Episode 8216

Extended Summary

Levi joins Mackenzie out on the balcony at Salt. He notes he keeps getting distracted and Mackenzie notes she should probably give up trying to concentrate, pointedly saying she’s going home. Levi says he’ll join her in fifteen minutes. Eden comes out and asks if Levi sorted out his issue with work. Levi says he hasn’t had a chance to call them yet as Mackenzie leaves.

At the hotel, Cash looks over Stevie’s schedule for the week which includes two interviews, a film premiere, a climate-change fundraiser and a meeting with a director. He suddenly realises she’s out on the balcony, where she says she’s breathing, and gets her to come back in. He doesn’t think they can achieve any of the things on the list, saying the meeting with the director needs to be on line. Stevie says it’s Nelson Giles and she can’t mess him about. Cash reminds her she agreed to compromise and also tries to get her to cancel the fundraiser but she refuses.

Irene approaches Roo at the Diner and asks if she heard about Peter Rolfe snooping around. Roo heard about him from Alf. Irene tells her and Marilyn that he tricked Dana into coughing up information. Marilyn points out Rose is using the media to get the mother to come forward but Roo says Peter is only interested in a sensationalist headline, which Marilyn worries might scare the mother away. Roo checks the Coastal News website but finds nothing.

At Salt, Eden thanks Levi for listening to her and he apologises for not having much advice. Eden says she’s glad she can trust Cash and admits she’s had trust issues since everything that happened with their dad but knows Cash isn’t him. Levi suggests having a celebration for his new job which Eden agrees with. After she’s gone, Levi texts Mackenzie saying he’s on his way. She text back saying he’d better make it up to her.

Cash asks what the point is if Stevie won’t listen to him. Stevie agrees to cancel the fundraiser but insists she has to go the premiere, otherwise everyone will think she has a problem with the lead actress…which she does, since she’s bland, smug and got her baby an agent. She’ll also need her style team to help her get ready. Cash doesn’t argue but asks if she meant it about compromising. There’s a knock at the door and Stevie gets jumpy but Cash assures her it’s just the guy taking over from him. He lets in the man, Paul, checking his photo on his phone. Stevie doesn’t want Cash to go. Cash says if she’s this worried she should cancel the film premiere.

At the farm house, Mackenzie has changed into a dressing gown and negligee and has some wine set up. Levi arrives and they kiss. Levi is still a bit preoccupied by his chat with Eden but says it’s fine. He gets a text from Imogen which Mackenzie tells him to answer so she doesn’t get suspicious. After doing so, Levi pulls Mackenzie back towards him and carries her towards the bedroom.

Cash arrives home where Eden greets him with some beer and a kiss, admitting Levi suggested they celebrate. Cash comments on Stevie being high maintenance, moments before he gets a call from her. He turns down Eden’s request to put it on speaker. Stevie says her life is in danger: Paul is boring her to death talking about his kid’s roo ball team, whatever that is. Cash says it’s kids’ soccer and this isn’t an emergency. He refuses her request to come back and hangs up, which Eden considers hot.

Roo has been joined by Alf at the Diner and realises the story has come up online. Irene and Marilyn gather round.as Roo reads the report, which names Rose as the investigating officer and calls her incompetent, criticises Alf for throwing Peter out of the surf club and mostly goes after Tane, saying he’s still hanging around the hospital, bringing up the fact that his dead brothers were both involved in armed robberies and mentioning that he named the baby Maia. Irene recalls Harper said that wasn’t to be made public because it might upset the mother. Alf notes there’s a number of comments wondering why Tane is allowed to hang around the baby.

Cash and Eden reflect they should do this more often. He checks his phone, which has a number of missed calls from Stevie. Eden reminds him it’s on silent so he can ignore it and he agrees Paul can handle things. She drags him away towards the bedroom, just as he gets another call from Stevie. Next morning, Roo shows Alf a copy of the print version of the paper, which has a photo of Tane outside the gym on the front. She tells him they need to fight back.

Cash checks his phone and finds he has several missed calls from Stevie. Eden joins him as he plays the messages: The first ones are just telling him to call her back and accusing him of ghosting her, but then one says Paul has been poisoned and she’s been on her own for hours. Cash leaves a message saying he’s on his way and rushes out.

Down on the beach, Levi has been watching Mackenzie surf. She says she wants to kiss him right now and it kills her she can’t. Eden comes along and is surprised to see Levi still in town. He says he got called back to Northern Districts and didn’t make it home, then saw Mackenzie, who explains it’s her first surf since her heart troubles. Mackenzie leaves and Eden tells Levi about Cash rushing off. At the Diner, Marilyn bins the paper and Roo says they need to do more. Irene says she agrees with Alf that they could make things worse. Roo says she and Harper are going to see the Coastal News, since Tane wasn’t given the right to reply.

At Salt, Levi and Eden comment on Cash being dedicated to his work. Eden says Levi is the same and learns he hasn’t told Imogen he’s back there. She says he lived with their dad for too long and their mum always says lies come back to bite you. Levi says he’s worried how much that still affects her and insists their dad was in love. Eden says he should have remembered he had a wife and family. Levi thinks you should follow your heart.

Cash joins Stevie at the hotel room. She says Paul fell ill 20-30 minutes after they had eaten and she had to phone an ambulance. The food came from room service and they had the same thing. Cash says he’ll send what’s left of the food to the security company to test it. Stevie is upset at being left alone for hours and disappears off to her room. Meanwhile, Mackenzie follows Levi away from the surf club. He comments on having the same issues with Eden and how she still won’t budge over their dad. Mackenzie kisses him, then realises Alf is walking past. Levi wonders if he saw them.

Cash knocks on Stevie’s door and tells her that Paul had food poisoning from a kebab he ate before he came there. Stevie wonders if she’s always going to be like this, scared someone’s out to get her. Cash gets a call from Eden and tells her he needs to stay there even though he’s not rostered on. Eden doesn’t look too happy.