The Best of Me

After returning from his run, Dawson visits Dr. Bonner’s grave. Afterward, he sees Amanda in the local coffee shop. Amanda is frustrated about her mother’s unsympathetic and rigid opinions on life. She calls Frank, has a chat, and hangs up feeling guilty.

After Amanda finishes her call, she and Dawson have a pleasant chat; they note that the town has not changed at all, and Amanda expresses her fondness for the place. Dawson says he saw Abee earlier that morning. Amanda confides that she always felt safe with Dawson because she knew he loved her and would do anything to protect her.

At the attorney’s office, Amanda and Dawson are shocked to learn that Tuck’s body has already been cremated. Morgan Tanner, the attorney, reveals to them that Tuck wishes them to go to his cottage in Vandemere the next day and scatter his ashes there. Tanner hands them three sealed envelopes that Tuck left for them. One is to be read before scattering his ashes and the remaining two are for Amanda and Dawson, respectively, to be read at a suitable time after the ceremony. Tanner informs them that they are free to keep any of Tuck’s possessions and that Tuck has arranged for the money from the sale of his property to be donated to the Pediatric Cancer Center at the Duke University Hospital. Amanda is touched to hear this. Dawson asks why Tuck is particular that they go to the cottage only the next day, but Tanner refuses to answer him.

Amanda and Dawson return to Tuck’s place to have lunch. There, she opens up about her daughter Bea’s death. During their talk, she mention’s Tuck’s wife, Clara, and is surprised that Tuck never told Dawson about her. Later, Dawson goes to the garage and repairs the Stingray, and Amanda sits on the bench watching him work, like in the old days. As they talk, Amanda feels they could have a future together.

After Amanda leaves, Ted approaches Tuck’s property with the intention of murdering Dawson. Meanwhile, Dawson is in the garage finishing his work on the car. He feels a familiar sense of being watched and ventures into the woods to investigate. While investigating, Dawson again spots the dark-haired stranger in the distance and goes in pursuit, only to be led out of the woods and onto the main road. He walks back and sees Ted’s truck hidden in the bushes and deduces that he has come to take his revenge. Dawson cautiously approaches the house and spots Ted entering Tuck’s shack. Following him in, he launches a surprise attack on Ted and knocks him unconscious. He takes the injured Ted to the Cole family property, leaving him to be picked up by Abee. Then, Dawson returns to town and quickly vacates his hotel room.

Ted wakes up in the hospital and is eager to get back on his feet to settle his score with Dawson. Abee is by his side, but he obsessively thinks about Candy’s flirtatious customers at the bar; he is convinced that she is having a fling with a dark-haired customer. Abee is determined to go after Candy’s suitors, but Ted lies to Abee, saying that Dawson threatened to come after Abee next, and seeks his help in killing Dawson.

Dawson checks into a hotel at the marina. He thinks the dark-haired figure is a hallucination and wonders whether it has a higher purpose. He continues to think about Amanda, and wrestles with his feelings for her, knowing that she is married.

Amanda is at home, struggling to have polite conversation with her mother. Evelyn tells her she is aware of Amanda’s marital problems and asks her to take a firm decision about her marriage and abide by it. Amanda is tired of arguing and tells her mother a story. When Amanda was young, she used to watch a family of otters play in the river behind the house. Years later, she saw otters in an aquarium. They were dull and tired, out of touch with their true nature. Her mother does not understand the point of the story.