Previously…
– Spencer grew suspicious of Elly’s claim that she hired the P.I. whose findings caused Jason to lose the custody lawsuit. He visited Loretta in prison and accused her of having masterminded the plot; Loretta all but admitted to it.
– Travis and Rosie finally reunited.
– Jason and Alex were desperate to prove that they’d been drugged and set up the night before the custody hearing.

The wooden saloon doors of The Wild Lady swing open as Spencer Ragan enters the bar. Given the daytime hour, the place is empty, and hazy sunlight manages to spill in through the windows at the front. Sam Hunt’s “Kinfolks” plays — at a lighter volume than it would at a peak time — over the sound system.

Spencer approaches the bar, where Elly Vanderbilt sits on a stool, hunched over her laptop.

“What’s up?” he says.

With a start, Elly glances over at him. “I should be the one asking you that. What was so urgent?”

“Working hard, I see,” Spencer comments, ignoring her question.

“I’m applying for jobs, especially now that your case is over.” She swivels around on the stool. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Yep. Thank you. That’s actually why I wanted to see you.”

“Yeah, what the hell was so urgent?”

“It’s my mother.”

“Claire? What’s wrong?” Elly asks, though Spencer detects the slight hesitation as she tucks a piece of red hair behind one ear.

“No, my other mother. Loretta. I went to visit her in prison.”

He swears that he can see the color drain from her face.

“You what? Why?” Elly says.

“Because I had some questions about that P.I. and what happened with Jason and Alex,” he explains.

“Dammit!” Elly smacks her hand down on the bar. “What did you do?”

In the second floor office inside Edge of Winter Arena, Jason Fisher is stationed behind his desk, signing payroll checks. His iPhone, which has been resting atop the desk, suddenly lights up. Jason’s eye goes instinctively to its display.

“Who’s that calling you? A ghost?” Tempest Banks asks from her own desk, which is perpendicular to Jason’s.

“What?” he asks her, confused, as he tentatively reaches for the phone. The display remains bright as it announces an incoming call; the device vibrates in his hand as he picks it up.

“Whatever just popped up on your phone scared the shit out of you. Who is it?”

“The hospital lab.” Jason draws in a quick breath through his nostrils as he hits a button to answer the call. “Hello? This is Jason Fisher.”

He listens to the droll male voice on the other end of the line. His head feels light and starts to spin as he takes in the news.

“What’d they say?” Tempest asks forcefully, rising from her own chair as her boss ends the call. “That was about your blood test,  yeah?”

“Yeah, it was.” Jason leans back in his chair, still clutching the phone in his palm. “They said there were no drugs found in my system.”

The lunch rush has died down as Travis Fisher walks through the main dining room of Bill’s on the Pier. Having left his chef’s coat hanging in the staff room, he wears a plain black t-shirt and black pants; his cheeks are slightly rosy from having spent several hours in the hot kitchen. When he arrives at his table, he sets down two bowls, each with steam still rising from it.

“This looks amazing,” Rosie Jimenez says. She gives Travis a kiss before they both take their seats.

“Just a little scallop risotto I whipped up,” he tells her.

“Oh, just a little scallop risotto,” she teases. “When I whip something up quickly, it’s usually mac-and-cheese from a box.” 

Travis grins. “I’ve had your mac-and-cheese. It’s not bad.”

“Thank you. I try.” She picks up her fork and scoops up some of the creamy risotto. “I do make mean pasteles, though.”

“Like tamales?”

“Yeah. But you boil them instead of steaming them.” Her eyes get a faraway look as she takes her first bite of the risotto.

“What is it?” Travis asks, his own fork poised directly over his lunch.

“First of all, this is killer.” Rosie finishes her bite before continuing; Travis smiles at her enjoyment. “But also, I was just thinking about the pasteles. We used to make them every Christmas.” 

Travis’s expression turns softer now. “But it’s been a while since you made them?”

“Or had them. It was something we did as a family.”

Travis takes a bite of his risotto and thinks as he chews and swallows.

“Well,” he finally says, “you could make them this Christmas.”

“I guess.”

“I’m serious, Rosie,” he says. “Diego Barrera is dead. The threat to your family is finally gone. Don’t you think it’s time to reconnect with your mom and brother?”

—-

Elly’s fury causes Spencer to recoil.

“What did I do?” he asks. “I went to find out what the hell actually happened the night before the custody hearing.”

Elly’s eyes shift around nervously for a few seconds. “Aren’t you happy to have your son? Isn’t that enough?”

“Come on,” Spencer says. “Do you really believe that Jason got wasted and hooked up with Alex that night — or any night?”

“I don’t know them that well,” she says with a pronounced shrug.

“But you know exactly what happened, don’t you?”

“What? No.”

“You said you were the one who hired that P.I.,” Spencer says.

“Yeah, a P.I. who followed Jason for weeks and caught him in a lie about a flat tire. That’s as much as I know.”

He pauses, folds his arms, and sizes her up.

“You are a pretty good lawyer,” he finally says, “because you’re selling the hell out of this story.”

“Wow, how generous of you–”

“But I know there’s more to it. What does Loretta have on you?”

“Have on me?” Elly exclaims. “You sound like a crazy person, Spencer.”

“I sound like a person who knows how Loretta Ragan operates. The woman raised me, Elly. I understand what she’s capable of. So tell me: how’d she coerce you into taking credit for that P.I.?”

After drawing in a sharp breath through her nose, Elly grabs her laptop from the bar. “She didn’t coerce me into anything. Hiring a P.I. is standard practice in a case like that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have actual important things to take care of.”

Without waiting for him to respond, she spins on her heels and scurries into the back room.

Spencer lingers behind, gently shaking his head to himself.

“You’re a good liar, but not that good,” he says under his breath. “So the real question is: what the hell are you hiding?”

—-

“You didn’t have to come all the way here,” Jason says as he greets his sister with a hug.

“I was out running around anyway,” Sarah Fisher Gray replies.

“Hey, Sarah,” Tempest says as she picks up her wallet from her desk and slips it into the pocket of her gray slacks. “I’m gonna go downstairs and get a coffee.”

Jason nods as Tempest exits the office. He returns to his desk, though he does not sit down, and Sarah hovers over the opposite side of it.

“You got a chance to look at the e-mail with the results?” he asks.

“Yeah. I pulled it up on my phone as soon as you forwarded it.”

“I was so sure that test was going to find something,” Jason says. He hangs his head dolefully.

“So was I. But it’s possible you waited just long enough that something wouldn’t show up. If it happened at night, you lost all those hours while you were passed out, plus going to court, coming home, talking to me, and then getting to the lab.”

He lets out a loud, frustrated sigh. “I know. And now I have nothing for an appeal. If I can’t prove that I was drugged–”

“That’s why I’m here,” Sarah says. “Let’s put our heads together. We should be able to come up with something.”

“Like what?” He sinks into his rolling executive chair, letting it slide back several inches from the desk. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Like I said, that’s why I’m here. I already have a lead on the P.I. who gave Spencer and Natalie’s attorneys that report. Now it’s time to dig.”

He looks up at her gratefully, even through his despair. “Thank you.”

“You’re my brother. Of course.”

They both start at the sharp sound of his phone vibrating atop the desk. Alex Marshall’s name appears on the display.

“I can’t talk to anyone right now,” Jason mutters as he presses the button on the side of the phone so that the vibrating stops.

“No, but I can.” Sarah grabs the phone and swiftly answers the call. “Alex. It’s Sarah. Jason and I need to talk to you.”

“We do?” Jason asks with confusion.

Sarah listens to the words coming at her rapid-fire over the phone line.

“Are you serious?” she asks.

Jason springs to his feet, intent upon the phone call of which he can only hear one half.

“Alex just got the results of his blood test,” Sarah says. “He tested positive for Rohypnol.”

“What?” Jason asks, eyes bulging.

“Yeah. And he went in for the test hours before you did. Jason, someone really did drug you guys that night.” 

—-

Rosie busies herself with eating her risotto as Travis sits across from her.

“You’re punishing yourself for what happened to your dad,” he says at last, careful to keep his tone compassionate. “You can’t do that forever.”

“I know,” she says with a sigh. “I know that. But it doesn’t feel like I can just patch things up with them.”

“Why not?”

She places her fork down on the dish with a clink. “Because my mom still blames me for what happened to my dad — and she should. Diego isn’t alive to come after any of us now, but it doesn’t change the fact that I caused all of this.” 

“You didn’t cause it. You made an error in judgment that opened the door for terrible people to do something terrible. You couldn’t have controlled them.”

“Still…” Rosie gazes off at the corner of the dining room, where a table of women are laughing over white wine and salads. “When I went to see my mom, to warn her about Diego, she was so angry at me. She hasn’t forgiven me at all. Maybe she never will.”

“And you won’t know if you don’t try.” Travis reaches over the table to take her hands in his. “You could start with your brother.”

“I haven’t talked to him in years,” Rosie says, sadness cutting through her words.

He nods sympathetically. “You owe it to yourself to try. And I want you to know that I’m going to be by your side every step of the way. Okay? You don’t have to do this alone.”

Rosie takes that in, then forces a brave smile.

“I’m so lucky to have you,” she says.

“Nah. I’m the lucky one.” Travis squeezes her hands and returns the smile.

END OF EPISODE 993

Can Rosie and her family finally begin to heal their wounds?
Is Spencer on the right track about Elly hiding something?
Does Jason stand a chance of reversing the judge’s ruling?
Talk about all this and more in the comments below!

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