short note on ann deever

Ann Deever is Steve Deever's daughter. She turned her back on her father after his conviction, was once engaged to Larry Keller, and is the one person who holds the secret to his death. She is a huge threat to Kate, and she uses her knowledge to keep the older woman in check.

After Larry's disappearance (Ann knows it was suicide) she keeps communication open with his brother Chris. They fall in love, and Ann returns from her self-imposed exile in New York to marry him. Their problem is how to break the news to Joe and Kate.

Because of her experiences, Ann is not the little girl that Kate would prefer her to be. She is strong, and she has the ammunition to thwart Kate's manipulative tendencies. Her father was wrongly convicted, and although she may have run away once due to shame and anger, she won't make that mistake again. She will not give up the thing she loves because of other people's lies.

Ann has kept a letter from Larry, and she holds onto it like the truth because that is what it represents. Larry's letter holds the truth; it insinuates her father innocence, and holds the secret of Larry's own death. Even when faced with the truth of Joe's lies, Ann doesn't really want to reveal the letter or point a finger at her future father-in-law. She's willing to keep the family secret if Kate will do something for her in return, "I'll do nothing about Joe, but you're going to do something for me. [Directly to Mother] You made Chris feel guilty with me… I'd like you to tell him that Larry is dead and that you know it. You understand me?"

Up until this point. all Ann really want is the family's blessing to marry Chris. She knows that Kate has set up all kinds of road blocks, and she has no problem calling her out on it, but she's also being protective. She doesn't want to pull out the letter; she doesn't want to "try" the parents in front of the son, but she will if it's necessary, and she allows Kate to make that decision for herself.