Between the Lines

At a glow-in-the-dark miniature golf course, Connie hurries to warn Penny about the blind date Penny and Wooton have arranged for her: Jason has discovered that William Winger, Wooton's new contractor, is using a fake name. But when Penny finally sees William face to face, she realizes the truth is even more awkward than a criminal on the loose. "I set you up with my ex-boyfriend!" she gasps. William is really Devon, the boyfriend who broke up with Penny over voicemail and vanished from her life without an explanation. Penny insists on playing golf anyway, smacking golf balls with alarming force while Devon stammers that he came back to Odyssey because he cares about her. Overwhelmed, he apologizes and hurries away.

Meanwhile, Jason and his sister Jana are in the town of Richland, trying to learn more about Robin Mallory, the famous author Jana has just started working for as a publicity representative. Nobody in town has ever heard of Robin, and the trail seems cold until Jason spots the Stelmock School of Spiritual Studies on a free tourist map. He remembers that Robin thanked Greta and Stan Stelmock in the first printing of her first book, and his old detective instincts kick in. At the school, a cheerful trainee psychic named Silvia greets them by confidently announcing their names are Patrick and Judy, which they are not. She explains that the school was founded by Jillian Stelmock, an author who donates much of her book money to train psychics. One look at Jillian's photograph settles it: Jillian Stelmock and Robin Mallory are the same person.

Jana wants to sort out her feelings alone, but Robin calls and invites her over. Robin freely admits everything. Her editor advised her to write under a pen name because readers react badly to her other profession. Then she turns the conversation to Jana herself, claiming she sensed a spiritual power in Jana from the moment they met. She urges Jana to abandon her old beliefs, develop her inner abilities, and let Robin train her to become a gifted psychic.

Back at Whit's End, Wooton tracks down a discouraged Devon and learns the real reason he disappeared: Devon is hopelessly afraid of conflict. He cannot even send back a wrong order at a restaurant, and he could not bear to hurt Penny by breaking up in person. Wooton gently points out that telling Penny the truth might finally give them both closure, and he offers to come along. At Penny's door, she grants Devon exactly two minutes to talk. Devon confesses that he returned to Odyssey to make sure the man Penny was marrying truly deserved her, and that he took the job at Wooton's house under a false name to check him out. His verdict is that Wooton is perfect for Penny. After all, Wooton actually understands her favorite color "purquoise," her habit of speaking French in a Jamaican accent when she is tired, and her plan to name a dog Dinnertime. Penny softens, admits Devon is right, and tells him, with a smile, "So, thank you for breaking my heart."

While all this unfolds, Whit suffers another mysterious dizzy spell and calls Dr. Lily Graham. She can find nothing physically wrong and carefully suggests the cause may be spiritual. Whit admits he has felt this kind of thing before, like a darkness pressing down on him, though he cannot explain what is triggering it now. When Jason arrives and mentions that Robin Mallory runs a psychic school and that Jana is working with her, and that no one can reach Jana, Whit understands at once. He insists they stop everything and pray for her right now.

Jana soon walks in with her own news. Robin explained herself, then offered to train Jana as a psychic, and for a few minutes the offer was genuinely tempting. But a very bad feeling suddenly came over her, and she realized she needed to have nothing more to do with the woman. When her father and brother tell her they were praying at that very moment, Jana is amazed, since they did not even know where she was. Whit tells her that God gives discernment to different people in different ways, and that it came to her exactly when she needed it most.

Later, the friends gather at Whit's End. Penny reflects that she never prayed about her relationship with Devon, while she, Wooton, and Connie have all prayed over her engagement, and that the more time she spends with God, the easier decisions become. Whit announces that his health scare has prompted him to take a few weeks away, perhaps visiting Jana in California, to be alone with God and listen. He promises to be back for the wedding. The mood turns silly when Wooton campaigns for a powder blue tuxedo with silver sequins, and Penny takes his side, leaving Connie to wail that she has totally lost control of the wedding plans. Whit just chuckles and asks, "Did you ever think you were in control?"