Bringing Up Bates"Road Trip Romance"
- Carlin drives more than three hours to visit boyfriend Evan Stewart just outside Nashville, Tennessee. Katie goes along as a chaperone. “I picked Katie to come with me because she’s really bubbly, and it was a chance for us to get to hang out, since I’m always at school,” says Carlin.
- After dinner with his family, Evan takes Carlin and Katie to his older sister Ashley’s house. She and husband Daniel are pregnant with their second child. (Evan has four sisters and one brother.)
- Daniel plays piano while Evan and Carlin sing a duet to a song Evan wrote about loving again after your heart has been broken. Carlin says she can relate to the song, although she is a bit nervous to sing in front of Evan’s family, who have a little family gospel group.
- Evan takes Carlin, Josie, and two of his siblings to Rocketown in downtown Nashville to take skateboarding lessons.
- Katie decides to sit on the sidelines and be entertained, but she is soon joined by Carlin, who has twisted her ankle. “If you get joy out of watching people fall, this is the best sport ever,” says Carlin.
- “To sum it all up, they all should have listened to the wise Katie,” announces Katie.
- Later, Carlin and Katie join in on a birthday celebration with Evan’s family at another sister’s house.
- Evan’s parents, Paul and Denese Stewart, sit down with them and ask about their relationship. “I really care about Carlin more than I’ve ever cared about any other girl in the world,” says Evan. “So I’m just anxious to see what the Lord does.”
- “I think it’s going great,” says Denese. “I know they’re taking it slow, and we’re just praying that it will continue to grow. And they might marry one day. We’ll just see.”
- Back in Rocky Top, Zach, Whitney, Warden, and Lawson take Jackson driving. “Jackson had called me and wanted me to take him driving, which was super special to me, just the special bond that we’ve had growing up together,” says Zach.
- Jackson has done some driving on the family’s property, so he turned out to be a smooth driver. “I’m super proud of Jackson, just watching him mature and grow up,” says Zach.