Enjoy lovebugs ;) I know I have been gone forever.
When Mercedes Jones had gotten engaged to her ex-fiancee Shane Tinsley, she thought they would have a beautiful spring wedding out in the Hamptons. His football buddies would be in attendance, and her friends in the music industry would be there to cheer them on. Especially since she had been working so hard to write the perfect love song for their first dance at the reception. Alas, those dreams were brutally crushed when she walked in on him fucking some cheeky model he did a commercial within her bedroom. In the Manhattan Penthouse that was in her name. So, in retaliation, she grabbed her small pistol from the safety box in the hallway and shot off three warning shots in the bathroom. Citing that the next one was going to end up in someone's body. Like the speed of light, the cheeky model and her bastard of a fiancee were gone.
After they had left, she put all Shane's shit in boxes and placed them on the curb along with her 10.5-karat engagement ring. In truth, she wasn't sad about the loss of jewelry. It was a gaudy thing. As much as being a singer and the owner of her label afforded her the nice things in life, she didn't want a big diamond. But being the best girlfriend in the world, she let him slide the thing on her finger. However, with no man, no ring, and a canceled wedding that cost Shane $750,000, she left New York in the dead of the night, taking a plane ride to Lexington, Kentucky.
"I still don't understand how you chose Lexington, Kentucky. We could have gone to LA, Hawaii, hell, even Europe. Yet you chose Kentucky." Jane Hayward, Mercedes's sister, and America's Favorite Model spoke as she took a sip of champagne.
Mercedes sighed as she looked out the window of the private plane, "Because those places would have been swarming with paparazzi. Trying to get soundbites of why the engagement was called off. At least in Kentucky, no one will bother me."
"Fair enough. Have you told your dad yet?" Jane asked.
Mercedes rolled her eyes, "You know Hammond Jones does not believe in breaking up longstanding relationships, even if there was infidelity. Besides, since he loves Shane so much, Shane can explain to him why our wedding was halted."
"I still can't believe you left him with the bill."
"Well, it was either that or a bullet in his ass. It looks like he got the best of the two options."
They landed in Lexington around 7 AM, with the car ride taking up to an hour and a half to get to the estate. When Mercedes had planned her heartbroken getaway, she knew she needed to be somewhere with a grand estate and some country life involved. Before she was America's Favorite Singing Diva, Mercedes grew up in Augusta, Georgia. In the summer, she would stay on her grandparent's farm and help milk cows, chuck corn, clean horses, slop the pigs, etc. She knew if anything was going to make her feel better, it would be to be around the wildlife. And since, going back to her grandparent's farm was out of the option because of her father living there, a farm in Lexington was perfect.
When the Range Rover pulled into the massively long driveway, she looked in awe at the estate. A grand old mansion with the age of being built in the late 80s. From a certain angle she could get a peek at the massive big barn and wired fences to keep the animals in. From the of the house to greet her looked to be the owner, Dwight Evans. She and Jane exited the car while the driver grabbed their luggage.
"Ms. Jones and Ms. Hayward, it was wonderful to have you guys here at Evans Oasis. I hope the ride wasn't too long." He spoke as he shook their hands.
"It was perfect, Mr. Evans. Thank you so much for letting us come in on such short notice." Mercedes replied.
"Oh, no problem, dear. My sons and I do nothing but make sure that this place is in tip-top shape. In fact, there they go now." Dwight answered as he turned and pointed to two men on horses walking towards them.
Mercedes's mouth started to water as she stared at the one on the right. He was a tanned white boy with dirty blonde hair. He wore a white wife beater that left little to no imagination to the washboard abs he was blessed with. His blue skinny jeans hugged him just right around his was hot as hell.
"Dibs on the left," Jane whispered.
"Dibs on the right." Mercedes giggled.
When they got closer, both of them jumped off the horses as they went closer to the trio.
"Sam and Connor, these are our guests for the time being. Ms. Jones and Ms. Hayward, please make sure you make their stay quite comfortable.
Sam reached out his hand first to Jane before letting it linger in Mercedes's hand, "It's nice to meet you, Ms. Jones. I'm Sam."
Mercedes felt the heat rush to her core at his deep southern accent, "Nice to meet you, Sam. Call me Mercedes."
"Now that introductions are out the way, Sam and Connor will show you guys your rooms." Dwight spoke, "And if any trouble arises, and you can't find them, just come to me. Don't ever thing you guys are being a bother. Boys, I have to head into town, but I will be back before dinner." Dwight gave brief hugs and goodbyes before walking down to the trail where the car garage was located. Sam and Connor grabbed the luggage and escorted Jane and Mercedes into the house.
"The house was our great-great-grandparents, and it has been passed down from generation to generation. But when Pa was in his twenties that's when he decided to convert it into an oasis. We used to be a small hotel, but now it is what you see today. About ten bedrooms, with eleven-and-a-half bathrooms. Three full sized kitchens, a game room, a movie room. Just about everything you can think of is here." Connor explained as he led the group.
"I think I am going to settle here very well," Jane spoke flirtatiously.
Mercedes nudged her as she asked her own question, "Can we help around with the farm chores?"
Sam turned around and chuckled, "What do you know about farm chores? Aren't you some Grammy singer?"
Mercedes squinted her eyes, "I grew up in Augusta, Georgia, and was working with my grandparents on their farm every summer. Don't try me, blondie?"
Connor laughed, "I think I like her. Jane, your room is over here." Connor and Jane walked to the room that was directly down the hall from where Sam and Mercedes stood.
"Well, excuse me, songbird, I didn't think a pretty face like you was into hard labor," Sam smirked as he watched her look around the room.
Mercedes turned towards him, "Don't judge a book by its face, cowboy. And you never answered my question."
"I get up around five-thirty, Connor won't get up until seven, which is fine by me because he has to do the boring stuff. Milk the cows, slop the pigs, feed the chickens."
"And what do you do?"
"The hard manual labor, if I am not fixing anything on the property, I am in charge of the horses, the donkeys, and shearing the sheep. Think you can handle that songbird?"
"Cowboy, are you trying to challenge me?"
"Only that way if you feel threatened. If you need anything, call Connor." Sam shrugged before leaving the room. Mercedes rolled her eyes at his standoffishness before making quick work of unpacking her clothes. When she had finished, she checked her phone and saw yet another call from Shane. She ignored it and blocked his number before deciding to take a nap.
Sam was out in the barn cleaning Breeze, his favorite and own personal horse. He didn't really enjoy having guests on the property due to the fact more shit needed to be fixed when it wasn't just him, his brother, and his father. However, he had grown grateful for it since his mother had passed a few years ago. She always kept the house lively since it was felt with nothing but gloomy and sarcastic Evans men. Whether she was cooking, humming, or even knitting she kept them all with a smile on their faces. It never ended until she took her very last breath.
"You seem to have the hots for one of our guests," Connor announced as he walked into the barn and took a seat on the unopened hay.
Sam rolled his eyes, "She is very attractive, but she isn't my type. You know I do not like city women."
"Yeah, liking them is one thing, but you want to sleep with her," Connor replied.
"You sure do have a lot of mouth for someone who was drooling over her sister," Sam replied as he continued to brush the horse.
"Well, her sister is very attractive and nice. I just came out here to remind you to give them a chance. Don't go brooding like you always for Sam.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I am letting the songbird help me with the chores if she wakes up tomorrow morning."
"Don't be a dick, Sam. That's all I am going to say."