EPISODE 356
Written by: Bre L Drew
August 28, 2025
Last Time on Town and Country
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Since the revelation of Emma’s paternity, the fragility between her and Jacques has grown, and their lack of intimacy further strains the marriage.
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Steven and Courtney unexpectedly welcome Evan earlier than expected, and the teenager arrives with a chip on his shoulder.
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Unbeknownst to Tommy, Daniel’s plan to oust Jacques from Covington also includes removing Courtney from the CEO position so he can reclaim his former role.
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Despite his commitment to Tanner, Tommy still struggles with physical attraction to Jordan, who is determined to salvage their marriage.
HOME FARM
The late summer morning shines over the town of Radcliffe. Inside one of the many luxurious bedrooms of the Home Farm Estate mansion, Jacques Laurent gazes at his wife sleeping beside him in bed. A part of him looks at her lovingly, missing the sensual connection that has been absent for several months.
Leaning in toward her neck, Jacques gently begins kissing Emma Covington Laurent.
The sensation makes Emma stir, mumbling something unclear at first.
As Jacques continues, Emma becomes more alert.
Her words grow clearer. “Stop”
He sighs deeply, visibly frustrated. “What now?” he groans in his thick French accent.
The strain in their relationship shows.
“I’m not in the mood,” Emma says faintly
Jacques, with a touch of sarcasm and bitterness, replies: “That’s happening more and more lately.”
Emma, taken aback: “I beg your pardon?”
Silent tension fills the room.
HOME FARM: GUEST HOUSE
Tommy Covington stands in the mirror of the upstairs bathroom of the guest house residence he lives in with his family on the Home Farm Estate. The young business executive buttons his shirt as he finishes getting ready for the day. He has to get into the office in thirty minutes, though he needs to make a brief stop elsewhere first.
Perhaps wrapped up in his own thoughts, he doesn’t hear the tap on the door, only the footsteps of Jordan Covington walking in. The young blonde wears a purple satin robe as she intends to shower.
Tommy, slightly caught off guard, casually says, "I'm clearing out."
The other evening, despite wanting to reconnect with his first love, Tanner, Tommy couldn’t help but be attracted to his wife—in-name-only when she appeared in her bikini at the pool. Nonetheless, he has managed to maintain normalcy between them since then.
Jordan runs her hand through her hair before deciding to seek his attention by disrobing in front of him, revealing her slim but shapely figure.
It’s intentional—part of her plan to rekindle their marriage physically.
Tommy tries not to stare… but does so anyway. His glance doesn’t go unnoticed, while Jordan softly smiles, pleased that her tactic works. She then slips her robe back on.
As she steps closer to the shower, she remarks, “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before—even if it’s been a minute.”
Despite their union, the two haven’t been physically intimate, which affects them both in different ways. Jordan wants to salvage her marriage not only for the sake of their son but for herself too—since she is still in love with Tommy.
Tommy clears his throat, not wanting to make it seem like she got to him. "Well, the room is all yours now; I'll see you later."
He leaves the bathroom.
Jordan smirks to herself, satisfied, then turns on the water and steps fully into the shower.
JOJO'S CAFE
With the morning rush now mostly gone, the remaining customers linger without hurry as Britney Spencer’s “I Got Time” plays. The light country groove adds an even more laid-back feel to the café. Behind the counter stand Thora McKnight and Skye Park.
“All right, put more of your back into it,” Thora tells the younger woman.
Skye tries not to laugh at the response coming from her newfound father’s girlfriend as she works the espresso machine.
Her adjusted move makes some headway.
“See, you got it. I told you—with some extra effort, you’ll make a success out of yourself when it comes to working here.”
Skye had inquired about working at the café, and Thora managed to get Tricia on board on a trial basis.
“I’m not sure about all of that, but thanks for putting in a good word for me. I could use some extra money,” she says.
Even though Joel is generous with her, she wants to make her own income, even if part-time.
She also can’t stop thinking about the other night when she and her friends snuck into The Cliffe with fake IDs. Although they were later caught, she still can’t believe she did it—let alone lied to Joel about it, saying she was going to the movies instead. She doesn’t feel the need to tell him, for obvious reasons.
“Hey, are you all right?” Thora asks, noticing something else beneath the surface.
“Yeah,” Skye lies. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Thora is about to respond but decides not to press further.
Not long after, Tricia Lockhart enters the café wearing a black sleeveless crewneck vest with dress pants and pumps, holding her carryall bag. She quickly makes her way over to the women, eyeing them closely.
“Tricia, hi,” Thora says to her boss and acquaintance.
“Hi,” Tricia replies in her trademark relaxed manner. She notices the teenage girl in goth attire with the familiar apron tied around her waist.
As Thora introduces them, she continues to hype Skye. “And she managed to operate the espresso machine in one day.”
Tricia tilts her head, impressed though aware that it isn’t exactly important right now. “Well, not many employees can say they’ve conquered that thing.”
“I guess I had a good teacher,” Skye says, glancing at the older barista.
“Well, you might work out after all,” Tricia remarks.
Within seconds, Courtney Covington Sullivan enters the café, her eyes instantly locking on her friend. Tricia notices her as well, and the two embrace before sitting at a corner table to catch up. They haven’t seen each other since Tricia came back from California.
“So, how are things with your mother?” Courtney asks.
Tricia, sitting across from her, makes an expression that says it’s more than she wants to discuss right now. “I’ll get around to that eventually. Anyway, how are you?”
With a pause, Courtney replies, in her way: “Well… I’ve got a kid now.”
Tricia is stunned, caught off guard—she hadn’t known. “Say what now?”
HOPE COTTAGE
Steven and Evan Sullivan casually laugh as they both reach the bottom of the staircase of their residential cottage, making their way towards the foyer.
"Well, hopefully Superman can save whatever DCU they're supposed to be in now," Evan remarks.
"I hope so too, because those other ones…"Yeah, best not to comment on most of those," Steven says agreeably.
The father and son went to the movies the other day to see the latest superhero flick and had a good time, something they hadn’t done in a long time since Evan lived hundreds of miles away in Orlando until he moved to Radcliffe with his mother and her new husband, relocating to Boston.
"So, are you ready to hit the batting cages? Ready to take on your old man?" Steven queries.
He has taken a week off from work to spend time with his son, and things are going fairly well.
Evan gives a mischievous smirk with a head nod. "Oh yeah."
"I wonder who you get the cockiness from?" Steven says half-teasingly as Evan smiles. Just then, the older man’s phone rings, which he retrieves on the third ring.
"Hello… I’m… what? No one else can do it?" Steven exhales, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, no, I’m on my way. No, it’s all right, bye," he ends the call, leaving Evan curious as to what is going on.
Steven hangs up and turns to Evan, apologetic. “Something came up at Hillsdale Farm—a calf broke through fencing and got tangled. It’s pretty nasty.”
Evan’s smile fades, knowing they won’t be going today.
"The other vets are on call," he explains further. Steven adds, "We might have time to go later."
But Evan shrugs. “It’s fine.”
Steven gives Evan a quick, heartfelt hug. “I’ll make it up to you, buddy.”
He rushes upstairs to grab his vet bag and gear.
Evan stands alone in the living room, quiet, feeling brushed aside.
The sound of Steven moving hurriedly upstairs echoes.
Evan stands there, feeling alone again.
Then, he decides to take off.
HOME FARM
Gertrude, the Covingtons’ housekeeper, opens the front door to let Tommy inside the mansion. Daniel Covington stands in the living room near the mini bar, wearing a navy-blue short-sleeve polo shirt with khaki pants—a far cry from his usual suit-and-tie combination.
He reaches out to shake his youngest son’s hand.
A part of Tommy still can’t let go of how his father tormented Jordan just to wind up with full custody of Jeremy, insisting she was an unfit mother. Yet both men now realize they must work together to remove Jacques from the company.
Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Jordan drives her BMW SUV down the winding driveway. She slows to a stop when she notices Tommy’s Tesla parked outside and raises an eyebrow—confused and slightly suspicious.
Verbally, she remarks, “Why would he be here?”
As she dwells on how Daniel once gaslit her, the very reason they now live in the guest house to keep their distance, she shakes it off and continues driving onto the main road.
Back inside, Daniel gets straight to the point. “So, is everything still coming along?”
“If you mean that Jacques is still obsessed with getting Covington that land near Miami, he is still under the impression that it’s a golden opportunity,” Tommy responds.
In reality, the land is worthless. According to their plan, the deal will cost the company millions, forcing Jacques out.
Daniel fixes himself a club soda and takes a sip. “That incompetent fool will learn he cannot continue to ride this family’s coattails.”
Tommy brushes it off, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “I’ve got to head out to the office.”
He exits, leaving Daniel alone in the room.
“Once I get Laurent out of Covington and I’m back in that CEO chair... I’ll get my son—and my grandson—away from that opportunist little harpy,” Daniel mutters, taking a long, strong sip of his drink.
He’s hiding the fact that this move is also the one he needs to remove his daughter from her current position, so he can reclaim it, where he believes he rightfully belongs. His plan is to place her in a role he deems more suitable. He knows that if Tommy found out beforehand, he would never go along with it, given how close he still is to his sister.
In addition, it is no secret that Daniel is determined to remove Jordan from their lives, though he knows he cannot act until all his ducks are meticulously lined up in a row.
JOJO'S CAFE
Pop music plays softly in the café while Tricia glances at Courtney’s midsection, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"You're not…"
Courtney catches it instantly and answers firmly but lightly, “No, I’m not.”
Tricia chuckles, leaning back. “All right, all right, just checking.”
“No, Steven’s son, Evan, from his first marriage, is here,” Courtney informs her.
Tricia looks surprised. “I thought he wasn’t coming for another few weeks.”
Courtney shrugs. “Yeah, well… surprise, surprise. He’s here now.”
Neither she nor Steven expected him to come two weeks early, but issues with Lorraine and his new stepfather, Emilio, brought him out of the blue.
Tricia smirks. “What does he do? Leave wet towels on the floor? Use silverware to clean his teeth? Run around the house naked?”
Courtney laughs briefly, shaking her head. “Nothing that dramatic. It’s just that he sort of reminds me of Tommy when he was a teenager,” she says of her younger brother, who also carried a chip on his shoulder and thought he could handle anything coming his way.
Tricia raises an eyebrow. “So, he’s unruly? Angry? Sullen?”
Courtney nods thoughtfully. “Not quite… but close enough. That’s the best way I can describe it.”
Tricia’s smile fades slightly, her voice softening. “So, a typical teenage boy… I’d give anything to have that.”
A heavy pause falls between them as Courtney realizes she is referring to her late son Dylan, who passed away from SIDS years ago. Tricia would have loved to see her son grow up—even through the trials of adolescence.
Courtney gently touches her hand. “I didn’t mean it like that, Tricia. I just wish I had more time with Steven. Work’s been… a lot lately.”
Tricia gives her a knowing look. “You need to take some time for yourself, Court.”
Courtney sighs, half-laughing. “I’m the CEO of a multi-million-dollar corporation with a board that only voted me in because of my father’s less-than-stellar activities. Besides, I don’t even know what that looks like.”
Tricia leans in, serious but warm. “Well, that’s something you’ve got to give. You can’t let anyone—or anything—come between the two of you. I know that firsthand.”
Courtney dwells on how close she’s been getting to Jacques lately. She doesn’t see it as romantic—just someone she can confide in. Still, she gives a subtle gesture with her head to indicate she will try to heed her friend’s advice.
HOME FARM
By now, Emma lies on the edge of the bed while Jacques, shirtless in dark pajama pants, stands beside her, showcasing his fit physique. Emma recalls how she felt when she saw Will and Martha together at the club the other night, dancing closely. He is finally moving on since their breakup. But she is not keen on him doing so with her uncultured niece. His moving into a new relationship affects her more than she expected, despite the fact that she was the one who slept with
Jacques when she and Will were still together, which had caused a rift.
“I think the last time we spoke—just a moment ago—you were voicing your displeasure about our intimacy, or lack thereof, recently. Look, I know you want me to push my issues aside and carry on as usual, but I can’t,” she admits candidly.
She briefly recalls their argument at The Chateau, when her husband essentially told her to buck up.
“Yes, we haven’t had alone time in a while,” Jacques coolly replies.
Emma runs her fingers through her hair, still mostly neat despite having been asleep minutes ago.
“I’m not the only one neglectful in that department,” she prefaces. “You’re not even here until late most evenings yourself,” she snaps.
Jacques clears his throat. “Well, I work a high-level executive job. I don’t exactly keep banker’s hours. And you didn’t come home until after midnight on some nights, too including the night before.”
Emma shakes her head, frustrated and hurt, as she rises to her full height, folding her arms across her petite frame.
"You know, maybe I’m missing something from you, too. “Affection, support.”
Jacques crosses his arms over his muscular chest. “I've been trying to give that to you, but you won't accept it.”
“Well, you could’ve fooled me,” she mutters, nearly under her breath, as she moves toward the closet to fetch her clothes.
Emma saunters past Jacques into the en suite bathroom, uncertain whether their marriage can survive any more discord.
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
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