As a young lawyer in the big city of New York, Jessica had to work her ass off against the older gentleman at her law firm in order to get even a tenth of the cases the firm had. She had graduated Yale at the top of her class and had a very promising future as a brilliant lawyer. People at the firm didn't think she could handle it and tried to get her to quit but little did they know, she was a lot tougher than she looked. She took everything they threw at her with a grain of salt because she knew they were trying to test her and it paid off.

After five years of bullshit she was finally able to take on clients of the upper class and won almost every case. She was smart, but also ruthless in exposing the truth no matter the cost. She was a defense lawyer and she tore anyone down until there was nothing left to expose. That was just at work though, in reality she was a very sweet down to earth woman who had a good life growing up in the middle of nowhere in the beautiful state of Oklahoma.

She loved her country life but she wanted more for herself so she had a plan to go to law school, get a job at a top firm in the city and move home after ten years of work to open her own firm in her hometown because the local lawyer was getting up there in age and wanted to retire. He was her mentor and helped her get into law school and helped her when she had issues at the firm. She wanted to return the favor for him one day when she was ready but life had other plans for her.

"Hello mom." She answered a video call as she sat down after a long day of work, a glass of red wine in hand and her shoes off with her hair down.

"Hello darling, you look exhausted. Are you doing alright?" Her mother, Joan asked with concern, lacing her voice as she looked at her only niece, only she isn't thought of as a niece. Jessica lost her parents at a young age due to an accident on a boat and the only relative was her aunt, Joan and Joan raised her since she was seven.

"I'm alright mom. I just had a long day and had to go visit a client in jail before heading home. How are you?" Jessica took a sip of wine and looked at her mom, the woman who gave her everything and loved her like she was her own daughter. They had a close relationship and Jessica would be lost without her.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news darling. I went to the doctor since I haven't been able to rid myself of this cough. He ran some tests and Jessica, I have stage four lung cancer. It's too advanced for them to do anything for it and I was given a couple of months left to live. Please don't ask me to get into any trials for my cancer or whatever there is. I don't want to spend what time I have left waiting on news of getting into one or sick from a treatment. I know this is a lot to take in darling and I am sorry for telling you like this but I couldn't keep it from you. I love you and I would love it if you would come home, at least until I pass? Of course everything is left to you, the farm, the Vineyard, the estate, the money, everything. I just want to spend time with you, take small trips, make more memories in the kitchen baking, drinking wine out by the fire under the stars and talking. Anything really, please Jessica? Please come home." Jessica had let the wine glass slip from her fingers listening to her mother tell her she was dying and that she doesn't want help and wants her home.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. I promise not to push anything on you treatment wise but I can't promise I won't take care of you. I will let you know what time I booked a flight for and what day, which I will do as soon as we hang up and I will pack a few bags and be on my way. Don't worry about picking me up, I'll get a cab or something. I love you mom, so much." Jessica was trying to not cry, to be strong for her mom but it was hard.

"I love you too darling. I'm going to go lay down, I'm tired. Just text me your flight information and I'll get it when I wake."

"Ok. Sleep well mom. I love you."

"I love you too." Jessica ended the video and she held her head in her hands and let the tears fall down her face. She couldn't imagine a life without her mom, her hero so her heart was broke but she knew she had to be strong, to be there to take care of her mom and make the memories her mom wanted so she composed herself and opened her laptop to book a flight home and sent her mom a text telling her she will be home the next evening. Flights out to Oklahoma weren't booked so it was easy for her to find one on such short notice. JFK was a big airport and the one in Oklahoma city was also but not many people from the city go to Oklahoma, but she knows there will be people on the flight to go to other airports to get home.

She cleaned up the spilt wine and broken wine glass before she went to her bedroom to pack a few suitcases and a carry on. She made sure she packed her favorite cowgirl boots and her home outfits which were basically shorts and t-shirts with tank tops and tennis shoes. She was a country girl at heart and no matter where she lived, it was who she was.

Jessica was a beautiful girl. She tall at five seven inches with a small frame but her bust was a good size for her body type and she had legs for days that were toned and tan, her hair was a deep brown, wavy, and long down her back and her eyes were big bright blue eyes and her smile was big and bright with deep dimples on her cheeks and she had perfect straight white teeth and she got a lot of attention from anyone who had eyes.

She didn't fit into the city crowds with her looks but she felt comfortable with who she was and her friends loved her so it didn't matter what people thought when they looked at her.

She sent a message to her friends in their group text letting them know she was leaving and her best friend, Asher said he would go with her. That she didn't need to be alone during this time so she agreed right away and added him to the flight with her. The next day she was ready to go back home but she had a feeling that things were going to be complicated but she wasn't sure why.

When she arrived at the airport, she was met at the doors by her group of friends and she hugged them tightly and sighed deeply.

"If you need anything you call and we'll be there." Ashley, another wonderful friend of hers, said and Jessica nodded and smiled at her.

"I promise I will. Maybe though plan on coming out the week of the funeral, I don't want to face that without all of you." Jessica looked at Ashley, Jason, Hillary, and of course Asher and they all nodded.

"We will definitely be there Jess. Call or video call whenever you need to, you aren't alone. Tell mom we love her and are thinking of her." Jason was next to hug her and kissed her cheek.

"I will. We have to go so we don't miss the flight. I'll let you know when we get settled at the estate. I love you guys." She blew them a kiss and Asher grabbed the luggage and she took the carry-on bags and they went to stand in line to check in for the flight. She sent her mom a text telling her the change of plans with Asher and were in line waiting so Joan knew what was going on.

"Asher, thank you for coming with me. I honestly don't think I would have been able to handle any of this on my own. You really are a great best friend and I can't thank you enough for this." Jessica said, looking up at her tall friend. Asher was a handsome man standing at six foot even with short brown hair that was spiked in the front, beautiful deep blue eyes and was lean but had muscles where it counts. His skin was a light tan, not dark unlike his family who are originally from Italy. His accent came out when he was excited or angry, which was sexy to a lot of people. His smile could light up your day if you were feeling down and his personality was one of those that would make you laugh no matter how you felt.

He was just an all around good sweet person whom she loved. Unfortunately for her because she had tried to be with him, he was gay and he had no specific tastes in men, he just loved attention and felt happy. He would do anything for the people he loved, no matter what.

"Anything for you Jess, you don't even have to ask." He replied and kissed the top of her head. She sighed and he put his arm around her to comfort her until they moved up in line and were able to check in. They checked in and made their way to security before being able to go to the gate for their flight.

The flight wasn't long, maybe five hours and when they landed, took another few minutes to get off the plane and they found their way to baggage claim to get their bags and once they had them, they went outside and Jessica took a deep breath and sighed happily.

"It's so good to be home. It smells so much better out in the open but the heat I'm afraid is not any better." Jessica told Asher as he tried to fan his face with his hand making her giggle at his antics.

"Good to know I'm gonna die out here from dehydration." He sassed and she shook her head. She looked around to see if any cabs were available when she noticed a man holding a piece of cardboard with her last name, Montgomery and she waited until the path was clear before waving her arm in the air so the man could see her. He nodded and walked over to Jessica and Asher.

"Hello ma'am, I'm Joshua, one of the workers at the farm and Vineyard, your mother asked if I could come meet you and take you home instead of a car service." He spoke and Jessica couldn't take her eyes off him. His voice was smooth like butter and sweet like honey that matched his honey colored eyes and hair. It was short and she could tell he had big arms and strong legs. He was tall at around five eleven and was muscular. He was beautiful.

"Hi, thank you. I'm Jessica and this is Asher. I appreciate the lift home." The guys put the luggage in the bed of the Vineyards beat up pick up, and climbed into the seat, Jessica sat against the door. She didn't feel comfortable sitting next to the hunk of a man without doing or saying something embarrassing.

"You're from New York?" Joshua asked and Jessica looked over at him and raised her eyebrows at his question and scoffed.

"No, I was born and raised here. I work in New York, went to Yale and got a job at one of the best law firms in the country." She stated proudly and Asher snickered at her response.

"Ah that explains the clothes then." Joshua commented and Jessica was trying to hold her tongue before she said something rude but that wasn't the case for Asher.

"Listen here buddy, clothes are a thing, not a place someone is from. Hicks like you I'm sure own a tux or rent one when needed and possibly own a pair of slacks and a nice dress shirt so if you were to wear such items daily would people think you're from the city or the country? My point exactly, thank you very much." Jessica smiled and looked back out of the window and Joshua was speechless the rest of the ride home.

When the truck drove down the dirt driveway Jessica looked around the area and smiled at how beautiful everything still looked. The farm was thriving and she saw lots of cowboys working the land and tending to the animals but her smile fell when she noticed someone walking out of a smaller house on the property, a house that meant a great deal to her and her parents. Joshua pulled in front of the massive farm house and Jessica didn't waste a second before jumping out of it and rushing towards the man on the front porch of the small home.

"Who the hell do you think you are coming out of that house like you own it?!" Jessica yelled as she ran, startling the man and almost spilling his cup of coffee all over himself. He looked worried as he watched Jessica rush towards him and so he put the cup down and waited until she was in front of him before he answered her.

Jessica was panting by the time she got to the house and put her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. It had been a long time since she had run like that, especially in the humidity.

"I'm Nicholas, I live here with my brothers Joshua and Stephen. Moved in a couple of years ago, miss Joan is our employer and she offered us the place since we work here. The house for the workers was full so since this house was empty, she allowed us to live here Miss. Jessica." She was surprised he knew her name when she had no idea who the man was.

"No you don't. I'm telling you to move your stuff out of my house, by the end of the day. Sleep in your car or truck for all I care but I promise I will throw your shit out if you don't do it yourselves. No one is to live here, ever." Jessica was pissed. The house meant a great deal to her. It was the place her and her parents would go to get away from everything at the farm house, a place just for them three to be a normal family without the pressures of the work around them. They had made it feel safe for her and when they died, she spent many days and nights in her parents bed, crying over photos and sleeping in her mother's nightgowns and holding onto her dad's pillow. She didn't want strangers there, in her personal sanctuary ruining it.

Nicholas was shocked she had declared such a thing but knew not to say anything. Miss Joan had warned the brothers Jessica may react the way she did and was prepared for it so he just nodded and looked over towards the farm house and saw his brothers with smirks on their faces and he rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I meant no disrespect ma'am, truly. Just talk with Miss. Joan about it and you will see I'm being truthful. We would never dishonor the memories that were made inside and we haven't touched much, your parents room is still the way it was. We just open the window to let the air in to make it stay fresh. If after you talk with Miss. Joan and feel we should still leave the home, we will." Nicholas was respectful and Jessica could see that so she narrowed her eyes and shook her head, not wanting to deal with this right now. She turned and walked off the porch and Nicholas blew a breath and saw Asher waiting for Jessica and was immediately awestruck by Asher.

Nicholas had a secret and that was he was gay but no one knew, he didn't want to bring shame on his family since it was just him, his brother's and Miss. Joan. He didn't want to be disowned and have no one in his life so he kept it a secret and dated women and hated every second of it but it was to protect his secret but he had a feeling with Asher being there, it was going to be harder to keep if he couldn't keep his eyes off the new man in town.

Jessica went inside the beautiful farm house and was met with Jasper, the beautiful Golden Retriever who was a year old.

"Hello my sweet boy." Jessica knelt down to pet behind Jasper's ears and kissed his head before standing up and making her way up the spiral staircase to the second floor, the home had four but her mom stayed on the second and went straight to her room.

Jessica walked in to find her mom sleeping so she walked quietly to the side of the bed and kissed her mom's cheek softly and touched her face, brushing her hair to the side and she studied her mom to see how sick she truly was. She noticed a couple of bottles of pills but that was it, no machines to help with the pain or an IV, just a bottle of pain meds and another for sleep. She felt her eyes sting as she watched her mom sleep and knelt down on the floor and held her mom's hand to her lips and cried silently, wishing she could save her mom's life but she didn't want that. Her mom wanted to live and die on her terms and Jessica had to respect that no matter how hard it was to not do anything.

She felt her phone vibrate and took it out of her pocket to see Asher had texted her telling her that dinner was ready. She didn't realize she spent two hours beside her mom's bed holding her hand, lost in thought. She stood up in shaky legs from being bent for so long and with one more kiss she left the room and shut the door behind her.

She went up to the fourth floor to her room and found her things had been put away so she grabbed a pair of shorts, tank top, and panties to go take a shower before heading downstairs for dinner. She didn't bother to put a bra on as she wasn't expecting anyone besides Asher and he's seen her naked more times than a straight man has so she was shocked to see the brothers were sitting at the long kitchen island with food on plates and talking and she tried to turn around to head back up to at least grab a t-shirt but Ashers big mouth made it known she was there so she turned around and glared at him and he felt bad now seeing how she was dressed in front of the three men.

"How's mom?" Asher asked and she didn't say anything, just sat on a stool and picked at the food that Joshua had set in front of her. The four guys watched as she picked her food and took a few bites before she started crying and Asher was by her side instantly and hugged her to his chest and he didn't tell her to calm down, didn't tell her it'll be ok because she was allowed to be upset and it wasn't ok her mom was dying so he just held her and let her cry it out and will continue to do so for however many times she may need it for however long she will need.