River City - 24/08/2010

Bob and Theresa are growing closer but this peaceful idyll is shattered when a figure from Theresa's past turns up at the garage. Morna is a former accomplice of Theresa's. They conceal their relationship from Bob as Morna plays the hapless female in need of a mechanic. With Bob out of sight giving her car the once-over, Morna lets Theresa know, in no uncertain terms, that she wants a return on the 5000 pounds she lent Theresa, and Bob will have to play his part. Theresa wants to protect Bob but Morna tests the water by seeing if Bob will help a damsel in distress by providing her with an under-the-counter MOT certificate. Ever the soft touch, Bob obliges, unaware of Morna's darker motives. Behind Bob's back, Theresa collars Morna only to be told that this is just the beginning. Theresa starts to prepare the ground for anything that might come from this, advising Bob that if they want to be successful they might have to cut corners from time to time. Bob makes it clear that he won't do anything illegal but he lets it rest for the moment. Soon, Theresa is summoned to a meeting with Morna who tells her that she's going to be calling on Bob's services for a job that very afternoon - and the clients are not people you'd want to mess with. Theresa lets Bob know to expect a visit, and very soon two heavies turn up at the garage with a car for him to work on. After giving it a quick inspection, Bob is furious. He confronts Theresa telling her he wants nothing to do with this. The car is a cut and shunt, a death-trap, consisting of two write-offs welded together. Bob won't be a part of anything that could end up putting innocent lives in danger. Theresa meets with Morna and pleads her case, begging her to leave Bob alone. Morna counters that unless Bob does as they ask, he'll end up in hospital. Theresa implores Bob to do the job, but he resists. Knowing that she can't change his mind, Theresa changes her tack. She escalates the argument until Bob storms out, leaving the parting shot that if the car is still there in the morning, he'll call the police. Theresa is left alone in the garage as Morna and the two heavies return. Finding that Theresa has been unable to hold up her side of the bargain, Morna watches callously as the two thugs exact retribution on Theresa with their fists. Later, as she nurses her wounds on the sofa, Theresa ignores Bob's knocks on her front door. As he shouts at her through the letterbox, he's unaware of the lengths she has gone to to protect him. In the aftermath of Hayley telling Jack that she loves him, the pair skirt around the issue, much to Robbie's amusement. Eventually Jack reciprocates, but indicates that he'd still rather keep the relationship quiet at the moment, particularly when it comes to Gordon. However, Robbie can't resist and blabs to a shocked Gordon, who asks Robbie to not let on to them that he knows. Gordon immediately starts meddling, and tells Jack he has a proposition for him: he wants him to run his new flagship salon in the city centre. Jack is stunned and ecstatic - this is a dream come true for him. He agrees, but this only stiffens his resolve to keep his and Hayley's relationship a secret from Gordon until everything is finalised. When he tells Hayley, she begins to wonder whether his feelings for her are as genuine as he makes out. Gordon meets Jack in The Ship to finalise the deal and lets his friend know there's a catch - if Jack wants the job he has to stop seeing Hayley. Jack is gobsmacked, but instead of bowing to Gordon's wishes, he grabs Hayley, kisses her passionately and announces to the entire world that he loves her. Scott is beginning to feel left out of Ruth's wedding plans as he receives an invite with no 'plus-one' on it. He confronts her and she is apologetic, but she didn't think he had a significant other at the moment. Not wanting to seem like a gooseberry, Scott lies and says he has been seeing someone, and Ruth is only to happy for him to come to the wedding as Scott's date. Frantic, Scott sets to work, trawling through his phone book but to no avail. Out of ideas, he turns to Robbie who agrees to set him up with Victor. Over lunch, Scott doesn't really warm to Victor's forthright ways, but when they bump into Ruth he keeps up the pretence of romance and they all agree to meet for drinks later. In The Tall Ship later, as they make plans for the wedding, Scott begins to worry what he's let himself in for.