Chapter 38
PETE
Pete loved the quiet of the beachside in the morning, the way the waves gently lapped against the shore in a soft, rhythmic motion.
Mom called the tide “nature’s heartbeat,” and it was.
Everything about this stretch of the seaside made his heartbeat slow and his breath steady—the carpet of blooming succulents clinging to the white cliffs, the warm sand, and the vast blue waters of the Pacific that filled the skyline.
Sunlight shimmered on the swells out where the sharks circled.
Half Moon Bay was a surfer’s paradise. Wetsuits bobbed in the waves and boarders paddled out to catch the next ride.
Surfing had never been his sport.
Mainly because of the sharks.
The entire Northern California coastline was a haven for great whites, along with nearly a dozen other species. There was a reason this area was known as “Shark Park.”
No thanks.
Pete enjoyed watching the surfers ride the waves and beachcombing for shells and glass floats. Letting his bare feet sink in the warm sand was more his style.
He’d awoken before the sun this morning.
Last night had been a disaster.
Lacy wanted to continue their “date” today, but Pete couldn’t take another twenty-four hours of fake smiles and posing for selfies. He didn’t know if he had a good angle or which side of his profile was more photogenic. Honestly, he didn’t care.
Lacy was fine. But she wasn’t for him. He had considered texting Shelby last night, but it was late when he got home.
He wanted to ask her to meet him here on the beach.
They had discussed it briefly, but then he felt silly.
She was a pro. She didn’t need him to show her the best spots to check out the tidepools or the nearly hidden trails that led to stunning views of fields of succulents growing along the sandy cliff.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He’d woken up three times, dreaming about her. So finally, sometime after six, he gave up, made a pot of coffee, left Elise a note, and came down to his happy place.
He’d been wandering the shoreline aimlessly for the last hour.
Not because he was worried about telling Shelby the truth.
He was very clear—Lacy was a no for him.
But because this probably meant there wasn’t much of a reason for him to keep hanging out with Shelby.
Sure, there was Mom. But she and Jim had hit it off.
In fact, he’d never seen her so happy. Last night at dinner, she had practically been glowing. He was pleased for her, but couldn’t ignore a flicker of worry over Jim’s motives. He was here in Half Moon Bay for work, after all. Was he just using her to further his career?
And then there was one other huge issue on his mind. The message he’d received this morning. An email from a private detective in a nearby small town, who he’d reached out to about investigating his birth father. She agreed to take his case and said she already had a few strong leads to follow.
He’d spent the last six or seven years dabbling with online searches that led him nowhere. Did he really want to do this? Should he say yes? Should he tell Mom? And how much did she actually know or remember about his father?
Was she keeping the truth from him because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings?
What if his father knew about him and didn’t want any part of a relationship?
Pete considered it, digging his feet into the sand as a seagull circled overhead. He caught a flash of motion out in the surf as a board crashed into the waves.
Mom had always claimed she tried to find the guy she’d had a one-night stand with, but never could.
She had come to the conclusion that he’d used a fake name that night.
Maybe because he was married, had a family, or maybe for some other reason that didn’t have the same implications and consequences.
Pete had believed her for years, but would hiring a private detective change that?
What if she was lying?
What if she’d known exactly who his father was all this time?
Could he forgive her?
Was he about to blow up their relationship?
Maybe.
But he needed answers.
He deserved to at least know who his biological father was. If the guy didn’t want a relationship with Pete, he could handle it. He was an adult now. He just wanted to know the truth.
The truth was feeling fragmented at the moment.
In part because of Voyager. Jim and Shelby were skilled at altering reality.
Creating worlds that sort of existed. Better versions of real life.
But the search for his father was his real life.
This wasn’t anything an algorithm or filtered photo could fix.
No, if he was going to pursue this, it was one hundred percent on him, and once he signed the agreement with the private detective, there was no turning back.