Accent: Unusual. his native language is Latin

Word Count: 3000

Style: Simple, direct, sometimes almost poetic

Petrus shows up one night floundering in Lake Springfield. Penny Hooper rescues him from drowning. Over Penny's strong objections, Mom insists they let him stay the night. When he regains consciousness, he can speak only Latin, and no one can understand why. Over time, Petrus learns English, and becomes almost a member of the family, but he still can't win Penny's trust. Eventually he realizes he must take the noble path and cause Penny no more difficulty, so he decides to leave without warning, determined to deal with the ghosts of his past on his own. But it's too late for simple solutions, and he finds he's become entangled with Penny in ways neither of them could have imagined.