“You were in the first war,” Mama said. “You don’t quit on me ever.”

“War hits us all differently,” he said softly.

As Henry now approached, he grinned as he took in the sight of the wreck, Ruth, Talley, and Daddy.

“Henry, you made it!” Ruth said.

He wrapped Ruth in a bear hug. “I’d have been here yesterday but for the storm.”

“Did you go out in the water?” Ruth asked.

“I did. Pulled a few men out of the drink.”

Daddy extended his hand to Henry, and they shook. “Glad to have you.”

“This is my cousin Talley,” Ruth said. “She’s here for the summer.”

Henry extended his rough hand to Talley, and she carefully took it. He gently squeezed her hand as he shook. “Pleased to meet you. Ruth running you ragged yet?”

Talley blushed. “No, sir. She’s a lot of fun.”

“There’s no ‘sirs’ here, Talley,” Henry said. “Just good working men. Call me Henry. Everyone does.”

Talley’s frown furrowed as she released his hand, as if such familiarity wasn’t common where she came from. “Okay.”

“Ruth, your mama said you were looking for some ghost stories,” Henry said.

“We are!” Ruth said. “Do you have some to tell?”

Warm laughter rumbled in his chest. “I have one or two that are itching to be told.”

“If I don’t get that bonfire set soon, Ruth is likely to set that pile of wood on fire,” Daddy said.

Henry studied the collection of wood laid in careful stacks. “They’ll see this fire burning all the way in England.”

“I wanted it to be big,” Ruth said.

“Oh, it will be.” Henry’s attention shifted to the wreck’s ink-black wood glistening with droplets from each incoming wave. “Never thought I’d see that wreck surface again. How long has it been?”

“Thirty years,” Daddy said. “Summer of 1920. I had just left the navy.”

“I was ten,” Henry said. “Spent the weeks it was aboveground climbing all over it. There’s more of it exposed this time. The storm must have hit this part of the banks directly.”

“Damn near close,” Daddy said.

“The wind sounded like it wanted to rattle the house right off the pilings,” Ruth said. “But Talley and I weren’t scared.”

“That’s good to hear,” Henry said. “Talley, you should be proud. You’ve weathered your first ocean storm.”

“Do they come often?” Talley asked.

Henry was never one to tease someone like Talley. “I’d like to think the worst of it is over for the summer.”

“That’s good to hear,” she said.

Ruth held off mentioning that the worst storms came in August and September. “What do you know about the boat?”

Henry glanced at Daddy, his lips slipping into a sly grin. “You tell her about it?”

Daddy shook his head. “Not a word. Figured I’d let you do the talking.”

“Tell me what?” Ruth asked.