Recap: Grand Openings - Season 2 - Episode 6

Abby stops by the club to see Trace and catches him mid-rehearsal with the band. Trace immediately stops singing and rushes to Abby, apologizing for running late for their date. He also takes it as an opportunity to introduce her to John. He tells Abby that he needs 30 more minutes to practice and she volunteers to sit and watch.

The next morning, Mick stops by the club to make sure Trace has everything he needs to open. Trace admits he is having trouble getting a live music permit and wonders if Mick has any strings he can pull with the city hall. He tells Trace he will see what he can do.

Bree and Jess are enjoying coffee and muffins at the inn. Despite David being such a great cook and baker, Jess still knows nothing about him. Every time she tries to ask him basic questions, David avoids them.

Abby is shocked when she hears she is up for the title of Vice President at Capital Management. She is excited about the news, but apprehensive when she hears it comes with a heavier workload and more hours. She agrees to think about the offer for a few days.

Kevin is joined by Sarah at the café. He ribs on her why she hasn’t returned any of his calls. She says the two can hang out now and they catch-up. Kevin finds out that Sarah has family in Philadelphia and she learns he is studying for the MCATs. She eats and runs, but not before flashing him one last smile.

Back at Word Play, Bree is shocked when the author, Simon Atwater returns, but this time he wants to invite Bree out for coffee.

Abby fills Trace in about her possible promotion and he tells her he believes in her. Their moment is interrupted by John and Leigh, who tell Trace of a possible gig the band could have in Baltimore. That means the band should rehearse tonight. Abby says it is okay to break their scheduled date because she has two sick daughters at home she has to tend to.

The next morning, a tired Abby is at the café grabbing a cup of coffee when she spots Trace, Leigh and John walking in. Trace offers to walk Abby to her car before joining the band for breakfast. Meanwhile, outside the café, Kevin runs into Sarah while she is on a jog, and he invites her to join and him and the rest of the family for dinner at the house. She says yes.

Simon and Bree are getting to know each other over coffee, and he talks about his new novel. While they’re chatting, Bree receives a text from her Gran and invites Simon to the family’s upcoming family dinner. He takes her up on the invite.

Jess is still trying to get to know David and he although he reveals he has a brother and sister, but that’s it. This piques Jess’s curiosity even more. Later on, she decides to invite David to her family dinner and he says yes.

As Abby and Trace have dinner, she wants to know how long Trace is going to be playing with the band. She tells him that whenever they are around, Trace acts differently and the two never get any alone time. Trace stops her and tells her that he refuses to change for her, but also assures Abby that the two are okay. Trace promises his girlfriend that he will start making her more of a priority.

Meg and Mick are setting up the table for Gran’s big dinner. Mick asks a big favor from Meg. He knows that Councilman Robertson isn’t a fan of his, so he is hoping that Meg can schmooze the councilman to into providing the live music permit for the club. Mick suggests that Meg bring up the importance of the arts to the councilman and see what he says.

At the Green Fair, Connor is helping Danielle out and gets a text about dinner. He invites Danielle to join him and his family that night at the house.

Later that evening, the O’Brien family and their dates are all gathered around the dinner table sharing entertaining holiday stories. Gran delivers a toast welcoming all the additional guests to the O’Brien dinner table. Unfortunately, Trace receives a text and has to run out to the club to deal with an emergency.

Trace arrives at the club to find John jamming on stage with a new band, as an audience looks on. Trace pulls the plug on the speakers and tells the band and audience to clear out.

After dinner, Sarah and Kevin go for a sunset stroll and he tells her that Gran loved her. She tells Kevin she knows why he really wants to become a doctor; it’s because the family relies on him to be the one to fix things. Sarah tells him it was nice to watch. Kevin smiles and says everything she said is true.

Simon helps Gran clear the tables, and she tells him she is a fan of his books. Gran also informs Simon that Bree is an excellent writer and gives him a story that Bree wrote in the 8^th grade. Meanwhile, Meg gets some alone time with Bree and wants to know if Simon has seen of any of her writing. Bree says no, because she is afraid Simon won’t like her stories. Megan points out that maybe that isn’t what matters. What should matter is that they like each other.

Meanwhile, Danielle and Connor are chatting on the porch swing and talk about their careers. Danielle says she didn’t need a big school law degree to find a job she loved. She also tells Connor that she likes the side of him she saw at dinner, the one that isn’t filled with bells and whistles. He responds by giving her a kiss.

The next morning Meg tracks down councilman Robertson to try to get the live music permit for Trace and Mick. Following Mick’s earlier advice, Meg brings up how important it is to have live music and arts in Chesapeake Shores. The councilman tells Meg that he knows exactly who she is, because she he looked at her job resume at the City Hall. On the spot, he offers her an actual job working for the city.

Trace is at the club practicing and John shows up to talk. He apologizes to Trace for getting out of control at the club. John promises Trace that it was a one-time thing and he won’t get out of line again. Trace tells John to shape up or he is out of the band for good. John agrees and promises to be on his best behavior.

Mick is eager to hear about how Meg’s conversation with Robertson went. She lets Mick down by telling him that he is not going to issue the club a permit. Instead, Mick is going to have to go through the new arts liaison coordinator of the city… her! She also thanks Mick for sending her resume to the city hall for the job in the first place, suspecting it was him. He just smiles and says he has no idea what she is talking about.

Simon stops by Word Play to invite Bree out to dinner. He also says he read her 8^th grade story that Gran gave him at the dinner. Simon tells her the story actually moved him to tears and now he is eager to read even more of her work.

When the club officially opens, it is a hit. Trace credits Abby’s support for helping make his dream come true. Mick introduces Trace to the audience and they go wild. The Trace Reilly Band starts performing for the club. Meg gets Kevin and Connor on their feet to dance and enjoy the music. Abby gets a text from Wes letting her know the girls are still running a fever and asking for their mom. She rushes home to cuddle her daughters while Trace continues to play, dismayed to realize that Abby has vanished.