Rene represents a lesbian couple who are forbidden to marry on public property. M.E. suspects that Colliar is having an affair.

Past: Rene and M.E. learn about sex.

Rene sends some of M.E.'s stories to a publisher friend in New York. When the publisher visits M.E. on a trip to a Southern women's writing conference, M.E.'s writing career gets a jump start. To fight off her writer's block and help her finish the first chapter of her novel, M.E. returns to Port Dixie to revisit her childhood. Meanwhile, Rene and Detective Moody find themselves falling in love, and Rene is forced to deal with Bill's ex-wife and two children.

Past: Rene and M.E. learn how difficult it is to be apart when M.E. visits her relatives in Texas. While there, M.E. must confront the horse that threw her during her last visit.

In court, Rene defends a developmentally disabled man who wants the right to be a father someday. Her case to save him from a vasectomy falls apart, however, when the man kidnaps a baby for Rene after she mentions wanting to have kids. Meanwhile, Mary Elizabeth starts her magazine internship and has a tough time fitting in with all the younger employees.

Past: Rene and M.E. sneak off to a rock concert attended by both blacks and whites; but the girls find themselves in danger when the police get involved.

Present:

M.E. and Colliar are torn when they discover that their friend and neighbor is a convicted pedophile, and they struggle to contain the hysteria that envelops the community; Rene meets opposition from her mother and the historical society when she begins to renovate her office. She's finally convinced to change her plans when her mother lets in her on some momentous events that occurred there.

Past:

Rene accidentally hits Johnny's prized baseball into the yard of a mysterious neighbor whom M.E. is convinced is a murderer living in a haunted house. When Rene gathers up the courage to retrieve the ball, both girls are in for a surprise, and a valuable lesson.