LOCKHART LAKE COTTAGE 

For the past half hour, Tanner Lockhart has been mentally preparing herself to go downstairs. In case her father is down there. She can’t bear to even look at him, not after what she overheard yesterday.

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“ One day we're going to be together. I promise you that. I love you too.“

 

Try as she might, she couldn’t stop replaying it in her mind. For years, it seemed that her parents had a stable marriage. Not to mention that her father has always been her biggest champion.

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She finally gets enough courage to leave her bedroom to head for the staircase.

 

Tanner then makes her way into the kitchen, but of course her father, Sean Lockhart is in here, packing his lunch, before he heads to go to work, over at the farm like he does every morning,

 

She remains silent as she obtains a cup from the cabinet and gets the pitcher of orange juice out of the refrigerator.

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Tanner looks up, and sees her mother Louise Saunders Lockhart, entering the room. today her attire consists of a teal quarter length sleeve shirt and white crop pants. As usual, her mother’s blonde hair is style effortlessly.

 

When her parents both kiss one another like they do every morning, Tanner observes them see if something was always out of the ordinary that she never did before.

 

“What's on the agenda today, Tanner? “ her mother asks.

 

“Working at the stables,“ she replies

 

Feeling thankful that today she will be getting out of the house for a shift at her Great Aunt Esther’s horse stables she works part-time after school, and in the summer season, she was a few extra hours,

 

“Do you need a ride there Pretty Princess?“ Sean asks as he zips up his lunch bag.

 

“Aunt Esther is picking me up.“ Tanner replies 

 

Realizing that she needs to work harder getting her driver’s license like her twin sister Lynn has been doing.

 

Sean remains quiet nodding in defeat,

 

It did feel good for Tanner to shut him out after what he is doing to her mother; there is no way that she can see him in the same light again.

 

Louise puts an arm around her daughter as a loving gesture.

 

 “I’m so glad you and Lenny are both earning your own money this summer."

 

“We’re both proud of you girls.“ Sean interjects

 

I wish I can say I’m proud of you right now too, Tanner thinks to herself as she takes another taste of her orange juice.

 

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As the smooth vocals of Gregory Porter and Kem attempt to compete with the roaring sound of the Hoover fill the atmosphere Mae and Shauna Jackson our downstairs in the bar cleaning before they’re due to open for business in a few hours.

 

When Shauna is pleased with the difference she made, she then turns off the vacuum.

“Grandma, why can't we hire a cleaner so we can be asleep like Antoine upstairs?" She asks

 

Mae doesn’t stop inspecting the cleanliness of pint glasses from behind the bar. “I ain’t paying an arm and a leg to do something that we can do ourselves, baby. “

 

Shauna somewhat feels bad for even mentioning it since she knows that her grandparents sacrificed so much in their personal lives to raise her when Cassie decided she didn’t want to be a mother when Shauna was thirteen.

 

Perhaps, if they weren't obligated to take care of her, on top of paying for her college tuition for four years, maybe that they would've had the money to hire somebody to do it.

 

"One day, when I decorate the White House, I will have enough money to hire a cleaning staff to clean this place top to bottom.“ Shauna declares

 

“Good because that place needs a makeover in more ways than one,"

 

The two of them laugh as they continue to clean.

 

Mae is the first one to hear that someone is knocking on the double doors outside of the bar. “Now who in the hell can that be? “ she asks aloud as she was in the middle of polishing the tables. Knowing it is too early for a customer since they aren’t even open yet.

 

Shauna tells her grandmother to keep the cleaning as she goes over to the door and unlocks it. Curious herself on who it is at this time of the morning. She then opens the door to find Martha Saunders dressed in a tropical leaf print jumpsuit and gold wedge gladiator sandals on her feet.

 

The two of them hug one another then Shauna closes the door behind them,

 

Mae and Martha then greet one another.

 

“Hey, um,  can I talk to you?“ Martha asks

 

 

“ Yeah, sure, “ Shauna replies

 

“ Go ahead, I 'll finish up here, “ Mae says

 

Shauna thanks her grandmother before she and Martha go to the door in which the stairs that lead to the upstairs apartment, so they talk in private.

 

 

 

 

 

​“Thank you, Gabriella.“ Daniel Covington thanks the longtime family maid as she places his breakfast, which consists of an omelet and a melon fruit bowl on the table in the expansive dining room.

 

“Did you handle that deal yesterday?“ Courtney Covington asks whilst digging into her strawberry crepe.

 

Unbeknownst to Courtney, Daniel is keeping the fact that he went over to Franklin Farm to inform the Saunders clan that he inherited his late father’s 20% of the business. Also, he wants more of a role when it comes to the dairy business.

 

“Yes, I did, and everything looks to be going the way I want,“ he said confidently, knowing he won’t back down from getting what he wants.

 

 “Between Covington and getting this house in order, the deal is  lower on my list of priorities, Sweetheart.”

He then takes a sip of his coffee from his cup.

 

“ Well, Dad, I'm glad that you mentioned the house is a priority because," Courtney uses her hands to gesture the lack of décor in the room and not to mention the entire estate and guest house.

 

Daniel realizes that the mansion requires some interior renovation feeling bad that he didn’t have enough time to take care of it before they moved in.

 

“I will start looking for an interior decorator when I get into the office."

 

Courtney gets out of her chair and kisses him on the cheek. “Thanks, Daddy,“ she then excuses herself to go finish getting ready for work.

 

Daniel takes a bite of his omelet; he sees Gabriella walking back into the kitchen.

 

“You have a visitor, Mr. Covington.“

 

From behind, Gabriella is Louise which stuns him; since he thought he would not be hearing from anyone in her family so quickly,
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Thankful for her temporary salvation, Tanner finds herself brushing the mane of an American Quarter Horse named Clementine.

 

She is still thinking how can the man who affectionately calls her Pretty Princess and have been married to her mother for nearly 20 years.

 

How can he have an affair behind his own wife’s back?

 

Tanner is startled when a tall figure entering the stall she is also in.

 

 "I didn’t mean to scare you,” Steven Sullivan greets his first cousin once removed.

 

“Sorry, Steven"

 

“It's easy to get distracted when you’re spending time with animals, especially these majestic creatures,"

 

Tanner nods as she gets back to grooming.

 

“ Uh cus, Clem looks good to me, and let me guess something is on your mind? “

 

“Am I that obvious?“

 

“ Yeah, I was once was a teen too, way long before Wi-Fi. “

 

Tanner chuckles feeling herself slightly loosening up,

 

“Did you ever realize that your parents weren’t who you thought they were? “

 

Even though the two of them are related, she never really has been close to him due to him living in Lexington during most of her childhood. Although, it wouldn’t hurt to hear somebody’s else advice from an objective standpoint.

 

He nods empathically

 “I think you met both of my parents,  I love them both, but they made me aware parents our humans who make mistakes,"

“Oh, I got to make a house call out to Hinsdale Farm, a cow is giving birth. “ Steven announces

 

He then steps out of the stall.

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“Keep in mind what I said, Tanner." he then proceeds to walk out of the stable.

 

“Sometimes being a human is overrated Clementine, “ Tanner says

 

The horse neighs loudly, which Tanner takes in as an agreement.

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Above the bar is the apartment in which Shauna lives with her grandmother and Antoine. Shauna hands Martha a glass of iced tea that her grandmother made earlier this morning. Martha thanks her best friend as she takes a drink of the beverage.

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"Are you sure that you’re pregnant?“ Shauna asks, taking a seat in the chair in the living room.

 

 “Not only I took a home pregnancy test I just came from the doctor who told me I'm eight weeks along,"

 

Martha was able to get a last-minute appointment with her primary care physician who confirmed what she already knew,

 

“Congratulations,” Shauna says uncertainly,

 

“You know I thought about getting an abortion, but I don't think I can do it,"

 

Shauna plants herself next to her best friend on the couch.

 

“Whatever happens, it has to be your decision, trust me it's nothing worse than to be made to feel unwanted by the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally,”

 

Martha wipes the mist from her eyes. “ Let me guess next you’re going to ask me who knocked me? “

 

She tries her best to sound like her usual upbeat self but still, there is solemn in her voice.

 

“Well, I was waiting for you to tell me about him.“

 

“His name is Murray Hirsch, and he is the nephew of my ex-manager out in L.A. we only hooked up about three times

I must’ve gotten pregnant the last time we slept together. He isn’t much in a position to raise a child neither, “

 

“He might not be in the position, but he still has the right to know that he is going to be a father,”

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Shauna gazes at her friend deciding to change the subject.

 

“Antoine told me he wants us to be in a monogamous relationship, “

 

"Antoine has had feelings for you since we all were in high school, so what did you tell him? “ Martha says

 

“That I wasn’t interested in him, and I like what we already have.”

 

Shauna reads the expression on her friend's face.

 

“What?“

 

"Just please don’t string Antoine along,"

 

“Remember when were in high school wishing to be adults I want to take it all back,“

 

Martha lies her head on her best friend's chest. “ Me too, “

 

 

 

 

Daniel leads Louise into the living room, he feels quite embarrassed due to the lack of furnishings.

 

“It’s truly a pleasure seeing you two days in a row Louise, “

 

Louise scoffs,

 

"Daniel, where do you get off coming to my family’s farm telling my father that since you’re rich that you can use your measly 20% to take control of Franklin Farm,”

 

 “Would you like a drink?" he asks. "Or a tour of the estate?“

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Louise has to admire Daniel’s charisma, something he always had when they were dating when they were teenagers, they could get into a fight, and his ease could make her forget what they even argued about.

 

“No thanks, you’re forgetting how many times I’ve been to this house when were dating one another back in the day," she remarks, "I got to go pick up my daughter from a friend’s house and get over to the farm to work and try to calm my father down. “ Louise says wholeheartedly.

 

“ Look, Lou, I’m not trying to put on my overalls, and farm to the tune of Green Acres. I just think that your family’s farm needs to modernize some business practices, and other insight from a businessman like myself,” Daniel says. It’ll be good for me to get into another project to get my mind off of my wife." he stops himself before he goes on.

 

“Daniel, what happened to your wife?  "Louise asks

 

Daniel shakes his head. “ Keri passed away about eleven months ago she had breast cancer the team of physicians only caught in a later stage and it was nothing they can do but to make her comfortable. “ Daniel informs her.

 

“I’m so sorry,”

 

Daniel waves his hands dismissively “ Uh-- let’s get back to business,"

 

He then hands a manila file from his briefcase. “ It’s a business proposal read it over before you decide to banish me out of town."

 

Daniel then walks Louise to the door.

 

“Whether you read it or not, I’m not walking away from Franklin Farm. “

 

He watches Louise walking directly to her Range Rover as he closes the door.

 

In ten minutes, he finds himself reading an article about the state of the economy from the New York Times on his iPad when the sound of the doorbell has Daniel putting his tablet on the couch, as he trails to the door hoping that Louise somehow is willing to hear him out.

 

Daniel opens the door to find a person who wasn’t her in the least.

 

“What are you doing here?“ Daniel asks

 

“Is that any way to speak to your son, dad?" Max Covington replies sarcastically

 

 

END OF EPISODE

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NEXT TIME ON TOWN AND COUNTRY 

Martha tells Sarah Lynn and Peter that she is pregnant. 

Antoine and Shauna find themselves in a familiar situation.

Max reunites with his family. 

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