Recap: Pasts and Presents - Season 2 - Episode 2

Trace and Abby spend the morning together, catching up over coffee. When Trace starts talking about spending the evening recording with Leigh, Abby shows her discomfort and Trace pulls her into a kiss to help ease her mind.

In the city center, Mick and Nell are surprised to see Jess trying on a wedding dress at a bridal shop. When confronted, she explains she is doing it to help out her second cousin, Nell (named after Jess’s grandmother), who is getting married at Jess’s bed and breakfast.

Back at the house, Connor is getting ready for his interview for the DA job in town. He assures his family he doesn’t need a back-up plan and knows that he has the job nailed. Megan shows up unannounced to invite the family to her new house for dinner.

Bree visits Chicago and finds Martin in play rehearsals, giving direction to his actors. She asks if they can go back to her original script, before he made his own revisions. Martin tells her he is sticking with his revisions and believes Bree doesn’t know how to write for women, which causes Bree to go on the defensive. She accuses Martin of making women sound horrible and one-dimensional in his new version of the play.

Kevin helps his mother move into her new house. She asks how his studying for the MCATS is going and brings up Georgia. He says they still talk on the phone, but they are still struggling to find more things to talk about, and he quickly drops the subject. Megan drops a box and immediately the loud noise triggers Kevin; he freezes. When Megan notices Kevin’s behavior, she confronts him and he tries to assure her he is fine.

Trace finds Mick, eager to tell him about the plans he has for the music venue that Mick bought. Mick tells Trace that the timing is bad; because of his new land deal with the O’Brien Family Trust, he is selling the club. Trace begs Mick to re-think the idea. Mick tells him that he already talked to the local beer garden in town, and they are interested in buying the space. When Trace tells Mick he needs the club, Mick apologizes and says the decision is just business, nothing personal.

Later that evening, Abby joins Trace at the club, where he is still furious that Mick is selling the property. Abby tries to play mediator, citing that her father is going to be making money off the sale, but Trace tells Abby life isn’t always about spreadsheets and finances. Trace asks Abby to talk to her dad and convince him to change his mind on the sale. She says she will do her best.

While going through her family’s trust, Abby comes across an old photograph of her parents, but she doesn’t recognize the third person in the photo. When she asks Mick who the mystery man in the photo is, he tells her it is his brother Thomas, when they were young. Mick tells her the two grew apart over time.

Back in Chicago, Bree and Martin sit down with the cast for a read-through of the play. Martin immediately shuts it down when he realizes that Bree replaced his re-writes with her original script. The actors tell Martin they prefer Bree’s original script, prompting Martin to shout that it is his theater company and if it wasn’t for him, Bree would still be living in Chesapeake Shores.

Trace visits his dad at home, where they discuss Mick’s selling of the club. Trace’s dad tries to get Trace to look at the bigger picture, that it is only business. He also makes a generous offer, asking Trace if he wants a loan to buy out Mick. Trace is insistent that he doesn’t want to complicate his relationship further with his dad and says he will figure out a solution on his own.

Meg finds Kevin running on the beach. She is worried her son is pushing himself too far and he confesses that sometimes he doesn’t feel like himself since returning to Chesapeake Shores. Megan suggests Kevin see a therapist, then offers to buy him breakfast at Sally’s. He declines and returns to his jog.

Jess shares a cup of tea with her Gran, where she confesses that putting together the wedding at the B&B is proving to be a disaster. Gran recommends Jess turn to her mother for help since she is so great at planning. Jess balks at the idea.

Trace and Leigh are back to songwriting, but he can’t get his mind off the future of the club. Leigh tells Trace that maybe it is a sign that he should have never have opened his own venue to begin with. In fact, she suggests maybe he should start thinking about moving back to Nashville with her. Maybe it is time to start working his way back to the life he left behind.

The next morning Trace’s dad finds him working on the fence to his house. Trace says he put his house on the market, in hopes of making money to buy the club. His dad wants to know why, and Trace’s response is that the Riley family doesn’t give up. Later, Jess shows up at Trace’s house to ask a huge favor: will he be the live performer at Nell’s upcoming wedding?

Back at Megan’s house, Mick and Connor raise a glass to Connor’s new job at a local law firm in town. Meanwhile, Abby and Kevin enjoy a peaceful walk. To their shock, a sports car speeds by them around a curve and flips, ejecting the driver. Kevin rushes to the accident scene and immediately orders Megan to help assist him with CPR on the driver. When the fire department arrives, they credit Kevin with saving the driver’s life.

Bree walks in on Martin rehearsing the play with his lead actress. She delivers a finalized version of the script to the two. Martin says the re-written page is using their real names. As Martin continues to read the play out loud, he realizes that it is Bree and Martin’s real life story and Bree announces she is moving back to Chesapeake Shores to be with the family that she loves. She deals Martin one more blow: the grant he received for the play has been revoked when the company found out about he re-writes.
Back at the club, Trace asks Mick for 30 days to come up with the money to buy him out. Mick tells Trace he heard about Trace putting his house up for sale. Their conversation is cut short when Mick gets a phone call he has to take.

At the house, Gran wants an update from Jess on the wedding plans at the bed and breakfast. Despite all the obstacles, things are coming together, except for the cake. Jess begs Gran to help her bake one for the big event. Gran declines, citing exhaustion, but hints that Megan could help Jess out. Megan says she would love to give Jess a hand, and the two head to the kitchen and get to work.

On Nell’s wedding day at the bed and breakfast, the O’Brien family gathers to watch their second cousin get married. After the nuptials, Mick tells Trace that he appreciated the tour that Trace gave him of the club. Trace wonders if this means that Mick will give Trace 30 days to come up with the money. Mick says he won’t; instead, he will continue being Trace’s business partner and see that the club gets opened. When Trace asks what made Mick change his mind, Mick says that sometimes business isn’t just business.

Gran grabs some alone time with Jess to congratulate her for pulling off the wedding. She also lets her granddaughter know that maybe it is time to let go of the pain and start embracing joy in her life. Meanwhile, Mick spots his estranged brother, Thomas, and approaches him at the reception. The two shake hands as others look on.