In Capital City, Bill investigates the scene where Lucas was shot outside of his office. He times how long it takes to get to the alley and back, testing Pike’s confession story. Bill believes someone is lying.
Back in Hope Valley, Lee reviews paperwork with Mike and Lucas at the saloon. Lee signs and assures them that he’s just the new owner, as Mike will continue running the day-to-day operations. Lucas asks if Lee is okay with him continuing to use his office there, and Lee agrees. He asks Lucas if he’s seen Elizabeth since he’s been back and offers to talk about it if Lucas ever wants to.
At the school during recess, Nathan drops off Allie’s lunch to Elizabeth. Nathan thanks Elizabeth for the party and notes that it was a night of surprises, but he’s happy that Lucas is back. Elizabeth tells him that things were just starting to feel normal again, and Nathan assures that she means a “good” normal. Allie tells Nathan that her lunch is in her school bag. Nathan gives her the one he brought anyway and leaves.
At Minnie and Joseph’s, Cooper is upset with Angela because she gave his best baseball to Scout, who chewed it to bits. Angela says Cooper used her favorite ribbon for a slingshot, and Minnie steps in. The two kids refuse to eat together and leave. Joseph and Minnie agree that while Cooper and Angela been fighting like cats and dogs lately, the two of them always work it out.
Nathan walks into his office and sees Bill at his desk. Bill explains how he went to Capital City and tested Pike’s confession, but it doesn’t add up, as someone else must have been driving the getaway car. Nathan assures Bill that Montague was investigated, but Bill thinks Montague could have hired Pike and a driver to do the dirty work.
At the schoolhouse, Elizabeth dismisses class but asks Toby to stay back to discuss his math test. He tells her that he memorized the answers to the homework, but Elizabeth tells him that math doesn’t really work like that. She tells him she’s there to help, and that he should focus on his reading instead. She assures him that he’ll get there with math.
In town, Rosemary approaches Bill while he reads the paper. She asks him if he found anything out while on his trip to Capital City. Bill maintains that he doesn’t know anything, but Rosemary reveals she has an interview with Montague tomorrow. Bill reminds Rosemary that by doing this, she could tip Montague off, but she knows the case is closed and Montague isn’t under investigation. Bill says he wants to listen on the call, which Rosemary agrees to.
At the café while Mei and Mike have tea, their hands touch and Mike leans in to kiss her. Mei spills the sugar and they laugh. Mike reminds her that it’s only a couple days away from their five-month anniversary. They both want to celebrate in a special way, and Mike says he’ll come up with the perfect plan.
At the saloon, folks are lined up to meet with Governor Bouchard. One man in particular is worried that the resort is causing implications on the rest of the townsfolk and business owners. Lee gives him the number to a business that sells mulch that drives groundhogs away. He thanks Lee and asks if Rosemary is still at The Valley Voice, as he thinks that speaking to the paper might help the Governor actually listen to the people of Hope Valley.
Later that night, Elizabeth and Rosemary have tea at Elizabeth’s. Elizabeth asks why Rosemary didn’t tell her Lucas was coming back. Of course Elizabeth is happy he’s back, but it makes things more complicated now that he’s here, and she just wants to go back to being friends. Rosemary thinks they were never just friends because Lucas always had eyes for her. Elizabeth wants to make sure Lucas is okay and that he isn’t hurting, but Rosemary believes he is having the time of his life. Rosemary says that if they’re both mature, there’s no reason being friends couldn’t work out.
At The Valley Voice the next day, Rosemary types away as Lee enters. She tells Lee that Jade Campbell nearly talked her ear off yesterday about the implications of the resort. Rosemary is busy cleaning up his statement before sending it to the printer. Lee notes that Jade was upset at the saloon about the resort, and Rosemary tells him that many people are concerned about its implications. Lee wonders if they need to publish naysayers, and Rosemary reminds him that as a journalist, the paper needs to reflect the opinions of everyone.
Bill and Nathan sit with Lucas and Edwin, and Bill asks about more security in Hope Valley, citing the recent attempt at his life. Bill tells Lucas that Pike’s confession doesn’t add up; Lucas agrees that it seems convenient and asks after new evidence. Edwin says Pike is incarcerated and they should all move on. Bill asks Lucas if he can remember anything about the shooting, but the last thing he remembers is stepping out of his campaign office. The doctor told him he hit his head very hard after he was shot. Nathan assures Lucas that they’re here to protect him, but Lucas tells them more security isn’t needed and sends them off.
Outside, Edwin tells Nathan that once they get the resort underway, he and Lucas will head back to Capital City as the Governor is needed there.
At the café, Lily dances around as Minnie, Molly and Florence attempt to watch her. Rosemary enters with Elizabeth and overhears their conversation about Faith struggling to care for Lily. Molly and Florence volunteer to watch the children, and Elizabeth notes that they do have a space in town that they could use. Elizabeth eyes Henry sitting at the café, and they all approach him with Lily.
Outside of Faith’s office, Minnie, Molly and Florence ask what she thinks of the new daycare center behind them. They explain how they’ll all volunteer for shifts and that Henry gave them the space for free. They tell Faith they’ll all be there to help for as long as she needs.
Lucas walks through town and runs into Elizabeth. He tells her that his doctor has ordered physical therapy and she asks to join his walk. Lucas tells Elizabeth that he and Edwin had to talk Nathan and Bill down about adding more security. Elizabeth thinks he should listen if Nathan is worried too, but Lucas says that Pike is behind bars, and Nathan has agreed to let it go. Elizabeth is happy that Lucas’s injuries are healing, and Lucas says everything is on the mend.
Elizabeth enters Nathan’s office hoping to speak to him about Lucas, but she only sees Scout. Elizabeth pets Scout as a shirtless Nathan comes around the corner. Elizabeth apologizes and so does Nathan before she leaves quickly with a smile on her face.
At Rosemary’s office, Bill stands by and gives Rosemary pointers as she begins her call with Bernhardt Montague. He tells her he was surprised at her interview invitation as he and Hope Valley aren’t on very good terms right now. She asks him if he cares to comment about Governor Bouchard’s recent plans for a resort in Hope Valley. Montague wishes Lucas well and says it’s an interesting idea, which Rosemary presses, as she doesn’t believe Lucas and he are on good terms. He asks what this is about, and she asks him about his response when he heard the news that Lucas was shot. He says his response wouldn’t be fit for print; Rosemary asks if it’s fair to say he was pleased about it? He says not to put words in his mouth, and Rosemary asks where he was when he heard of the shooting. Montague tells her that he was in Union City at Governor Balfour’s election event. He tells her that over 100 people saw him at that event and that she’s grasping at straws; he hangs up the phone. Rosemary and Bill wonder if Montague counted on there being so many people there, and if anyone would have noticed if he slipped away early.
At the schoolhouse, Elizabeth sees Toby crying. She asks him what’s wrong, and he says he’s trying to figure out what’s wrong with him. She tells him there’s nothing wrong with him. He thinks he’s going to fail every math test, but Elizabeth tells him fractions aren’t easy. He still wonders if he’ll never understand, and she tells him they’ll spend time learning it together. For now, he won’t take any tests.
Outside Elizabeth’s house, Nathan tries to train Scout, but Scout sees Elizabeth and runs towards her. Nathan apologizes for barging in on her, but she notes that now they’re even. Nathan asks what she wanted to talk about earlier, and Elizabeth asks him about their concerns over Lucas’s safety. Nathan tells her Lucas refused more security and it’s his call.
At Lucas’s office, Edwin speaks to Lucas about their first bid, which happens to be from Montague. Montague told Edwin he was inspired by a recent phone call with Rosemary Coulter, but Lucas flatly refuses Montague’s bid.
At the saloon, Mei approaches Mike at the bar. Mike says he’s working on their special date, but she says she’s got it, and asks if he’s free that afternoon.
At the schoolhouse, Toby shows Elizabeth the figure that he made for their town art piece. Lucas enters the schoolhouse and asks to speak with Elizabeth. Lucas tells her that he is hosting a press event at the resort site, and he’s hoping that she and the students might come. Lucas knows it’s a waste of instruction time, but Elizabeth agrees.
On Mei and Mike’s date, she takes him to a picnic she set up at the site of the resort. As they go to kiss one another, Elizabeth, Lucas, and all of the students arrive, followed shortly by Edwin, Lee, Rosemary and the press. Rosemary bickers with Randall about who gets the photo opportunity, but the story will run in both papers so they both get a shot. They take pictures of Elizabeth with Lucas as the children play behind them. Randall tells them that this land, the base of the mountain and the access road, belongs to Benson Hills. Edwin says that getting these details sorted out for the resort is just a matter of negotiating with the mayor of Benson Hills.
Bill comes to speak with Nathan as he brushes horses at the stables. Bill tells him that Montague is hiding something and he doesn’t believe his alibi. Bill says they both know that there’s more to the story. As he leaves, he notes that Nathan is brushing Elizabeth’s horse.
At the café, Faith asks Lily about her day with Florence at the daycare center. Lily says that Jack’s mom is Goldie’s auntie, and Goldie’s mom is Jack’s auntie, but she herself doesn’t have an auntie. Faith asks if Lily would like to call her Auntie Faith, which Lily does.
At Minnie and Joseph’s, they see Cooper and Angela fighting again. Joseph tells them that they need to talk things out because they’re siblings. Joseph tells them that he has a brother named Jacob, and they never hear about him because they stopped talking years ago. He and Minnie don’t want to see that happen to Cooper and Angela. The children promise Joseph they’ll try to get along.
At Rosemary’s office, Bill enters; Bill shows her the train schedule out of Union City the night of Lucas’s shooting. Bill believes Montague could have jumped on the express train from the party, but Rosemary tells him that a photo in the paper was taken of Montague in Union City after the shooting occurred. Rosemary still doesn’t think it adds up, as Pike’s confession is clearly fabricated. Rosemary wonders who Montague is covering for, and she doesn’t think they can ultimately rule Montague out yet.
At the Canfields’, Angela and Cooper apologize to one another. Angela got Cooper a new baseball, and he got Angela new ribbons. Cooper tells Angela that he misses her since she’s always out with Allie or Emily, and she notes that he’s always with Toby. Cooper misses doing things just the two of them, and they make plans to hang out on Sunday after church.
Outside the saloon, Nathan reads The Benson Hills Beatle paper as Elizabeth approaches. Lucas called the both of them and other townsfolk there to discuss the resort. Nathan notes to Elizabeth that the Governor will be leaving town soon once the resort details are squared away. Elizabeth tells Nathan that they can get back to normal life then. Once inside, they hear Lucas tell the crowd that he’s not going anywhere, as he needs to stay put in Hope Valley and sort out the resort.