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Samantha had done it. She'd gone to Dover, toured the rehab with them, and survived.
They were nearly back to the cabin when she got a text from Rae, her oldest and, finally again, closest friend. Sam read the text, then turned to Garrison. "Rae wants to know if you and Aiden want to come for a cookout tonight."
"That'd be fun." He glanced in the rearview mirror. "What do you think, son? You want to meet some of my friends?"
"Whatever."
"Wow, dude. Dial back the enthusiasm." He softened his words with a smile. Aiden didn't respond. "I guess that's a yes. What can we bring?"
Sam texted Rae and asked the question. "She said for you to bring nothing." Sam smiled to herself at her friend's hinted message—tell Garrison not to bring anything, unless he knows your caramel brownie recipe. Sam always kept the ingredients on hand, so she replied that she'd come with dessert.
Another text came in. She read it, then said, "Nate and Marisa will be there with Ana. And a few more people you haven't met. And it looks like Caro and Laurie are coming, too." Sam turned to face Aiden. "Caro's your age. Laurie's twenty-two, I think. You'll like them."
Aiden's smile was polite. Or maybe tolerant was the right word. "Great. Sounds like fun."
Sam turned back to face the front. She'd offered to sit in the back again, but Aiden had insisted. He seemed to be in the middle of some internal battle. Sam could practically hear the clanking of swords in his mind. She wondered what ideas were vying for power in there.
"Just so you know, nobody knows why you're here. I just told my friends"—she glanced at Aiden—"your dad's friends, too, that you're here for vacation."
"Great." Aiden glanced at the back of his father's head. His expression darkened. Anger? That's what it looked like. "Good to know."
"Not that you can't tell them. It just wasn't my place."
"Yeah, buddy," Garrison said. "That'd be up to you."
"Wouldn't want to embarrass you, though, Dad. Wouldn't want your friends to know your son's such a screw up."
Garrison blew out a long breath, sighed, and pulled the car over on the narrow road leading to the lake.
Sam faced forward, afraid she was about to overhear something they maybe didn't want her to hear. She considered getting out of the car while Garrison shifted into park and turned to face his son.
"You'll never be an embarrassment to me. You've made some bad choices, but you're not defined by your choices. You are more than an addict. I'm proud of you. I've always been proud of you. Nothing's going to change that."
His words filled her eyes with tears, her heart with tenderness for this man who would work so hard to ease his son's fears. Her throat ached with emotion, and it was all she could do to keep her hands in her lap, to not reach out to him, to comfort him the way he was comforting Aiden.
She didn't look to see Aiden's reaction, felt like she didn't belong, but she didn't want to be anywhere else in the world.
Aiden's voice was broken by emotion. "If you say so."
"I say so. If you want to tell people what's going on, then do it. If you don't, then don't. It's entirely up to you, and I'll support you whatever you decide."
"Okay."
Garrison settled back in his seat, looked at Sam out of the corner of his eye, and nearly smiled. He maneuvered back onto the road, and they continued silently until they turned into the driveway.