Abilene | Free Episode | Inspirational Drama

(soothing music) (truck beeping) (air whooshing) (door banging) - What happened? - Just died. - Yeah, yeah, they'll do that. (soothing music continues) ♪ The tears roll away just as quick as they come ♪ ♪ Who knew that love was a war fought by one ♪ ♪ I know that I have the choice to move on ♪ ♪ I make up my mind just as fast as I run ♪ ♪ Can't say that I know where I am going ♪ ♪ I'll trust all the stars ♪ ♪ 'cause they've seen things I haven't ♪ ♪ When it gets heavy and and too hard to hold ♪ ♪ I'll sing me a song 'cause I'm a new home ♪ - It's one of those things, full operation's gonna cost you more than this old girl is worth. A bandaid repair, maybe you get a few thousand miles out of it, or maybe it dies for another reason as soon as you drive out of town. - How much for the bandaid? - Looking at 500. - Got anything less than a bandaid? Duct tape maybe? - Duct tape will cost you more than a bandaid. - I don't really have that kind of money, and this truck is all I have. - Maybe we can get you a lift home. Where are you from? - Kind of place it's better to leave than go back to. - Where are you trying to get to? - Nashville. - Well, that's a problem then. - Yes it is. Anybody got work in town? - Here? I can make a few calls, but where are you gonna stay? - Well, I can sleep in my truck. - Can't have you do that. - I won't be a problem. - When's the last time you've eaten? You got money for anything, miss? - Look, I can sleep in my truck and I won't bother anybody. - Let's do this. Head over to the diner, grab some lunch. I'll make a few calls. - I can't take your money. - Consider it a loan then. And you can call me Al. - You gonna be my bodyguard, Al? And I can be your long lost pal. - You're pretty young to know that old song. - I always remember a good song. (soothing music) (phone buzzing) (soothing music continues) ♪ We don't always do the right things ♪ - Hey Betty. - Hey Al. The usual? - Nah, I'm just here to see this young lady. Got some news. Not afraid of a little hard work, are you? - No. - My cousin owns a cider mill at the edge of town, walking distance from here. They got a spot in the press room. Lot of heavy lifting, got a strong back? - Strong enough. - They got cottages on the premises for seasonal workers. It's not much to look at, but it's better than sleeping in a truck. - I can't tell you how much this means to me. - Thing is though, you can't have a record. Any brushes with the law? - No, no. Nothing like that. - No drug use? No drinking or smoking dope during the job. Their operating machinery, have to be safe. You caught drunk or high, you're out. That shiner's not gonna bring any trouble here, is it? - No, that part of my life's over. - And if someone were to run the plate on the truck, it gonna to be registered to you? - It's my friends. I'm borrowing it. - Hang a left out the door. It's about a quarter mile walk, place is called Wagner's. Talk to Hannah. She's expecting you. In the meantime, I'll order the parts. We'll work out a plan to get you back on the road. - Thank you Al. - All the apples you see are grown right here on the property, and pretty much everything we carry is sourced right here in Fairhaven. After the apples get washed there, they travel up the conveyor into the grinder. They come down to the chute and into the hopper. Hey everybody, say hi to Abby. She's starting tomorrow. This is the main house It's been in my husband's family over 100 years. And this is the cottage. We have some of our seasonal workers here. This padlocks sticks sometimes, just jiggle the key if it gives you trouble. And if that doesn't work, find me. (soothing music) (soothing music continues) - Thank you. - Al mentioned you're just looking for something temporary. - I really appreciate it. - Let's not keep repeating ourselves. Do you need help with your things? I can get someone to lend you a hand. - Oh no, I don't have much. - Okay then, shift starts at 6:00 AM. See you in the morning. (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) - [John] So what do you know about her then? - Al said that she's in a fix, but that she's good people. - Remember the guy Al hired to do his roofing? Said he was good people too, until he went in the wind with his down payment. - Thankfully John, she's not repairing our roof, and I did not give her a signing bonus. - Mom, joke if you want to, we both know this is not the time to be hiring new employees. And maybe that's why you didn't run it by me first. - John, your father always used to say that just because business gets slow- - Doesn't mean business can stop. It's imprinted in my brain too, mom. - Yeah. (upbeat music) ♪ I hit the road like Moses did ♪ ♪ And stop and smell the roses ♪ ♪ All I know is I ain't never going back ♪ ♪ I was tired of being stuck in like a low truck in the mud ♪ ♪ And now I'm racing like a train on the track ♪ ♪ I'm flipping the bird to the past ♪ ♪ I'm getting high on greener grass ♪ (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - You the one with the engine trouble? - Word travels fast. - In this town. We run a pool on everybody that shows up that we don't know. - A pool? - it's called, "What's your running from roulette?" Bad marriage? Tax evasion? Manslaughter? Armed robbery? - Who says I'm running? - History does. nobody just ends up in Fairhaven. You don't get this far off the interstate unless you're trying to fly under the radar. I was in gym class a few years ago playing basketball, took an elbow under the left eye. Real bruiser. It wouldn't have mattered, but formal was that week. You know, you take a lot of pictures for those things. That yellow concealer you're wearing really neutralizes the purple bruises. - Okay. Caught me. I'm wanted in three states. My felony charges are so complicated, my team of lawyers can't even understand them. Needed a place to lay low for a while. - Your secret dies with me. I'm Sam, by the way. - Abby. (upbeat music continues) - Mrs. Wagner? - Yes? - Russ Jackson, I know your cousin, Ben. - Your name sounds kind of familiar. - I'm with Eastern Development. We inquired about your property a few months back. I'm so sorry for your loss. - We appreciated the offer then, and the answer is still the same. - Understood, so this property's been in your family for over 100 years, huh? - My husband's. - That's right, apple growing wasn't your life. You were on a different track back in those days, right? You were in that band. - That was a long time ago, Mr. Johnson - [Russ] Jackson, it's Russ Jackson. - Jackson, what makes you think we would ever sell? - Cars. - Sorry? - Cars. I've been counting the cars in your lot and you're averaging about 21 a day. Uh... It's about 147 a week... Average, you know, it goes up to about 6,700 a year. Something like 2000 less than I think you'll need to cover the operating expenses at this place. And then of course this little tasting room is a nice addition, but it's just not the miracle cure you need. Not unless you're gonna, you know, book Taylor Swift and Luke Bryan to perform. This area is changing. This isn't the destination that it once was. The interstate extension is just pushing people past your place. You need a reason to pull them back in. - Your outlet center will do that, right? - It's a mutually beneficial arrangement, ma'am. We buy half of your property, and in addition to an infusion of much needed capital, you get 2000 cars a day, less than a mile from your front door. That is the game changer you need. I don't mean to be disrespectful, I really don't, but the offer still stands. You all have worked far too hard to give up what it is that your family has built. Have a good day. (soothing music) (soothing music continues) - Abby, right? - Yes. - John Wagner, my mom's the one who hired you. - Oh, okay. Hi. - How's everything going so far? - Good. Yeah. Sam's teaching me a lot. - I just notice that you hadn't given any references for your application. - Hannah said it was okay, so. - Yeah, my mom's got a good heart, lets stuff like that fly all the time. I mean, it's come back to bite us, so I gotta be the bad guy. - Well, I've never really done this kind of work before, so. - Right, I'm just trying to make sure I don't hire someone that's gonna cause trouble or bring trouble back to my doorstep. I mean, you can understand that. - Yeah, last job was waitressing, and that place went out of business. And I don't really have any family that I keep in contact with, so. - You don't got anybody that can vouch for you? - Have I done something wrong? Given you a reason not to trust me or? - Not yet? I'm sure you can understand the position I'm in. - Look, if it means you need to let me go, then I get it. - Sorry to hear that. - Would you like me to leave now or do you want me to finish the day? - What's going on? - Stay out of it, Sam. - What's he saying to you? - It's okay. - John, what are you doing? - I really don't want you to get in trouble. - I'm not gonna be the one who gets in trouble. - She doesn't want to give any references. - So what? She's a good worker, I'll speak for her. - You've known her for 30 minutes. - Abby, I'm so sorry, my brother's going through a bit of a power struggle right now. - I really don't wanna be a problem. - You're not a problem. Can you just give us a second, please? - Yeah. - Sam, don't ever interrupt one of my conversations with an employee again. - Or what? Mom's the one who hired her. You don't think mom has a good judge of character? - Mom is overwhelmed. I'm not sure how good her judgment is. - Yeah, please. Dad would've never played it like that. Just, John just stopped trying so hard. - Dad anticipated things, Sam, everything. Except one thing, him dying on us. So now we gotta watch every step carefully, Sam. Every hire, every purchase, everything. We have no profit margin, Sammy. And whether mom wants you to know that or not, that's the truth, okay? That's what I'm doing. I'm just trying to watch every step carefully. And she's hiding something. - Who isn't? (juice trickling) Hey. It's all good. - I don't know, I just, I really hate putting you in that position for me. - Look, my dad died a few months ago. - Oh, I'm sorry. - It was a shock. And we're all just kind of dealing with it differently. John's taking on a lot more responsibility around here, and sometimes it just gets to his head. Please stay. If he even looks at you again, I swear I'll fight him. - Okay. (upbeat music continues) (phone ringing) - [Noah] Hey, it's Noah, you know what to do. (phone beeping) - Hey, it's me. You'll never guess where I landed. It's kind of like everything we were trying to get away from, but sort of like where we're trying to go, and can't really figure out why. But I'm not calling about that. (suspenseful music) I am sorry that I let everything get out of control. I just, I am so sorry. (suspenseful music continues) He's been calling. Everyone's calling. I miss you. (suspenseful music continues) (door knocking) - Hey, my mom wants to know if you'd like to join us for dinner. - That's awful nice. I'll probably just stay here and- - Mom's a good cook. Plus you're gonna get sick of of apples fast around here. Yes, John's gonna be there, but us girls have him outnumbered. - Okay. - So, what's in Nashville? - I have a friend there. - It's an exciting city, Nashville. You been? - A few times. - Is your friend a singer? - She's trying to be. - Me and my band, we'd love to go to Nashville. Oh, play at Bluebird or Puckett's. - You have a band? - Yeah, formed it about a year ago. Play a couple gigs here and there. - [John] Gigs? - Well, that's what they're called. - Okay. - See, why do you gotta do that? - It's just usually gigs imply payments, Sam. - We're doing it 'cause we love it. Kinda like how you love hearing the sound of your own voice. - Well, now that's amazing coming from a singer. - What's the name of your band? - It's a work in progress, but right now we're calling ourselves Fairhaven. - Whatever happened to Apple Knockers? - Well, that's what you called us. - Mm, that's right. - They're very good. - We're playing the Tasting Room tomorrow night. You should come by. - Yeah, that'd be cool. - How much we paying for that one mom? - Enough? My apologies, Abby. My children have atrocious table manners. - That's okay. I've seen worse. (soothing music) We opened the Tasting Room a few years ago. During the summer and fall we bring in some local acts. We wanted to bring some bigger bands in this year, but hm. Just couldn't make it work. Still, it's a fun thing to do on a Friday night. (engine purring) - Yeah. - Matt. (engine revving) Mattie! - Hey, Sam. - Hey... Oh, I can't believe it. - Thought I'd surprise everybody. - What the heck's wrong with you? You don't text, you don't call, you just leave me here all alone to be an indentured servant while you're off seeing the world. - Take it easy. - You know, I'm actually mad at you. - Your hair looks different. - You have a beard? (soothing music continues) - I missed you - Back for good? - I don't know. - Oh, Abby, this is my other brother, Matt. Matt, this is Abby. She just started in the press room today. - Oh boy, welcome to the insanity. - Hi. - How do you like it so far? - I like it. - Good. Good. So uh where is everybody? - Mm, just finished dinner. - All right, let's get this over with. It was nice meeting you. - Yeah. - See you tomorrow. - I am so happy you're back. - I'm so happy I'm back. - [Sam] Hey mom. - Matt. - Oh, the prodigal son returns. - Yep, slay the fatted calf. - What a surprise. Look at you. Thank you. - Yeah, thank you Matt. I don't know how we would've done it without you. - John. - No, it's okay. Let's hear it. Go ahead. Full force. - You've gotten tough now, huh? - That's it? I know you've been thinking about this a long time. - Matt don't. - You know, I thought all that time you spent with those do-gooders would've made you soft, Matt. Looks like you still got some streak in you. - Yeah, that's right. - Stop it, both of you. - Well, that was fun. Is my room still my room? - Yeah. - Yeah? - Wait. Hey Matt. I gotta ask, what happened in New York? - Can we talk about this different time? I'm beat. - Of course. We'll talk about it when you're ready. - Yeah. Oh, did you hear from the bank about that loan? - Yeah. They said no. - Sorry. - There's not a whole lot of options left. - Well, there's one. Unless that's off the table now. - The guy from the development company was in today. He's actually annoyingly convincing. - But? - John's against it. - Well, you know, that's John for you. If there's a harder way to do something, he'll find it. - He's grieving Matty. We're all grieving in our own way. Plus he's trying to fill some, he's got big shoes to fill. - Is that what it is? - At least with him, I know what he's hurting. He'll bang his head against the wall until there's a dent. With you, it's sideways. - While I'm here, just tell me what you need. - I'm just happy you're home, get some sleep. - Yeah, I'll get all this sleep. - I love you. - I love you too. - I'll see you in the morning. - Okay. (soothing music) ♪ I hit my head on the happenstance ♪ ♪ Of second chance ♪ ♪ It's a strange dance ♪ ♪ But I didn't give it a second glance. ♪ ♪ Not sure where my mind's been these past few years ♪ ♪ Been caught up in these little fears ♪ ♪ That won't stop running through my ears ♪ ♪ My motives are questionable ♪ ♪ But I don't quite understand how I need to change ♪ ♪ Just trying to do what I can with what I have ♪ ♪ I like to think I'll figure it out one of these days ♪ ♪ But time will tell my worthless faith ♪ ♪ I've probably lived a little longer than I should have ♪ ♪ But I can't get mad about it ♪ ♪ Another story gone bad ♪ ♪ Misunderstandings they just keep expanding ♪ ♪ The grass is not greener ♪ ♪ The mountain gets steeper and steeper ♪ - Hey, is Hannah around? - Hey, no, I think she's back at the house. - I'm locked out. She told me to find her if I had any trouble with the lock. - Did you try the wiggle? - Wiggled, jiggled, waggled. - Ah, the waggle didn't work either? Come on, got a lot of experience with this. So Sam said, you're going to Nashville. You got big plans? - Fresh start maybe. - Ah, I get that, I am good at fresh starts. Like extremely skilled, but graceful endings, not so much. - So where were you? - Ecuador. - Seriously? - Yeah. Last few months I was down there working with a nonprofit, and we were building houses, it was cool. - You're in construction? - Construction. No. No, it was voluntary work. And before that I was working in tech up on Wall Street. - Wow, when you pick a lane you really stay in it. - Right, nobody is putting any labels on me. - Apple farmer, house builder, computer geek, locksmith. - Yeah. - Anything else? - Midwife, yeah, I delivered three babies here a few years ago. That was something, but um I don't know, I guess I would say I'm kind of in the process of transition right now. - That makes two of us. Let's see how good you are with this door. (key rattling) Did you just break the key? - Oh, that is, that's embarrassing. Mind holding this, please? - Yeah. - Oh yeah. Here we go. Plan B. Yeah, we're doing this. (brick thumping) - Ah. See, that is how it is done. Hold that too, please. - Yeah, my pleasure. (door banging) - All right, come on. (door banging) Yeah, and that's, it's that simple. So do that every time. I'll get you a new lock, yeah. - In the meantime, do you provide a security service now that I no longer have a lock? - Security service? No, but I can happily supply you with a bushel of apples. Just throw it at intruders. - Yes. Thank you. I feel much safer already. - Good, as you should. - Okay. - Yeah, I'll take that. (upbeat music) - That's my daughter - Honey Jam, you got it. There you go. (upbeat music continues) ♪ I never cared for roses ♪ ♪ And I never cared for wine ♪ ♪ And I never cared for long walks ♪ ♪ And holding hands the whole time ♪ ♪ And I never cared for fishing ♪ ♪ And I never cared for sports ♪ ♪ And I never cared for the rodeo ♪ - How's she doing? - She's good. - She looks happy. God forbid little Sam's not happy. ♪ Showed up from out of the blue ♪ ♪ And when he smiled at me I melted ♪ It's not personal, you know? You could be this great girl that's just found herself in some trouble, yeah. Here's the deal, Abby. There's nothing I won't do to protect this place and my family. You got that? - I understand. - I got this feeling about you. You know what it is? I got this feeling that you have some heavy baggage chasing you down like a freight train, hm? (audience clapping and cheering) I'm just gonna make sure that my family doesn't become collateral damage in that wreckage of yours. ♪ See this boy I knew from high school showed up ♪ ♪ From out of the blue ♪ ♪ And when he smile me, I melted ♪ ♪ He wasn't the goofy kid I knew ♪ ♪ He had perfect teeth, wavy hair ♪ ♪ Grew up about a foot or two ♪ ♪ Back then I never much cared for him but now I do ♪ ♪ Now I do ♪ ♪ Now I do ♪ - Sam's gig over? - Almost. You need a hand? - I've got it, Matt. - Hey, look man, I wanna make a deal with you. - Is that's so? - Whatever this is between us, let's just keep it out here. Okay, not in front of mom, not in front of Sam. - Why are you back, hmm? Did she call you? - She's worried. - Aren't you the noble one coming to everybody's rescue? - Come on man. You're in a dark place, John. I can see it. - I know, Matt. I know. But I can't run away from my problems. Now, you thought growing your hair long and building huts for people in Ecuador is gonna make you some kind of a romantic warrior. You know what I think, Matt? - I'm listening. - I think you're a scared little boy. Nervous something's gonna come along and find out how common you really are. You left. Gone. Just like you wanted, New York City. This wasn't gonna be the life for you, you remember that? That's okay. It was. that family just wanted what was best for Mattie. But then, you know, dad. Dad dies and you come back wanting to be some sort of savior. It's too late. Matt, where were you? Hmm? Yeah. Yeah. - You give me the terms of this deal and we'll get it over with, okay? - You know what, man? Doesn't matter. (engine revving) - Yeah! - Yeah. - Oh, it sounds great. - Give it some gas. (engine revving) - Nice. How much did it come to? - [Al] Just like we discussed. - I don't get paid till next week. - Pay when you have it. - You saved my life. - Oh. - You really did. - Oh hey. - Hey, hey, it's an alternator and a battery, huh? - You have an amazing heart, Al Toomey. - You tell anybody else that I have to charge you double. - Okay. Deal. - There is something I wanna discuss with you though. You got a second? - Yeah. Yeah. - I was doing the paperwork for your service, and we got a new program last year. Supposed to make things easier, I'm not sure that it does. Anyway, new systems tied into a national database. All sorts of info on this thing. Service history, accidents, recalls, even shows if a vehicle stolen. - Oh. - I'm not prying here, but I know there's history with you and wherever you're from. But the plate number on that truck lit up like a Christmas tree. - It's not stolen, my friend used to drive- - I don't need to know. I didn't upload my service report, so my works off the grid, but somebody reported it stolen last week, and they're looking for it. And my guess is they're probably looking for you too. (suspenseful music) Look, this is just me saying. Be careful behind the wheel, not too fast. Don't roll through stop signs. Slow down for yellow lights, don't speed up for them. A cop pulls you over and- - Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll be careful. - Look, we're good. If you decide you gotta get on outta here, go. Send the money when you can, no pressure. - Thank you. (suspenseful music continues) (tires crunching) (door banging) (footsteps scraping) (clothes rustling) (suspenseful music continues) (engine revving) (suspenseful music continues) (suspenseful music continues) (suspenseful music continues) (suspenseful music continues) (door banging) (phone ringing) - [Noah] Hey, it's Noah, you know what to do. (phone beeping) - Hey, me again. Someone reported the truck stolen. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't you for obvious reasons, so pretty sure it was him. He's not gonna stop until he has me back. God how I wish you were here. (suspenseful music continues) I should have stopped it. I saw what was happening and how it was tearing you apart. I just, I really thought that the only way to keep it together and keep it from spinning all out of control is if I held on and I uh should have let go. And now I'll never be free of it. (suspenseful music continues) (suspenseful music continues) (suspenseful music continues) I wish you could call me back. I'd give anything to talk to you, but that's impossible now, so. - You okay? Sorry, I just saw you out here. Is this your truck? Are you going somewhere? - Um, leaving? - Did something happen? - It's a long story. - Sorry to hear that. - Hey, can you tell your mom and your sister that I really appreciate everything. It was really nice of them to take me in. - Maybe you should tell me what's going on. - I don't really wanna bring you into it. - Okay, bring part of me into it. - This truck is my friend's and somebody reported it stolen. - Did you steal it? - Technically I bought it for him, but did I take it without his permission? Yeah. - Maybe he would like it back. - Well, he died last week, so. - Oh. - And the person who reported it stolen, he only did that so he could find me. - And you don't wanna be found? Okay, so what? You're just gonna keep running? - I can't go back. - It sounds to me like you're never gonna be free as long as you were connected to this truck right here. - Well, you know, I don't really think I'll ever be free again, so. - All right, well, one thing at a time. We need to get rid of this truck. - Sorry? - I have a plan. - [Abby] I can't let you do that. - Well, you haven't heard the plan yet, so. - It's directly correlated to my mess. So by definition it's a bad idea, Matt. - It does have a few landmines, but I think we'll be able to navigate them. - Are you crazy? - Wondering that myself honestly, the past few months. A few people in my family have been as well. Look, you can trust me, okay? And I know you don't have anything to base that on, but you can. - No offense, but I don't really need another person in my head right now. It's really crammed and it's really messy and- - Okay. All right. That's fine. Just keep running. You know how I said I'm really good at fresh starts? Well, I am, I'm really good at, you know, making the plans to go to the next place I want to go to, like college in North Carolina, or really good job in New York City, or soul search down in Ecuador. Or even like a pit stop through here, but I realize now that I'm running from something, not to something. And sorry, all I'm saying is, maybe you need a pitstop too. You know, take some time before you make your next move, or else it might just be a wasted move. - Yeah, well, if only the world allowed timeouts. - Seems to me like sometimes the world is screaming at you to take a timeout, and maybe that's what you built here, but now you're just running right back into things without really knowing if it's the right play. One thing is for sure, we really shouldn't be standing on the side of a road next to a stolen truck for much longer. Troopers come through here all the time. Seriously, we should not be here right now. - Yeah. Okay. (soothing music continues) - Maybe you should tell me where you're taking this. - Actually, I think the less you know, the better. (soothing music continues) - One more thing. (door banging) (door banging) What are we gonna tell people happened to the truck? - Like I said, there are a few landmines to navigate. - Okay. (soothing music continues) (engine revving) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (case clicking) - Hey, you. (soothing music) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) (soothing music continues) ♪ keep my head down, don't turn around ♪ ♪ And hope it gets easier ♪ ♪ I've paid what it cost to write all my wrongs ♪ ♪ I wanna stay a believer ♪ ♪ Been on the wrong side of the tracks for too long ♪ ♪ Leave that broken road right in the rear view ♪ ♪ Gotta be strong ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, mm-mm ♪ ♪ I've paid what it cost to right all my wrongs ♪ ♪ I wanna stay a believer ♪ (birds chirping)