Ryan Lafferty

Background
When the Walker family finds a photo of an unnamed baby in the attic of their country house they come to the conclusion that their cheating father had another child with one of his mistresses. It is at first thought that this child was the daughter, Rebecca Harper, of his most well known lover, Holly Harper. It is later proven through a DNA test that Rebecca is not the sixth Walker child and when she sees the photo she explains that it is not her in the picture. However, since their father's secret password to the Ojai files were all of his children's intials, Sarah wonders who the "R" is. Kevin then recalls seeing the photo in his father's possestion years ago and he revealed that the child was one of a female friend of his named Ryan. The woman was also cheating on her husband, George, who thought Ryan was his own son. When Sarah and Kevin reveal this to Nora, she tells them to let it go and that what has happened in the past belongs in the past.

Season 3
In the third season, Ryan's existence becomes known to the Walker family but they do not know what to do with it. Sarah and Kevin desire to know more about their lost half-brother but Kitty, Tommy, Justin and Nora tell them to let it go and stop the drama. However, over time Nora grows curious about who Ryan is and eventually gets in contact with him. It is revealed that Ryan has no idea that the man he thought was his father, George Lafferty, is not. It is also discovered the Ryan's mother was killed in a car accident years ago. Nora goes to see and meet Ryan who is a student at the University of California at Berkley. Nora decides to reveal Ryan's true paternity to him after speaking to George and garnering his permission. At first, Ryan refuses to believe what Nora is saying but later goes to Pasadena to meet the Walker's. His arrival is met with mixed reactions by the family, similar to Rebecca;s first meeting with them. Ryan then finds solace in Rebecca who tells him that she has been there and nows things can be rough at first but will get better.

Over time, Ryan begins to develop romantic feelings for Rebecca even though she is dating his half-brother, Justin Walker. With is growing love for Rebecca he takes a leave of absence from school and gets a job at Ojai and begins to work closely with Rebecca to Justin's dismay. Nora's brother, Saul Holden, takes Ryan under his wing and shows him the ropes of working at Ojai, where Ryan begins to prosper and shows a real knack for the business. He is also shown to match political wits with Kitty. One eveingin in a moment of weakness Ryan and Rebecca share a kiss which Ryan mis-interprets as her affection for him but Rebecca rejects his advances and proclaims her love for Justin. Justin later discovers this and his already fragile relationship with Ryan shatters. Ryan then begins to investigate his mother's death and over time learns that she in fact commited suicide and that William was the main cause she took her own life. He then swears against the Walkers but continues to work at Ojai.

Season 4
In the fourth season, Ryan continues to work at Ojai and it seems that though he still may have some lingering feelings for Rebecca, he understands that she loves Justin and doesn't want to mess things up. It is then revealed that he has been working with a long time rival of William's and Saul's who blames William for putting him in jail and ruining his company. When Ojai buys a great deal of bad grapes and decides to make cheap boxed wine to make a big profit, Ryan tampers with the valves on the barrels and spills the wine, ruining it. At first he hides his involvement in the destruction of the wine. Later, Holly confronts him and tells him she knows he was the one who tampered with the valves after seeing he was the only one at Ojai when the wine was spilt, thanks to a security tape. She gives Ryan an chance to come clean so she can help him gain a lesser punishment because she feels he understands what he is going through. Instead, Ryan continues to to state that he had nothing to do with the incident and is innocent.

When Kitty faints at Justin and Rebecca's wedding, it is revealed that she needs a bone marrow transplant to survive and when none of the other Walker siblings are a match NOra turn to Ryan and pleads with him to get tested to save KItty's life. Ryan is brought to the hospital by a police officer due to Robert's connections. As it turns out Ryan is a match but refuses to donate his marrow to Kitty, still angry with William. Nora goes to see hima s he tries to leave town and flee for his crimes at Ojai and tells him that he shouldn't take out his hatred for William out on Kitty. Nora even goes as far as to say that Evan would wind up just like him, growing up without a mother. Ryan persists to not help Kitty and leaves but later returns after thinking about what Nora said and donates his marrow to Kitty. The story jumps to three weeks later where it's revealed that the trnasplant was a sucess and Kitty's life has been spared. Ryan is then seen joining the Walker family as they watch Robert concede his bif for governor on television.