Steve Chambers

**Steve Chambers** is Luke's high-profile dad, whose influence in town is far-reaching.

## Early History

Steve Chambers married Jane and they had two sons together, Brent and Luke in Chatham, Washington. They hosted Christmas parties at their mansion and were happy together. Steve became a successful real estate mogul in the town. Jane died in 1991, which devastated the family.

## Biography

### Summer 1999

On July 16th, Debbie brings a file to Steve. She ran the numbers on the Northland project and thinks it's a big swing and is worried about the risk. He asks if she thinks it's too big of a risk, but she doesn't, just that it's a high-flier. He agrees and appreciates the caution, but he's moving on this. Northland could have a real impact on the town. It could bring in business all year round and put Chatham on the map. She notices the pictures of his family on his desk, smiling that Luke was over at the house earlier. Neither of them can believe their kids are going to be seniors. He's lining up investors and has a call with a congressman that he answers teasingly, scheduling a rematch as Debbie walks off.

### Winter 1999

On December 15th, Debbie meets with Steve in a parking lot. He apologizes for being late as the Northland investors are starting to get cold feet. He could get new ones but they're already losing so much summer foot traffic to Pine Cove. The Northland deal was supposed to recoup all of it, maybe more. She suggests hitting them with the Chambers charm, but he thinks that's gone. She thinks it hardly is, as half the women in this town would ditch their husbands if he looked at them twice. He questions it and they flirt before he kisses her.

Steve entertains wealthy visitors at his house when Debbie arrives. He compliments her and they kiss. He likes her shoes and smiles that he has excellent taste. He's outdone himself with the party this time. Wayne Bright said some of the Northland investors were coming, so he's pulled out all the stops. She nods over to where Megan and Luke are laughing together. He thinks it's puppy love but she thinks it could run deeper than that. He gives her a look - they have their whole futures ahead of them and are a little young to be getting tied down. He notices Wayne arrives and leads Debbie over as she agrees to help him close the deal.

Luke shakes hands with Principal Bowers, who heard from his dad how excited he is to be following in his and Brent's footsteps at Branson. Luke eyes his father when he says it's the Chambers way. Steve is sure Luke will love their great business program. Debbie interrupts to take Steve and Bowers away.

Steve calls everyone's attention to thank them for coming. When he and his late wife Jane started throwing the parties, it was just a handful of friends with Brent and Luke as babies. Brent is now at Branson and Luke is following in his footsteps this fall, raising his glass as he expresses his pride. Megan rubs Luke's arm supportively. This year's Christmas movie is one of Jane's favorites and one that holds a special place in Steve's heart as well. The movie starts and Megan asks Luke if he wants to go inside, which relieves him. The sounds of gasps and moans distract them, pulling their attention to the screen where a sex tape is projected. It features a girl that everyone realizes is Isabella, because she's wearing the same pink sweater as in the video. The boy in the video isn't seen for a while, and Steve shouts to turn off the film while everyone murmurs. The boy in the video lifts his head, revealing himself as Luke. Megan looks at her boyfriend while Isabella raises her eyes. Steve shouts at Luke to turn it off and he runs over to the VCR, ejecting it. Megan rushes after him and then turns to stare at Isabella, while Kellie sneers to Isabella that she's some best friend.

On December 18th, someone breaks into the Chambers house to destroy a bunch of VHS tapes, but also shatters a window to get inside. Steve kicks aside the ruined tapes as he steps over the glass, confronting his sons who are on the couch. The tape is the gift that keeps on giving. He demands to know what comes next if someone will burn his house down. He asks if it's the only tape. Luke suggests Steve ask his number one son, and Brent starts to complain about Luke until Steve shouts to ask if that's only tape. Brent says it is though Luke calls it a lie. Steve tells him to stop talking and to clean up the mess. He's done cleaning up their messes. Luke stops him from leaving to say he's sorry. Steve suggests he says that to Megan. They have no idea what it might cost their family.

The next day, Steve and Brent are called down to the police station. Sheriff Myer has a shoebox open on his desk. Four tapes are inside, each from a different holiday. He asks Brent if these are all the tapes, and Steve tells him to think long and hard about his answer. He seems to have had trouble with that answer in the past. Brent admits that's all of them. Myer reminds him it's a criminal matter as some of the kids are underage. Steve promises that his punishment will be swift, but it's also a criminal matter. Steve insists it's more of a judgment call. Similar to when Myer's roof was leaking and the county didn't have a new one in the budget, so Steve put a new one on and kept him dry. Or when Bonnie was six months behind on rent they worked out a payment plan. That, if they're being honest, was an amnesty. Or when Steve scraped Myers off the floor of Steve's bar after he lost a big bet and made sure he got home safe. Myer appreciates all of that but is trying to do his job. Steve gets that, but when he tells Myer something is being taken care of because his word means something. He instructs Myer to get rid of the tapes, Steve will take care of Brent, and the story ends there. Myer repositions himself while Brent smirks from the couch.

Steve and Brent get in their car outside the station. Brent finds it amusing that Myer looked like he was going to shit his pants. Suddenly angry, Steve grabs Brent by the back of the neck and forces his head down. He repeats how Brent told him it was one tape, which is bad enough, but there are six. He demands to know what's wrong with him, roughly releasing Brent's neck. He thought he didn't have to worry about Brent because he was on a good path. His mother would be horrified. He was this close to letting the sheriff throw the book at him, warning him to not let Steve regret it. He asks twice if he understands and Brent does.

Luke comes home to his father sitting at the table, calling him over. When Steve was in the army they called guys like Brent Delta Sierra's. Luke guesses it means dipshits, which is close enough. They'll probably have his back when push comes to shove, but anything less than a crisis, they tend to let people down. But Luke is straight-up, honest, and wears his heart on his sleeve. Along with his size eleven Converse, Luke realizes his shoebox gave away that it was he who dropped off those tapes at the station. Luke starts to explain but Steve cuts him off. Brent is Delta Sierra, dipshit, and what he did was reprehensible, but he would never intentionally humiliate the family as Luke did. Luke wanted to see him get punished. Steve reminds him their business is private and he doesn't litigate it in public ever. He gets up and walks away with his briefcase.

On December 23rd, Debbie, Isabella, and Megan stay at the Chambers House after a pipe bursts in their home. The girls arrive at the Chambers' house. Megan and Isabella recap that they won't mention the tape or anything that happened, leaving them little to talk about it. Isabella tells Megan she should have taken the money, which upsets her. Isabella quickly says she was joking, but doesn't think it should be that complicated. Megan knows, but money always complicates things. Steve lets the girls inside and Debbie explains that Lily is at a sleepover. Luke slyly tells Megan to sneak into his room for a sleepover later. Steve calls for Brent to come down and greet their guests, but the boy doesn't show. The kids head upstairs while Debbie asks Steve if he's okay. He is, but Wayne Bright pulled out of the Northland deal because he can't do business with people who don't share his values. It's because of the tape and it doesn't matter, because someone like that spikes a deal and it sends a message to other investors. They're dead in the water.

Brent, Luke, Isabella, and Megan talk before dinner about him being grounded because of his pitiful snitch of a brother. Luke calls him out for the pervy shit he did. As they argue over the table and he makes a crude remark to Isabella, Megan shouts that she used to make excuses for him. That he was just damaged but he went too far this time. He tells them to get over it as it's not that big of a deal. He accuses Isabella of being a slut and banging Luke behind Megan's back. Steve and Debbie enter the room and Steve shuts down the fighting, telling everyone to sit.

The awkward dinner continues in silence until Debbie admits to thinking Brent owes Isabella and Luke an apology. Steve instructs Brent to do that, and he does apologize for what he did. Megan urges him to keep going, though Steve cuts her off as he did apologize. Debbie thinks some genuine remorse would be great. Luke just wants to have a nice dinner, something Steve seconds. Megan refuses as she wants Brent to admit to filming those girls without telling them. Luke asks Megan if they have to do this now and Debbie realizes there was more than one tape. Megan tells him there is and that Steve must be so proud. Debbie is horrified to learn that Steve knew and tells Brent his mother would be so ashamed. She can't believe Steve isn't more upset. He admits Brent made a serious lapse in judgment but has been punished - end of story. She rebuttals that he filmed those kids without their knowledge without consent. That is more than a lapse in judgment that is criminal. Steve doesn't want her to critique his parenting in front of his kids. She accuses him of letting Brent coast for a few months, so Steve offers to talk privately. She refuses as the kids can handle this. Steve had Jack back off so it wouldn't go on his permanent record. Debbie thinks real lasting consequences might just be what he needs. Steve coldly asks when she became the morality police since Keith got her pregnant and she didn't marry him twice. Isabella stands up for Debbie, telling Steve not to talk to her like that. The trio bickers and Debbie accuses Steve of sweeping things under the rug to protect his social status. She knows reputation is everything to him, but this is what he gets when he prioritizes the Chambers name over his family, hoping it's worth it. She leaves the table as Megan smirks proudly.

The next morning, Megan comes downstairs in the Landry house to find plumbers hard at work. Debbie reveals that Steve sent them as his way of apologizing.

### Summer 2000

On July 16th, a body is found at the lake by a fisherman. Steve arrives with Brent. He pushes past the crime scene tape despite Sheriff Myers trying to stop him. He unzips the bag, pausing before identifying Luke. Brent starts to get emotional as Debbie holds his arm.

On July 18th, the Landry family and Megan arrive at the Chambers house looking for Steve. Brent is there, telling them that Steve got called down to the station. Luke didn't just drown, they think he was murdered. The news scares Megan and Isabella.

Debbie finds Steve on the porch about to smoke a cigarette, ruining eight years of not smoking. He admits to cheating once before, on the first anniversary of Jane's death. She doesn't know where to begin but is there for him anytime. He doesn't think she'll want to be. It's like he's cursed, being punished for something. First Jane, now Luke. She tells him not to go there, but it's hard not to. Even when all those weeks and months went by with no word, Steve kept thinking Luke would come home.

On July 19th, the ballistics report on the gun that shot Luke comes back, revealing it belongs to Steve Chambers. There were three sets of fingerprints on the gun - Luke's, Megan's, and Isabella's. That night, Steve visits Debbie with a casserole, amusing her, because she's pretty sure she's supposed to be the one giving him food. He could open a store with all the casseroles he has. He comes in and sets it on the table. He's holding up, but it's been a bit of a blur. The nights are worse and he doesn't think he'll sleep again until he finds out who killed Luke. Jack told him about the fingerprints on the gun. Debbie, incredulous, asks if he thinks the girls did it, but he knows they were up at the cabin with Luke last summer. They were probably playing around with the gun. There is one strange thing though. Jack said the cabin was cleaned lately, but he hasn't been there in months and neither has Brent. He wonders who did clean it. Megan eavesdrops from her bedroom.

## References

1. ↑ In September 1999, Brent says his mother died eight years ago; 1991.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.01 - "Welcome to Chatham"
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 2.02 - "Ride or Die"
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 2.03 - "Bloody Knuckles"
5. ↑ 2.04 - "Springing a Leak"