Hey guys, so here is another chapter! Man, this year has flown by! I am so grateful to all of you for reading this. I just realized that in May of 2024, I will have been writing fan fics for ten years! To all of you who inspire me, and to my partner in crime, Kesh! Who has not only been such an amazing writing partner but someone I consider a true friend. You guys encouraged me to where I am actually making money doing what I love: writing stories. My books are on Kindle Vella, and the books you cheered on and loved are bringing joy to others. So I write for you, as long as you are here, reading and commenting I will be here writing. Love you all!

"Man, this is bull shit!" Eddie said, tossing down the shovel.

Sam laughed. "Actually, that's horse shit. The bull shit is next."

Mercedes snorted.

"And what the hell are you laughing at!" Eddie seethed. "It's your fault we gotta do this."

Mercedes stepped closer to him. "I am laughing at you. To be seventeen, you are pretty damn weak. Man up and shovel that manure."

"And if I don't?"

Mercedes smiled. "Please don't so I can stuff your face in it."

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I wouldn't want to try her man," Jackson said, holding his own shovel.

"Or do." Mercedes smirked.

Eddie frowned but started scooping everything up.

Sam moved closer to her. "I kinda wanted him to fight you a bit more. It's been a long time before I saw someone get their face palmed with literal crap."

Mercedes shrugged. "He acts tough, but he's not. He just isn't used to the pushback, and his parents let him run the show."

Paxton walked over to Sam and frowned. "We can't get the paint bucket open, Mr. Evans."

Sam nodded. "I'll get it." He turned to Mercedes. "You gonna be okay here?"

Mercedes looked at Jackson and Eddie as they finished cleaning out the horse stall. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

Sam nodded, walking away as the boys worked, mumbling.

She with her own glove-covered hands, she bent down to help them.

"My mom wouldn't be caught dead picking up any kinda shit." Jackson laughed.

"Look, what you say with your parents is on them, but while around me and my son, stop with the cussing. And it wouldn't be fair for me to expect you to do something and not be willing to do it myself."

Eddie looked at her. "Why?"

"Because I want to set an example."

Eddie shook his head. "My mom thinks you are pathetic."

"Yeah, well, you're a teen, so I won't comment on what I think about your mom.".

"Are you talking about my mom?" Eddie said, walking towards her.

Mercedes quickly head-bunted him and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back as Jackson stood back in shock.

Eddie moved, trying to break her hold. "What the hell! Let me go!"

"Let me make something very clear, Edward St. Jackass. You are 17 years old, meaning you are a young man. So if you come towards me like that, I am gonna assume you are trying to put your hands on me. That's not gonna fly."

"Let me go you bitch!"

Mercedes twisted his arm tighter. "Now, now I'd ask if you kiss your mother with that mouth, but we both know that you do. But you won't speak to me like that, so let's try this again."

"You better let me go, or I am gonna have to hurt you." Eddie seethed.

"Little boy, am I gonna have to break your hand for threatening me? And just so we are clear, I am petty as hell; you don't want me talking to Finn." She twisted his arm tighter. "Do you?"

"No! Damn, let me go. I'm sorry!"

"I'm sorry I didn't hear you." She said, tightening it.

"I'M SORRY!" He yelled.

Mercedes let him go with a little push. "I don't know who you think you are, but I promise you I am not the one. When in my presence, you will respect me, or I will make you."

"Yo, Eddie, she doesn't look like she is playing." Jackson said, shaking his head.

Eddie sighed, moving to grab his shovel, and began shoveling up the literal crap in the stall.

Mercedes smiled, grabbing her own. "Let's get this finished so you two can take a break. I am sure the actual bull shit can wait."

That earned a smirk from the boys; small progress was still progress in her book.

Sam, who had been looking on from a distance, smiled; he was worried he would have to go down there.

"Damn, am I the only one who found that extremely sexy?" Stevie said, standing next to his brother.

"You find everything a woman does sexy, Stevie." Stacey said, coming up behind him. "What are we looking at?"

"That sexy Nubian goddess over there." Stevie sighed.

Sam frowned. "Okay, I know why Stacey is here, but what are you doing here, Stevie? I thought you were taking the produce into Nashville."

Stevie smiled. "They are loading everything up now. I just wanted to get a look at the vandals. I thought there would be more whining than action. Tell me, is she single?"

"Stevie, how about you go do your job and stop trying to pick up random women."

"Sammy, there is nothing random about that woman. Even in overalls, scooping up crap, she is adorably sexy. I am going to go talk to her."

Stevie started walking towards the stall, but Sam pulled him back. "No!"

Stevie looked at him with a smirk. "What's wrong? You want her first?"

"Stevie, you might wanna listen to Sam; I am not sure you can handle her. She's a bit out of your league."

"No one is out of my league; I can win any heart; just look at this boy band grin right here." He said smiling.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Stevie, leave her alone. She's different, okay? Besides, she has a son."

"I know. He's a cool little dude. Now, if you will excuse me."

Stevie patted his brother on the back as he walked over to Mercedes. Sam watched as his brother flirted with her, and she laughed her beautiful laugh. Sam shook his head as she pushed Stevie away, and he pulled her close, bopping her nose.

"Wow, that vein in your neck is throbbing…are you jealous?" Stacey asked, turning towards her brother.

"What? No! No way am I jealous."

Stacey laughed. "Woah, I never thought I would see the day."

"You still haven't seen the day; what is there to be jealous of? Stevie isn't her type." Sam said, not taking his eyes off of Mercedes and Stevie.

"I shouldn't have to tell you this, but Stevie is everyone's type. You snooze, you lose big brother." Stacey said, walking away from Sam, who just stood there growling as he watched Stevie pull Mercedes close to him.

"Mr. Evans?"

Sam looked down to see Cameron and Harley. "Hey boys, what's up?"

"We painted and picked up the broken wood…can we please, please see the horses?" Cameron said.

"We didn't complain or anything, just like you said," Harley added, and Sam smiled. He promised if they did the work, he would reward them.

"How about this? I will prepare the horses in the Corral…you go ask your mom to join us."

The boys nodded, running off and interrupting Stevie and Mercedes, causing Sam to snicker, before he walked over to the Corral and grabbed the saddles. He watched as Cameron and Harley grabbed Mercedes, pulling her towards the Corral, with Paxton, Ryan, Jackson, and Eddie following them.

"Who is ready to learn how to ride a horse," Sam asked, clapping his hands together.

"My mom!" Cameron said excitedly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Mercedes asked as Cameron pulled her forward.

"You should do it first."

"You did say you liked setting an example," Eddie said with a smirk as he saw her hesitation.

Sam smiled. "Yeah, Mercedes, I bet you can show these boys a thing or two."

Mercedes closed her eyes. "Fine! Show me what you got."

Sam smiled, pulling her close to him. "Okay, guys, this is butterscotch, she's been here for five years, and she had the sweetest soul."

As Sam offered Butterscotch an apple, another horse nudged him over Mercedes's shoulders. Mercedes jumped and froze as she watched the horse nip at Sam's hand.

"Okay, okay, Midnight. Hold your horses." Sam snickered. "This is MIdnight, and she is greedy. She loves stealing her sister's apples."

"Ryan, you and Midnight have something in common." Jackson laughed.

Midnight rested her head on Mercedes's shoulder as Sam gave her an apple, and Mercedes smiled as she caressed her mane. "Oh, she's so sweet."

"To most, she's a great judge of character," Sam said. "You can pick who you want to ride, though I think Midnight might want you to pick her."

Mercedes looked at the horse and smiled. "You are used to getting what you want, huh? So am I."

She petted her mane as Sam showed the boys the proper way to put the saddle on a horse while making them go to the other side of the fence. Grabbing the stool, Sam looked over to Mercedes.

"You ready to try and mount her?"

Mercedes raised an eyebrow at the word but nodded, walking over to him. "You over here talking about mounting is funny." She whispered.

"Why? Should I have said something like, come behind the barn so I can mount you, baby girl?"

Mercedes inhaled as he nipped her ear, pretending to help her up.

"Get on the stool, and you are going to swing your left leg over. Make sure you hold on tight; I am right here to make sure you don't fall."

Mercedes nodded as she moved to get onto the horse, thankful that Sam had put the stool right there. She climbed it, holding onto him as she climbed up onto the horse. The boys cheered as Mercedes took the reigns. "Oh! Look at me. I have never been on a horse that wasn't a carousel before."

"How does it feel?" Sam asked.

"Powerful." She breathed.

"Okay, so let's go for a ride around the corral; see how you feel?"

Sam led her around the Corral, and she smiled, waving at the boys as she passed by riding Midnight.

"Do you wanna try to go by yourself?" Sam asked as he stopped Midnight from moving. "It's pretty easy. You are doing well; keep your body up straight; you don't want to slouch. You are gonna hold the reigns and tell Midnight to "Go" since she is used to new riders. Words will work just as well as action."

"And if I want her to stop?"

Sam smiled. "Just say "Whoa, or you can squeeze her body with your legs in the stirrups; you don't want to do it too hard, though."

Mercedes nodded. The Corral was a pretty big circle, but it wasn't like she was out without a fence or alone. She could do this. Holding the reigns, she looked over to Cameron before she said "Go!" as Midnight took off.

Mercedes had to admit it wasn't as bad as she thought. The horse galloped around as Cameron cheered her on.

After a few minutes of riding Mercedes, the horse, Mercedes slowed, and Sam moved towards her to help her down.

"So, how was it?"

Mercedes smiled as he pulled her off the horse, letting him hold her in his arms. "That was fun; I can't help but imagine what it might feel like running through the trails or meadows around here."

"Who knows, maybe one day that will become a reality. I would love to take you around here; there are so many beautiful places…and so secluded ones, too." He said as his hand moved down to cup her ass.

Before Mercedes could speak, someone cleared their throat. Sam reluctantly pulled away from her as he looked over to Stacey.

"Hey, Stacey, I was just helping Ms. Jones down."

"Uh-huh. Let me help you with the other kids; you seem a bit distracted." She teased.

Sam smirked and shook his head, leading Midnight over to the boys. Stacey smiled, standing next to Mercedes.

"For a man who doesn't want kids, my brother is really great with them."

Mercedes smiled as Sam helped Cameron onto Midnight. "I agree…he is so great with Cameron. I haven't seen him this happy in a very long time."

"Is Cameron your only child?"

Mercedes nodded. "Yep. I had him when I was seventeen."

"Oh. Is his dad…?"

Mercedes shook her head. "When he found out I was pregnant, he and his parents didn't want anything to do with us. But I had such a great support system that raising him wasn't bad. I got my degree and had plenty of time to be his mom."

Stacey smiled. "Having a mom is very important."

Mercedes looked over to her. "I'm sorry…about what happened to your mom."

Stacey looked at her confused, before her eyes widened. "Sam…he told you?"

"Oh, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to upset you…we talked, and he explained what happened when you all were younger with his dad and your mom, who he considered his mom…and I am gonna stop talking."

"Sam has never told anyone about our family, not even his friends." Stacey leaned against the fence. "Yeah, well, it takes someone special to bring it out of him."

"Oh, I don't think I am..."

Stacey turned to Mercedes. "Sam doesn't open up about our family to anyone."

Mercedes looked over to Sam and smiled to herself as she watched Rachel and Quinn walk towards the Corral with another woman in tow.

"Oh Lord, they brought the whiner with them," Stacey said, clearly annoyed.

Mercedes frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh you will see." Stacey assured her.

Rachel walked on the path frowning. "Edward! You were supposed to be in the parking lot.

"Lower your voice, Rachel! You are scaring the animals." Eddie spat.

"Eddie!" Mercedes said, walking towards them. "That's your mom; show her a little respect."

"I'm sorry, Ms. Jones." He said with a nod.

Rachel cut her eyes at Mercedes. "Do not parent my child!"

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Someone has too."

"What does that mean?" Rachel said, putting her hand on her hip.

"You know what? Eddie, talk to your mom however you want; if she doesn't care, why should I?" Mercedes said, waving her hand to dismiss Rachel.

"Just who the hell do you think you are?" Rachel said, moving towards her.

Mercedes laughed. "Rachel, let me assure you that if this is the bridge you want to cross, I will kick your ass in front of your children. So tread lightly."

Rachel stood there with her mouth wide open as the boys chuckled.

Turning towards Quinn, Mercedes smiled sweetly. "Hey Quinn, I love those boots."

Quinn looked down at her knee-high brown leather boots. "Thanks, I just got them."

"Sammy!" The other woman with them said, waving at Sam. Mercedes watched as Sam ignored her and finished up with the kids, but she wouldn't be deterred.

"Sammy!" Harmony yelled as the boys ran over to their parents. Harley beamed, jumping up and down.

"I got to ride the horse, Mom!" He said to Quinn, hugging her.

Quinn, who was surprised by his actions, hugged him back as Paxton moved towards her. "Mr. Evans said I can come on when I turn 15 next month, and he will even pay me."

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "What? You wanna work?"

"He said I could work here too. When you get past the smell, it's not that bad." Jackson said.

Quinn smiled. "Well, I mean, if you want to work here, that's great!"

Eddie smiled, looking at Rachel. "He offered us all jobs. Ms. Jones said that we would be perfect workers once we got the hang of it. And Mr. Evans agreed."

Rachel gasped, shaking her head. "No! No kid of mine is going to do this kind of manual labor!"

Stacey stepped up with a frown as Sam led the horses away; he knew better than to get in the middle of that kind of bullshit. He'd stick to the one he had to scoop up.

"Let me explain something to you, Ms. High and Mighty with the stick up her ass, what we do here, actually helps the town and the environment. What you do helps no one but yourself. You should be proud of your children for not wanting to end up like you, you snooty bitch."

"Where the hell do you get off talking to me like that!" Rachel gasped.

Mercedes looked at Quinn, who sat back, smirking. "Is this normal?"

"Stacey and Rachel have never seen eye to eye. I say it's because Rachel's husband Jesse was in love with Stacey, but Stacey wasn't interested in him. They had like a few dates when she came back one summer."

Mercedes looked at Rachel and Stacey going black and forth and shook her head. "I am going to grab Cam's things and make sure they don't rip each other's hair out."

Quinn laughed. "Yeah, they never get violent; Rachel isn't dumb."

"I'll be right back, Cam." Mercedes said though he wasn't paying attention to her, he was engrossed in Rachel and Stacey.

Walking towards the front, she stopped when she heard giggling coming from the stables. Moving towards the noise, she stopped seeing Sam and that woman who came with Rachel and Quinn. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but curiosity got the better of her.

"Come on, Sammy, I know you typically don't go back for seconds, but you know it was good." Harmony said as she pressed against him.

Sam stepped from her. "Harmony, I'm not interested."

"Since when?! Sam, everyone knows you are the hit-and-quit-it guy; you've had sex with practically every woman between the ages of twenty-two and forty-five. So you tell me, what does a girl have to do to take another ride on your…magic stick."

"Harmony, look, I don't know how many ways I can tell you I am uninterested. So please leave."

Harmony stared at him. "Damn, I heard the rumors, saying you hadn't hooked up with anyone in a while…I just thought you were keeping a better lid on your extracurriculars…are you really telling me that you are celibate?"

"What I do or don't do is none of your business. Now, if you will excuse me."

Sam moved past her as Harmony huffed angrily. "Well, you just missed out on a really good time! I just learned how to do downward dog; believe me, we could have had a hell of a time!"

Mercedes couldn't bite back the laugh that hit her as she walked away, glad she put her foot down with Sam. It was clear he had enough women's problems. As she made her way back over to where the kids were, she watched Harmony walk over to Quinn and Rachel.

Mercedes shifted her bag as Harmony lied through her teeth about Sam going over to her place that night. She turned to Stacey. "I am gonna take Cam home, but let me know anytime you wanna get some coffee or something."

Stacey beamed. "You mean that? Cause most women around here only talk to me to get to Sam. And he basically uses them right back."

Mercedes shrugged. "Lucky for you, I don't want your brother."

Walking to the car, she unlocked it as Cameron hopped into the back seat. Sam jogged over to them as she started the car.

"Hey, wait, I wanted to thank you both again. I couldn't have gotten all this work done without you."

"Not a problem." Mercedes smiled. "The boys worked hard, and it was nice to see them take responsibility like that."

"It seems, Ms. Jones, you are a good influence on the men in this town."

"Yeah, well, I just don't take crap from them. I'll see you around, Sam."

"Maybe." He said, winking at her, before high-fiving Cameron and walking away.