The next couple of weeks flew past with the three of them settling into a routine: Sam would come over two evenings a week, feed Maya dinner, play with her for a while, then read her a story and put her to bed. On Saturday mornings Tara would use Sam’s visitation time to catch up on her housework. The night Maya turned five months old, Sam had cooked a special meal and they’d all shared supper and celebrated. It felt like an actual family, something she had craved her entire life.

One part of Tara enjoyed the normalcy of it all. Having Sam there to help care for Maya was a tremendous help, and she loved the idea that Maya was forming bonds with her father that would last a lifetime. On the other hand, she felt that she was growing too dependent on Sam and that was something she definitely did not want. Thankfully he hadn’t brought up marriage again, but she knew the matter wasn’t settled. Sam wasn’t the sort of man who took no for an answer, and she knew the issue was never far from his mind. Well, she’d cross that bridge when they got there.

Right now they were sitting in a diner in Monroe, finishing lunch after taking Maya to see her pediatrician. The waitress had been playing with Maya every time she’d come over, and when she’d brought the check she complimented them on how cute and happy she was. When she left, Tara took the opportunity to pick on Sam.

“Maya did well at the doctor’s office today, which is more than I can say for you,” she teased. “I thought you were gonna slap the poor nurse when she gave her a shot.”

“She shouldn’t have made her cry,” he grumbled.

Tara laughed. “She has to get her immunizations, Sam. You don’t want her getting sick, do you?”

“Of course I don’t want her to get sick. I just don’t like to see her in pain.” He gave his daughter’s cheek an affectionate pinch. Maya gurgled at him as if she knew what he was thinking, and maybe she did. She was the brightest baby Sam had ever met, but then again he was biased; he hadn’t been around enough babies to make a fair comparison. He was looking forward to having her at his home, and even at Merlotte’s once she was older. He chuckled aloud.

“What’s so funny?” Tara asked.

“Thinking about you giving my trailer a white glove inspection. Does it meet your standards, General Thornton? Am I allowed to take my daughter to my home now?”

“I guess so,” Tara said, laughingly feigning reluctance. “Just as soon as we get you a crib and a few other necessities.”

“That’s next on the agenda, after we finish up here.” Sam smiled at Tara. He loved hanging out with her and Maya; it felt like a real family. He was enjoying this new side of Tara, too. She was so self-confident now, and that in turn made her more relaxed and happy. They needed to do this more often. Suddenly he had an idea. “Tara, what are you doing Saturday afternoon?”

“I don’t have anything special planned. Why?” she asked.

“The circus is in Shreveport this weekend. I was thinking that instead of my regular visit we could take Maya out there.”

“Maya is five months old. She won’t even know what she’s looking at.”

Sam wasn’t about to be deterred. “You’ll enjoy it, too. We can go the circus, visit the carnival afterwards, and have an early dinner at the new Mexican restaurant in Ruston.”

“I don’t know, Sam…”

“Come on, Tara. When was the last time you got out of the house and had fun?”

She thought for a moment. Sam had a point; lately all she did was go to work and take care of the baby. “Alright, let’s do it.”

“Great. I’ll pick you guys up at one.”

******

The weather on Saturday was beautiful, but as Tara suspected, Maya seemed unimpressed by the circus. Sam pointed out all the animals and explained the various acts to Maya over Tara’s laughing protests that she was too young to understand what he was talking about. At the carnival, it was obvious that Sam was having a blast. And honestly, so was she. In fact, she hadn’t had this much fun since she was a kid.

When they stopped to get soft drinks, they were surprised to hear someone calling their names. It was former Bon Temps Sheriff Bud Dearborn, who was there with his wife and grandchildren.

“Nice to see y’all. Y’all know my wife Shirley; these are our granddaughters Brenna and Jenna,” he said, indicating the woman by his side and the identical twins. “Tara, I heard you’d moved back to town. I apologize that I haven’t seen you sooner, but since I retired I spend most of my time on my farm.” He knelt in front of Maya’s stroller, where Brenna and Jenna were cooing over her. “Who’s this little cutie?”

“This is Maya…” Tara started.

“…our daughter.” Sam finished.

Both Bud and Shirley blinked in surprise but recovered quickly. “Well congratulations!” Bud said, smiling down at the baby. “She’s beautiful.”

“Thanks, we think so,” Sam answered proudly.

“Y’all make such a lovely family. When’s the wedding?” Shirley asked.

Tara glared at the amused expression on Sam’s face. She felt like smacking him, and she felt like telling Shirley Dearborn to mind her own business. But motherhood had mellowed Tara’s temper considerably, and she knew that Mrs. Dearborn didn’t mean any harm. She certainly wasn’t going to insult the woman in front of her grandchildren. “Um, we…” she stammered, trying to think of a graceful way to end this conversation.

“Now Shirley, don’t you start,” Bud said. He winked at Tara. “She just loves weddings…already got Brenna and Jenna’s planned out, even though they’re just six.”

“That’s…sweet,” Tara said.

“Well we promised the girls they could ride the ponies, so we’d better get to it. Y’all enjoy the rest of your day,” Bud said as they strolled off.

Sam really hadn’t planned to bring up marriage that day; he honestly just wanted the three of them to enjoy a fun outing. He’d half expected Tara to go nuclear after the encounter with Bud and Shirley, but she’d surprised him by taking it all in stride. Later, when one of the roaming photographers at the carnival asked they wanted their picture taken, Sam thought she would insist that they each be photographed separately with Maya. But Tara had surprised him yet again by grabbing his hand and pulling him into the frame. Maybe she was beginning to see that they really did belong together as a family. They definitely needed to do this more often.

They were on the Ferris wheel when Tara noticed the gleam in his eye. “I know what you’re thinking, and it won’t work,” she told him.

“I’m not thinking anything,” Sam said, trying to sound innocent.

“Uh huh,” Tara smirked at him. She should have guessed Sam was playing dirty when he’d come up with this “family outing” idea. “Did the man ever give up?” she thought, chuckling to herself. She would definitely have to stay on her guard from now on.

After riding the carousel, Tara noticed that Maya needed to be changed. She asked Sam to wait there while they went to the ladies room.

“Tara Mae?” She had Maya on the changing table when she heard someone call her name. She looked into the face of Thelma Washington, the woman who’d lived across the street from her and Lettie Mae when Tara was a little girl.

“Ms. Thelma,” Tara said flatly. This woman had made her life a living hell when she was growing up, blaming Tara for everything that went wrong in the neighborhood. She had even called the sheriff to accuse Tara of kicking in her door and stealing her television; it hadn’t mattered that Tara was only eight years old and in school when the robbery occurred. She’d constantly warned her children not to associate with “that trash.”

“That your baby?” she asked Tara.

“Yes, this is my daughter Maya.” Tara replied, not looking at her.

“It’s so nice to see that you keep her cleaner than Lettie Mae kept you. I have some old clothes that my grandbabies have outgrown. I was gonna throw them out, but I’ll drop them at your mama’s so…”

For an instant Tara literally saw red, then she lost it. “We don’t need your fucking hand me downs!”

Ms. Thelma actually had the nerve to pretend her feelings were hurt. “I was just trying to be nice.”

“Bitch, please. You don’t know the meaning of nice; you’re the same hateful ass heifer you’ve always been!” Tara didn’t wait to hear what she had to say next; she grabbed Maya and stormed out of the restroom.

******

“Take us home!” Tara demanded the instant she saw Sam.

Sam knew Tara well enough to know something had pissed her off, but for the life of him he couldn’t figure out what. The day had gone so well until now, but he couldn’t think of anything he’d done to cause the change in her demeanor.

“I thought we were going to dinner in Ruston,” he said.

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Tara what’s wrong? Did something happen?” he questioned.

“You know what, you go on to Ruston. We’ll take a cab home,” she didn’t want to discuss Ms. Thelma right now.

“From here? But that’s over ninety miles.”

“You think I can’t afford a fucking taxi ride?” Tara asked angrily.

“No, I just…” Sam started before deciding not to give her the fight she was obviously looking for. “Come on, let’s go.”

They made the drive back to Bon Temps in awkward silence. When they reached Tara’s apartment, she barely gave him time to cut the engine before she leapt out of his truck, grabbed the baby from her car seat, and made a beeline to the porch. Sam had to catch the front door to keep it from being shut in his face.

“What do you want, Sam?”

“May I come in?” he asked.

“Nope,” she said curtly, and began closing the door again.

Sam stopped it with his foot. “Can I at least tell Maya goodnight?”

She stood aside and allowed him inside. He spent a couple of minutes with Maya, then tried again with Tara.

“Tara, talk to me. Please.”

For an instant she considered telling him about Ms. Thelma before deciding against it. She wasn’t in the mood for pity…or charity…at the moment. “I’m just tired, that’s all.” Tara gave him a wan smile. “Thanks for taking Maya to the circus today.”

Sam drove back to his trailer, thoroughly confused. Something had obviously happened, but Tara refused to open up to him. He wouldn’t push her tonight, but he vowed to drop by the next day. They’d have a nice long chat, and he’d find out exactly what the problem was.