A Treasure Worth Keeping (13 page)

“Sophie?” Evie scrambled over to her and put her arm around the woman’s shoulders, mentally chiding herself for not banning Sophie to the living room with a cup of hot tea.

“Let me make you a cup of tea and something to eat.” Evie guided her into the kitchen and into one of the wooden chairs at the table. She rummaged through the refrigerator until she found a block of aged cheddar cheese and some crisp apples and set to work cutting them up.

“As soon as we get in touch with your father, I’m going to insist he and Jacob come back.” Sophie’s voice barely broke above a whisper. “And I’m going to tell them to give up the search. Family is more valuable than any silly treasure that might be on board the
Noble.
What if Tyson had been home during the break-in? He could have been hurt. It’s not worth the risk.”

Ordinarily, Evie would have agreed. Maybe she
should
have agreed. But anger welled up inside her at the thought of people who didn’t think twice about terrorizing a woman and destroying her property.

“I don’t think Dad would want to give up,” she heard herself saying. “And I don’t think we should, either.”

H
ad Sam really thought that Evie McBride, with her love of schedules and I-don’t-like-surprises personality, was
predictable?

Because she wasn’t. In fact, she was turning out to be predictably
unpredictable.

“What are you planning?” He could practically
see
the wheels turning in those big blue eyes.

“I’m going to call Caitlin and ask her if she remembers the name of the last goldfish Meghan forgot to feed, and then I’m going to access Dad’s computer files and make new copies of the documents for Sophie so Dad will have them when he gets back.”

It was worse than he’d thought.

“Are you out of your mind?” Sam whispered in her ear, matching his steps to Evie’s as they walked to her car.

Evie adjusted the gigantic purse—probably to balance the amount of strain on her shoulder—and looked him right in the eye. “No.”

“I’m sorry. Did you think that was a question? I meant it as a statement.”

“Dad wouldn’t give up.”

“He might not give up, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t want
you
to,” Sam pointed out, feeling it necessary to do so. “He and my dad have no idea Sophie’s place was broken into. Tyson is so freaked out he actually insisted Sophie stay with her minister and his wife for a few days.”

“That’s good. It shows he cares about her, although I don’t think he’s exactly bodyguard material.”

Did she think he was? Because Sam was taking on the job whether he wanted to or not. He’d lost enough sleep over the weekend worrying about her safety. If he couldn’t convince her to leave, there had to be some way he could keep a closer eye on her.

“I’ll be over tomorrow afternoon to meet with Faith.”

Faith heard her name and darted over, Rocky at her heels. “Can I keep your Bible a few more days, Evie?”

“Keep it as long as you like. It’s an extra.” Evie reeled Faith in for a hug, and Faith didn’t squirm, kick or try to set Evie on fire with a glare.

Sam sighed.

Go figure.

Evie paced the floor for fifteen minutes, trying to decide which sister to call first. Caitlin had a memory like a steel trap and would no doubt be able to rattle off the names of all the goldfish the McBride sisters had nurtured throughout their childhood. But she’d also insist on knowing
why
Evie wanted her to remember them.

Meghan, on the other hand, wouldn’t think to ask why, but she did have a tendency to be forgetful. Sticky notes wallpapered her apartment. And if Meghan didn’t remember a cache of miniature chocolate bars hidden in her pillowcase—until after she put the pillowcase in the washing machine—Evie wasn’t too sure she’d remember the name of the fourth goldfish that had taken up residence in the McBride household.

Evie took a deep breath and dialed Caitlin’s cell. And got her voice mail.

“Hi, this is Caitlin McBride. I can’t take your call right now but if this is Meghan, don’t forget to mail out your car insurance. It’s due this month. And if this is Evie, check your e-mail once in a while, would you? If you’re a client, I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. And have a nice day.”

Check your e-mail.

Evie groaned. She hadn’t booted up her laptop since she’d arrived. Patrick didn’t have Internet service, although he’d mentioned the café in Cooper’s Landing now boasted a wireless connection.

With only the songbirds at the feeder for company, Evie suddenly felt isolated and alone. And despite her confident words to Sam, she still felt a bit shaken from the break-in at Sophie’s.

She’d called the lodge to find out if there’d been any word from Patrick and Jacob, but the proprietor had politely suggested she call back in a few days. Out of touch with her dad, Evie had a sudden longing to reconnect with her sisters. She decided it wouldn’t hurt to drive into Cooper’s Landing and get a cup of coffee while she caught up on her messages. At least that way, when she talked to Caitlin she could honestly tell her that she’d read them!

Evie didn’t expect to see Sam and Faith until the next day, but when she got out of the car and paused to admire the sparkling sapphire water, there was no mistaking the tall, lean frame walking the shoreline. Or the puppy bouncing like a furry pogo stick at his feet.

Evie scanned the beach and relaxed when she spotted Faith, who’d staked a claim just out of reach of the waves to build a sand castle.

To Evie’s astonishment, Sam flopped down next to Faith and began to scoop handfuls of wet sand to assist her in the project. Even from the distance separating them, she could see him laughing at something Faith said. And then he picked up a plastic shovel and used it to catapult water at her. Faith retaliated by soaking him with the contents of the moat she’d dug around the castle.

He’ll be a great dad.

Even as the errant thought took root and bloomed, Evie felt her cheeks glow underneath the thin layer of tinted sunscreen she’d applied before she left the house.

And the practical side of her nature immediately voiced its disapproval.

Sure. He’ll be one of those dads who take the training wheels off too soon. Or let the kids play tackle football in the backyard without the proper padding.

And if his wife dared to express her concerns, she’d be labeled the family stick-in-the-mud. No fun. No sense of adventure.

No, thank you.

Still, she had to resist the sudden, overwhelming urge to forget about her e-mail and run down to the beach to join them.

She walked into the café and realized the rest of the world had decided to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon
outside.
Every table was empty.

A teenage waitress wandered out of the kitchen. “You can sit anywhere you want to.”

Mmm.
A table with an unobstructed view of Cooper’s Landing’s quaint Main Street or a table with an unobstructed view of Sam?

She chose the table overlooking Main Street. Not as distracting. She put in an order for pie and coffee and opened her laptop.

The first three e-mails were from Caitlin. All of them began with a complaint about the lack of cell-phone towers in the “wilderness” and demanded to know why Evie was ignoring her. Evie suppressed a smile. Caitlin wasn’t used to being ignored.

Meghan had written, too, accidentally sending her the same message twice, inquiring about their dad and expressing envy over Evie’s “relaxing” summer vacation.

Evie rolled her eyes. She hadn’t gotten past the dedication page on the first novel she’d intended to read, and the tomato plants she’d brought along were still waiting to be transplanted into their new containers on the deck.

Oh, it’s relaxing all right, Meggie.

She erased some spam, skimmed through some general e-mails from the school administrator and came to one that said “Matthew 620” in the subject line. The sender’s address wasn’t familiar, and the last thing Evie wanted to do was set a virus loose in her hard drive.

Her finger hovered over the delete button. Some of her students had asked for her e-mail address so they could keep in contact over the summer, and she didn’t want to inadvertently ignore one of them.

“Here goes.” Evie clicked on the message and instantly a lithograph-type photo of an old map downloaded onto the screen. Along with a message from her father.

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart also will be.” Matthew 6: 20, 21

Evie, please share this verse with Sophie. It’s one of my favorites. See you soon.

Love, Dad

“Well, Patty McBride, aren’t you just full of surprises?” Evie muttered, eyeing the verse superimposed over a sepia-toned map. “I didn’t think you knew how to send an e-mail message let alone a background….”

Her heart slipped into the toes of her sensible shoes as she realized what she was looking at.

Seth Lansky had made a critical mistake. Patrick hadn’t stored the latest information about the
Noble
on his computer.

He’d sent it to hers.

“Sam?”

It had to be a hallucination. One minute Sam was staring at the water, thinking it was an exact match to Evie’s eyes, and the next thing he knew, he heard her voice.

“Hi, Evie!” Faith jumped to her feet, kicking a spray of golden, sun-warmed sand against his leg. “What are you doing here?”

For a split second, Sam thought Evie had changed her mind and accepted Faith’s invitation to spend the afternoon with them on the beach. Until he saw her expression. A warning bell clanged in his head.

“Look at the castle we made.”

“It’s great.” Evie’s smile seemed forced as she bent down to examine it.

Sam frowned. More warning bells. Tension coiled in his gut. Now what? Something to do with Sophie? Or their fathers?

“I put the flowers on it and Sam put the rocks along the top. To protect it from invaders.” Faith rolled her eyes.

“Hey, you thought it was a good idea at the time.” Sam gave Faith’s ponytail a playful tug.

She dodged away from him. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to find some sticks and leaves to make flags. Can you stay for a little while, Evie?”

“A few minutes.”

“Good.” Faith grinned. “I can give you a tour of the
Natalie.
”

If anything, Evie’s skin paled even more and she managed a jerky nod.

Sam waited until Faith was out of earshot. “Okay, what’s up? I know you didn’t come down here to build sand castles with Faith.” He wished she would have. She’d stepped out of her comfort zone to play basketball, but the nervous little glances she directed toward the water, as if she were imagining a rogue wave rising out of nowhere and pulling her under, shot that hope all to pieces.

“Dad sent me an e-mail dated the day before I got here. The day he called Sophie and told her he had good news.” She paused.

Okay, he’d bite. “What did it say?”

“I’d rather show you. I have my laptop in my purse. Can you take a few minutes and go to the café with me? I’ll treat Faith to an ice-cream cone.”

Was he imagining the faint glimmer of excitement in her eyes? “I doubt the owner of the café would believe Rocky is a service dog.”

She gnawed on her lower lip. “Oh. I didn’t think about him—”

“Do you want to see the boat now?” Faith returned, the puppy at her heels.

“Evie suggested ice cream.” Sam stepped in, figuring Evie had already reached her quota of traumatic experiences for the day. “Why don’t you keep working on the castle and we’ll bring some back from the café?”

“That’s all right.” Evie smiled bravely. “I can see the boat first.”

She continued to surprise him. He’d tried to let her off the hook, but once again she’d stepped out of her comfort zone for Faith. His respect for Evie went up another notch. Who was he kidding? Another ten notches. And suddenly Sam realized the needle gauging his emotions had somehow snuck past “like” and was hovering perilously close to…something else.

Sam’s jaw locked. Attraction, maybe. That wasn’t as scary. He wasn’t blind. No one could blame a guy for getting caught in the depths of a pair of wide, sapphire-blue eyes. Or for knowing exactly how many cinnamon freckles dotted her nose.
Twelve.
But he didn’t want to care about Evie McBride. Not that way.

Dan’s injury had cut him loose from his moorings, setting him adrift in a sea of questions and doubt. The Cutter pride was the only thing keeping him from going under and who knew how long
that
was going to keep him afloat? Every time he remembered Dan saying that he wished he’d died on the way to the E.R., Sam felt his grip slipping a little more. The last thing he wanted to do was to pull someone else down with him.

Like Evie.

No,
not
just Evie. Not anybody.

“Okay, Faith, go ahead and lead the way.” Evie marched stoically toward the dock as if she were going to have to walk the plank when she boarded the
Natalie.
Her purse bumped against her hip like unsecured cargo. Knowing how much stuff she had in that thing, she’d probably end up with bruises that wouldn’t fade for a month.

“You don’t have to do this, you know.” Sam eased the bag off her shoulder and looped it over his arm, ignoring her look of surprise. He shrugged. “At least it’s khaki and not pink with polka dots.”

Her smile made a serious dent in the armor around his heart. “According to Caitlin, pink clashes with
this.
” She sifted strands of silky, red-gold hair through her fingers. “My wardrobe consists of greens and browns and golds. And I accent with pumpkin.”

“You lost me.” Because the way the sunlight played on her hair had his full attention at the moment. He scrambled to catch up. “Who is Caitlin?”

“My older sister. The
oldest
sister. And proof that everything you hear about first-born overachievers is true.” Evie’s eyes sparkled with obvious affection. “She works as an image consultant in Minneapolis and she has a lot of important clients. I surrendered my closet a long time ago, but so far Meghan, that’s my other sister, refuses to be conquered.”

“What does Meghan do?”

“She’s a freelance photographer. She’s in New England right now, working on a series of calendar photos for a private company. She and Cait are both pretty busy.”

He detected a thread of wistfulness in her voice. “Which leaves Evie. A teacher with summers off. That must be nice.”

“It is.” She didn’t sound very convincing. “I miss my students, but it gives me a chance to spend time with Dad. He gets lonely.”

He
gets lonely,
Sam thought with a sudden flash of insight,
or
you
get lonely?