As Buck Would Have It

Buck Meltsner and Jules Kendall are on the run. They have just slipped away from Sheriff Adam Stone's property with the treasure map that Buck's late father, Cash, locked in a safe programmed to open only with Buck's fingerprint. But their getaway car mysteriously refuses to start, and as Adam closes in, the two scramble up a hillside, where Jules twists her ankle. Hiding behind boulders, they realize something unsettling: the car should have started, which means someone may have known they were coming. Buck sends Jules to hide in an abandoned gas station up the road while he climbs the hill searching for phone reception.

Meanwhile, Eugene and Katrina Meltsner wander a grocery store, heartsick. Buck stormed off after learning Eugene once had his father arrested, and they don't know if he is ever coming home. Then Buck's call comes through, so garbled that Eugene catches only scattered words: sheriff, map, Jules, Harlanville, and an abandoned station. Certain that Buck needs them, they rush to Candice Fitz-Gibbins, the relative who has offered to adopt Buck, since she claims to know the area, and she points them toward an old gas station.

At that gas station, Adam corners Jules at gunpoint. He admits he is the one who texted Buck the newspaper article, that he pulled Cash's belongings out of storage, and that he watched Cash program the safe with Buck's fingerprint. He engineered the whole treasure hunt because only Buck could open the safe. When Buck arrives, he refuses to hand over the map for money. "I want to know who my dad was," he says. So Adam finally tells the truth: when Buck was two, Cash decided to turn himself in for the diamond theft rather than profit from it, telling Adam, "I want to be a good man for him, not just give him good things." Adam pulled a gun on his best friend to force him to retrieve the diamond, and when Cash grabbed the wheel of the car, it plunged into the river, killing him. Shaken, Buck surrenders the map, which he has deliberately soaked in a puddle until it is unreadable. As Adam erupts in fury, a smoke canister crashes through the window. Eugene and Katrina, having overheard everything from outside, have raided Adam's own patrol car for smoke canisters, and in the chaos they pull Buck and Jules to safety while Eugene disables Adam's vehicle.

In the car, Buck apologizes for the awful things he said, but Katrina assures him nothing changes their love, and Eugene declares it no longer seems like a family without him. Then Buck reveals his own sneaky move: he photographed the map before ruining it. Spotting a street from the map nearby, the four detour to the treasure site, shovels in hand. While they dig, Buck confesses he overheard Eugene and Katrina saying fostering was enough, but Eugene explains they were discussing his own childhood in foster care; in truth, they have been working on adopting Buck for months. Buck's answer comes without hesitation: "But I choose you. I want you to be my parents."

The box they unearth holds a birthday letter from Cash, addressed to "Buckaroni." In it, Cash admits he feared he would fail as a father, until he overheard a boy in a courthouse hallway, a foster kid with oversized glasses, say all he wanted was a dad who wanted him, flaws and all. That boy, everyone realizes, was young Eugene. The letter ends, "I'd do anything for you, Buck. Love, Dad," and beneath the tissue paper lies the 27-carat diamond, left for Buck to decide what to do with.

Before they can turn it in, Candice appears. She never wanted Buck at all; she was the mastermind of the original heist, having discovered while cleaning for Mr. Goldwyn that he had stolen the diamond himself. She snatches the jewel and the car keys and speeds off, but Eugene's homemade "vehicular adjustments" betray her: the radio blares, the engine dies, and the doors lock her inside until the police arrive. Candice is arrested with the diamond in hand, and Adam is arrested too, including for his part in Cash's death. As the pieces come together for a local reporter, the family learns Candice had overheard Adam's plans at the diner, sabotaged Buck's car, and tracked the Meltsners straight to the treasure.

At the adoption hearing, the judge declares that Buck Oliver is now Buck Meltsner, son of Eugene and Katrina. Eugene marvels that the boy who once sat in a courtroom longing for a father has now become one, just as God planned. And as they head to Whit's End for a celebration in their honor, Buck tries out two words that feel brand new: Mom and Dad.