Chapter Text
“Well, life on the farm is kind of laid back, ain’t much an old country boy like me can’t hack, it’s early to rise, early in the saaaaaaack” Emma sang along to the blaring radio at the top of her lungs as she drove down the dusty rural road towards town. “Thank God I’m a country- whoa,” she turned down the radio and paused the rusty yellow pick-up in front of the old Mifflin Ranch, otherwise known as “Second Chance Ranch”, where she spent so many summers. Why was there a black Benz parked in the long driveway?
As a troubled youth in the foster system, she was shipped to the “ranch for wayward teens” on the outskirts of Storybrooke, Texas the summer she was 16 to “straighten out her act,” her fourth, no fifth, foster mother told her. The Castillo family not only got her to turn her shit around, but accepted and loved her for who she was. The following ten summers were spent back on that ranch, tending to the horses, fixing broken fences, and doing just about any odd job they could find for her.
Three years ago when Eduardo was too ill to run the ranch any longer, she bought a small house slightly further outside of town to be there whenever he needed her. His wife Ruth had long since passed. When Eduardo passed away, nearly two winters ago, she helped find new homes for the horses when the ranch was shut down for good.
“Who are you and what are you doing at my ranch?” She murmured in the general direction of the Benz. The truck crept by the house and picked up speed again, continuing on to town. Rolling down Main Street, she waved at the various townsfolk meandering through town or fanning themselves in rocking chairs on porches.
Life in Storybrooke was laid back and easy, it was also getting claustrophobic for the blonde. These three years were the longest she’d ever spent in one place.
She parked in front of the sheriff’s station and hopped out of the truck. The late May Texas air was already hot and sticky at 10 am. She pulled on her white tank top a few times to peel it from her sweaty skin while she walked into the station.
“Mornin’ Sheriff,” she called over to Graham, plopping down in the chair across from his.
“Well, good morning, Emma,” he glanced at his watch, “A little late for breakfast and too early for lunch, what brings you by?”
“What’s going on at the ranch?” she inquired, propping her cowboy boots up on the desk.
“Well, apparently your old pal Eduardo had a long lost niece. Kathryn finally tracked her down. Some big shot lawyer from New York.”
“Wow. I had no idea he even had family aside from Ruth.”
“I guess he and his brother were estranged.”
Twisting the frayed edges of her cut-offs, she considered this new information. “Yeah, well, I don’t like it. We don’t even know her. And how can you just turn your back on family like that? Keep an eye on it for me after I leave, ok?”
“Still planning on giving up slow country living for big city dreams, Swan?”
The ranch brought her to Storybrooke and forced her to put down the first semblance of roots she’d ever had. Summers working on the ranch were the only constant in her life. Every year when she left Storybrooke, she went wherever her bug, and then later her truck, took her. She picked up odd jobs in whatever town or city she landed in that year, but late every spring she’d pack it all up and head back to Storybrooke, just outside of Houston. When she agreed to help Eduardo full time, she put every penny she had down on the gray bungalow out on RT 108.
Since the ranch closed, she has helped Leroy with his maintenance business, waited tables at Granny’s, and even helped her best friend Ruby bartend at the Jack Rabbit Hole. But Emma was a wanderer and she was getting restless. It was time to move on and without the ranch, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be back.
An old friend from Tallahassee, who was now living in Boston, told her she had a bail bonds job waiting for when she was ready. She promised she’d be there September first. One last Texas summer before she took what she considered a “real” job. At least as real as she would ever get. And who knows? Maybe Boston would be it for her. Maybe she would find whatever it is her wandering heart was looking for.
“Yeah, well, Graham, I can’t live in this one horse town forever, no offense. But don’t go spreading it around quite yet. I don’t want this to be one long, tearful goodbye. Kathryn has to know so she can try and sell the house on the down low for me. And Ruby knows, obviously. But enough about all that, I have all summer. So what do we know about this niece?”
“Not much, I’m afraid. Kathryn and I don’t talk much shop on our dates, if you know what I mean,” he waggled his eyebrows and beamed a bright cheshire cat grin at her.
“Don’t be gross,” she wadded up a piece of paper and lobbed it at his head.
The station phone rang and Emma beat Graham to it. “Sheriff’s station,” she answered, dodging his hands as he tried to snatch the phone from her. “You know, Archie, you are right, he SHOULD start paying me. Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah. Yep. Got it. I’ll send him right over.” Setting the phone down, she turned to the actual sheriff. “Pongo’s on the loose again. Have fun.”
Graham got up to leave, “I’m buying that damn dog a leash. If you are here when I get back, we’ll go for lunch.” He ruffled her hair when he walked by.
“Quit it. I’m not a damn kid.”
“You act like it.”
She leaned back and stuck her tongue out at him as he walked out the door.
A feather drifted in as the door closed and caught Emma’s attention. Absent mindedly she picked it up and leaned back in the chair again, feet propped up on the desk. She tried blowing the feather up in the air. This looks so much easier in cartoons .
The station door flew open and the clicking of heels headed towards Emma.
“We’re closed,” Emma drawled without even looking up. Three years and ten odd summers was enough for Emma to pick up a pretty solid southern twang. It may not be as deep as some of the lifers down here, but an outsider wouldn’t necessarily pick-up that she isn’t born and raised in Texas.
“Excuse me, Sheriff, but is this where I come to lodge formal complaints? Because I have several.”
“Well sure, lady... but I’m not the”- glancing up, she sucked in a breath as she took in the delicious vision before her. The dark haired woman was about her height, but only by gaining a couple inches in those sexy heels. Her power business suit looked like it was tailored to fit her curves precisely.
“For starters, there are animals running on the loose.” She must’ve met Pongo.
“See, the thing is”- Emma tried to explain.
“Furthermore, the potholes down RT 108 are ridiculous.” Power suit was having none of her excuses and continued to plow through her list of grievances.
“Ok, that’s true, but”-
“And this town doesn’t appear to have any cell service.”
“There was this storm”- Emma held up a hand, trying to calm down the ranting brunette.
“Are you just going to make excuses or actually do anything about any of this?” Power suit crossed her arms across her chest, clearly expecting her issues to be solved with a burst of magic.
“Listen, lady, calm the hell down.” Emma was agitated and getting defensive. “I don’t know who you are or where you are from, but things run a little differently around here, so cool your jets. How any of this falls on the sheriff’s department is beyond me. Ok, the pot holes maybe, but a storm knocked the cell tower down a few days ago, so it might be a while before that gets fixed”-
“Does anything happen at a normal pace around here or should I expect everything in this podunk town to move at a glacial”-
“Alright, that’s it. How dare you come in here and insult our town. If you don’t like it, just leave. And when the sheriff gets back I’ll tell”-
“You’re not- no, of course you’re not. Although, clearly a sheriff in a white tank top and cut off shorts in this town would not surprise me. I’m wasting my time.”
With that, the brunette stranger spun on her Jimmy Choo’s and walked out.
What the fuck just happened?
(X)
Regina paced her kitchen, still worked up from her run in with the sher..no, she wasn’t the sheriff. She’s just an infuriating blonde who happened to be the only one at the sheriff’s station this morning. No, she didn’t really think all of her grievances were the problem of the police, but considering there was apparently no animal control, department of transportation, and no cell providers in town, who else was she supposed to go to with these issues? It’s a small town in the south, maybe she thought she’d get a little southern hospitality from the sheriff to point her in the right direction.
Regina could almost feel the steam coming out of her ears. Or maybe that was just the heat. Apparently dear old Uncle….Alex? No, Eduardo, couldn’t be bothered to have his air fixed prior to his passing. Ugh, who was she going to call for that?
“Hello? Knock knock.” A pretty blonde woman appeared at the door.
“May I help you?”
“You must be Regina? Hi, I’m Kathryn, your uncle’s attorney slash real estate agent. I came to drop off the deed to the house along with some other records and papers for you to sign. Oh, and I brought a pie. I’m kind of the welcome wagon, too.”
“Please, come in. May I offer you something to drink?”
“I’ll take water if you have a cold bottle. Sweet Jesus, it’s hot in here. You should call Leroy to come fix your air.” Kathryn rummaged around in her purse until she found a business card with the corners a bit worn and handed it to Regina.
“Thank you, I will do that. I actually have a few issues I need help with and unfortunately, don’t know where to go. My phone won’t work because the cell tower is down, so I can’t google anything. I went to the sheriff’s station where I encountered an extremely rude blonde woman who was no help at all.”
“Oh, that probably would have been Emma. I’ve never heard of her being rude before, that’s a bit of a shock, but she can be a bit much sometimes. Kind of a wild child. My boyfriend, Graham, he’s the actual sheriff. Emma’s just one of his closest friends. She hangs out there a lot.”
“You don’t mind that leggy half-dressed blonde around your boyfriend?”
“Eh, Graham isn’t really her type,” Kathryn shrugged.
“Well, regardless, she’s obnoxious.”
“She’s….feisty, I will say that. Anyway, a handful of us are going down to the Jack Rabbit Hole tomorrow night. We were hoping you’d come.”
“The Jack Rabbit Hole?”
“Town watering hole. Drinking, darts, pool, dancing. Sometimes a fight if Leroy has been over-served.”
“Oh, thank you, but I don’t think-“
“Regina, you’re new. It’s a small town. It’s honestly the best way for us to get to know you and you to get to know us. Please don’t make me beg. I’m not above begging.”
Regina offered her a tight smile, “We’ll see.”
(X)
“You should have heard her, Rubes. She sounded like one of those Real Housewives bitches. So fucking demanding,” she looked up from her beer and saw the familiar flash of brunette on the TV screen. “Holy shit, turn it up. That’s her”
“…sources say high profile prosecutor Regina “The Evil Queen” Mills will not be returning for the appeal of her successful conviction against R.S. Gold. People close to the lawyer claim she indefinitely left the DA’s office after her husband, record executive Robin Locksley, reportedly had an affair with her sister….”
“THAT’S HER?!” Rubies eyes bugged out of her head. “That woman is in this town and you haven’t tried to hit on her yet?”
Emma had so many comebacks on the tip of her tongue, but her brain was toast after the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.
“Eduardo’s niece. She owns the ranch.”
“What is Miss NYC going to do with a ranch? Shit, girl had some big city trouble and is running away to the country for the easy life. Someone has seen one too many lifetime movies.”
(x)
Emma was weighing her options between the Honey Jack and Jack Fire at the corner store when clacking stilettos came barreling around the corner and about knocked her over.
“Whoa, careful your majesty, I don’t think Doc can afford you getting hurt in his store and suing.”
“Excuse me?”
“Well, you are the infamous lawyer Regina Mills, right? The Evil Queen, feared throughout the land?” Emma was trying to be a little more brusque with the woman she still found unwelcome in their town, but the smile on her face caused it to come out much flirtier than she intended.
“Word does travel fast in this sleepy little hamlet, doesn’t it?”
Emma pulled her very best southern drawl, “Well, gee, ma’am, but down here in the sticks we don’t have nothin’ better to do than gossip about rogue city slickers in our neck of the woods.” She straightened again and returned to her normal voice (still with a bit of twang), “or we have TVs and you did make national headlines.”
“Listen, Miss Swan-“
“Ooh, now who is a bit of a gossip?”
“Excuse me?”
“I never introduced myself.”
Regina flushed slightly, “Miss Swan, I do not have time for you or your games, if you will please excuse me.”
“Ok, ok, lady... geez. You’re can slow down a little, you know? Maybe ease up, stop and smell the roses, enjoy life a bit.”
“I’m enjoying life just fine, thank you.” with that she pushed past her and continued down the aisle.
“Take the stick outta your ass,” Emma mumbled under her breath as the brunette turned the corner.
A/N: Song - Thank God I'm a Country Boy by John Denver