Big Mac framed Grant’s face with big hands, forcing him to meet his father’s steely, determined gaze. “I’m proud of you, son. You saved Dan’s life. You saved my life and your mother’s and Stephanie’s by saving your own. You faced an unimaginable dilemma, and you did the best you could. That’s all anyone can ever do.”

He choked back a sob. “Don’t be proud of me for letting Steve die.”

“You didn’t let him die,” Big Mac said. “That was God’s will. Not yours.”

Grant broke down anew at his father’s absolution—absolution he didn’t feel he deserved, but which brought a measure of peace anyway. Giving voice to the agony he’d borne alone had also helped.

“We’re all behind you, Grant,” Evan said. “It was a nightmare out there. Mac and I can attest to that. One minute we were on the front of the boat, and the next minute we’re in the water, in the fog and we can’t find each other. How you managed to save Dan—as well as yourself—is amazing to me, and I’m sure to Mac, too.”

“It is,” Mac agreed. “I had all I could do to keep my own head above water. I have no idea how you were able to save Dan, too.”

Grant didn’t know how he’d done it. A lot of the details were vague, but letting Dan go hadn’t been an option. He remembered that much.

“Let’s go in there and face Steve’s mom together,” Big Mac said. “She wants the truth. She needs the truth. Let’s give that to her, and maybe it’ll set you free, too.”

Grant didn’t know if anything could set him free from the nightmare he’d been living over the last week, but sharing his burden with his brothers, his father and his friend had helped. Exhausted and wrung out from the ordeal of confession, Grant let his dad guide him into the house.

Adam let the others go in ahead of him and remained on the porch for a minute, collecting himself. Seeing his brother so undone had upset him tremendously. To him, Grant had always been cool, sophisticated, incredibly talented and somewhat aloof, untouched by the troubles that plagued regular mortals. Seeing him brought low by the tragedy of Steve’s death had shaken Adam.

He leaned against the rail on the front porch, staring down at his mother’s rose garden and thinking about how arbitrary and capricious life could be. His brothers had left with two other men on a spring morning to participate in a sailboat race. By the day’s end, one of them was dead, one was gravely injured, and three others were changed forever by the harrowing experience.

“Adam?”

At the sound of Evan’s voice, Adam turned. “Yeah?”

“Are you coming in?”

“In a minute.”