Risk

It’s morning at Grey House and Abigail and Cassie are discussing what to do with their delinquent guest Alexis. Alexis owes Cassie for her stay at Grey House and owes Abigail for several bouquets and now that they’ve caught her trying to leave without paying, Cassie and Abigail are torn over what to do next. Abigail still wants to call the police, but Cassie isn’t sure that’s the best course. For Alexis’ part, she was hoping that her brother could convince her father to reactivate her credit cards, but both her brother and father now think it’s time for Alexis to grow up and get a job. Cassie decides that she won’t call the police if Alexis works off her debts. With no other choice, Alexis agrees.

Next door at Sam’s house, Nick asks again if Sam will sign the study abroad permission slips. Sam is still unsure about Nick studying abroad but he tells Nick he’ll look over the forms that night. Sam’s hesitance upsets Nick who points out that Sam backpacked all through Europe. Sam points out that he did that after college and in contrast, Nick has never traveled by himself. Nick angrily says that he’s practically an adult but Sam points out that he’s only ‘practically’ an adult. Hoping to calm Nick he tells him to give him some time to catch up and take a look into the program.

Later in the day at Bell, Book & Candle, Ben is working at repairing a leaky faucet. While he works Stephanie walks by, sees him, and promptly turns away and heads in another direction. Cassie asks Ben what happened and Ben tells her that he and Stephanie broke up. He also tells her that he saw Stephanie with Andrew and he thinks they looked like a better match. Cassie tells Ben that he doesn’t need a suit and tie to be with Stephanie; he’s loyal, kind and honest. Ben’s tried to be all those things and things still didn’t work with Stephanie. Cassie understands but reminds him that sometimes, we have to lose something to see how valuable it really is.

At Sam’s office, Grace just finished moving all the patient files into her digital filling system. The secretary’s desk is now paper free and Grace is confident that her system will be more efficient. Eve is instantly out of sorts without the paper files and schedules she’s used to working with. She asks what they will do if the system goes down but Grace assures her that the backup system will protect everything. Faced with Grace’s high-tech solutions, Eve instantly feels as though her time running Sam’s office could be coming to an end. Through her pride, Grace senses how Eve feels and when talking to Sam, decides she needs to do something to remind Eve of how valuable she is.

Back at Cassie’s shop, Martha enters seeking relief from a terrible migraine. Since she told Michael she wouldn’t give him the $50,000 to start his business, he’s refused to talk to her, leaving Martha beside herself. She’s decided that when she gets home, she’s just going to write Michael the check and be done with the entire thing. At that moment Cassie remembers that she grabbed George’s keys by mistake and she asks Martha to drop them off at Grey House. Despite her busy schedule Martha can never say no to Cassie.

Nearby, Alexis walks into Abigail’s flower shop, looking for a way to repay her debt. Still angry, Abigail tells her that she is less forgiving than her cousin. Just then Alexis’ handsome brother Greg walks and immediately catches Abigail’s eye. Greg asks his sister if she’s leaving. Before Alexis can responds, Abigail tells Greg no. Abigail slyly looks at Alexis and tells her that she just booked a last minute wedding and that she needs Alexis’ help arranging centerpieces. Alexis goes to work de-thorning roses while Abigail takes the opportunity to get to know Greg a little better.

Back at Sam’s office, as Grace goes turns on the computer to adjust a schedule, the screen turns blue and the entire system crashes. She and Eve give each other a panicked look. When Sam asks for his schedule they calmly explain that the computer is down. He asks for a hard copy and Eve flawlessly recites from memory the entire schedule, saving the day. Grace turns to Eve and asks what to do. Eve says she can handle most of it, but Grace has to call the computer repairman to so they can get everything back to normal.

At Martha’s office she frantically tries to reach Michael. After a long day at work, Martha still had to stop at Grey House to give George his keys. While there, George insisted on talking to her about a pot hole that nearly blew out his tire. By the time she arrived home, Michael had already left for the night. Now, Michael saunters into her office and tells her he left to go blow off some steam. Martha is just relieved to see him and goes to give him a hug. But as she approaches him, she notices that Michael is wearing brand new sneakers. He tells her he didn’t have any cash so decided to use her credit card…he hopes it’s ok. He then tells her that dad told him she had changed her mind and was giving him the money to start his business. But now, staring at the sneakers she just bought, Martha’s decided that it’s time for Michael to stand on his own two feet. She tells him that she’s not giving him the money. She then puts out her hand for Michael to hand over his credit cards. Martha then extends her arms and gives her son a loving hug.

Later in the day, Stephanie stops by the worksite to see Ben. Earlier, Abigail called Stephanie to come pick up a bouquet of flowers Ben had bought for her. When she thanks him for the flowers, Ben gives her a confused look because, despite what Abigail said, Ben didn’t send Stephanie flowers. Embarrassed, Stephanie apologizes and hurriedly goes to walks away. Ben calls out to her. She turns, and sighs as she tells him that she was never embarrassed by who he is or what he does but she is embarrassed by her behavior. She still thinks they belong together or, at the least, deserve the chance to see if they can make it work. Ben still looks unsure so Stephanie turns to walk away. As she does Ben calls to her again and when she turns around, she finds Ben standing behind her. He puts his arms around her, pulls her close as he leans forward and kisses her. Together again, Stephanie asks Ben to remind her to thank Abigail for making a mistake with the flowers.

At Grey House, Alexis walks in having finally finished making the vases for Abigail. Cassie offers her an ointment for the many cuts and scrapes Alexis earned during her first time working. Although she’s sure she’s paid off her debts to Abigail, Alexis knows she still owes a big debt to Cassie. But Cassie is content knowing that Alexis took a chance and learned that she was capable of working. With her debts now paid, Alexis reveals to Cassie that she and her brother talked to their father and they’ve all agreed that when Alexis returns home, she’ll be looking for a real job and begin standing on her own two feet.

At Sam’s office, Grace has reached her wit’s end, but Eve is still convinced they can restore the office systems to normal. Thanks to Eve’s rolodex they have the patient contacts but Grace still can’t find the appointment calendar. Calmly Eve goes search the desk and as does, she stumbles over the recycling bin. Sitting on top of the bin is the sheet of paper where Eve had written the calendar. Relieved, Grace tells Eve how grateful she is that Eve was there to save the day. Just then Sam comes into the office to report that they system is back up and running. He’s impressed that Grace and Eve were able to fix the system without any disruptions in the office. As Eve leans over to answer the phone Sam whispers to Grace that he knows what she did. She smiles and tells Sam that Eve did it all. He flashes a smile and tells her, “You really are your mother’s daughter, aren’t you.” Sam leaves and Grace says to herself, “I am.”

Across town at the high school, Sam enters a classroom to talk about study abroad with Nick’s teacher Greg. Despite Nick’s excitement, Sam still has a lot of misgivings and is concerned that Nick is more interested in the freedom and not in education. Sam is also frankly unsure that Nick is mature enough to make the right decisions on his own. Greg assumes Sam is referring to the trouble Nick got in when his family was still living in New York. Sam is surprised to hear that Nick opened up to his teacher about his family and about his troubled past. Greg offers to talk to Nick about his father’s concerns, but Sam knows he needs to handle this himself. Sam feels Nick still needs structure in order to continue the gains he’s made since moving to Middleton and Sam is unwilling to see Nick lose all progress he’s made. Before leaving Sam tells Greg that he knows he’s trying to help, but for now, Nick’s future is in Middleton with his dad.