Hurry! Now!
Get out of here! Go!
Go, go, go!
I'll get the last one!
Go, go!
Keep your eyes closed.
- Can I open them now? - Yes.
Okay.
What do you think?
I think it's perfect.
Hey, Mama.
Where'd you get off to so early?
Don't tell me you're at work.
No, I had to come back to my place.
Noticed a leak last week
I need to fix, and, uh, some other things.
I don't know why you're bothering with that.
There's plenty of room for y'all here at the ranch.
Yeah, well, I do still have a mortgage.
Makes me sad to think of you there.
So, uh, why don't you just hurry back?
You know? So you can hug your kids before they go to school.
I will if they let me.
_
Ready? Go!
I'm just saying... this is a big deal.
I'm one of the first women, ever,
one of the first women of color, ever.
And I know things have changed,
but you know how long change takes to happen.
I just... I do need to focus on my job.
Okay, so what you're saying is that I'm a distraction?
- A little bit. - A little bit?
All right, look here, August.
This is a strap cutter.
- Good morning. - This is a stitch groover.
- See this line here? - Honestly, Bonham,
I pit my fruit on that counter.
Well, I've been edged out of the space
my shop formerly occupied, so...
There's plenty of space for you
to take up on this ranch.
Hey. What are you doing here so early?
No one nails this smoothie quite like I do.
I brought breakfast.
Eh, you kind of missed the boat on that one.
Stella Blue!
Hey.
Soccer.
Big game tonight.
Yeah. No, yeah.
Uh, yeah. Of course.
Uh, hey, where is my coffee mug?
I've only had the same mug here for 17 years.
You know, you make a good point.
This has always been your home, right?
That's why I thought you'd be happy out in the farmhouse.
It's great what you've done,
but it's not our house.
Your children have been here nearly a year.
- A little stability. Think about that. - I am thinking.
W-What I'm thinking is that we should
ease back into things on our own terms, Mama.
You know, back to normal and all that.
But thank you, of course.
Does it even matter to you where we want to live?
I got to go. Uncle Liam?
- I can take you. - Uh, we kind of hit a groove.
Yeah, she's just like that lately.
She actually goes back to the old house sometimes.
- Really? - Yeah, uh, to think about stuff, I guess.
But I'm good wherever you are, Dad.
Great.
_
Uh, you know, actually, I got to get to school, too.
We're starting that one project, "What Texas Means to Me".
Oh, yes, I remember that project.
- You want to grab lunch later? - Yeah, yeah.
Come on, Augie, let's go.
Well...
Back to normal.
You find anything else, you call me. Okay?
Morning.
Quite the circus we find ourselves in, huh?
A ranch hand died from injuries caused by the fire,
longtime employee named Matt Harmon.
Fire's no way to go.
Okay, so targeted fire at a rich guy's estate.
Are we looking for an arsonist?
It seems like. Also, another casualty from the fire
was Texas Nightshade, prize racehorse.
Is that Manchester James is talking to?
- Yep. - Eh, he was always good at this part.
Reassuring, smoothing things over.
After you messed things up?
Uh, Mr. Manchester,
there's two of my best Rangers,
Ramirez and Walker.
Appreciate y'all coming.
Just makes me sick what happened to Matt.
He grew up on this ranch.
- Just pulling things together. - How do you mean, sir?
Eh, Matt was just out of prison,
- but he was... - He was a good man.
He didn't deserve this.
Neither did Texas Nightshade.
Jed here's our jockey,
He'd have taken that title.
- You talk to Dan Hutchinson yet? - Jed.
- I'm sorry, who? - A bleeding heart down the road.
He bid on Texas Nightshade at auction and lost.
He always struck me as a bitter man.
All right, we'll be in touch, sir.
Thank you, Rangers.
Thank you.
Always good to see your face.
Be even better if you'd shaved it.
Or worn the white hat.
You're the boss now, James.
Aren't we making some changes around here?
It's Captain James,
and reform doesn't mean relax.
And I don't recall
inviting you to join us here this morning.
Oh, I called him, sir.
Well, thank you for being thorough, Ramirez,
but unfortunately, your partner here is not currently a Ranger.
Wait, what are you talking about?
Like you said, we're gonna be making some changes around here,
which means, we are gonna be following the rules to a T.
Which means...
You're past due on your recertification,
Until you pass all the tests, I got to keep you off the field.
Maybe you should've shaved.
Hey, come on, James. You know I'm squared away.
- Captain James. - Right.
And you seem to be under the impression
that this is a discussion that we're having.
It's my first year as captain.
I'm not gonna make a habit out of letting things slide.
Things are different, man.
Trying to make them different, anyway.
Why you think I'm in this office?
Uh, hell, you got me.
I mean, I thought you'd be in Santorini by now.
But if you want progress
or whatever, that-that's fine, too.
- Can you be serious for a second? - Yeah.
A Texas Ranger is supposed to be the last stop.
We're the ones who weed out the bad seeds, right?
- That's right. - How do you think we've been doing?
We need to do better.
So, I can't cut you any slack on this or on anything.
We got a chance to be on the right side
of history for a change, and I'm not gonna blow it.
So you can either get with me on this
or you can keep pissing me off.
Roger that.
But let me actually put in the work.
You know I'm better off if I'm busy,
Ramirez just started.
Honestly, I think this is for the best.
I think it's good timing.
You want to talk to me about why you went looking
into the footage from the border control beacons again?
Something's not right.
You know, I, uh,
I already talked to Liam about this.
Listen, I didn't exactly give myself time to think on it
- when I was closing down the rodeo ring, and now... - Listen to me. Listen to me.
Carlos Mendoza confessed to Emily's murder.
We put him in jail almost a year ago.
What are you doing?
Why you digging around now?
Well, didn't you hear yourself a minute ago?
Sometimes we get things wrong.
Buddy, your family has been waiting on you all this time.
That is where you can get things right.
And, look, it's on me that you were even on that case.
But now...
as your boss, and more importantly, as your friend,
it is my responsibility to make sure
that you're stable on this job.
Yeah, well, you know what?
Turns out you're, uh...
...pretty good at this.
- Ranger. - Hey, I heard.
Okay, so you know we need to take this test together.
Right? Partner work, accountability.
Look, I'm fine. I just took this test.
But are you...
I'm... I'm fine.
I'm just... I'm-I'm, uh,
a little testy.
You see what I did there? I...
- It's about mood but also the recertifications... - Yep. Got it.
Ranger Ramirez,
Mr. Hutchinson left you a message, called you back.
"Heard about Texas Nightshade. Serves Manchester right.
- That horse should have been freed years ago..." - Hey, Connie,
you know you can just forward the messages to us?
I'm practicing for the experimental stage reading
I'm gonna do over at UT.
Of course. Okay.
Hutchinson's out of the country.
- Mm-hmm. - Convenient?
- Or guilty. - Wait.
We're not having this conversation.
See you on the training grounds.
ICE is sniffing around.
Can I do anything to help?
Bring it in!
Okay, girls, big night tonight.
Recruiters are gonna be here
and they've heard about a lot of you.
Maggie, you're goalie first half.
Stella, center back.
I thought I was benched.
It's a big game.
- Okay, is Bel still benched? - Stella, don't.
You got a problem with this, Walker, we can talk in private.
No, Coach, I don't have a problem.
You don't have a center back.
Wait, wait!
You don't have to do this.
It's gross that he would treat you any differently
than me when we did the same thing!
Be real, Stella.
It's not new.
I know, so I'm not going back on that field
to win him a game while you have to pay for it.
You start same as I do.
If you're not playing,
well, neither am I.
Thanks for signing up.
Hey!
I'm Ruby, AV club.
You thinking about what to do for the Texas project?
Uh, my mom was always into cameras.
So I've been thinking about learning.
That's a cool way to personalize the assignment.
Most kids think it's cute to go film the rodeo.
I don't need to catch another barrel race.
Well, I... I ribboned twice, so...
What I'm saying is... let's make your mama proud.
Cordell Walker.
Rusty, are you?
Guess we're about to find out.
Load and make ready.
Holster your weapon.
- Shooter, are you ready? - Shooter ready.
Still got it.
- Shooter, are you ready? - Shooter ready.
Holster your weapon.
You strapped in?
Oh, I know who I'm riding with.
All righty.
Oh, whoa, whoa, okay, let's...
How'd I do? Did I pass?
Not bad.
Morning.
Hey.
You ready?
There we go.
- You all right there? - Yeah. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
- Always. Whoa, whoa, boy. - Time to be the rider.
Walker, you okay?
Back in town
and already slacking off on the job, huh?
Absolutely not.
See, as it turns out, I am no longer a Ranger.
- I get the sense you're being dramatic. - Yeah, a little bit.
I just got to take a test to be recertified.
It's really standard.
Why are you getting all day drinky about it?
Well, because I couldn't pass a simple test
I should've been able to do in my sleep.
I'm rusty and I know it and it's mental,
I guess, but James thinks that
I might not be quite right in the head.
You know, I thought I'd be better off
if I buried myself into work, but I went off on that case
and I couldn't think straight.
And now I'm home, and I-I-I can't think
about anything else... but her.
And what happened.
I can hear her laugh sometimes.
I can hear her changing the stations,
second-guessing my directions.
I can taste those overnight oats she brought in the car.
The overnight oats... that's right, that she...
she was very keen on the overnight oats.
Almost made me want to be a healthy person.
I think about that night, obviously.
You know, those nights you and Em went down to the border,
I mapped it out with her.
I told her where the cameras were.
I told her how to not get caught when leaving food and water.
And now that's the same damn reason
I don't know what happened.
- No, you know what happened. - No, I mean the little things.
Like the way they found her.
Poker chip... why'd she have a poker chip?
And-and the way they found her eyes.
They were closed. It seemed personal.
I closed her eyes.
- What? - I just...
I couldn't leave her like that.
Thank you.
I know you're turning over questions in your head.
But to that,
at least, you have an answer.
Bret. You knew that Cordy wouldn't show up.
You read our shared calendar.
You decided you couldn't miss out
on the pan-fried Hen o' the Woods.
I am not really going to enjoy this.
It feels ill-earned.
The thing that kills me is that you seem surprised.
Yeah, he's going through some stuff.
You know how many months you've been saying that?
And that was before he was back in town, come on.
I don't want to spend my lunch hour having this conversation.
I love you.
Okay? So I just need you to shun your family
and only love and care about me
for as long as we both shall live.
I think it's a perfectly reasonable request.
And of course they can come visit us in New York.
You hate Austin?
The queso is literally killing me.
Babe, we will all succumb
to the sweet death of queso.
Do you want to try?
You focus like this.
Oh, cool.
We tried, you know, to work through things with them,
but August...
he's sensitive, you know?
He keeps a lot inside, like his father.
When's the last time you...
checked in with your son?
Are you still bothered he's looking
to fix up his house?
- Well... - I mean, shouldn't he?
It's his responsibility, just like this place is mine.
Well, I would hope that you think your family's
your responsibility, too,
and-and not just the roof that they're under.
He wants to pick up where he left off.
Don't you think he needs a fresh start?
How's moving back in with your folks fresh?
Maybe it's up to him
to decide what's stable,
what's right.
He's got to come into that on his own.
Besides...
was it so bad being stuck with just me?
Your mouth is fresh.
Ranger Ramirez. Thank God you're here.
Reporters were camped out at the clinic earlier.
Thank you for taking the time, Dr. Jamison.
Well, I don't know what to tell them.
Everybody wants to know what happened to Texas Nightshade,
what's in the autopsy report. Thing is...
that autopsy report...
- that's not Texas Nightshade. - It's not?
Nope. That's a standard workhorse.
This is Texas Nightshade two weeks ago.
Shows some swelling, possibly a fracture.
Anyway, you can see my findings in the report.
Thank you.
- Hope y'all get to the bottom of things. - The report?
That I gave to your colleague.
Tall, guy, white hat, laughs at his own jokes?
That's Walker.
Is it ever.
Hey. Went to grab some queso.
- Mm, I can see that. - Yeah.
Mm. Maybe someone staged a fire
to make it look like Texas Nightshade was dead.
Wonder why.
Maybe he wasn't gonna win.
His latest X-rays show he has swelling on his left hind leg.
He was injured.
So maybe Manchester himself?
But if the horse was injured,
wouldn't you at least put him out to stud?
Why get rid of him?
Well, too many bets in, wanted to save face.
Collect the insurance, call it a day.
Yeah, but where would the horse be now?
You're not on this case.
Okay? I think you could get into actual trouble
if you're caught working on it, which means I'll get in trouble.
Then just consider me a consultant.
Micki, Micki, please, please.
Look, I don't know where I fit if it's not here.
This is all I know how to do now,
so please just... just let me do it.
Off the record. Whatever you like.
Why not just finish the test, make it official?
Yeah, well,
Dr. Jamison told me I should carry a sugar cube.
To gain the horse's trust.
Right.
I've been looking through Matt Harmon's file.
The, uh, ranch hand who died.
Just finished a five-year sentence.
Girl waiting with a ring on her finger.
Didn't come from the best family,
and like Manchester said, he grew up on the ranch.
Hey.
You know how you can see a horse's soul
in its eyes?
Part of me thinks I'm-I'm just stuck.
No...
place to fit back here.
The horse, the saddle, the...
Just makes me remember that night.
I'm guessing you'll always remember.
So, how's the boyfriend?
Anyway...
Can we stop standing around cramming queso?
Where does one find a prize racehorse?
Hey.
Connie just sent word.
Manchester's private jet is said to be wheels-up in an hour.
On a separate but related note,
a horse was spotted wandering around downtown.
Manchester's our guy,
We got no case until we find Texas Nightshade.
Okay. I'll rope in Captain.
We stop him or we'll lose our window.
Guy's a billionaire.
We let him fly off, he'll have time to lawyer up,
- or worse, just disappear to Belize. - Doesn't sound so bad.
If we don't have the proof
that Nightshade's not dead,
we don't have the case.
Okay, what are you thinking?
Might not be a Ranger, but I'm still a cowboy.
You find Manchester, I'll get Texas Nightshade.
Yeah, I know.
All right. Come on.
Attaboy, attaboy.
That's right. That's right.
Hey, you ready?
Let's do this.
Walker!
- I'd love to help, sir. - You're certified.
Jump!
I really hope I don't have to push you this hard
to pass two years from now.
Turns out the jockey confessed.
He was in on it with Manchester,
but he couldn't go through with it.
Loved the horse too much.
He let him run free.
So, what, he figured no one would bat an eye
at a prize horse wandering through downtown Austin?
Well, he thought it was a crime
to give up on a thoroughbred
just 'cause it was injured.
How about that, huh?
- Can I talk to you? - Mm!
Liam! Hey, stinker.
Don't be cute. You missed lunch.
Shoot, right. That was today, uh...
We, uh, we had to do this recertification thing,
and, uh...
...some other stuff.
- Uh-huh. - Yeah, we got to go, right?
- We got a game to get to. - Well, yeah.
I tried to call you. You didn't answer
your phone and I knew you'd be here.
I came to tell you that she's not there.
- What do you mean? - I mean that your daughter
never showed up to her soccer game.
Uh, I'm sure that you can figure it out from here.
Yeah, I know where she is.
Hey, partner?
Care to tie up one more loose end with me?
Sure.
Bel?
- Hey. - Hey.
Maybe this wasn't the best idea.
We should've just gone to the game.
I wanted to get your mind off stuff.
Maybe you're trying to get your mind off stuff, too.
Oh, my God.
Your dad is here.
Two Texas Rangers is kind of the last thing I need,
but... thanks anyway.
Hey there, *erbean.
- Don't. - I'll break it up.
Welcome home.
What in God's name are you doing?
Being a disappointment, I guess.
Why'd you ditch your soccer game?
Why should I get to play in the game when I messed up?
Maybe it shouldn't be so easy to get a second chance.
Like you.
A second chance?
You think I got a second cha...
It's not like I stopped being your father.
Look, I'm here now. Okay?
I'm trying to fix things, literally.
Whatever you and your friends did to this house...
It's not even our home anymore,
but I'm supposed to treat it like it's a museum?
It is a home. It could be a home.
And listen, I know Mawline tried to create a space for us,
but this...
This is ours.
What makes it ours, huh?
Are you... are you cooking the Sunday supper?
Oven on all day, singing in the kitchen?
Are you leaving books on my bed that are important to read,
and then making time with me to talk about them?
Are you teaching August the guitar?
Are you taking us to the ranch to help birth a calf?
Or are you just gone?
Like always?
Being back isn't enough.
Being back doesn't make it normal.
You shouldn't get a second chance
because you weren't here the first time around.
I wish Uncle Liam had gotten custody of us when he tried.
What are you talking about?
Stella!
I take it you found her.
What the hell was that for?
You tried to take my damn kids!
You had no right!
Their mother is dead
and they don't hear from you for three months at the end?
And I know it was rough. It was rough for everybody.
But you, you went dark.
That is negligence.
Or-or worse.
Mom and Dad agreed...
Oh, Mom and Dad agreed?
What the hell, Liam?
Is everyone in on this?
These are my kids!
Well, I didn't want them to be orphans! Did you?
I would never take them.
I wanted to protect them, for them to be with family.
Because we are all that they've got.
Tell me that you wouldn't want that.
Because even now,
I mean, you're not here.
- They need you. - Come on. I'm here.
- Liam, I am here! - You are chasing ghosts.
I don't have a right to be thorough about my damn wife?
Some things don't add up.
Was-was she a target?
Was the poker chip a-a...
I don't know, a calling card?
- Or-or... - What answer...
what answer could possibly satisfy you?
It's never gonna make any kind of sense
that she is gone.
The damn poker chip is...
is not gonna bring back your wife.
You hear me?
You will lose everything, all of that,
if you don't stop searching for something that's not there.
Hey, kiddo.
- You know, your uncle and I... - It's from Mom.
She was gonna give that to you on Father's Day.
She, uh, kept a few of the chips
so she could show people.
You know, I'm turned around
about a lot of things right now.
- And, uh... - I know.
We'll figure this out.
Did you cook?
Yep.
My mom's chicken Chile Verde.
I know I've never cooked you anything more than MREs...
Mm, don't get me wrong,
you did wonders with that jalapeño cheese sauce.
I knew what I was doing
the day I asked you to be my date on the supply run.
Hey, Trey?
This morning I skipped the part where I said
how happy I am that you're here.
And that it scares the crap out of me.
In a way that I probably need to be scared.
Okay.
I have this new job,
and I want to get it right.
You and me? I never had that before.
And I want to get that right, too.
Same.
So we don't know what we're doing yet.
No.
Who cares?
It's not like we're reporting to someone.
I'm not gonna re-up.
I thought you were career.
Me, too.
Because my dad was.
And now I'm trying to figure out
what I want next.
Morning.
Hey, is your brother awake?
Hours ago.
Working on some school thing.
Stella, have you seen my mug anywhere?
_
It just kept reminding me that you were gone.
One day I just put it away.
You know what?
I got an idea.
All right.
You choose.
You ready?
Let's do it.
Hey. Hey, it's okay. It's okay. Listen.
Look, look... Hey. Stop.
It's okay.
Just 'cause it's broken
doesn't mean we can't take it with us. All right?
Come here. Come here.
Come here.
Hey, Gramps.
Hey, darlin'.
Made you something.
How'd you know?
Sometimes getting back to normal might just mean starting fresh.
Saw the old one in the back of your truck
all these months, gathering dust.
Seemed like it was from a different life.
Yeah, well, it was.
She gave it to me, so...
You know, every big birthday that I ever had...
the important ones...
my daddy made me something.
I missed your birthday this last year.
It seems like it was a big one.
It's beautiful, Daddy.
Well...
It'll do.
Dad.
Uh, it's not finished yet, but want to watch it?
Of course.
I was just thinking about Mom.
She was just starting to teach me.
So I... wanted to start with what she saw.
Okay.
go ahead and roll it, buckaroo.
_
Stinky feet!
Come over here, buddy!
You're doing great. Keep it up.
You got it.
All right, you ready?