Things had been pretty slow at the restaurant as was typical for early in the week. In fact the day had been downright dull, so Sam felt entirely comfortable leaving Arlene in charge for the rest of the evening and taking off early to spend time with Tara and Maya. He’d been looking forward to seeing them all day, especially Tara.  Sam smiled to himself, thinking about the last time they were together. Maybe he was being a bit presumptuous, but he’d brought along a change of clothing. If things went the way he hoped he’d be staying the night. After all, what were the odds of Lettie Mae interrupting them a second time?

He knocked and was startled by Tara’s shout when she opened the door.

“Stay the hell away from here!”

“Tara? Baby, what’s wrong?”

She blinked in surprise, obviously expecting someone else. Finally she stood aside to allow him in.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked again. He was becoming faintly alarmed; Tara and Maya were both in tears, and there were broken picture frames on the living room floor. He wrapped an arm around Tara and guided her back to the couch.

“What happened?”

Tara took a deep breath. “It’s Mama,” she finally managed.

Sam felt a sudden surge of anger and fierce protectiveness. If that woman had dared hit either one of them… “Did she hurt you?”

“No. Not physically.”

Maya let out a pitiful wail; Tara tried to shush her, but she seemed to sense her mother’s emotional distress and continued to whimper.

“Here, let me have her.” Sam took the baby and, speaking softly to settle her down, headed to the kitchen to grab a bottle of apple juice. He noticed a pot about to boil dry, so he shut the stove off and placed the pot in the sink. Next he brought Maya back to the living room, placed her in her swing, wiped her face, and gave her the bottle of juice. When he was sure she was settled, he went to the bathroom for aspirin and a damp washcloth, then fixed a glass of water and took them back to Tara, who accepted them gratefully.

“What did your mother do?” Sam asked, seating himself beside her and gathering her in his arms.

Tara sighed and leaned into his embrace, then finally opened up. “It started Saturday night; she came here asking for money to pay an overdue bill. Then she harassed me all day Sunday and Monday, crying about how her lights were about to get cut off. Today I finally told her I couldn’t afford to give her full amount and she went ape shit.”

“You know you could have come to me…”

“There was no bill, Sam; it was all a lie. When I confronted her she did what she always does: started calling me names and saying that I’ll end up just like her.” Tara was careful not to mention Lettie’s plan to use Maya as a meal ticket. She’d never tell Sam about that…ever. Some things were just too hurtful to repeat.

Sam stroked her back. “I hope you didn’t believe any of that.”

“I’ve been hearing it all my life. I thought I’d gotten past it, but Mama knows exactly how to push my buttons. I guess deep down part of me is still afraid that I will turn out like her; that I’ll damage Maya the same way she damaged me.” Tara pulled back and looked at Sam. “I want you to promise that if I ever start acting like Mama, you’ll take Maya away from me.”

“Tara, you’re not like…”

“No!” She was emphatic. “Take her away and never let me see her again.”

Sam was uncomfortable with this, but Tara was so upset he agreed just to calm her down. “Okay, I will.”

“I want your word, Sam. Promise me.”

“I promise,” Sam pulled Tara close to him again. “But I know it’ll never come to that. You’re an excellent mother, and you’re nothing like Lettie Mae.” He kissed her forehead. “And I’ll make you another promise: I’ll be here to protect for as you long as you let me.”

“Thanks Sam,” she said softly, then began to cry again.

Sam held Tara in his arms until she’d let it all out. Finally, she sat up and gave him a weak smile.

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess. You were supposed to be having dinner and visiting with Maya, but you’ve been so busy dealing with my crap that you haven’t done either one.”

“There’s no need to apologize. We promised that we’d have each other’s back, and I’m happy to be here for you this evening,” Sam said. “Oh, and thank you, by the way.”

“For what? Blubbering all over you?”

“No, for trusting me enough to open up. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.” Sam was thinking how far they’d come since that day at the circus.

Tara was surprised; not at Sam, but at herself. There had been a time when she would have torn his head off just for being in the near vicinity after she’d fought with her mother. Tonight she had accepted the comfort he offered without even thinking about it. Maybe she was getting better at this relationship stuff.

“I do trust you, Sam,” she said softly. Suddenly there was a loud screech from across the room.

“Sounds like somebody’s hungry,” Tara said with a chuckle.

Sam changed Maya’s diaper while Tara warmed baby food for her supper. Then he made omelets for the two of them while Tara gave Maya a bath and prepared her for bed. A thunderstorm had rumbled in while they were eating; it had turned into a torrential downpour by the time they had everything cleaned up and the baby settled in her crib.

“Well it’s getting late, I better get going,” Sam said.

“You can’t go out in this mess.” Tara had switched on the news; the storms had become severe and there were tornadoes in the area. “Why don’t you stay here tonight?”

“Are you sure?” Although Sam was delighted at the prospect, he knew the last thing Tara needed was sex while her emotions were so raw. That had never stopped them in the past, but he wanted to do things right this time around.

“I’m sure. It’s too dangerous for you to drive.” Almost on cue, a huge gust of wind shook the entire house and they heard a barrage of hailstones pinging off the roof. “Besides, I hate storms. I’ll feel safer with you here,” she added a little sheepishly.

“You mean to tell me the fearsome Tara Thornton is afraid of a bit of thunder and lightning?”

“I know it’s childish but I can’t help it,” she said, embarrassed.

“I’m just teasing you; Of course I’ll stay.”

“Thanks, Sam.”

Sam undressed down to his shorts and lay in bed while Tara went into the bathroom to change clothes. She emerged wearing a T-shirt and long cotton sleep pants. She gave him an apologetic look.

“I hope you don’t mind, I’m just not in the mood for…”

“I understand,” he cut her off. He patted the space beside him. “Come on and get some sleep.”

Tara had barely lay down when a violent crack of thunder made the windows rattle, knocking the power out. Maya’s nursery monitor went silent, but they could hear her cries quite clearly without it.

“She’s definitely my daughter,” Tara said wryly, starting to get up.

“You stay there; I’ll go get her.”

Sam returned to the bedroom, rocking the baby and singing to her softly. Maya clung to her daddy, clearly upset by all the noise outside.

“I usually put her in bed with me when the weather’s bad,” Tara said.

“There’s room enough here for the three of us.” Sam lay Maya on his chest, Tara snuggled against his side and lay her head on his shoulder, placing one hand on Maya’s back. Both drifted off to sleep within minutes.

As Sam lay there in the dark he smiled to himself. This wasn’t the evening he had planned when he’d come over earlier, but it was nearly as satisfying. There would be time enough in the future for him and Tara to become lovers again, but right now he allowed himself to relish the role of father and protector.

**********

The next couple of days proved to be a challenge. The storms had knocked out electricity to three quarters of the parish. The power hadn’t been restored until Wednesday afternoon, so schools and most businesses were closed. Sam had immediately gone to check out the restaurant. Fortunately there was no major damage; just a lot of debris on the parking lot, and he’d had to replace all the perishable food per health department regulations. Even his trailer had made it through unscathed. The apartments were a different matter altogether. Shingles had been blown off, roofs had suffered hail damage, one porch had collapsed, and several trees had been struck by lightning. The clean up had kept him so busy that he’d had to forgo his regular Thursday visit with Tara and Maya. Every time he thought he’d taken care of one problem two more would crop up to take its place.

“I’m sorry, babe. I promise I’ll make it up to you,” he’d said apologetically when he Tara on Friday evening. “I just have a few things to finish up tomorrow morning, then I’m taking the rest of the day off to spend with you. Anyplace special you want to go?”

Tara heard the fatigue in his voice. “I know you’re tired. Why don’t we take it easy tomorrow and stay in? I can rent a couple of movies and we can have a date night at home.”

“You sure? LaWanda’s available to babysit and I don’t mind going out.”

“You need to take it easy,” Tara said. “Besides, we can have just as much fun at home as we could going out. Maybe even more,” she added suggestively.

“Why Miss Thornton, are you propositioning me?” Sam asked in an exaggerated southern drawl.

“Maybe. You’ll have to be here to find out.”

“Well in that case it’s a date.”

Tara laughed. “That’s what I thought. ‘Night, babe.”

“Good night,”

Tara and Maya were up bright and early Saturday morning; she wanted to finish all her errands in plenty of time before Sam arrived that afternoon. She grabbed her to-do list and locked up the house. Tara had just strapped Maya into her car seat when her cell phone rang.

“Hello.”

*Tara? It’s Terry. I’m at the apartments…Sam’s been in an accident.”