Parker cut me off and continued, “Danny told me all about the girl, and her mother, and about this Leon Wren. So it’s not like we have no idea of what may be going on here. But there’s more to it than just that, Kennesaw.”

Parker fixed me with his eye. “Miss Cyriah told me I must stay with you until your task is completed. She said I was to live where you live. Me, and your friend, ‘the one whose speech is fragile, but whose spirit is a citadel,’ in her very words.

“We were to stay with you under the same roof, no matter where that may be, no matter what happens. And that is what Danny Ray and I intend to do, Kennesaw Tanner. You have no more choice in the matter than we do. And the decision is no longer in your hands.”

I looked to each of the men and saw the resolution in their faces. The very thought of such friendship, and what it meant, brought a tightness to my throat that caused a momentary struggle for breath.

“Thanks, men,” was my reply.

There was nothing further I needed to add to those words. But once again I found myself wondering how Cyriah could be so attuned to this. I also knew that neither she nor Danny Ray had ever laid eyes on one other. Her knowing of Danny Ray’s existence was much the same as Danny’s knowledge of the waters—it was just something that was and could not be explained.

Putting aside the esoteric, we then got down to the practical business of the day. Parker would begin work on the boat while Danny and I would depart to run a few errands. Or in actuality, Danny would chauffeur me until I could get a new set of wheels. First thing I did was to call the agency for the car I had rented and tell them where they could pick it up.

Parker gave Danny Ray a short list of a few items he needed and then we were off. First stop was my bank where I wrote a check for cash. The next stop was Mad Marvin’s Wonderful World of Wheels and Deals.

Marvin MacAllistair was an old comrade. Years ago we had both served in the First Ranger Battalion, here in Savannah, on Hunter Army Airfield, which meant we were both full-blooded members of what’s known in the army as “the Ranger Mafia.”