Leah gives in to temptation as her feelings for Peter take hold. Ric’s search for the truth about the mystery figure deepens.
Extended Summary
Dan settles back in at home – he and Leah have a long way to go to repair their marriage but Dan is every bit determined to make amends. Leah’s awkwardness goes unnoticed by Dan – but her mind is still spinning with Peter’s revelation that he has feelings for her. Peter later apologises for his admission, realising now that Dan and Leah are sorting things out – and suggests he should move out. Oblivious to the real motivation for this, Dan insists Peter stay – how can he say no?
Rachel arrives home and clocks Leah’s confusion. Leah can’t hold on to the secret any longer and admits that she too, has feelings for Peter. Rachel is supportive. Leah is torn between loving Dan and wanting to make their marriage work, especially for the baby, and the old feelings stirred up since Peter’s return. Their conversation is cut short by the arrival of Sally and Flynn for dinner.
The group are enjoying themselves – for Flynn it’s the first night of fun he’s had in ages. Dan cheekily admits to Leah his ulterior motive for organising the dinner was to play cupid to Peter and Rachel. Leah suddenly becomes uncomfortable – if only Dan knew! Sally later questions Leah on the awkward glances she has noticed between Leah and Peter all night – Leah knows she can’t hide the truth from her best friend.
It’s late…the others have gone home and Leah is cleaning up the remnants of the dinner party as a way of avoiding her confusion. Then from behind, Peter appears, admitting he couldn’t sleep – he has too much on his mind ie. Leah. The sexual tension between them is intense. A loaded moment as their eyes lock…and then their lips…
Ric returns home and fills the others in on his chase with the “mystery” person. Matilda, Cassie and Lucas are curious – who could this person be living in the bush nearby? Ric decides against telling Flynn and Sally – they don’t need any more to worry about it. The others are not too concerned, shifting their focus now to heading to the beach, but Ric wonders what this person’s story is (bearing in mind his own experience of sleeping out when he thought he had killed his father).
The kids return home from the beach. The door is ajar and they notice food they left on the table has disappeared. Sally must have moved it – but Ric ponders on the idea it might have been taken by the “mystery” person he saw in the bush. Determined to find a clue, Ric heads outside in the dark. He suddenly hears a rustle in the bushes, but as he turns around…he is frightened out of his wits when he comes face to face with Cassie!
She insists he head home. Ric spots the discarded packages of food from the house. They hear another rustle, just as they see a figure dart off in the darkness and Ric chases after them. The person gets away but in the scuffle, they have dropped their backpack. Curiously, Ric searches the bag and discovers a torn piece of paper with the beginnings of a letter…”…mother lives in a little seaside town called Summer Bay…” The mystery continues…