“Merry Christmas, guys. How’s Italy?”
“It’s awful,” Roberto said. “I think we should fly home early so I can see my Tesla.”
Chloe smacked him and I laughed. He then kissed her cheek and wished me good night before going inside.
“Hey, Hannah just called.” Chloe lowered her voice. “I told her you were in a meeting.”
She called?Of course she would. She probably felt bad after learning the truth about me last night. She’d want to check on me.
“Thanks,” I told her. I had no intention of calling her back.
“And I just got a call back from the local realtor in Willow Harbor about Pete.”
Finally, some good news!
“Jack, there is no Pete.” Her face looked concerned.
I laughed. “What?”
She chewed on her lip. “I called the local realtor and the man Joe you spoke about who owns the Dock House. Neither of them have ever heard of a man named Pete who sleeps at the dock or at the church.”
Chills broke out on my arms. “Chloe, I met him. I fished with him.”
“At ten at night?” she asked.
“You think I’m crazy!” I accused.
She sighed, rubbing the side of her face. “I think you have trauma, Jack, that you haven’t properly dealt with, and then you told Hannah about your past and…”
“I’mnotcrazy!” I told her. “There was a man named Pete. He was real.” But now, I wondered myself.Maybe I should call Dr. Morgan, I thought. I didn’t know anything anymore.
“I’m sorry, Jack. They had never heard of him, and you have the Riser holiday lunch banquet across town in an hour,” she reminded me.
Crap. I looked at my calendar. She was right. The Risers were huge clients and the only exception I usually made to my nowork during the holidays rules. Jason expected me to be there, too.
I swallowed hard and nodded. “Okay, thank you, Chloe.”
She signed off, and I grabbed the keys to my car.
As I walked down to the parking garage, I replayed that conversation with Pete on the docks. He’d said God was the fisher of men and he’d told me about the three songs and even joked that I should stay for two more next time. That was real. I wouldn’t even know how to make that up.
I dialed The Dock House as I walked to my black sedan.
“This is Joe,” a man with Midwest accent drawled out.
“Hey, my name is Jack. I met a guy named Pete last night…”
“Not this Pete nonsense again. I just spoke to some woman about that. I’ve never heard of him and don’t know him.”
So Chloe was right. Would Pete have lied? Why?
“Okay…thanks.” I hung up.
In a moment of vulnerability, I unblocked Hannah’s number and my phone immediately buzzed with a text from her.
It was a Bible verse.
Hannah with two N’s: Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.”
