What's Your Secret?

Early in the morning, as Sam heads off to start his day, he stops at Cassie’s to grab the morning newspaper. The paperboy has a grudge against Sam and the visit gives him a chance to chat with Cassie. As they talk Sam’s phone rings. It’s another rep from Hillcrest hospital hoping to convince Sam to take the Chief of Staff job. While flattered by the job offer, Sam’s happy with his practice and the extra time he has to spend with Nick. Cassie is listening so intently that she doesn’t realize that she’s pouring water all over the front of the newspaper. As Cassie grabs a towel to clean the mess, both she and Sam notice the ad for a nearby lake house that just happens to be for sale.

Later in the day Tom Tinsdale stops off at Bell, Book and Candle to purchase one of Cassie’s herbal remedies. As Cassie hands Tom his receipt, he notices the date and suddenly realizes that his 30^th wedding anniversary is quickly approaching. He looks to Cassie for help finding a small gift for Martha. Using her special gifts, Cassie convinces Tom that a surprise party might be a better way to celebrate. She volunteers to do all the organizing and to do everything in her power to keep it a secret from Martha.

At the bistro, Abigail, Stephanie and Cassie gather to talk about Martha’s party. Cassie had already tapped Stephanie to prepare the food and she’s hoping Abigail will supply the flowers. While reluctant at first, Abigail recognizes that the party is a great opportunity for her to further ingratiate herself with the mayor. As the trio talk, Greg, Nick’s handsome teacher, walks into the bistro to pick up his lunch. Since they first met, Abigail has done all she can to garner his attention, but so far he seems uninterested. Unlike most men Abigail deals with, Greg is playing hard to get. As she watches him leave the bistro, Abigail is more convinced than ever that Greg may be just the man she’s been looking for.

Later in the evening, Cassie finds Sam outside shooting hoops in his driveway. She already knows when Sam is out late shooting baskets he has something big on his mind. She walks up and asks what’s up. Sam tells her that since he and Cassie went horseback riding, Sam’s realized how much he’s missed doing things outdoors. And, after seeing the lake house in the paper that morning, Sam is convinced that it would be a great spot for he and Nick to spend some quality time outdoors. Sam asks Cassie if she’ll go with him to check out the place and she happily agrees.

The next day Cassie and Stephanie meet to talk about the plans for Martha’s surprise birthday party. Since she first learned about the party, Stephanie has gossiped to most of the town and Cassie’s worried that their surprise is already public knowledge. For her part, Stephanie is far more worried about the menu. As they talk, Martha walks in looking for answers. Her anniversary is coming up and she’s hardly seen Tom. Martha’s convinced that he’s either forgotten or that he’s planning something big. She asks Stephanie and Cassie to tell her if they hear anything about Tom’s plans for the anniversary.

At Sam’s office, Eve ushers in the representative from Hillcrest hospital for an in-person interview with Sam. Despite having already turned down the job, Hillcrest has sent their ‘closer’ Valerie to make a final pitch and bring Sam on board. Sam begins to introduce himself to Valerie but she stops him and begins to recite all the highlights of Sam’s resume. She shakes his hand and makes it perfectly clear that she’s going to do everything in her power to make Sam change his mind.

Nearby, Ben and Stephanie chat about ideas for date night. As they talk, Stephanie tries to convince Ben to help her get information from Martha about what type of cake she likes. Ben can’t see how he could be of any help and wonders why Stephanie is going through all the trouble of catering this event. Stephanie reveals that she loves catering because it allows her to be a part of people’s special moments. Seeing her passion, Sam suggests that Stephanie again try and open her catering business. After losing her investor, Stephanie is worried that she wont find another, but Ben offers to help. Flattered, Stephanie thanks him for the offer, but having already been burned, she’s ready to put her catering dreams in the back seat.

Back at Grey House, Cassie and George look over venues for Martha’s party when they suddenly hear a loud crash from upstairs. Cassie and George head up to find Dan, a new guest at Grey House, standing in the hall with a look of terror in his eyes. Dan is a tech guy who’s come to Middleton for some much needed R&R. But tonight, as he finally dozed off, he was awoken by the loud crash. When he opened his eyes Dan saw a shadowy figure standing in the corner. The figure was of pretty young woman and, while she didn’t say anything, it was clear to Dan that she was sad. Still unable to believe what he saw, Dan asks if anything like this had happened before at Grey House. Cassie suggests that seeing something out of the ordinary is a sign that they need to pay attention and promises to get to the bottom of the mystery. In the meantime, Cassie suggests Dan move to another room.

At the bistro, Abigail, Stephanie and Cassie look at floral options for Martha’s surprise party. As the women talk it becomes clear that Abigail is preoccupied with something or someone else. Stephanie asks what she’s up to but Abigail plays it cool and says nothing. Just then Greg walks into the bistro. Deciding it would be rude not to say hello, Abigail walks over and suggests to Greg that since they seem to keep running into each other perhaps they should make a formal plan to run into each other. Greg agrees and makes plans for a lunch date with Abigail. Looking on, Stephanie remarks that she almost feels bad for Greg. Cassie smiles and says that Greg might be exactly what Abigail needs.

The next day at lunch, things seem to be going well between Greg and Abigail. As they get to know each other, Greg reveals that he only started teaching after spending time working for his family’s foundation. The experience instilled in him a desire to give back and so he left the foundation in order to work in the classroom. Looking to make a connection, Abigail tells Greg that she feels the same way only with her new business, she really hasn’t had the time for much ‘giving back.’ Greg compliments her on opening a successful new business; a feat Abigail attributes to her unique ability to persuade people. Greg remembers the way Abigail persuaded his sister to do her bidding. Abigail smiles and tells Greg that she’s good at convincing people to do what she wants. As if a light went off, Greg suddenly realizes Abigail’s game and the energy of the date completely changes. The waiter brings the bill which Greg immediately grabs. He gets up from the table and tells Abigail he’s going to go ahead and take care of the bill. Sitting alone at the table, Abigail realizes she’s failed to land Greg and can only ponder to herself what went wrong.

Outside of town, Cassie and Sam make their way through the woods and arrive at a charming home, nestled on the banks of a pristine lake. The home comes complete with everything Sam and Nick could ever need, including jet skis and a boat. As they tour the home Sam can easily imagine spending time on the lake with his son. The only drawback is that the home, while beautiful, will need some updating and Sam isn’t the renovating type. Cassie laughs and tells him to remind her to show him the old pictures of Grey House. As Sam looks out at the water, imagining the memories he can make with Nick, Cassie realizes she may be able to help Sam fulfill his dream. With her experience renovating Grey House, Cassie offers to help Sam rebuild this lake house. Sam tells her how much he appreciates the offer, then looks back at the lake to contemplate his future.

Back in town, as Ben and Stephanie make their way to lunch, Ben stops in front of a vacant storefront. As the couple stands staring into the empty space, Ben tells Stephanie he thinks the location would make the prefect place for her new catering business. Stephanie starts to wistfully dream before sighing. She tells Ben that without an investor she still doesn’t have enough money to start another business. But Ben has a surprise up his sleeve and reveals to Stephanie that money isn’t a problem because he’s found her a new investor.

Back at Grey House, an exhausted Dan desperately seeks out Cassie’s help. Every time he dozes off he’s overcome with the feeling that he’s being watched. He wakes abruptly to find the shadowy figure standing in a corner staring at him. He’s convinced that something must have happened in Grey House and that it’s now haunted. He wants to leave, but Cassie suggests he stay another night and get some rest before trying to drive. He agrees and heads upstairs. Cassie helps him off to bed and tries to reassure him by telling him she believes that this is the place he’s supposed to be.

At the flower shop, Martha stops in for new flowers for her office. As Martha peruses the various arrangements, Abigail, still flustered from her date with Greg, anxiously checks her phone for a message. As Martha settles on one particularly captivating arrangement, Abigail accidentally lets it slip that Cassie is throwing a party that Martha was unaware of. Abigail tries to recover, but it’s too late and the cat is out of the bag.