The morning after their breakup, Tanner broods at the mountain house, replaying his argument with Kaitlyn and feeling both justified and unsettled. He acknowledges that she wasn't wrong—even given more time, committing to her might never have occurred to him. After the chef's assistant collects the dinner dishes, he returns to Asheboro, goes for a long run, and then calls his best friend Glen from a park bench. Glen refuses to validate Tanner's grievances, instead echoing Kaitlyn's concern about the Cameroon job and pointing out that Kaitlyn is the only woman Tanner has ever talked to him about at length. Glen urges Tanner to figure out what he really wants before he inevitably runs into Kaitlyn again.

Meanwhile, Kaitlyn struggles through her morning routine, barely eating and hoping Casey didn't hear her crying. At work she stays busy, but when Mitch calls after school to report that Jasper's dog Arlo has appeared in their yard, Kaitlyn's unease grows. She tries Jasper's landline without success. After work, she and the kids drive the muddy, exhausted dog back to Jasper's cabin, only to find his truck gone and the house dark. They leave Arlo there and head home, but Kaitlyn resolves to check on Jasper again in the morning.

In the Uwharrie forest, Jasper endures a harrowing second day. His ankle is grotesquely swollen, his psoriasis is inflamed, and he is desperately dehydrated. He recalls a childhood fishing trip with his father, a sudden storm on the lake, and his father's invocation of Psalm 148:8—that all weather fulfills God's word—but reflects bitterly that he stopped believing long ago. By nightfall, racked with pain and shivering uncontrollably, he glimpses a shadowy figure at the edge of his vision, the same apparition he once saw hovering over his daughter Mary when she nearly died of epiglottitis as a child. Back then, Jasper's desperate sprint to the ICU coincided with doctors saving Mary's life. Now, lying helpless, he knows there will be no one to intervene.

On Saturday morning, Mitch wakes Kaitlyn early: Arlo is back on their porch again. Kaitlyn drives to Jasper's cabin a second time, finds it still empty, and enters to confirm he is not inside. She calls the police, who tell her they cannot act until forty-eight hours have passed. She calls area hospitals with no results. Later, she files a missing person report and persuades the detective to issue an APB on Jasper's truck immediately. Casey relays Mitch's theory—that Jasper may have driven into the Uwharrie to look for mushrooms or the white deer—and urges action, but Kaitlyn refuses to let her children enter the forest during hunting season.

That evening, Tanner dines alone at a steak house, reflecting on how Kaitlyn had always held back, sensing he would hurt her, and realizing he did exactly that. He recalls his grandparents dancing with quiet love and trust, and feels a new emptiness. At the same time, Arlo returns once more to Kaitlyn's house. Casey, sensing her mother's helplessness, secretly texts Tanner and meets him at his hotel. She explains Jasper's disappearance and asks Tanner to search the Uwharrie at dawn, noting that hunting is likely prohibited on Sunday mornings. Tanner agrees, asks Casey to have Arlo ready at six-thirty, and heads to Walmart to gear up. As she leaves, Casey tells him it's "really too bad" he messed things up with her mom.