Recap: Back to School - Season 13 - Episode 3

Now that the fire no longer threatens Hope Valley, Elizabeth is at the schoolhouse preparing for the first day of school. Nathan stops by to deliver flowers and help. Elizabeth seems overwhelmed since the children from Benson Hills are also joining her classroom. Nathan leaves to continue investigating how the fire started.

At the Coulters’, Gwendolyn is pushing back about starting school in Hope Valley. Lee convinces her and reassures Rosemary that things with Gwendolyn will get better over time.

When the children arrive at the schoolhouse, Elizabeth takes a deep breath at the sight of how full the classroom is. As time goes on, she continues to be challenged when dealing with all the change at the school.

At his office, Lucas is on the phone organizing a company to clean out the rubble in Benson Hills. They are demanding an outrageous price, until Edie informs Lucas of a law that prohibits them from doing so. Lucas tells Edie he appreciates sharing an office with her. Edie asks Lucas to come to the legal clinic she is hosting for the fire victims going through insurance claims, to which Lucas happily agrees.

Molly finds Lee at the saloon and tells him that she saw a man go into the park before the fire began. She was hesitant to speak up because she wasn’t fully sure, but she thinks he may have been holding a can of kerosene.

Back at the school, Elizabeth instructs the Hope Valley students to find someone from Benson Hills to sit next to. She asks the students to introduce their neighbors. Opal introduces Gwendolyn and tells the class she likes to go by Gwen. Elizabeth takes a fork away from Gwen, who was using it to carve into the desk. The students from Benson Hills talk about how they just want to go home. Elizabeth assures them that they will try to make them feel welcome in Hope Valley.

Lee brings Molly to Nathan and Bill. She tells them about the man’s appearance but emphasizes that she only got a quick glance. Lee is certain that McGinty is the culprit and wants to arrest him. Nathan and Bill emphasize that they need to be sure and they should wait for the experts to determine whether the fire was caused by arson or by natural causes. Lee angrily storms out.

Allie finds Oliver working and tells him about the difficult school day and how a Benson Hills student said one of her Julius Caesar quotes was historically inaccurate. Oliver tells Allie he needs to get back to work.

Elizabeth decides to stop by Rosemary’s to ask about how Gwen is doing and to return the fork. Rosemary is upset that Gwen was behaving that way, but Elizabeth advises her to give Gwen space.

At the saloon, Mayor Maisie Hickam asks Lucas to find more funds for them to expedite her people’s return home to Benson Hills. Lucas will try to turn as many screws as he can. Mike stops by to bring his sister Maisie a sandwich. He offers for her to stay with him and Mei. Maisie is reluctant to get settled in Hope Valley and is determined to be there for her people. Mike proposes that Mei can organize salvage trips. Maisie likes the idea but rushes off to comfort a nearby resident of Benson Hills.

Elizabeth and Nathan catch up on each other’s day while watching Allie and Little Jack kick a ball around outside. Elizabeth shares how it was a frustrating day of teaching and Nathan is struggling with the idea of someone deliberately starting a fire. As she watches over the kids, Elizabeth gets an idea.

While Lee is at the saloon, McGinty walks in. Lee immediately picks up the phone and sends for Molly and Nathan to come by.

At their home, Mike and Mei are talking about why Maisie doesn’t want to stay with them. Mike tells Mei that Maisie sometimes has trouble with change, and thanks Mei for offering to organize salvage trips to Benson Hills.

When Molly arrives at the saloon, she tells Lee that McGinty could be the man she saw, but she still isn’t certain. McGinty stands up to leave the bar. Since Nathan hasn’t arrived yet, Lee decides to confront McGinty himself. As he is walking past Lee to leave, McGinty insults Lee’s family. Lee bumps into McGinty, who dramatically falls back onto the floor. Nathan walks in to break it up, and McGinty claims he wants Lee arrested. Nathan leaves with Lee.

Rosemary arrives at the jail to pick up Lee. Lee tells Rosemary about how angry he is about losing the park and that McGinty must pay. Rosemary emphasizes that they need to wait for the investigation to end and that they will rebuild.

Elizabeth finds Oliver reading Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. He wanted to read it because Allie wanted to talk to him about it and he had never heard of it before. Elizabeth recommends Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman and offers to hold poetry sessions with him so he can begin to learn more. He loves the idea and thanks her.

As the children arrive at school, Elizabeth, Nathan, and Little Jack greet them outside. Elizabeth tells them to pair up with someone they just met yesterday, and they have an outdoor field game day. The kids smile as they crawl, climb and jump through obstacles. Cooper and Toby watch on, reluctant to join.

After the games are finished, Elizabeth asks the kids for one word to describe community. Cooper answers with the word “trust.” Elizabeth tells everyone that trust allows you to feel safe and not alone. Elizabeth pulls Cooper and Toby aside and asks why they didn’t want to join in on the games. They are having a hard time with everything that happened with the fire, and Elizabeth says she is there if they need to talk.

Lee arrives home and Rosemary offers him a brownie. He asks her for some time alone to reflect and goes out to the backyard. Gwen also returns to the Coulters’ after school and Rosemary offers her a brownie. She tells Rosemary that her dad makes her brownies. Instead of forcing her to try it, Rosemary asks Gwen to bring it outside to Lee.

Gwen brings out the brownie to Lee, who is doing some woodworking outside. Gwen tells Lee that she heard he shoved someone. Lee tells her that he regrets it, to which Gwen said he shouldn’t if the guy had it coming. Lee laughs and tells Gwen that even though the guy may have had it coming, it didn’t solve anything. Lee offers for Gwen to help him with his wood carving. Rosemary watches on from the window with a smile.

A Benson Hills resident approaches Lucas and thanks him for planning to appear at the legal clinic during the evening. Edwin arrives and tells Lucas that Benjamin Camberwell, the railroad owner, is going to stop in Hope Valley for dinner. Edwin insists that Lucas should meet with him. Lucas informs Edwin that he is busy with the legal clinic. Edwin tells Lucas that he could try to convince Benjamin to resolve the train worker strike that has been happening. Lucas agrees to only dinner and nothing more after.

Mei approaches Maisie at the saloon. She brings Maisie a framed photo of baby Mike that she found at Maisie’s house during a salvage trip. Maisie is touched but holds back her tears. Mei once again offers for Maisie to stay with them.

Little Jack and Allie find Oliver outside. Allie asks if Oliver wants to come to the Canfields’ for dinner. Oliver agrees and quotes Whitman to Allie and she is impressed.

Nathan shares his frustration about the fire investigation with Elizabeth. She takes him out on a walk in the field to help him relax. Elizabeth tells Nathan to close his eyes and count for hide and seek. As he opens his eye, Elizabeth pulls him close and they share a kiss.

At the hotel, Edwin and Lucas meet with Benjamin Camberwell. Edie waits outside the schoolhouse for Lucas to arrive at the legal clinic and decides to start the session without him. As Benjamin excuses himself to take a call, Lucas leaves. He arrives at the session to find that it has already concluded.

Cooper and Toby knock on Elizabeth’s door to talk. They tell Elizabeth that when they were on the hike putting down trail markers, they cooked a stew with a small cooking fire. After they were done, they put the fire out and covered all the embers. Ever since the fire happened, they have been worried they accidentally didn’t extinguish their flame all the way and started the fire. Elizabeth comforts them and thanks them for coming to her.