Episode 7592

Extended Summary

Sienna asks why Nikau is acting as though she did something wrong. Nikau accuses her of setting him up but Sienna retorts that it wouldn’t have worked if he and Bella hadn’t been in a bad place. Bella appears and wonders if Sienna has news of Emmett. Sienna says she’s just been to see him and he’s being transferred to the city. Sienna asks to see the exhibition. Nikau tries to say no, but when Bella is prepared to show her, he insists on going with them. Outside the surf club, Roo and Kieran find Ryder looking at the wreckage: They were meeting with Kieran’s lawyers. Roo asks after him and Chloe. Ryder says Chloe’s awake but will have a long recovery. Even though the police are still investigating, Ryder is adamant that Mackenzie is responsible, saying they were unwanted competition.

Dean and Mackenzie are walking on the beach. Mackenzie is upset that Ryder thinks she’d do something like that and considers leaving town, thinking there’s no way back for her. Dean asks if it’s about Ari, Mia and the baby but Mackenzie says she understands he’s moved on, she just thinks that there’s no way back for her and everyone thinks she’s a waste of space. Dean says if she leaves, people really will think she’s got something to hide. Later, Roo, Ryder and Kieran arrive at the Diner. Roo is extremely sceptical that Mackenzie would go this far, saying it’s a few steps further than trying to get the van closed down. Dean and Mackenzie come in; Roo stops Ryder approaching them and Mackenzie decides to go back to the motel. Dean tries to convince Ryder he’s wrong but Ryder says the police will prove it.

Nikau, Bella and Sienna arrive at the surf club, discussing the explosion. Bella and Sienna head up to Salt but Tane stops Nikau to ask him about Chloe. Nikau tries to fob him off, eventually snapping at him to back off as he follows the others upstairs. He finds Bella upset about Emmett and is momentarily worried that Sienna has said something. He gets Bella to put off taking the exhibition down until tomorrow, as Sienna makes loaded comments about getting distracted. Tane joins them and asks to see the exhibition as well. Bella shows them round, thanking Sienna for signing the release forms.

Nikau and Bella arrive back at the Parata house. Nikau is on the phone to Ari, getting an update on Chloe. Bella lies down on the sofa and Nikau gently tells her she can’t sleep there. Bella says she’s thinking about Emmett, Chloe and Jasmine but tells him he’s been amazing. She heads off to bed. Shortly after, Tane is woken by a knocking on the door. He lets Nikau in and complains about what time it is. Nikau tells him he slept with Sienna.

Bella wakes up and is surprised to find Nikau isn’t with her. She texts him asking where he is. Nikau texts back saying he went for a walk. Tane says he thought Nikau and Bella were solid. Nikau says he thought Bella cheated on him, explaining about the photo, and Tane argues that she’d never do that. He thinks Nikau needs to tell Bella. Nikau says if he does that he’ll lose her. Tane points out Nikau couldn’t last one night withot telling anyone and the guilt will eat him up.

Next morning, Nikau watches over Bella as she wakes up. She asks why he didn’t come back to bed and he says he didn’t want to wake her so slept on the couch. He says he’d never want to hurt her but he needs to tell her something. After some hesitation, he tells her about the three month trip to Japan. Bella is horrified and insists it’s not happening. Nikau says he has to, explaining he did a deal with Sienna to get Bella clearance for the exhibition. He says if he could take it back he would. Bella says Sienna will just keep playing them off against each other. Nikau says he’ll talk to her.

Dean finds Mackenzie on the beach and notes he wasn’t sure if she’d still be there this morning. He tells her to ride things out with Ryder but, when she sees him nearby, Mackenzie approaches him and insists she wouldn’t hurt anyone. Ryder looks uncertain. Later, at the Diner, Roo and Kieran suggest to Ryder that Mackenzie was brave to talk to him. Ryder says she’d never admit it, but is less certain she’s responsible, noting you never know if someone’s lying or not. (Kieran looks slightly awkward.) Ryder gets a phone call and answers it thinking it’s the hospital but it’s the police: The explosion was caused by a faulty gas line. Roo notes that means Mackenzie isn’t responsible. Ryder says he is.

Later, Ryder and Kieran watch as the remains of the food truck are taken away. Kieran expresses his condolences after everything Ryder and Chloe did to make it happen. He suggests they try again but Ryder isn’t sure Chloe will want to step inside a food truck again. Kieran says guilt achieves nothing. Ryder says he bought the gas bottle. Kieran says he needs to figure out what to do next without being led by guilt and shame. Ryder heads up to Salt to fill Mackenzie in and apologise. Mackenzie calls a truce and offers him his job back. Ryder agrees and Mackenzie says they can sort out his start date when things are clear with Chloe. Dean, who has been looking on, says he’ll enjoy the free drinks. Nearby, Bella, Nikau and Tane are packing up. Bella goes to take a call from Emmett. Tane guesses she doesn’t know and Nikau says she’s not going to.

Nikau meets with Sienna near the beach. She briefly feigns upset at being rejected but Nikau says he’s done with modelling. Sienna indicates that if he doesn’t fulfill the contract, Bella will find out about their night together. She gets Nikau to nod in agreement. At the Diner, Ryder fills Roo and Kieran in on what happened with Mackenzie and thanks Kieran for his advice, saying it put things in perspective. He heads off to the hospital and Roo notes it was a good idea to keep Kieran around.

A short time later, Roo and Kieran go to the bait shop. Roo thanks Kieran for his help with Ryder and asks him to put the tides up on the board. Kieran stops and says there’s something he hasn’t told her.