Tara Knowles stepped off of the bus in the sunny California town. She squinted her eyes, shoved her sunglasses on, and fumbled with her heavy suitcases.

"Here let me help you with those." A young man about her age jogged up to her and took the bags from her hand.

"Thanks." Tara smiled politely, grateful to not have to carry them another step.

"No problem. Where are you headed?" He asked.

He was cute in a goofy sort of way, not much taller than her, dark brown hair, and very friendly.

"Um... I have to find the address," She dug in her pocket looking for the scrap paper with her dad's address on it. "it's my dad's place, haven't been there since I was little…" she explained.

"Ah I've lived here my whole life so I know pretty much everyone. What's your dad's name?" He questioned.

"Tom Knowles." She replied quietly, not thrilled about having to advertise that the town drunk was her father.

"Ah," he answered with a look of pity, "hop in, I'll give you a ride. My name's David by the way. David Hale." He opened the jeep door for her so she could slide in.

"Thanks, I'm Tara." She laid her head back against the seat and stared straight ahead.

"So how long are you here for, Tara?" She fought the urge to roll her eyes, he was going out of his way to give her a ride after all, the least she could do was be nice even if he was being ridiculously nosey.

"Not sure," she shrugged, "he's pretty sick. I'm here to help take care of him until…well…you know."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." David sighed. He had heard that Tom was sick, but didn't know it was that bad. Most people-his parents included-just say the town would be better off without Tom Knowles in it.

"It is what it is." She shrugged again.

"Here we are." He smiled, pulling into a small white house on the corner of the street.

"Thanks for the ride." She nodded and climbed out. He followed behind her, carrying the bags to the porch.

"Would you be interested in dinner sometime? Maybe I could show you around the town?" She could sense his nervousness.

"Um…" She bit her lip, she wanted to say no, but he was really nice and it would get her out of the house at least for a little while. "Sure." She agreed. She would have to make sure she let him know later that it was definitely not a date.

"Really?" His face lit up, "Wow. Okay. Cool. I'll call you."

"Okay. See ya."

"Hey pop." She sat on the coffee table and looked at her dad asleep on the couch. He was so thin and pale. He looked so fragile.

"You're here." He opened his eyes and coughed, sitting up. "You've grown up." He stared at her admiring the beautiful woman his daughter had turned into.

"Yep." She agreed, wanting to tell him that it wouldn't be such a shock if he had been around for more than five minutes during the last eighteen years.

She was born in Charming. Her mom and dad divorced when she was three and her mom moved them to Portland. Her dad rarely made an effort to visit or even call, which made moving away from her friends and family to take care of an almost stranger that much harder.

"You're beautiful, look just like your mom." She could see he was forcing this conversation. He didn't know what to say to her.

"Thanks. I'm going to unpack. Where's my room?" She stood up and gripped her suitcases in her hands.

"Same as it always was." He pointed down the hall.

"I haven't been here since I was a toddler, Tom." She muttered under her breath and walked in the direction he was pointing to from the sofa.

It was a small room, much smaller than the one she was used to but she would make do. This is temporary. That was the same thing she had been telling herself since she hugged her mother goodbye at the bus station before dropping everything to be there for the man who was never there for her or her mother.

She scowled at the bed, apparently she was going to need to go furniture shopping since the bed was the same toddler bed she slept in before her mom became fed up with his constant drinking. "Great."

Her dad was back asleep by the time she went back out, she needed his car. "Tom," she shook him lightly, his glazed over eyes focused on hers, "sorry to wake you up again but I need to go find a bed, can I use the car out front?"

"Of course sweetpea," he pointed to the keys on the table, "there's some cash in the coffee can under my bed. It should be more than enough to get anything you need."

"Okay. Thanks." She hadn't planned on using his money but since he was offering and he hadn't paid child support at all since they moved away, she might as well. She swiped the keys from the table, "do you need anything while I'm out?"

He shook his head and closed his eyes, "having you here with me now is all I need. Thank you baby."

Her breath hitched, she stared down at the frail man in front of her. She had spent so much time hating him for not being a part of her life, she felt a spark of hope that their final time together would replace some of that anger and hatred. She would try anyways. "You're welcome." She hurried out the front door.

"Hey again," David Hale approached her as she stood outside of the tiny store, "going shopping?"

"Trying to," She sighed, her frustration with the small town getting the best of her, "I need a bed but this is the only place I can find that even has beds and they aren't what I'm looking for."

"Oh you will probably want to look in Lodi for one. They should have what you need there. I can show you if you'd like."

"Sure," She agreed, she definitely didn't want to get lost, "I was just going to go in there and get some ice cream. You want some?" She gestured across the street at the ice cream parlor.

"Yeah, but how about we get some in Lodi. There's a really good one there." David replied.

"We're already here." I turn and walk toward the entrance.

"Yeah but you don't want to eat there. The ice cream isn't that good." He stepped in front of her, "the one in Lodi is much better. You'll thank me once you try it."

She narrowed her eyes. He definitely did not want her going in there for some reason and that only made her want to go in that much more, "well I want to try this one. Ya know, support the local businesses and all so if you don't like this one, you can wait on me out here."

He sighed in defeat, this girl was more strong willed than he anticipated, "Okay. Of course I'll come with you." There was no way he was going to let her go in there-with them-all alone.

"Good."

It looked like a pretty nice shop inside, she didn't know what his deal was. It was crowded so it couldn't be too bad.

She ordered a strawberry sundae and sat at a table by the window.

"You sure you don't want to get it to go?" David asked looking around anxiously.

"No, here is fine." She answered and looked around curious to know what had him acting this way. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Okay." He sat across from her.

"You know you could just tell me what has you acting so weird." She pointed out.

"This business belongs to shady people." He didn't elaborate any further.

"Well I'm not here for the people, I'm here for the ice cream and they sure do make a good sundae." She grinned and shrugged.

"I guess."

The roar of motorcycle filled the air and pulled in out front.

"Speaking of." David hissed looking out the window. He spoke with a lot of hostility toward the group of bikers entering the shop.

"Well…well…well boys we have a Hale in our shop." One of the bikers walked over toward us. "What do we owe the pleasure of your company daddy's boy?" He was young, with a mohawk and tattoos on his head.

"My friend wanted some ice cream." David answered.

"You should have taken her somewhere else." He stared David down. He had that look in his eyes like he was trying to prove something to someone.

"Easy Juice. Show some respect, there's a lady here." A handsome blonde biker approached them and patted his friend's back. "Besides the Hale's are always welcome at Scoops."

His attention was focused solely on her, "what's your name darlin'?" He looked as if he could see down to her soul with those beautiful blue eyes.

"Tara." She fought the butterflies she was feeling. If he wanted to play games with her…game on.

"That's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl," he winked and flashed her his grin, "I should take you for a ride sometime." Her suspicions were confirmed. He was definitely a player.

She nodded, "does that line usually work for you?" She took the last bite of her sundae and stood up.

"Usually." He admitted, unashamed.

"I think you need a new line, darlin'." She winked and brushed past him, her arm lightly touching his. "You ready David?"

"Yeah." David followed her out, smiling smugly back at the guys.

"Who was that?" She asked once they were safely out of earshot.

"Jax Teller, he thinks he's God's gift to women, and most girls usually fall for the crap he throws out." David answered.

"I'm not most girls." Tara answered honestly, although she had been tempted to take him up on that offer.

Jax watched the mysterious girl out the window. No one had ever turned him down. Ever. This was definitely an interesting turn of events, even if he was slightly annoyed he'd have to up his game for the first time in his life.

"Thanks for showing me around," Tara stated when David dropped her back off with the cutlass, "I guess I should get back and check on Tom and wait on them to deliver my bed."

"Okay. Hey would you be interested in going out with me tomorrow? We could get dinner or go to a movie." David questioned, his eyes full of hope and excitement.

"I'll let you know. I don't really know what I've got going on tomorrow. I'll talk to you later though."

"Okay. See ya." The hope hadn't diminished, her choosing to hang out with him instead of Jax had him over thinking things with her, he wanted to spend every minute with her he could.

Tara made her dad dinner and moved her old toddler bed to the shed in the back yard. The delivery guys set up the new bed in her room and she spent the rest of the evening avoiding the small talk with her dad and unpacking her belongings in her room.

She caught herself letting her mind wander to the hot biker from earlier. Jax. The tingle she felt when her skin brushed against his was burning in her mind. She could no longer say this trip was a complete waste of time.

"Tara?" Her dad called out. "Did you get settled in?"

"Almost." She paused waiting to see if he actually needed something, "need anything?"

"Just sit with me awhile. I know you're avoiding me." He dropped his head. He was ashamed of the man he let himself become. A man that his daughter hated.

"I just don't really have anything to say." She answered.

"Tell me about you-your life." He insisted.

"I graduated at the top of my class. I went to college for a year but then decided to take some time off and get a job to help mom with the bills. My dad-step dad-passed away right after Christmas and left mom with only a part time minimum wage job. That's about it."

"I'm sorry." He responded with sadness in his eyes. "I should have been there for you. Paid child support at least then your mom wouldn't have struggled so much."

She thought back to the wad of cash he had stored under his bed; he could have help out tremendously if he hadn't been such an asshole. She decided not to dwell on that, as angry as she was there was no point of being a bitch to a dying man. "It's okay. We managed."

"It's not okay. I will make this up to you somehow baby."

She nodded in response, she doubted if that were even possible. Eighteen-years-worth of no contact is a lot to make up for in what little time he's got left. "I'm going to get some sleep. You should rest too."

"Good night baby. I love you."

"Goodnight." She offered him a small smile instead of the scowl that had been an almost permanent fixture on her face in his presence.

She made her escape to her room and opened the windows. She should have done it earlier to let the smell out. Her mom had probably been the last one to open the windows in here. She laid back on her bed and listened to the sound of her dad's TV playing in the next room. She wished things had been different. She wished he would have reached out to her sooner and not just because he was dying. She knew he was trying but it was too late now, she had to build that wall up and keep reminding herself of all of the awful things he had done so she didn't let herself get attached to him. He was going to die and nothing she could do would change that. She could only try to keep her heart from breaking in the process.

Tara spent the morning trying to tidy up the house the best she could. It was obvious by all of the dust, piled high junk scattered in random places, and the overall filth of the place he didn't do much cleaning even when he was healthy enough to do it.

Her efforts were futile, it seemed every time she thought she would get one room accomplished, she would find more stuff hidden away and built up. She didn't give up. She would make this place more livable if it took her the entire time she was here.

"Tara, can you run to the market and get some more orange juice?" Her dad hollered from his bed.

"Sure," she agreed, "I need to pick up your prescriptions at the pharmacy anyways. I'll be back soon." She wiped the sweat off her head. She needed to see if David could recommend someone to take a look at the air conditioner, it felt like a furnace in there.

When she got back into the car at the pharmacy the car wouldn't start. It wouldn't turn over. It was completely dead. "Now what the hell am I gonna do?" She mutters to herself, lightly beating her head against the steering wheel.

She climbs out of the car hoping someone will be nice enough to try to help her, one lady had jumper cables in her car and tried that but it didn't help. She gave Tara the number for her mechanic.

"Hi, I'm hoping you can help me. I'm at the pharmacy and my car won't start. It won't turn over or anything. It just makes a clicking sound. Someone tried jumping the battery off but that didn't work either." She hung up the phone and waited for the tow to get there. She called her dad to let him know she would be later than she expected but she had to see what was wrong with the car.

They got her car loaded onto the truck and the older gentleman stepped around so she could fully see him. He was wearing an oxygen mask and wearing a denim vest that resembled the ones that the bikers had one at the ice cream shop. She felt a surge of excitement that she may get the chance to see Jax again. I climbed up and sat between the two of them.

"You new around here?" The younger one wearing a vest that said Prospect on it asked.

"Sort of." I replied.

"How are you sort of new?" He questioned, looking out the window.

"Quit interrogating the girl." The older spoke gruffly.

"It's okay," I figured I might as well get used to the questions, from the looks of things this town doesn't get many new faces, "I was born here. I moved away when I was a baby and now I'm back to spend some time with my biological father during his final days."

"Tom Knowles?" He asked catching on relatively quickly who she was. The car probably giving it away.

"Yes sir." She answered quietly.

"I remember you when you were just a little thing. You used to play with my boy out in front of your house. I lived across the street from you back then."

She smiled politely. She didn't remember any of what he was saying or anything about him but it was still nice to not be around total strangers even if she didn't remember them. "Do you still live there?"

"No. My son lives there now."

"Oh." She nodded as they pulled into the parking lot of the shop. Bikes were everywhere. The butterflies she felt the day before were back. She was hoping to see Jax again but hoping that it wasn't obvious that she wanted to see him.

She spotted him immediately and her heart almost stopped. There he was standing shirtless in one of the bays wiping grease off his hands with a wife beater slung over his shoulder. Her mouth watered taking in his chiseled arms, abs, and everything. She didn't know anything about the man except for he was the hottest guy she had ever laid eyes on.

His eyes locked on hers and he smiled-that smile-he sauntered over to her, "you know if your boyfriend sees you here, he's going to shit bricks. Just thought I'd let you know but you're more than welcome to stay darlin'."

"Actually I don't have a boyfriend but I'll keep that in mind if I get one. Thanks for the tip. Now who do I see about fixing my car?" She brushed past him again but this time he grabbed her hand spinning her around. Her heart hammered against her chest at his touch.

"That would be," he answered, "what's wrong with it?"

"That's what I'm paying you to tell me. You are the mechanic aren't you?" She answered, not missing a beat. Keeping her eyes locked on his took focus and a lot of will power. She knew if she allowed herself to look down at his body she would be make a total fool out of herself.

"Smart ass." He smirked.

"It's making a clicking sound but won't start. Jumping the battery didn't help."

"Okay. I can get Lowell to take a look at it for you. He's our best mechanic." He ordered Lowell to take a look at the car.

"Oh…so you're not the best?" She purred. She bit her lip seductively.

He shifted his weight, she could tell the flirting was having an effect on him but she still wouldn't grant herself the pleasure of looking down. "I have other expertise." He ran his tongue over his lips.

She felt a shiver down her spine, "well can you have Lowell give me a call when my car is done?" She needed to get away, she was letting this get out of hand. She knew she would never sleep with him, even if she had thought about it. She wasn't that type of girl but she also didn't want to be a tease. Leaving was the best answer.

"You should just hang out until he's done." He offered.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I'm not the type of girl you are used to Jax. I don't…I mean I haven't…I just need to go." She couldn't bring herself to tell a total stranger that although she was into him…at least his looks since she didn't really know him…she couldn't give her virginity to him. So she left him standing there, hot and bothered, and at a loss about what just happened.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Gemma asked Jax when he came into the office.

"Nothing." He plopped down into one of the chairs.

"He's trying to get into the new girl's pants and she's not having it." Opie chimed in doubled over in laughter, "today makes the second time he's struck out with her. The prince is losing his touch."

"Fuck you bro." Jax huffed, "I still got it. Shit, I can fuck any girl on this lot or in this town without even trying."

"Except for the one that's got you in here pouting like a pussy." Opie teased, laughing harder. Jax just threw his middle finger up in response. He was right though. He was pouting like a bitch over some random girl that wouldn't even give him the time of day.

"You boys be nice to that girl." Piney growled. "She's a good girl and is dealing with a lot of shit right now."

"How the hell do you know? She just moved here." Opie questioned.

"You shit heads used to play with her when you were babies. She lived across the street from us." Piney grumbled.

"I'll be damned." Gemma interjected. "Tom Knowles' girl. What was her name…" Gemma pondered out loud.

"Tara." Piney replied.

"Is she staying there now?" Jax asked.

"As far as I know." Piney rolled his eyes. "You leave that girl alone, ya hear?"

Jax's mood improved drastically, in an interesting turn of events Tara lived across the street from him and Opie. He should have gone home last night instead of burying himself in that croweater, then he would have known that the mysterious girl was his new neighbor. "I hear ya old man."