Finally, the weather was nice again. There were moments in the dead of winter where Sam wondered why he'd ever stayed in a town in Maine. Then he'd get to work, or he'd wander around town, and he'd remember why sticking around had been worth it all along. It hadn't been part of his plan, back when he was a kid, but he barely thought five minutes ahead of himself, let alone years. Teenage Sam had intended on sweeping through town quickly, putting some dough in his pocket and getting the hell out of dodge before anyone knew any better. That was what he'd done in the last two towns, and it'd worked well enough.
Things were different here. He kept finding a reason to stay -- or he'd get arrested and have to stay. Eventually, he'd been there long enough that he kind of liked the sleepy little town. There were nice people there, once he bothered to get to know them.
He was going on twenty years in town now, and he'd grown to love it. This was home in a way no place ever had been. He felt settled for the first time in his life. It was... nice, honestly.
Sam never really paid much attention to the kids and families whenever he'd pass by the playground -- not having kids of his own, or any nieces and nephews around. He would have gone right on by if he hadn't recognized Maggie there, with, he assumed, the little one she'd told him about. No one else seemed to be around, so he headed on over to say hello. If her father had been nearby, he probably wouldn't have. Sam still couldn't tell what the man thought of him. "Hey, Maggie."