The Night We Lost Him

Nora and Sam go to see Joe. Now that they know more of the story, Joe fills in the details for them. He explains that Liam had only ever really loved Grace and that he offered her a job at Noone right after he bought the company. He wanted to help her into a career path that would make use of the writing skills she cherished and the kind of work she could have done if she hadn’t been forced to quit her graduate program. Cory, who changed her name to Grace, excelled in her role, and Liam adored working alongside her. He always meant to leave her the company and was gutted when she died. It was only then that he realized his sons deserved it. 

However, he had always intended to leave Windbreak to Nora; according to Joe, he knew that Nora would use her design skills to turn the property into something amazing. Joe admits to being romantically involved with Cece, but after everything else that’s been revealed, it now feels like a non-issue. Sam briefly tries to accuse Joe of their father’s murder, pointing out how upset he must have been to be cut out of the company, but Joe waves him off. Nora thinks about the night her father died and realizes that she knows who was probably there with him.

The narrative flashes back to five years ago. Liam tells Grace that he intends to leave her the company. She points out that this could out their clandestine relationship and that the company should probably go to his children. He notes that Sam and Tommy will be minority shareholders and tells her that he doesn’t care. She also points out that she is not much younger than he is and that him leaving her the company might not be the security he thinks: Her tenure there without him would likely not be long, and at that point, the company would pass into the hands of someone else who might not remain true to his vision. He tells her that he does not care: They built the company together, and it should be hers.

In the present, Nora realizes that Paul killed Liam. She and Sam go to his apartment to confront him. He admits it, although he tells them that he was just angry and had shoved Liam without meaning to kill him. It was rainy, and Liam had slipped on the cliff’s wet rocks. Paul tells them that he met Grace in graduate school. She was a writer and he a photographer. He was instantly smitten, but she was aloof. Later, they reconnected, and she explained her complex relationship with Liam. He thought that he could become more important to her, but he never did.

He was spreading Grace’s ashes at Windbreak the night Liam died, per her request, but Liam surprised him—he hadn’t expected Liam to be there. He argued with Liam and shoved him without meaning to kill him. It had been an accident, of sorts, but he’d immediately fled the scene. Nora feels empathy for this man who had been so wounded by her father. She reaches out to take his hand when he finishes the story.

Sam and Nora discuss Paul, Liam, and Grace. They admit how difficult life must have been for all of them and think about their own fraught relationships. Sam realizes that he should not marry Morgan. Nora realizes how much she loves Jack.

The narrative shifts to one year ago. Liam proposes to Grace, as he does every six months or so. She declines, but she does agree to move in with him, at long last.

Back in the present, Nora is staying at Windbreak and working on a few nearby projects, including a house for Sam. He has left his job at Noone Properties to pursue something in the sports field, perhaps scouting. She goes to the restaurant that Jack is helping his friend with. She eats dinner and asks to see him. He is cautious at first. She asks him out for ice cream, which is what she did on the day they met in middle school. He laughs and agrees to go with her.