Episode 1072

Previously…
– When Jason invited Sabrina over to have dinner with him and Sophie, the teenager lashed out, cutting the evening short.
– Jaq was shocked to receive an anonymous, threatening letter in their mailbox.
– Travis planned to propose marriage to Rosie, but they were interrupted by a call from Samantha about the letter that Jaq received.

The lilting sounds of Taylor Swift’s “willow” dance through the air inside Thaw Coffee & Tea. Jason Fisher stands at the end of the counter, sipping on an Americano in a to-go cup as he waits for Sabrina Gage to untie and neatly fold her icy blue work apron.

“Are you sure you have time for a walk?” Sabrina asks.

“Plenty of time,” he reassures her. “Tempest is out meeting with a vendor, and I got all the schedules sorted out this morning. I’m all yours.”

Sabrina smiles sweetly. “Great. Let me go put this in the back and I’ll be right out.”

She disappears through the swinging door into the café’s employees-only area. Jason waits, casually observing as the barista at the register takes an order from a harried young mother with two toddlers. Then he sees a familiar face stepping through the door that connects Thaw to the rest of Edge of Winter Arena.

Jaq. Hi,” he says, raising a hand in greeting.

His niece‘s partner regards Jason with surprise and then approaches, offering a bashful wave of their own.

“Is this your day off from the radio station?” he asks.

Jaq nods, their angular black bangs bobbing softly above their eyebrows. “I thought I’d pick up a coffee for Samantha and surprise her at work.”

“That’s a great idea. How are you liking the new digs?”

“It’s so nice to have an entire house. And Finn is such an easy roommate.”

“You know, I spent a lot of time in that house when I was younger,” Jason says. “My late wife was best friends with Trevor’s sister.”

“That’s what Sam said,” Jaq replies. “I think it makes Trevor happy to know that he can still come by the house when he wants to.”

“I’m sure.” Before Jason can say anything further, Sabrina emerges from the back and rejoins them.

“Sabrina, you remember Jaq, don’t you?” Jason says.

“Yeah! It’s nice to see you,” Sabrina says.

“You, too.” Jaq tips their head in the direction of the register. “I should go order.”

“We’re about to head out for a walk,” Jason tells them. “Tell Samantha hi for us.”

After a flurry of quick goodbyes, Jaq moves to the register, while Jason and Sabrina exit through the door that leads to the arena’s parking lot. They walk wordlessly to the sidewalk and turn right, falling beneath the shade of the leafy trees.

“So,” Jason says after an unexpectedly heavy bout of silence. “I guess we should talk about that disaster of a dinner the other night.”

“That’s crazy,” Tori Gray says, her mouth agape. “Like, literally crazy.”

She sits at a small, metal table on the terrace outside Objection Designs’ offices in downtown King’s Bay. Although the air is still cool, as the winter slowly gives way to spring, the sun is shining and the sky is clear, offering a stunning view of the town and the shimmering bay. 

“Jaq insists it’s not that big a deal,” Samantha Fisher says from across the table. “They think it’s just… bullying.”

Tori shakes her head at her cousin. “You can’t be too careful with this stuff.”

“That’s what I said.” Samantha sighs and sets her plastic fork down in the mostly-empty takeout salad container in front of her. “I hate that they’re so used to people treating them like this, too.”

“Yeah. That sucks. And it’s sad.”

“They didn’t really want me to call the cops, but I thought it would be really careless not to. So I asked Rosie to come over.”

“Did she find anything?” Tori asks, her fork perched above what’s left of her own salad.

“She took the letter in as evidence,” Samantha says, “but there’s no doorbell camera or anything.”

Tori finishes chewing a bite of her lunch before saying, “I think that was smart. Like I said… you can’t be too careful. Not when someone obsesses enough to leave you letters like that.”

Samantha hesitates, fixing a curious stare upon her cousin. “Right. It’s like…”

“It makes me think about Philip,” Tori continues.

“Oh. Philip. Yeah.” Samantha does her best to cover, and now she realizes it was silly to expect Tori to acknowledge Zane‘s obsessive, controlling behavior, let alone call it out in this situation.

“He was so obsessed with Aunt Molly that he killed five people. And almost me,” Tori says. “We don’t know what this person who left that letter for Jaq really wants. Making sure the cops know about it is the smartest thing you could’ve done.”

“I hope so,” Samantha says as she gazes off into the distance, watching as the surface of the water ripples slightly as she offers up a silent wish that there won’t be any more letters — or something even worse.

Travis Fisher holds a milk crate with both hands and carries it from the storage room into the large, busy kitchen of Bill’s on the Pier. He is unpacking a variety of supplies on one of the stainless steel counters when he looks over to see his uncle entering the kitchen, pulling on his white chef’s coat.

“You’re in early,” Matt Gray comments.

“I thought I’d get in here and help out to make up for taking last night off,” Travis explains.

“How’d it go?” Matt asks. “You and Rosie have a good night?”

“Well…” Travis bites his lower lip. “She got called away by work.”

“Oh, man. Look, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate with a baby in the house and all. If you need to cut a few shifts–“

“It’s not just that,” Travis says. 

Matt cocks his head to one side. “What’s up?”

Travis swallows the lump in his throat and explains, his voice growing quieter, “I was kinda… I’ve been planning to propose.”

“No way!” In spite of his usual understated, almost stoic demeanor, Matt’s eyes flare wide as his entire face brightens. “That’s huge.”

“Yeah. Or it would be. But I’ve gotten interrupted multiple times now. Like I was made dinner last night, I was ready to pull out the ring…”

“Interruptions happen.”

“I’m just worried it’s, like… a sign.”

“A sign? Come on.” Matt picks up a nearby dish rag and twists it in his hands. “You guys love each other. And you’re raising a baby together!”

“Fostering.”

“Fostering. Which is raising. You just don’t know if it’s gonna be long-term.”

Travis nods along.

“Don’t psych yourself out, man,” Matt tells him. “You and Rosie, you’ve got a good thing. Proposing doesn’t have to be some big flashy thing.”

“I’m hoping I only do it once, so I kinda want it to be special.”

“It’ll be special ’cause you’re doing it at all.”

“I hope so.” Travis fixes a smile on his face. “Thanks, Uncle Matt.”

Matt grins and then snaps the towel against Travis’s side. 

“You’re welcome,” he says. “Now get back to work.”

“Deal,” Travis says, laughing, as Matt helps him unload the crate.

—–

“I’m really sorry about that dinner,” Jason says as he and Sabrina stroll down a tree-lined street just to the north of the arena.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry about,” she responds.

“No, I do.” 

She glances sideways at him, confused.

“I should’ve realized I was pushing things along too fast,” he says. “When you’re dealing with a teenager…”

“I remember what it was like being a teenager. So I understand. But… are you sure the problem is Sophie?”

Jason furrows his brow at her. “What do you mean?”

“It seemed like Sophie was just fine with you dating — and almost marrying — Natalie,” Sabrina explains. “Maybe the issue is that she doesn’t like me.”

“Not at all.” Jason shakes his head for emphasis. “But I do think that, yeah, Natalie is a factor.”

They walk a few more steps quietly; Sabrina watches him carefully out of the corner of her eye, anxious to hear what he will say next.

“Things between Natalie and me got serious unexpectedly fast,” he finally says. “Between us having known each other for a while, and both having kids already, and then her getting pregnant… it was all really serious and domestic. And then when it blew up — that was hard on Sophie.”

“Of course.”

“She’s skittish now, and I don’t blame her,” Jason says. “To be fair, I’ve been skittish. And Sophie lost her mother so young, and then she lost Natalie — and Bree, and Peter. It’s asking a lot of her to accept someone else into her life.”

Sabrina gulps. “I’m also not sure if I’m ready to jump into being a stepmother– or, well, you know what I mean– especially to a teenager. There’s so much life that I’ve missed.”

Jason stops walking and turns toward her. With a somber expression, he asks, “But are you open to that in the future?”

“I think so. Yeah.” She puts on a brave smile. “I would be. But I need time.”

“And so does Sophie, and frankly, I probably do, too. But I like you.”

“I like you, too, Jason.”

“Then here’s an idea: let’s keep this separate from Sophie for now. Let’s find ways to spend time together that don’t involve acting like some sort of instant family.”

“Do you think we can?” she asks earnestly. “You’re a single parent with a teenager.”

“A teenager who goes to school and has extracurriculars and spends the night with her grandparents sometimes.”

Sabrina chuckles. “Do you think spending time with Mrs. Chase is going to make Sophie more likely to accept me?”

“I think she’s got plenty of Helen in her already,” he says. “But what I know is that I like you. A lot. And I’d like to find a way to make this work, as long as you’re okay with it, too.”

“I am. I really am.”

“Good.” He leans in and presses his lips against hers. “And we might have to spend a little more time at your place, if that’s okay.”

“Very okay,” Sabrina says before kissing him again.

—–

After she and Tori finish lunch, Samantha returns to her cubicle. She has just opened a PDF she was asked to review for copy errors — several of which she spots on the first page alone — when she spots Jaq approaching.

“What are you doing here?” Samantha asks, rising from her desk chair.

Jaq holds out a coffee cup from Thaw. “Finn let me in. I thought I’d surprise you with this.”

“You get points for this,” Samantha says happily. If she weren’t in her own workplace, she would greet Jaq with a kiss, but the acknowledgement seems to pass wordlessly between them.

“Why don’t we go outside?” Sam suggests, and a moment later, they are stepping back out onto the terrace where she and Tori just finished up.

“I have some news,” Jaq says as the door closes behind them.

Samantha’s breath catches in her chest. “Was there another letter?”

“No, no. Rosie called, though.”

“And…?”

“And they couldn’t get any fingerprints off the letter I got,” they explain. “Whoever left it must’ve been really careful. Probably wore gloves the whole time.”

Samantha lets this information soak in for a moment and then says, “Somehow that makes it even scarier. That someone was so methodical about it.”

“I know.” Jaq reaches out and grabs Samantha’s hand. “Let’s just hope for the best, okay?”

“I don’t even want to think about you being in danger.”

“I’m in danger just by existing in my own skin, unfortunately.”

“I’m so sorry,” Samantha says sadly. “I– I care about you so much, Jaq. I love you.”

Jaq’s face lights up. “Did you just say…?”

“I said I love you. And I mean it.”

“Oh my god. I love you, too.” Jaq springs forward and catches Samantha, though they both quickly remember where they are and keep it brief. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to say that?”

“Then you should have!” Samantha says with a laugh.

“Well, we’ve said it now. And I don’t want to feel sad or scared while we have something like that to celebrate.”

“I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“I am safe. Because I’m with you,” Jaq says, staring gratefully into Samantha’s eyes.

END OF EPISODE 1072

Will there be any more letters sent to Jaq?
Is Travis overthinking his proposal?
Can Jason and Sabrina really make it work?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

Next Episode

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