He looked behind him at his boat and our gear piled on the shore. Lips tight in decision, he bowed his head and peeled the sticker off an amulet. “Here,” he said, handing me the charm.

I blinked, the cold vanishing as my fingers touched it again. “Marshal…”

But he was moving, lean muscles bunching as he gathered a handful of equipment and strode to the edge of the vegetation. “Keep them,” he said as he dropped the gear in the scrub, then went back for another, second load. “I changed my mind. I thought you were joking about this rescue thing. I can’t leave you here without a way off. Your boyfriend can use my gear. I’m going to tell my boys you panicked and made me radio the water taxi to get you back to land. If you have to swim for it, hug Round Island to get to Mackinac Island and take the ferry. You can leave everything in a locker at one of the docks and mail me the key. If you don’t swim off, leave everything here, and I’ll pick it up the next time we get a good fog.”

My heart seemed to swell and my eyes warmed from gratitude. “What about your driver?”

Marshal shrugged, his rubber-clad shoulders looking good as the sun glinted on him. “He’ll go along with it. We go way back.” His eyes went narrow with worry. “Promise me you won’t trying to cross the straits. It’s too far.”

I nodded, and he handed Jenks his amulet back. “Watch the ferries coming in to Mackinac Island. Especially the ones that hydroplane. They come in fast. There’s a second warmth amulet in my gear for your boyfriend. I have it for emergencies.” He winced, his hairless eyebrows rising. “This sounds like one.”

I didn’t know what to say. From beside me, Jenks peeled the sticker from his amulet and fed it to one of the gulls ringing us. It flew squawking away, three more in hot pursuit. “Marshal,” I stammered. “You might lose your license.” Best-case scenario.

“No, I won’t. I trust you. You aren’t a professional diver, but you’re a professional something, and you need a little help. If you have any problem, just dump the gear and swim at the surface. I’d, uh, rather you didn’t, though.” His brown eyes seemed to flit among the trees. “Something weird has been going on over here, and I don’t like it.” He smiled, though he still looked worried. “I hope you get your boyfriend back okay.”

Relief slipped into me. God, what a nice guy. “Thank you, Marshal,” I said, leaning forward and pulling myself up to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Can you reach your boat okay?”

He nodded, discomfited. “I do a lot of free swimming. Piece of cake.”

I remembered my stint of swimming in the frozen Ohio River, hoping he would be okay. “Soon as I can, I’ll call you to let you know we made it okay and where your stuff is.”