EPISODE 360
Written by: Bre L Drew
September 24, 2025
Last Time on Town and Country
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Presley attempts to deal with his breakup with Tanner, unaware that she and Tommy shared a kiss before later deciding to see each other behind Jordan’s back.
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Martha runs into Evan outside of Jojo’s, later noticing him vaping, and convinces him to come inside with her.
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Despite Tricia suggesting that Jolene seek psychological help to deal with her issues with Wade, her mother refuses.
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Wade shows up on Tricia’s doorstep, declaring he’s in town to take her back home.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 424
“How in the world did you even find me?” are the next words out of Jolene Wood’s mouth as her husband forces his way into her daughter’s fourth-floor apartment. She had thought it was someone else, so seeing him for the first time in several months—given their tenuous relationship filled with constant fighting, oftentimes verbal and sometimes physical—makes her forget the calm she had found in yoga just an hour earlier.
Wade Wood steps in closer, smirking cleverly. “The same way I always do.” He jerks his head toward his wife’s iPhone sitting idly on the kitchen countertop.
“Don’t forget I pay for that phone, remember?” he remarks. “And it’s a little app that keeps track of where you’re at. You’re welcome.” He grins cockily.
Jolene’s jaw tightens at the invasion of privacy. She knows she should have expected this the moment she accepted the new phone from him a year ago. It’s the same way he found her the last time she tried to get away.
Her voice cracks with disheartened emotion. “When I was in the hospital, you never came to see me—not once. But now you want to act like everything’s the same?”
The last time she saw her husband, he had injured her so badly that she ended up in the hospital back in Bakersfield. That was why she left, answering her daughter’s plea to come here.
Wade’s voice shifts, attempting to sound remorseful. “It’s why I came all the way out here from California—so I can apologize for what I’ve done.”
But the tension between them only builds. Jolene doesn’t believe him, and Wade’s presence in the apartment feels more intrusive than ever.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 303
Tricia Lockhart determinedly steps out of the elevator onto the third floor of the apartment building where she resides, her mind set on a specific task. Once she arrives at her intended destination, she doesn’t hesitate to knock on the door, briefly glancing around the hallway until the door opens and she comes face-to-face with the person she came to see.
“Tricia, hey, how are you?” Samuel Gupta greets his friend.
The psychiatrist wears a gray crewneck shirt with its sleeves rolled up, paired with dark jeans.
“Well, that depends on what you have to say when I ask you this,” the café manager replies.
He steps aside to let her in, closing the door behind them.
She notices his laptop open on a desk in the corner of the living room with an iPad nearby.
“You don’t have to take off to work right now, do you?”
“Believe it or not, I’m off from the hospital today, but I do have a few virtual therapy sessions later in the afternoon. For now, my schedule’s free. I’ve been meaning to catch up with you since you got back from California.”
Tricia grips her purse strap before answering. “And that’s exactly why I came by to see you.”
“Okay,” he says bewilderedly.
“My mother is clearly in need of a shrink, and you’re the first person I thought of,” Tricia reveals candidly.
Samuel glances at her, trying to absorb what he’s just been told.
JOJO'S CAFE
You can ask the flowers, I sit for hours
Tellin' all the bluebirds, the bill and coo birds
Pretty little baby, I'm so in love with you
​
The vocals of the late Connie Francis spark an easygoing nostalgia for an era long ago as “Pretty Little Baby” plays in the café this late morning.
Meanwhile, Ernest McKnight stands on the other side of his ex-wife—and barista—Thora McKnight, having come in to grab coffee during his break from the police station.
With a light tone, he asks, “Do your discounts extend to former spouses?”
“I don’t know—but this time, I’ll make an exception,” Thora replies amusingly.
They exchange warm, familiar banter as they catch up about life and their children—something they couldn’t have imagined doing during their initial separation and divorce, but now time and distance have brought them to this place.
“So,” the police chief begins, placing a hand on the back of his neck, “how’s Presley doing?”
Despite not having the perfect father-son relationship with his living son, he still cares about him.
“Throwing himself in work at the church. He’s just doing whatever he can to get his mind off the breakup with Tanner.”
Ernest gives an understanding nod, but unbeknownst to them both, a third person—in a designer shift dress and heels, with a white satchel bag draped on her arm—overhears the final part of their conversation.
“Tanner did what? That heartless bitch!” Jordan Covington snaps loudly, drawing attention.
At an adjacent table, Martha Saunders and Evan Sullivan both lift their heads at the mention of their kin's name.
Thora and Ernest share a tense glance, each knowing this is about to get complicated.
J&M MARKET
Although fall is approaching, summer's lingering signs are still present in Radcliffe as twin sisters Tanner Lockhart and Lenny Barker step outside J&M Market and cross into the parking lot on this weekday morning.
"I still can't believe that the freakin' distributors forgot all of that stuff in their truck," Lenny complains.
Their longtime distributor has forgotten some containers of milk and a few other dairy items, prompting the farmhand to pack up their dairy products from the farm to make up for the order to the store. That’s why they're currently borrowing their mother's Range Rover—so they have enough space to transport everything here.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Tanner notes. "Well, at least you’re able to supplement, and Jai was understanding of the matter."
Lenny places her hands in her coveralls; her blonde hair is noticeably growing back following her recent battle with acute myeloid leukemia. She tries to adhere to the positives—something she would’ve scoffed at before—but since her cancer journey, she’s attempting not to let certain things get to her.
"It feels like we haven’t spent much time just the two of us for a while, huh?"
As they near the truck, Tanner speaks. "Well, a lot has changed. I mean, you’re a married woman living at the farm, and I’m just trying to…"
"Avoid Presley," Lenny mentions out of the blue.
"Uh, why would you say that?"
"Because" Lenny whispers.
Tanner turns toward what her sister is talking about, recognizing Presley McKnight on the other side—not to mention his familiar stroll, too.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 303
By now, Tricia has settled on the couch while Samuel hands her a bottle of water, which she takes after already telling him how she’s been doing.
He then sits on the armrest of the couch across from her. “You know I have no problem seeing Jolene professionally, but I’d feel more comfortable if she were the one telling me that she needs to see me in that capacity.”
He’s well aware that for decades her mother has suffered volatile abuse from her husband and recently came to stay with Tricia.
“And I understand where you’re coming from, Samuel, but she doesn’t—that’s the problem,” Tricia sighs before continuing. “She thinks she can handle all of it on her own.”
“And what does that look like?”
“At the moment, she’s centering herself through yoga.”
Samuel fights back a laugh—more at how Tricia says it than at the idea itself.
“Well, if she wants to begin the healing process, then she needs to come to that decision on her own.”
Tricia exhales, conflicted but understanding, then takes a small sip of water. “I was afraid you were going to say something like that."
Samuel thinks back on his years of friendship with her, and knowing what Jolene has gone through, it gets him to this point.
“All right, how about this? I can assess her informally, but because of my close association with you, I’d have to recommend she see a therapist who specializes in trauma and domestic abuse recovery. I can refer her to someone.”
Tricia’s expression brightens, and she wraps her arms around her friend good-naturedly. “I owe you big time.”
She rises to her full height, and so does he, as she quickly gives him a platonic hug.
They part as she heads toward the door.
“I’ve got to get to the café, but I’ll see you later and we’ll catch up.”
“Sounds good,” he says, moving aside to let her out.
JOJO'S CAFE
Cousins Martha and Evan sit on opposite sides of a table. For the last twenty minutes, she has watched him outside the café, inhaling and exhaling from a vape pen—a far cry from the little boy she last saw.
“Before we were interrupted, we were getting down to the bottom of things,” Martha says, making a mental note to deal with Jordan later for calling her beloved niece out of her name.
“Martha, look, there isn’t some need to panic. I’ve only done that a few times before,” Evan remarks nonchalantly.
The single mother shoots him a look that says otherwise. “Evan, that might work with some of the adults in your life, but you can’t get away with that one with me—the family’s lifelong screw-up.”
The teenager shifts in his seat, debating whether to confess.
“All right, it’s been a while… I did it here and there until my mother got engaged, and then it became a more regular thing. Are you happy?”
Martha understands teenage rebellion but silently hopes her young son, SJ, won’t follow the same path when he gets older.
“And I doubt your dad or Courtney knows about this habit?”
Evan sets down his plastic cup containing a mango smoothie. “Hell no. And you can’t tell them. Courtney wouldn’t understand, and my dad would freak.”
Martha feels caught between a rock and a hard place. She knows her cousin should be aware of what’s going on with his own child, but she also remembers her own teenage years and how much she hated it when adults said one thing but did another.
Evan changes the subject, gesturing toward Thora, Ernest, and Jordan, who stand near the counter. “So, are you gonna deal with that?”
​
“Was that outburst really necessary, Jordan?” are the first words Thora says to her daughter after discovering her brother and Tanner have broken up.
“Yeah, because I don’t think the people in Hudson Lake heard you,” Ernest adds, half-jokingly.
Jordan tucks a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear, giving her father a sharp look. “Well, I did not stutter, and it’s the truth. That breakup likely wouldn’t have happened if she’d just been honest with Presley from the start. Instead, she pulled her demure act—and now she’s free to go after my husband.”
Ernest shoots his ex-wife a glare of confusion, then refocuses on the daughter he still has a fraught relationship with—ever since throwing her out when she was pregnant and refused to name Tommy as her baby’s father.
“Back up a minute; maybe I’m missing something here,” he says. “Why are you upset at her for not being with Presley anymore?”
Thora shakes her head, knowing that logically he’s right—but also knowing her daughter’s emotions always run hot on this subject.
“All that’s true, Dad. But I don’t want Presley heartbroken—not by that bi—witch.” Jordan declares.
“Anyway,” Thora cuts in quickly, trying to maneuver topics. “How is our beautiful grandson?”
Jordan arches her brow, fully aware of what her mother’s doing—she’s been on the receiving end of these diversions for years. “He’s great as always. Lillith took him to swim club,” she answers, referring to his longtime nanny.
Ernest glances at his watch, coffee in hand. “I better get back to the station."
At the same time, Martha saunters over, and all three McKnight's take notice.
“Martha, hi,” Thora says quickly, trying to head off the awkwardness. She knows why Martha is here: to confront Jordan’s words about Tanner.
“Look, I’m going to cut right to the chase,” Martha starts, nearly squaring up to the petite blonde.
“Martha—” Ernest tries to interject, but the singer cuts him off before he gets another word in.
“You’ve got some nerve calling my niece a bitch after everything you’ve done to sabotage her happiness. And I know you’re not solely to blame for that, but Tanner deserves to be happy—whatever that looks like—even if it isn’t with your brother.”
“It’s not that simple,” Jordan spits back.
Martha holds her ground. “Well, whatever it is, next time you want to call somebody out of their name, make sure their friend or relative isn’t within earshot. Because they might not hold back like I do.”
With that, Martha strolls off, Evan following as they exit the café, leaving the McKnight’s in uneasy silence while a few patrons look on.
Jordan regains her composure. “I’m not losing my husband to Tanner Lockhart.”
J&M MARKET
Silence falls over them, broken only by the start of vehicle engines and the occasional ring of someone’s phone.
"Hey," the reverend remarks.
"Hey," Lenny replies more outwardly.
"Hi, Tanner," he finally says, noticing the awkwardness between them since she broke up with him. Tanner knows it wouldn’t be fair to continue seeing him while secretly involved with Tommy—especially since Tommy is still married to Presley’s sister—making things all the more complicated.
"I know it’s belated, but congratulations on not only your marriage to Elijah but also for kicking cancer in the you-know-where," he says to Lenny.
"Thanks," Lenny responds. "Trying not to take life for granted ever again."
"Good to hear," he says, as though he truly understands what she means. Then he turns his attention to his ex.
"How've you been?" Tanner manages, unsure how to respond.
"I’ve been better,” he pensively admits. “I just came here to grab something leafy for an early lunch to take back to the church. It’s one of those days. Well, it’s good seeing you both, and, uh, Tanner, I know it won’t be easy, but I don’t want any hard feelings between us," he adds.
The twins say their parting words, and the reverend gives a small, sincere nod before heading inside the market.
After he disappears, Lenny looks to her twin sister and gently asks, “You okay?”
Tanner doesn’t answer right away—she’s affected by the moment as they reach the black SUV.
WHEELER BUILDING: APT # 424
By now, Wade clears his throat, continuing to make his case while Jolene stands across from him near the galley kitchen.
"I never intended to hurt you, but sometimes you do things that make me crazy, and I don't exactly handle it the way I should. But I want you to know—it’ll never happen again."
Jolene remains mostly quiet, paralyzed by fear and emotional fatigue. She’s heard the same song and dance for thirty years and, honestly, has lost count.
“It’s always the same, Wade.” she finally mutters.
"Not this time," he insists. "I’m serious about working out our issues, and I was wrong for what I did to you."
Despite her skepticism, a part of her wants to believe him—but she simply can’t, not after all the other times throughout their marriage.
Wade reaches up and gently touches her face; she flinches.
This makes him stop, rejection flickering in his eyes. "Am I that much of a monster… that you’re scared of me?”
Knowing the answer, Jolene swallows it back. She recalls the last time he forced her to come home—when he threatened her daughter while flicking a cigarette butt onto the floor, only feet from where she’s standing now.
"No, it’s not that. It’s just… a lot has happened, and it’s gonna take me some time to think about all this," she says softly.
Wade exhales impatiently, visibly tense, not wanting Tricia to catch him there.
“Fine,” he mutters, before adding darkly, “I’ll be staying at The Cliffe. But I ain't resting ‘til we come to a resolution."
With that, he marches out, and Jolene quickly locks the door behind him, her breath unsteady.
​
She stands there, staring at the locked door, frightened and uncertain of what’s to come.
​
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END OF EPISODE
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ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF TOWN AND COUNTRY
​Mala warns Samuel.
Courtney gets caught off guard.
Jes witnesses a close moment.
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