Previously…
– When confronted by Brent, Natalie — scared of repercussions from Loretta — denied having seen her mother-in-law at the Moriani house on the night when Rosie and Gabrielle were discovered there.
– Jason took Sophie to see a therapist, and she admitted that her fear that, if he gets serious with Sabrina, she might leave them the way that Courtney and Natalie both did.
– Alex and Trevor continued to clash over Alex’s suspicions that Finn is helping Gia take over Objection Designs.

Alex Marshall already felt as though every muscle in his body was as tense as it could possibly get, but when he hears the thud of the car door closing and the beep of the vehicle locking, he somehow grows even tenser and tighter. He drifts from the kitchen of his family’s bungalow home into the dining room, which borders the entry, and within seconds, a key is unlocking the front door. Alex stiffens as the door begins to open.

“Welcome home!” he announces with all the put-upon cheer he can muster, stooping down. Chase throws out his arms and runs right to Alex.

“How was California?” Alex asks.

“It’s so cool!” Chase says excitedly.

“Come and get your bag, remember?” Trevor Brooks prompts their son, who turns around to see his bright blue rolling suitcase standing in the doorway, blocking Trevor’s path.

“Yeah, let your dad get through,” Alex says, and for the first time, he looks up and makes eye contact with Trevor. He is relieved not to find any anger or animosity emanating from his husband, although it wouldn’t be like Trevor to storm in furious, anyway.

“How was the flight?” Alex asks as Chase pulls the suitcase inside and Trevor navigates behind their son.

“Smooth,” Trevor says. “No delays, no annoying people seated near us on the plane… plus the flight attendant gave Chase an extra chocolate-chip cookie.”

“Wow. That’s awesome!” Alex says with exaggerated enthusiasm.

Chase responds with an emphatic nod. “It was really good.”

“I want to hear all about your trip,” Alex tells him. “Why don’t you go put your suitcase away and wash up?”

“Do I have to?” the little boy says, his shoulders slumping.

“Yes,” Trevor and Alex tell him, not quite in unison. With a melodramatic sigh, Chase wheels his suitcase down the hallway toward his room.

Left alone in the dining room, Alex and Trevor make awkward eye contact; the weight of all the things unspoken and the days they have spent apart hang heavy over them.

“Sounds like Chase had a great time,” Alex says.

“He did. Yeah. He’s never really spent that much time with Annie and Max.”

“That’s great. And how about you? Was it a good trip?”

“It was, yeah.”

“Thanks for taking him. I know traveling with a kid isn’t the easiest thing in the world…”

“He was pretty good.”

“I’m glad you got to spend time with Lauren, Josh, his dad and the kids,” Alex says. “And I know you wanted some time away.”

Trevor purses his lips. “It’s not that I wanted it. But I thought some time to ourselves would be good.”

“I know. And I think it was. I’ve been hoping we could talk–“

“Alex, I just walked in the door from a flight. I don’t want to fight.”

“Neither do I,” Alex says. “That’s what I mean. I’ve had time to think about it, and… I’ve said my part about Finn. It isn’t my business from here on out. It definitely isn’t worth endangering our family over.”

Trevor reacts with visible surprise, his eyebrows lifting as he pulls his head back.

“So what do you say?” Alex asks. “Can we put this behind us and get our marriage back on track?”

Brent Taylor glances up frequently from the newspaper before him — a two-day-old copy of the King’s Bay Chronicle that he swiped from a nearby table — to watch the entrance of Cassie’s Coffee House. Finally, his intended target steps through the door and approaches the cashier. The newspaper is instantly forgotten as soon as Brent spots her. He stands and lingers until he sees her handing the cashier her debit card, and when she slides down to the end of the bar to await her drink, Brent makes his move.

“Natalie,” he says as he steps around her to place himself between her and the exit.

She sizes him up, instantly reading his body language. “Can’t a woman order a coffee in peace around here?”

Brent holds up both palms. “Peace is all I want. And if you can answer a few simple questions for me, that’s what we’ll all have: peace.”

“What is this about?”

“You know what it’s about. Why did you change your story?”

She looks anxiously over at the barista behind the counter, who is in the midst of steaming some milk. “What are you doing here, Brent? Are you stalking me?”

“I’ve noticed you stop in around this time every weekday for your latté,” he says. “Non-fat, two pumps of hazelnut–“

“Oh my god. You are stalking me. I’m going to file a report–“

“It’s a public place, Natalie. And I’m not the one lying to the police.”

“I’m not lying!” she says, flipping her auburn hair over her left shoulder. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you getting enough rest, Brent? You must be delirious.”

“Natalie,” he says firmly, his jaw tight. “Molly and Travis have both given statements that claim you made multiple statements about having seen Loretta go into the Moriani house on the night it exploded.”

“Molly and Travis are under a lot of stress, too.”

He swivels his head this way and that, double-checking that there is no one nearby who could be interested in this conversation or who could even be listening. The wall of noise from the machines behind the counter provides a reassuring extra layer of sound.

“I wanted to make sure I talked to you somewhere other than your house,” he explains. “Where Loretta wouldn’t be lurking around.”

Natalie folds her arms and swallows hard.

“I can offer you protection,” he tells her. “We can make sure that she never knows this came from you. And if we do that, we can put that woman back behind bars for the rest of her miserable life, and you can actually live yours without the threat of whatever she might do to you.”

“Brent…”

“Please, Natalie,” he says. “Loretta needs to pay for what she’s done to all of us — and being able to place her at the scene will not only do that, but it’ll let Molly and I show a judge that she’s the one who took Gabrielle away from us in the first place. If I can guarantee you protection, will you give me a statement that you saw her at the house that night?”

As Jason Fisher descends the stairs outside his office and strides through Edge of Winter Arena, he feels his stomach quivering with nerves. He has not seen his girlfriend in person since before Christmas, between Sabrina‘s holiday cruise with her family and his subsequent travel to a skating competition with students. Now, as he rounds the end of the ice rink and walks toward the door that connects the arena to Thaw Coffee & Tea, he is filled with excitement and dread in equal measure.

The bell on the door jingles as he crosses into the coffee shop. There are only a few patrons present, given the late afternoon hour. He looks immediately toward the cash register, but another employee, Jeremiah, is taking orders. Jason offers him a polite wave — then shifts his gaze toward the far end of the counter, where Sabrina has already stopped wiping down an espresso machine and locked her eyes upon him.

He approaches somewhat tentatively, stuffing his hands into his jeans pockets.

“Hey,” he says. “Long time, no see.”

“I know. It’s been a while.” She smiles, but there is something stiff and forced about it. “How was the competition?”

“Exhausting, but good. My students placed well, mostly.”

“That’s great.”

The small talk, lightweight as it be outwardly, seems crushing to Jason.

“I’ve missed you,” he says, and even that much feels like an exhale. “Do you think we could talk soon?”

He braces.

Then Sabrina nods. “Jeremiah, is it okay if I take my break a few minutes early?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Jason says.

“Go ahead,” Jeremiah calls back. “I’ve got things under control here.”

“Why don’t we take a walk?” Sabrina suggests as she steps around the counter.

Moments later, she has hung up her apron, and they are outside in the nippy January air, strolling side-by-side through the parking lot toward the familiar side streets where they have shared many a walk in the past.

“I want to apologize for what happened before the holidays,” he says. “I shouldn’t have let things get to the point they got to. It isn’t fair to let Sophie‘s outbursts dictate our relationship.”

“She’s your daughter,” Sabrina replies. “I understand. You have to prioritize her well-being, and she’s gone through a lot in her short life.”

He sighs loudly. “That’s putting it lightly.”

“I had a lot of time to think while I away, and as painful as this is to say… maybe now just isn’t our time.”

“What?” he says, stopping cold in his tracks.

Sabrina makes it another few steps before realizing that he is no longer beside her. “We can’t plan the rest of our lives around when Sophie will or won’t be around.”

“You’re completely right. And that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

She narrows her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Sophie and I started seeing a therapist,” he explains.

“You did?”

“Yeah. We’ve been to two sessions now. And I think we’re making progress.”

“Wow,” she says, brushing a strand of her dark hair behind one ear. “I really didn’t think…”

“That Sophie would ever go along with that?” He lets out a small laugh of surprise. “Me, too. But she came, and we had a bit of a breakthrough.”

“That’s really nice to hear. I’m glad.”

That painful gnawing inside his chest continues as he forces out the next words: “I totally respect your decision if this is too much for you. You’ve been a trooper for a long time, and — well, I know I come with more baggage than other guys you could date.”

“Sophie has to be your priority,” she says. “I know that, and I wouldn’t dream of interfering. That girl needs her dad.”

“She has me. All I’m asking is for you to consider bearing with me for a little while longer. And if you can’t do that… I understand.”

Her silence stretches on for what feels like minutes, and Jason holds his breath the entire time.

“Jason,” she says gently.

“It’s okay.”

“I want this to work. Badly.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Of course.” She reaches out and grasps his hand. “The last time I was in a relationship was a long time ago, before my accident. I was practically a kid. A lot of this is unfamiliar to me — but I do know one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“That I want to be with you. Even if it’s hard. If you can’t do that because of Sophie, I accept it. But if the therapy sessions have made you think there’s a fighting chance… then yeah. I want to do this.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time,” he says, beaming, before leaning in to kiss her. Though he only plants a quick peck, their lips linger on one another.

“I missed you. A lot,” Jason says.

“I missed you, too.”

“We’re going to figure this out. Sophie’s already coming around.” He kisses her again. “And you have a whole cruise to tell me about.”

“Then we’ll have to go on a date so I can fill you in,” she says with a smile.

Relieved, Jason pulls her close. “That sounds great to me.”

—–

“Are you serious?” Trevor asks.

A cold chill rushes through Alex’s body.

“What do you mean, am I serious? Of course I’m serious,” he says. “Even being away from you and Chase for a few days made me realize–“

“–how special what we have is,” Trevor interrupts. “I know. That’s exactly what I have been feeling. Especially having that time with my sister and her kids… I don’t want to throw this away over a disagreement about a friend.”

A friend, Alex thinks with a touch of sarcasm, but he bites his tongue.

“You really mean it?” he asks instead.

Trevor nods enthusiastically. “Yeah. Duh. And you had a right to be worried about what Gia might have Finn wrapped up in. Plus, I don’t want Molly to get hurt.”

“Right. She has so much going on with the baby–“

“That’s why I’m going to do the most straightforward thing,” Trevor says, “and ask Finn what Gia has him doing. There’s a chance he doesn’t even realize that she’s making him the fall guy for something big.”

Alex fights his hardest to suppress an eye roll. But if this is what it takes for Trevor to take his concerns seriously…

“You’re going to ask him if Gia is plotting to overthrow Molly for good?”

“Yeah. The way I see it, maybe it’ll help him see what Gia is up to. Or it’ll put them on notice that I’m on to them.”

Maybe, Alex thinks, doing his best to push down his frustration. At least his husband’s heart is in the right place. Even if there’s a good chance Finn is an equal participant in all this.

“I just don’t want to fight with you anymore,” Trevor says. He moves closer and places his hands on his husband’s waist. “Deal?”

“Deal.” Alex leans forward and kisses Trevor.

“You know, Chase didn’t sleep a wink on the flight, so I’m betting he’ll be ready for bed early tonight. And I have some ideas what we could do after he goes to bed…”

“Oh really?” Alex asks. “Like what?”

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Trevor says with a wink.

—–

At the end of the service counter inside Cassie’s, Brent looks at Natalie with pleading eyes. He swears that he can see some amount of temptation swelling within her, as if she really is ready to flip on Loretta.

“What is she doing, threatening to take Peter away from you?” he asks. “We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. If you can confirm what you told Molly and Travis that night–“

“I can’t,” Natalie says, and it is as if a spell has been broken. She shakes her head. “I have nothing to tell you.”

“Why were you there in the first place?”

“That has nothing to do with anything.”

“Why not? You were at the scene of a crime,” Brent says. “Several crimes. People died as a result of what happened inside that house. You know, I bet there’s a case to be made that you were helping Loretta somehow…”

“Helping her? Are you out of your mind?”

“I’m thinking like a law enforcement officer here, Natalie. And that’s how prosecutors and judges think, too. Is it really so crazy to assume that you could’ve been helping your mother-in-law — who you’ve allowed to live in your house for the past few years even though any sane person could tell you that’s a terrible idea?”

“She’s Spencer‘s mother,” Natalie fires back. “What are you going to do, prosecute me for being a tolerant wife?”

“All I’m saying,” he replies, “is that covering for her could come back to bite you. Bad. And that’s on top of perjuring yourself.”

“I’m not perjuring myself! Where did I ever say under oath that I saw Loretta there? Oh, nowhere, that’s right.”

“Natalie!” an oblivious barista calls out.

Quickly, Natalie moves to the counter and grabs her drink. Then she snaps back toward Brent.

“As far as I can tell, it’s my word against Molly and Travis’s,” she says, “and both of them are so desperate to pin this on Loretta that they probably heard whatever they wanted to believe. So no, Brent, I can’t help you. I’m sorry.”

“Natalie–“

“No,” she says loudly, and when he feels both the barista and cashier, as well as the customer ordering her drink, all look at him accusingly, he decides not to go after her. Instead he watches as she saunters out of the café.

Damn you, he thinks. Damn you and Loretta both.

END OF EPISODE 1168

What will Brent do without Natalie’s testimony?
Will Trevor finally side with Alex over Finn?
Are Jason and Sabrina being realistic about their odds?
Talk about all this and more in the comments below!

Next Episode