Previously…
– Elly told off Spencer after realizing that he and Natalie were not just living under the same roof to raise Peter, but sleeping together.
– Zane confided in Diane that he had advised Tori to quit her job before Molly could fire her.
– Trevor offered to stay late at the office to help Finn , who’d been thrown into helping clean up Tori’s errors.

Morgan Wallen’s “More Than My Hometown” plays over the sound system of The Wild Lady, filling the bar with its folksy sentimentality. At a high-top table near the pen that contains the mechanical bull, Samantha Fisher and Elly Vanderbilt are perched on stools, with cocktails in front of them.

“And my grandma has barely spoken to my mom or me since,” Samantha says. “Isn’t that crazy?”

Elly widens her eyes. “What’s crazy is that you and your mom figured out the truth. It sounds like everyone was ready to leave it buried forever.”

“I know. My grandpa must have always wanted my mom to know that her biological mom was someone else — almost like he had to tell her before he could pass on.”

“How’s your mom taking it?” Elly asks. “I know what a shock it was to find out I was adopted, but I was only a teenager, and my adoptive parents actually wanted me.”

Samantha fiddles with the plastic straw in her drink for a moment. “She’s okay. My mom has this way of putting on a brave front and soldiering on, even when things are tough. It’s one of her best traits. And her worst.”

“I’m glad she has you there for her, at least.”

“I hope that’s helping,” Samantha says. “It seems like my aunt has definitely taken my grandma’s side — not that Aunt Natalie would exactly help calm my mom down.”

Elly snickers and takes a sip of her martini. “Is it weird for you?”

“Is what weird? My mom and aunt not getting along?”

“No, your aunt being married to Spencer. Your aunt is married to your brother! That has to be weird.”

“It is. It definitely is. But we all know it’s an arrangement, or whatever they called it when they got married.”

Elly looks at her former roommate over the rim of the martini glass. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

“What do you mean?” Samantha asks. “You’re the one who advised them to get married so they’d keep custody of Peter. We all know that’s the only reason they did it.”

“That’s what I thought, too. But I went– I had to go to their house a while back, and…” Elly’s eyebrows raise suggestively as she downs what’s left of the martini.

Samantha leans forward over the table. “Elly, what’s going on?”

“Let’s just say,” Elly tells her, “that those two definitely seem to be enjoying the benefits of being husband and wife.”

—–

“And you think that’ll fix it?” Alex Marshall asks.

He stands in the downstairs bathroom of his husband‘s family’s home, which in recent months has become a rental property under their purview. The plumber kneeling by the open vanity doors beneath the sink nods back at him.

“Whoever did the repair last time didn’t solder these together right,” the plumber explains. “I’ll redo it and that should stop the leak.”

“And the hot water will be more consistent, too?”

“Should be. Lemme see what I can do here.”

“Thank you,” Alex says, not quite exhaling with relief but at least feeling more hopeful. The ongoing plumbing issues at the house have been a steady source of annoyance for him and Trevor since Finn Campbell and Jaq Pearson moved into the house this past fall.

He steps out of the bathroom and is headed for the kitchen to wait out the plumber’s work when he hears the front door being unlocked. He redirects toward the living room at the front of the house and sees Finn entering, in a navy blue coat and clutching a leather work bag in one hand.

“Alex. Hey,” Finn says brightly. “Is the plumber here? I saw the van outside.”

“Yeah, they were able to come today instead of tomorrow, so I figured I’d let him in and get the water fixed for you guys.”

“Thank you! It’ll be nice to have that working again — and I’m sure it’ll be nice for you not to have to worry about it anymore.”

Alex laughs wryly. “I’m learning that being a landlord can be a lot of work.”

“I can’t thank you enough for taking care of this so quickly,” Finn says as he sets down his bag and wriggles out of his coat. “You and Trevor are both lifesavers lately.”

“All I did was let a plumber in. It’s no big deal,” Alex says. With a grin, he adds, “And don’t give Trevor too much credit here!”

“Oh, I was talking about last night.”

“Last night?”

“Yeah,” Finn says, his coat now slung over his forearm. “I thought Trevor told you.”

Alex shakes his head, confused. “Trevor was with you last night?”

—–

“Wow, did I need this,” Diane Bishop says, her words melting with relief as she sinks her bare feet into the soaking tub.

“Me, too. You’re a genius for suggesting it,” Sarah Fisher Gray says from the next spa chair over. The two women are two of the only customers inside the brightly lit salon; toward the front of the space, two more ladies are receiving manicures.

“Thank you,” Diane tells the attendant. Sarah quickly adds her own thanks before the attendant steps away to allow their feet to soak for a few minutes before their treatments.

They revel in the soothing sensations for a moment before Diane speaks once more.

“I thought something relaxing might be in order,” she says.

Sarah turns sharply to her friend. “Oh, god. What did you do?”

Diane’s face crinkles up. “What do you mean?”

“You told me we needed to talk and then brought me here to soften the blow. Which means you did something you know I won’t take well.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Diane says, “but thank you for your faith in me. No, what I need to talk to you about is Zane.”

“That name alone is going to undo whatever benefits I get out of this pedicure,” Sarah replies through gritted teeth.

“I told you I’d keep an eye on him at the station. And it turns out he’s so proud of whatever influence he has over Tori that he’s practically dying to brag about it.”

Sarah’s eyes flare as her body jerks forward in the chair. “What did he do to her?”

“Nothing. At least, not yet. But something went down at Objection — I guess Tori made some big error, and she was worried Molly was going to fire her for it–“

“I’m going to kill Molly, too,” Sarah says. “She can’t throw her own niece into the deep end and then write her off like that.”

“Well, I wouldn’t blame you for that,” Diane continues, “but what really set off alarm bells was how Zane kept insisting that she should just quit before Molly could fire or even reprimand her. He was almost gleeful about the prospect.”

Sarah shakes her head with equal amounts of despair and anger. “She had better not quit a good job for that asshole.”

“You haven’t heard from her today, have you?”

“No — and that scares me, too. She’s keeping things from Matt and me, ever since she lost the baby and got back together with Zane. I feel like I have to pry just to find out the most basic things about her life.” She picks up her purse, which is lying on the floor beside her chair. “Should I call her?”

“Think about how you want to come at this first,” Diane says. “If you go off half-cocked, you lose your chance to get through to her.”

Sarah clutches the phone in her palm. “I’m tired of waiting for some magical ‘right time’ to get my daughter back from this psycho.”

“I know. But let’s strategize on this. Alienating her is only going to send her running to Zane.”

“You’re right,” Sarah says, as her shoulders slump. “But Matt and I have sat around for too long trying to finesse this. It’s time to get Zane out of Tori’s life for good — before he completely destroys her.”

—–

“What does that mean?” Samantha asks Elly.

The redhead is about to respond when a loud, cheerful voice cuts through the music:

“Anyone thirsty over here?”

Elly and Samantha swivel their heads to see Kathleen Bundy approaching with two cocktails in hand.

“What are these?” Elly asks her stepmother.

Kathleen places the martini in front of Elly and the daiquiri before Samantha. “On the house. Thought you girls could use another round.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” Samantha says. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Kathleen says. “How’s your brother doing, Sam? I’ve got to get over there and meet that sweet baby one of these days?”

Elly snaps to attention. “Baby? What baby?”

“Travis and Rosie are fostering a baby,” Samantha explains.

“A little girl. Gabrielle.” Kathleen holds her hands in front of her heart and swoons. “I didn’t ever think I’d be a grandma!”

Samantha uses her forefinger to push her glasses up her nose. “Well, it’s only temporary. At least for now. She was left outside the police station, and something went wrong with the original foster family, so Rosie felt like she should help out, and Travis wanted to do it with her.”

“Wow,” Elly says as she grabs her second martini by its stem. “Good for them.”

Kathleen smiles broadly. “I’ll let you two get back to catchin’ up. It’s so nice that you stay in touch like this. College roommates and now grown women, having drinks after work. It’s so sweet.”

“Thank you again for the drinks,” Samantha tells her.

“Yeah, thanks, Kathleen,” Elly adds. 

Kathleen picks up Elly’s empty martini glass and scoots away from the table. A Rascal Flatts song takes over the speakers as the two women drink their beverages quietly for a moment.

“That’s crazy about Travis,” Elly comments. “To think of him becoming a dad so suddenly…”

“I was surprised that he and Rosie were diving in so quickly, but it’s not like they’re teenagers,” Samantha says. “And I got the sense that Rosie felt almost obligated to help this baby.”

“That’s big of her.” Elly quickly takes another sip of the martini. 

“But what were you saying about Spencer and my Aunt Natalie?” Samantha asks. “What’s going on with them?”

Elly hesitates for an instant and places her glass back on the table.

“All I know,” she says at last, “is that I had to stop by their house one night, and Natalie answered the door. I heard Spencer calling out to her in the background, and… based on what he was saying and the way Natalie was acting, it was very clear what they were up to.”

Samantha scowls. “I don’t know what the appropriate reaction is when you find out your half-brother is sleeping with your aunt. At least she’s not his aunt.”

“That’s something, yeah. When I advised them to get married, I didn’t really think…” Elly shudders.

“I guess they are adults, and they’re married, and they have a son. So it isn’t the most surprising outcome… and it isn’t really hurting anyone.”

Elly lets out a sigh and once again lifts her martini. “May they have a long marriage and not wind up killing each other. Right?”

“Right,” Samantha says, chuckling even as she detects a note in Elly’s demeanor that she can’t quite place.

—–

Alex stands in the entryway of the Brooks home, looking over at Finn in bewilderment. 

“At the office, I mean,” Finn hastily says. “I volunteered to help out with a last-minute crisis and was in way over my head.” He falls quiet before adding, “Trevor said he let you know.”

Alex responds with a quick nod. “He did. Yeah. He said he got stuck at the office helping out. I just didn’t realize– never mind.”

“Sorry for the confusion. I didn’t mean to imply…”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Alex says, swiping a hand through the air. “I was slow on the uptake, that’s all.”

“Well,” Finn says as he moves to hang his coat in the nearby closet, “how about a cocktail while we wait? I’m not too handy in the kitchen, but I do make one hell of a skinny margarita.”

Alex pulls out his iPhone and checks the time.

“That sounds great,” he says, “but I should pick up Chase before it’s too late. The plumber already has my credit card info for all the charges. Are you okay waiting for him to finish?”

“Totally. All I have planned is changing into more comfortable clothes and enjoying some Netflix.”

“Perfect. Thanks, Finn.” He checks his jeans pocket for his keys and, finding them there, moves toward the door. “Let me know if anything else comes up.”

“I will. Thanks for all your help, Alex.”

With a final wave, Alex slips out the front door and pulls it shut behind himself. The chilly January air hits him like a punch, and he hurries back to his car, wishing he’d worn something more substantial than a fleece pullover. Only once he is in the driver’s seat, with the engine turned on and the heat flowing through the vents, does he fully allow his thoughts to come to the fore.

Truth be told, he doesn’t know why they aren’t sitting right. Trevor told him that he had to stay at the office later than expected. Finn explained that Trevor was helping him with a last-minute project. And yet… something about the fact that Trevor didn’t mention that he was working with Finn, either when he texted last night or when he finally came home, continues to nag at Alex.

“Stop being so insecure,” he tells himself, recalling how much he hated feeling this way as a younger man. He puts the car in drive and pulls away from the curb, focusing on the news broadcast on the radio in an attempt to drown out the lingering worry.

END OF EPISODE 1062

Is Alex right to be troubled by what Finn told him?
Will Sarah and Matt figure out how to outmaneuver Zane?
Did Elly just reveal some deeper feelings to Samantha?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

Next Episode