling it water for the grits.

Mercedes ignored his question, awkwardly as she picked up the knife. "My dad wasn't big on cooking..." She said softly, her mind drifting off as she remembered her father's cooking.

"It's easy. This is a paring knife, it's designed to be used for vegetables like peppers," Sam explained before looking at what she was cutting and smirking slightly. "You don't have to cut each pepper into four pieces with an angle cut."

Mercedes ignored him, moving her hand over each pepper, trying to get it just perfect. "It looks symmetrical doesn't it?" she asked quietly.

Sam sighed, setting a hand on her shoulder. "Cut it like this," he said, showing her the finished product. Mercedes felt a warmth spread from under Sam's hand on her shoulder, making her skin tingle. She shook her head and focused on cutting the rest of the vegetables, trying to push away any inappropriate thoughts.

"It's just food." He said before turning his attention back to the boiling water. "You said your dad wasn't big on cooking, what about your mom?"

She shrugged. "She died when I was pretty young so I never got the chance to do anything like that with her."

Sam looked at her from the corner of his eye. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Mercedes nodded slowly and began cutting the peppers in the way Sam had shown her. But as Mercedes was nearly finishing cutting the vegetables, her hand slipped and she felt a sharp pain in her palm. "Shit!" She hissed. Tears started to fill her eyes; both from the sudden pain and embarrassment that Sam had seen it happen.

Sam quickly moved around the kitchen counter, grabbing hold of Mercedes' wounded hand gently before turning on a faucet with his free hand so he could tend to it properly.. "It's okay," He said softly while washing away any dirt or debris from the small cut with warm water.

"Clumsy, I see." He joked, reaching over and grabbing some paper towel, wrapping her hand. "Just... sit and I'll finish."

Mercedes nodded and sat on the stool, staring at Sam cooking. In between flipping bacon and sautéing vegetables, Sam would glance at his watch, muttering slightly about needing to hurry. Before long he had finished up breakfast, plated the food and presented it to her with a curt smile.

"Sam?" She asked as he quickly stumbled around wiping down counters with a dish towel before grabbing an uneaten piece of bacon for himself before heading to the front door. "Wait! You're not eating?"

"No time," He said, pausing by the door. "It's been four days, the swelling should be gone... use a heating pad to help with the pain."

She smirked. "Is that your roundabout way of apologizing for trying to kill me?" She asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Sam stepped out the door, his head shaking in amusement. "No," he answered, a playful glint in his eye. "I'll be back later to cook your dinner. Mom doesn't usually cook on Thursdays, it's her designated girls night." He shrugged nonchalantly before adding, "And since you got out of work due to your fake injury, you should take a walk around the ranch and get lost a little. It's the only way you're going to truly learn about this place."

A mirthless laugh escaped her lips as she rolled her eyes at his suggestion. "You are such a thoughtful jackass," she teased.

He couldn't help but grin. "Thoughtful jackass, huh? I'll have to remember that one."

He was gone before she had an opportunity to sighed finally allowing the exhaustion to catch up to her but her stomach grumbled again and she looked down at the plate he prepared for her. Everything smelled delicious, and the food practically begged her to eat it. Before she could find another reason not to eat, she picked up her fork and began slowly devouring her food.

She rolled eyes, cursing under her breath. "Bastard really can cook." She mumbled, realizing she'd inhaled the food he cooked and was pleasantly full. She placed her dirty dish in the sink, vowing to clean up after she woke up.


As the warm rays of sunlight seeped through the curtains, Mercedes slowly woke from her deep slumber, stretching and yawning as she wiggled underneath the covers. Glancing at her clock, she saw that she had slept until three in the afternoon. "I must have really needed that rest," she murmured to herself with a content smile. Slowly rising out of bed, she decided to start her day with a refreshing shower before begrudgingly taking Sam's advice to explore the sprawling property on her own.

As she stood under the hot water, Mercedes couldn't help but think about Sam. He was an enigma, that much she could tell. She didn't know if she could trust him or not, but she had no choice. She was stuck there, in the middle of nowhere, with no way to leave. The thought made her shiver.

After her shower, she put on some comfortable clothes and made her way outside. The property was vast and she felt small in comparison. She walked for what felt like hours, taking in the beauty of her surroundings. The trees were tall and the leaves rustled in the wind. The air was fresh and inviting.

With her phone in hand, Mercedes strolled around the ranch, capturing snapshots of everyone hard at work and the animals going about their business. Feeling a pang of guilt for not reaching out sooner, she decided to facetime her friends; she knew they were worried sick about her.

Mercedes pulled up her contacts and dialed her best friends Kitty and Bree. After what felt like an eternity, they finally answered and their faces lit up as soon as they saw hers.

"Oh my God! Mercedes! Is everything okay? Are you alright?" Kitty asked in a concerned tone.

She saw Bree run up in the background, "Are you able to leave yet?"

Mercedes laughed at her two best friends and smiled warmly at them. "No, I'm not able to leave yet but that's why I'm FaceTiming; I wanted to check in with you guys and let you know that I'm alright." She told them, feeling relieved to be talking with them again.

"How is it there? Do you really have to do like work?" Kitty questioned.

"Yes! My father promised them I would be working with the animals and doing manual labor. But that's not even the worst part ... I got plowed over by a massive cow!"

Both girls gasped in shock before a barrage of questions tumbled chuckled as she answered their questions, feeling grateful to have her friends' support during this trying time.

"Anyway, fill me in on everything civilized! How's life back home? How's the party planning going? Did you get the invitations sent out?" Mercedes asked.

The two of them filled her in on all of the fun they'd been having; decorating for the Christmas Ball and shopping for new dresses for the upcoming formal event. They also showed Mercedes all of the decorations they had done so far and laughed about how over-the-top it was going to be.

As Mercedes caught up with her friends, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy for their carefree lives back home. She missed the hustle and bustle of the city, the parties, and most of all, being able to make her own choices.

"I wish I could be there with you guys," she sighed wistfully.

"We wish you were here too," Bree said with a sad smile. "But don't worry, we'll take lots of pictures and videos for you." Mercedes smiled gratefully at her friends. They always knew how to cheer her up even from miles away.

"And like you said, you'll be home in time for your Ball and it'll be like none of this ranch stuff ever happened!" Kitty added, smiling brightly.

"Right, I'm thinking in a more days, my dad will surely let me come home. I mean... I get it, don't spend millions of dollars on a ranch." She replied playfully.

Bree appeared, "Well based on what we can see, it does look stunning." Mercedes flipped her camera around, so they could see more.

"The first day I got there, the owner showed me around and even I could admit it was beautiful."

"Eh, it looks like a lot of dirt... I bet it smells horrible." Kitty said disgustingly.

Mercedes snickered. "It doesn't actually. Horse shit does, that was my first task by the way, cleaning up the stalls and that asshole Sam- the ranch hand that's supposed to be training me, locked me in there until I cleaned it."

"Oh my freaking gosh! He sounds barbaric! Have you told your father?" Kitty questioned.

"No, I don't want him to come down here and act like he has to save me..."

As they chatted, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning, she saw Sam walking towards her. He looked good, she couldn't deny that. His muscular arms were bare, and he wore a tight-fitting white shirt that showed off his chiseled chest and abs. Mercedes' heart started to race, and she quickly turned her attention back to her friends, hoping they hadn't noticed her reaction to Sam's appearance.

"Who's the hottie!" Bree squealed.

Mercedes let out an exasperated sigh. "He's the bane of my existence. He's the one who got me trampled by a cow! He promised me I'd be finished with work for the day if I helped give it medicine. But it turns out, the cow was insane and he deliberately put me in harm's way. Now I can't work because of all these bruises. He's the rancher I told you about, Sam."

"I can't believe someone would just go out of their way to fuck with you like that, Mercedes." Kitty said with a frown.

"I know, and this asshole honestly thinks he can boss me around... it's ridiculous." Mercedes admitted.

"Don't forget, we're all still here for you. No one can snatch you away from us, remember that." Bree said supportively.

Mercedes smiled at her friends, feeling grateful once more for their friendship. "I miss you guys," she admitted.

"We miss you too, but we're going to FaceTime again later tonight and you can show us more of the ranch and tell us about your adventures. Although, I can't imagine anything being more exciting than getting trampled by an insane cow." Bree laughed.

Mercedes took a deep breath and turned to face Sam, who was now standing right in front of her. "Hey," he said, his voice low.

"Hey, I have to go now," she said quickly, trying to hide her flustered state.

"Okay, we love you!" Kitty and Bree said in unison before ending the call.

"Looks like you finally crawled out of your sheets," he said, a teasing glint in his eye as Mercedes rolled her eyes in response.

"I mean, sorry for not waking up at the crack of dawn like some people. I was rudely awakened at two in the morning to whip up breakfast against my will," she replied with a hint of sarcasm, noticing the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth before his expression turned serious once again.

"Anyway, since you're no locked away in your castle, come on. I want to show you something."

Mercedes shook her head. "If it's more work, then I'm not interested."

Sam looked at her amused. "You're really allergic to working. It's not work." He replied, walking towards a semi-paved road.

"Then what is it?" she asked with an arched brow, following him.

He sent her a mischievous look. "You'll soon find out."

After a few moments of walking, Sam pointed towards the horizon. Mercedes' eyes widened as she saw a sprawling ranch house in the distance. It was huge and beautiful, with a long balcony that wrapped around the entire building and doors on each side. She could see several horses in the paddock, grazing peacefully in the sun.

"It's my house." he said with a warm smile, watching as Mercedes' gaze traveled around his property with wonderment.

"It's beautiful," she breathed out, an amazed expression lighting up her face as Sam nodded in agreement.

"Now you know the way to get here." he said finally, gesturing towards the house. "I'll be making dinner there tonight, the cottage is too small."

She looked at him like he was crazy."You expect me to willingly be alone with you in a house that's literally near nothing?"

He smirked. "Don't worry, there aren't any massive cows that I can make trample you." He replied.

Mercedes narrowed her eyes on him. "Eavesdrop much?"

"Eh, voices carry." He shrugged. "Seven-thirty is when it'll be done." he added as he started walking down the path.


Soooooo how we like Sam now? No she isn't going to immediately trust him but he not that crazy lol! Next chapter will jump right in to their dinner!

until next time xoxo!

So I am rereading Say What You Need to Say and I have realized a few things... one of the bigger things is that it can not and will not end like most of my stories and it saddens me BUT it also means you will be getting one-shots branching from the story. Say will end at the end of the current school year and there will be a summer one shot that follows before it resumes. Yes the one shot is already being drafted and yes things will change after! It will be very great, I promise!