By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell
Bobbie (Reba McEntire) is uncharacteristically chipper, and Gabby (Melissa Peterman) takes notice. So much so that she wonders if medical marijuana was the reason behind Bobbie’s good mood. Bobbie says the reason isn’t drugs, but it’s Emmett (Rex Linn). She took Gabby’s advice and progressed their relationship by kissing him in the kitchen. Gabby is thrilled and even happier when Bobbie tells her she gives good advice. When Gabby asks more about the kiss, she notices that, according to the story, Emmett didn’t really say anything, and Gabby points out they might not be on the same page.
On a very related note, Steve (Pablo Castelblanco) has a bone to pick with Emmett about “their” secret. Reminder: Bobbie learned about Isabella’s (Belissa Escobedo) existence after their father died, but Emmett told Steve he’d known about Isabella for years. Emmett says it’s his secret, not Steve’s, but Steve said when he told him he made him an accomplice, and it’s been making him pretty anxious, and he has questions. How long was Happy involved with Isabella’s mother? How long did Emmett know? What did Happy really think of him? Before Emmett can answer, Takoda (Tokala Black Elk) walks into the kitchen, and Steve hastily changes the subject to the weather. Steve isn’t a very convincing liar, but Takoda’s busy, so he accepts it and leaves. Steve tells Emmett he was up all night thinking about what he told him, and Emmett says he lost sleep too. He isn’t sure if he should tell Bobbie how much he knows about her father’s secret life, but Steve advises him against it.
Despite how anxious the secret makes Steve, he advises Emmett against it because it all worked out. Isabella is here, Steve says, the sisters are bonding, and Happy is dead and therefore can’t answer for the secrets he kept while he was alive. Steve doesn’t believe telling the truth would accomplish anything but hurt Bobbie. Still, Emmett doesn’t want to start his relationship with Bobbie off on a lie, even by omission. Emmett says he needs to think, and to do that, he tells Steve he needs to go. But, before he goes, he advises Emmett to stop acting so standoffish with Bobbie, or she’ll know something is up.
Isabella comes into the bar with a box full of stuff from Happy’s house, including a stuffed raccoon. When Bobbie asks her why she has it, she wants to put some of Happy’s things around the bar. Bobbie isn’t quite as sentimental about all of their father’s belongings, but since Isabella didn’t know Happy while he was alive, she’s less willing to give up the connection. Speaking of that, Bobbie says that they’re supposed to be cleaning up the house to sell it, which means they should be throwing some stuff away. But Gabby thinks it’s cool and finds it sad that they have to sell Happy’s house, and she’d give anything to buy it.
Moving on, Gabby tells Isabella that Bobbie kissed Emmett and possibly destroyed their relationship. But Bobbie says you can’t kill a relationship with a kiss, and Gabby points out that Judas would say otherwise. Then she adds that Emmett has been distant since the kiss, but Bobbie says that Emmett is always a little distant. Gabby suggests Bobbie fake a heart attack and kiss him again. Isabella says she should just ask him how he’s feeling. Bobbie says that won’t work because Emmett would likely lie instead of hurting her feelings. Isabella wonders if maybe Bobbie making the first move was a little too forward for someone who can be as old-fashioned as Emmett; still, she thinks Bobbie should tell Emmett what he means to her. Gabby and Bobbie laugh at the idea, but Bobbie decides the only way she can tell him how she feels without telling him is to get him something special for his upcoming birthday.
Elsewhere, Steve goes into the kitchen looking for Emmett but finds Takoda instead.
Gabby and Isabella talk about selling Happy’s house, and even though she wants to keep Happy’s stuff, Isabella is more okay with the sale than Gabby. Gabby shares she has a lot of memories at Happy’s house, for example, she was a part of his weekly poker games for years. Isabella, as it turns out, is a huge poker fan and tells Gabby that back in Austin, she played a lot. This makes Gabby admit that she was just in charge of snacks and never participated directly in the game. Still, she’d like to buy Happy’s house because she loves it. Isabella reminds her that she said earlier that she can’t afford it, so Gabby says they should sell it to her really cheap.
Before Isabella can answer, Bobbie suggests giving Emmett a fishing rod for his birthday. Isabella points out that the fishing rod Bobbie’s holding belonged to their father. Gabby thinks the issue is that Emmett already has a million fishing rods, but Bobbie says it’s perfect because it’s Happy’s lucky fishing rod. Isabella pipes in that Emmett says the reason he buys so many rods is that he lost his lucky one, so it could be a good idea.
When the man in question comes in, Bobbie stashes the rod behind the bar and suggests that she and Emmett go fishing. With Steve’s urging, Emmett enthusiastically agrees, much to the bar’s confusion because Emmett isn’t usually an overly enthusiastic person.
Later, Emmett pulls Steve into the kitchen to talk. He asks Steve what kind of man he thinks he is, and usually Emmett is reserved to a fault. After the way he reacted to Bobbie’s fishing invitation, Emmett comes to the conclusion that keeping Happy’s secret is making him into someone he’s not, so tomorrow on the fishing trip, he’s going to tell Bobbie the truth. With that decided, Steve asks Emmett how he’d describe him, and Emmett declines to answer. But Steve wants to tell Takoda what is going on because he thinks Takoda is getting jealous of their kitchen conversations. Emmett doubts it, but says Steve can clue Takoda in after he tells Bobbie. Besides, Takoda knows a lot of things Emmett hasn’t told anyone else, so he doesn’t think the man is particularly bothered. Knowing that Steve and Takoda have secrets; however, does seem to bother Steve a little
At the bar Gabby and Isabella talk about the fishing date Bobbie and Emmett have. Gabby wonders how Bobbie is feeling, and Isabella says she is feeling pretty confident. Unrelated to them, Gabby asks if Isabella has thought anymore about Gabby buying Happy’s house. Isabella didn’t think Gabby was being serious, but Gabby very much was. If she had a kid this year, Gabby says, it’d be cool to raise them in Happy’s house. Isabella agrees, but thinks they should wait to talk to Bobbie. But Gabby wants to start with Isabella because she’s the nice one. Yet, even though Isabella’s nice, she knows that the house could sell for a lot, and Gabby can’t pay a lot. But Gabby suggests that Isabella just give her the family discount.
Isabella is skeptical, but Gabby thinks it’d balance out because the house would stay in the family. But Isabella points out that Gabby isn’t really in the family. Gabby snaps and says she was until Isabella showed up. Gabby seems to regret saying that and starts to apologize, but Isabella says she’s busy.
Away from the bar, Bobbie and Emmett are having their fishing date, and Bobbie gives Emmett the fishing rod. Emmett is excited to get the fishing rod, but when Bobbie tells him it’s Happy’s, Emmett tells her it was originally his, but Happy borrowed it a decade ago and didn’t return it. Bobbie says Happy didn’t mention that when he was bragging about the rod, Emmett says it sounds about right because Happy never told the whole truth. He starts to tell her the extent of that, but she interrupts by trying to tell him a secret of her own about Isabella. When Isabella showed up, Bobbie says, she was completely shocked that her father could have another child and never tell her. But Emmett, Bobbie says, is the only reason she got through the shock of it.
This surprises Emmett, but Bobbie appreciated how calm he kept during the whole ordeal. She tells Emmett that he’s her rock, and Emmett tells her not to worry about it. He tells her you just have to know the right time to keep a secret and when to tell it. Then, Bobbie asks him to be honest and tell her if she messed things up by kissing him the other night, and he answers by kissing her.
Back at the bar, Gabby tries to apologize to Isabella, but Isabella doesn’t want an apology. However, she would like an explanation about where the anger came from. Gabby says that the truth is that she’s been jealous of Isabella since the day she arrived. Isabella doesn’t know why since Happy abandoned her, but Gabby admits she’s jealous of how lovable Isabella is. Gabby explains that in her own family there’s not usually enough love to go around. So, it’s hard to imagine that everyone could love Isabella and her at the same time. Isabella says she’s sorry she wasn’t more loved growing up and admits she didn’t feel super loved when she arrived, so Gabby was the first person at Happy’s Place who took a liking to her. Isabella says they’re family, and Gabby asks about the family discount, and Isabella just says she’s busy.
Steve tells Takoda about the secret Emmett told him because he assumes Emmett told Bobbie on their trip. Gabby and Isabella wonder how the trip went, and Gabby prays with Takoda about her desire to buy Happy’s house. Emmett walks in and signals to Steve that Bobbie still doesn’t know, but since Takoda does know, more people know that Emmett knew about Isabella. Takoda says they should’ve prayed and walks off.