Previously…
– King’s Bay was rocked by news of Loretta’s unexpected release from jail.
– Travis informed Rosie that Molly had asked if they would participate in helping with Gabrielle’s transition to her new home.
– Jason traveled to Sabrina’s childhood home in Iowa, where they were confronted by a woman named Carrie, who accused Sabrina of having killed her brother.

Natalie Bishop stands perched by the railing at the top of the grand staircase inside her home. From this vantage point, she can see through the window mounted above the front door, out to the street, so that she will be able to see any visitors arriving before they see her. She watches like a sentinel, her entire body tense, until the jet-black Porsche Taycan pulls into the driveway.

She hurries down the stairs and pulls open the front door while her husband is still unlocking it.

“She‘s not here, is she?” Spencer Ragan asks.

Natalie shakes her head vigorously as she closes and locks the door. “No. I got Bree and Marcus out of here, just in case.”

“Good.” Spencer sets down the leather work bag he has been holding in his right hand, then uses the same hand to rub his eyes. “I can’t believe she’s out.”

“I can. That woman has more lives than a cat. A really evil cat,” Natalie replies. “Do you have any idea what happened? Why now?”

“Her attorneys convinced the judge that it was unreasonable to deny her bail, since the D.A. is still putting together her case for the trial. I don’t know if it was a bribe, or blackmail…”

“Or both, with a side of homicidal threats, I’m sure.” She sighs. “I have half a mind to pick Peter up from school and just keep driving until we’re as far away from here as possible.”

“Seriously? Isn’t abducting Peter the reason we got into this whole mess…” He gestures at the two of them and then at the house around them, signifying their entire marriage of convenience. “…in the first place?”

“That was all you, buddy. And you’re welcome to come with us. But I’m not going to sit around while Loretta marches back in here and terrorizes us.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Spencer says.

Just then, the sound of a key in the lock interrupts them. Natalie’s eyes flare wide as they lock with Spencer’s.

—–

Travis Fisher looks at his wife with as neutral an expression as he can muster — not too intense, not too much pressure, just waiting for her response. They are in the kitchen of Rosie’s mother‘s home, with Rosie seated at the small table with its floral tablecloth and Travis holding onto the back of one of the chairs.

“Your aunt and Brent want our help with Gabrielle?” she asks in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Travis confirms. “They think it might help ease the transition for her to see us and realize she hasn’t been abandoned.”

“She hasn’t been abandoned,” Rosie says forcefully. “She was taken from us.”

“I know. I can only imagine how it feels to her, though. She’s so young…”

“That’s what I was saying all along! We’re the only parents that little girl knows, Travis. Of course they need our help now.”

“It might be good for Gabrielle,” Travis says.

“And staying with us might’ve been good for her, too. But no one wanted to think about that.” Rosie grits her teeth as she thinks. At last she adds, “I’m not helping them. They can rot in hell.”

“Rosie–“

“Don’t Rosie me,” she snaps. “What does that even mean, help them out? We go play with her once? We show up every night for her bedtime routine?” She wags her head disapprovingly. “I can’t believe they had the nerve to ask.”

“Just think about it,” Travis says. “It might be–“

“So you’re on their side. Again.” She pushes out her chair and stands. “Unbelievable.”

“I’m on Gabrielle’s side.”

“So am I. If you want to go help out, go for it. But I can’t do that, Travis. Not after what they did to us.”

With that, she storms out of the kitchen. He listens to her feet ascending the creaking stairs. Travis hangs his head, regretting that he even broached the topic.

—–

“Your girlfriend never told you how she killed my brother, did she?”

The question — which is really more of a declaration — lands like an anvil on Jason Fisher. He is standing on the cozy Main Street of his girlfriend’s hometown, outside her favorite ice cream shop, and a blondish woman named Carrie has just angrily confronted them and dropped this bomb.

Shocked, Jason turns to Sabrina Gage. She looks back at him with pleading eyes, and before she even speaks, Jason’s mind begins to connect the dots.

“Carrie is Cody’s brother,” Sabrina explains in a timid tone. “My…”

“Your boyfriend who died in the car accident,” Jason finishes for her, adding a note of compassion as he takes her hand. Sabrina nods, mortified.

“Yeah, my brother is dead because of you,” Carrie says with vitriol.

“I was in a coma for a long time after that accident, too,” Sabrina says. “I almost died.”

Carrie narrows her eyes. “But you didn’t. You lived. And Cody is gone.”

Jason watches the way that Sabrina recoils as if she’s been hit.

“It sounds like it was a terrible accident,” he tells Carrie in what he hopes is a calming voice. “I’m really sorry that your brother passed away. Sabrina is, too. She’s expressed that to me before.”

“Jason, it’s okay,” Sabrina says quietly.

He pulls his girlfriend closer and then continues addressing Carrie: “Lashing out at Sabrina isn’t going to bring your brother back. I understand the emotions.”

“Like hell you do,” Carrie replies.

His emotions swell. “My wife was murdered. By a lunatic. On our wedding day.”

Carrie inhales sharply and takes a step back.

“I’m not saying my grief cancels yours out or anything,” he goes on, “but I get it. And the anger doesn’t fix the pain. It won’t bring back the people we love. Sabrina is here visiting her parents. She has no ill will toward you.”

A long moment passes. Then Carrie groans and turns around.

“My brother should still be here,” she says before walking off down the street. Jason and Sabrina watch her go in silence.

“Thank you,” Sabrina finally says, as she hugs Jason tightly.

—–

“I don’t understand any of this,” Paula Fisher says with distress as she leads her son into the living room of the family home.

“Neither do I,” Tim admits. “But Loretta is out of jail.”

Paula turns back toward him. “Why couldn’t Brent stop this?”

“I don’t know,” Tim says, with a bit of edge to his voice. “But, in his defense, he’s the police commander, not the District Attorney or the judge handling the case.”

“Still!” Paula declares. “I don’t understand how she can suddenly be free. The trial hasn’t even happened.”

“It was a little bit of a Hail Mary denying her bail in the first place, I guess,” he replies before exhaling loudly. “We all need to have our guard up, though.”

Paula busies herself straightening some of the throw pillows on the sofa.

“I appreciate you coming to check on me, but I’m all right,” Paula says. “Matt and Sarah are always good about making sure the doors are locked and the alarm is turned on, too.”

“Good. Because we can’t afford to get sloppy right now.”

“Do you really think Loretta would try to hurt us? She must be around my age. I can’t imagine breaking into someone’s home, or…”

“She has people,” Tim says. “And I wouldn’t put anything past that lady. Look at what she did to Molly and Brent. And Travis and Rosie, although that wasn’t even part of her plan.”

Paula grows pensive and sits down on the sofa. “What do you think she might do?”

Tim watches his mother, thinking about her relatively recent heart attack, and joins her on the sofa. “I don’t want you to get yourself worked up. I want you to be aware, that’s all.”

“What I’m aware of is that a dangerous woman faked my granddaughter’s death and nearly tore this family apart in the process,” Paula says. “And Molly was only the one who stood trial for killing Philip. I’m the one who actually did it.”

“That’s why I want you to be cautious,” he says, as he extends an arm and wraps it around his mother.

“I was on house arrest for a year, Tim. I missed so many moments… so much time with my loved ones. And still, still, I feel guilt over pulling that trigger. I didn’t intend to take a life. I only wanted to save your sisters from Philip — after what he did to your father and Ryan–“

“I know.” Tim pulls her closer. “I know. None of us are going to let Loretta hurt you, okay?”

“Okay,” Paula says, but she does not sound at all reassured.

—–

Natalie lunges for the door, but before she can fasten the deadbolt, the door opens, and Loretta Ragan reveals herself.

“Oh, what a lovely surprise,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting a Welcome Home party.”

“Mother,” Spencer says, unable to come up with any other sort of greeting. “You’re…”

“I’m home.” Loretta smiles broadly. Her usual red lips are their natural color, and her hair has dulled to a grayish-red. “Yes, I know I need a few touch-ups, and I’ll attend to those soon. But I’m home. Isn’t that wonderful?”

Natalie simply stares back at her in silence.

“What happened?” Spencer asks. “They changed their minds?”

“Those imbeciles finally accepted that holding me without bail on whatever trumped-up charges they’re peddling wouldn’t work,” Loretta says. She gazes around the open, two-story foyer. “It’s so nice to be home. Where’s Peter?”

“He’s at school,” Natalie says flatly. “Actually, I should go pick him up soon.”

Loretta clasps her hands together. “I hope he’ll be happy to see his Mimi.”

Spencer and Natalie catch eyes.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to jump into the deep end like that,” Spencer says.

“Why not?” Loretta asks, affronted.

“It’s a lot for him to process. That’s all,” Spencer tells her. “We had to explain to him that you went away on a trip.”

“And now I’m home!”

“This is a lot, without a heads-up,” Natalie dares to say. “Why couldn’t we have had a heads-up?”

“It was a routine hearing this morning! I couldn’t have predicted what the outcome would be.” Loretta’s lips curl as she faces Natalie. “I’m sure it won’t be too much of an inconvenience for me to take up residence in my room, will it?”

The way Loretta glares, Natalie knows that she doesn’t have much choice.

Back where I started when she first showed up, Natalie thinks with defeat.

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Natalie says offhandedly. “Right, Spencer?”

“Uh, okay,” Spencer says, clearly thrown.

“I’m going to go pick up Peter now,” Natalie tells them. She scrambles to retrieve her purse.

“Make sure you come right home,” Spencer says. Natalie throws him a look. “You know, so he can see Mimi.”

“Right.” Natalie wastes no more time and hurries out of the house, purse on her shoulder and phone clutched in her hand.

Once the door closes behind Natalie, Loretta turns toward Spencer.

“It’s so nice to be home with my son and grandson,” she says with glee. “Aren’t you happy, dear?”

“For sure,” he says, as Loretta pulls him into a hug and Spencer’s mind races with possibilities of what she could have planned next.

END OF EPISODE 1221

How can Loretta be neutralized now?
Is Paula’s health in danger again?
Will Carrie leave Sabrina alone?
Talk about it all in the comments below!

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