A Treasure Worth Keeping by Kathryn Springer

made the introductions. “Tyson, this is Evie McBride, Patrick’s daughter.”
    “Hey.” His hooded stare fixed on Evie. It reminded her of a crocodile. Cold and flat.
    This was Sophie’s son?
    A shudder chased up Evie’s spine, but she forced a polite smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Tyson.”
    “Evie is taking care of Beach Glass while Patrick is away on his fishing trip,” Sophie told him.
    “There’s not much to do around here.” Tyson’s gaze burrowed into her. “We should hang out sometime.”
    A shiver coursed through her. “I’m afraid I don’t have much free time. I’ll either be minding the shop or tutoring Faith.”
    Tyson shrugged and stomped down the rest of the stairs. “I’m going out for a while.”
    “Ty, where—”
    The door snapped Sophie’s question in half.
    Evie’s heart went out to her. It was hard to believe someone as rude as Tyson was Sophie’s flesh and blood. With his unkempt appearance and surly attitude, Tyson didn’t seem to be someone Sophie could depend on. No wonder she was so grateful for Patrick and Jacob’s help.
    Faith broke the awkward silence as she plopped next to Sophie on the couch, the puppy draped over her arm. It raised its head and tried to lick her cheek, igniting a fit of the giggles.
    Sophie smiled but Evie didn’t miss the pensive look in her eyes. Compliments of Tyson. Impulsively, Evie patted Sophie’s hand before rising to her feet.
    “We should go back, Faith. We still need to go over your homework for tomorrow.”
    “I’ll have to do it on the boat. Sam promised we could spend the whole day on the water. And I get to make lunch.” Faith launched to her feet and put the puppy back on the rug with his littermates.
    Evie kept her expression neutral. She didn’t want Faith to pick up on the fact she wasn’t happy with Sam for taking her out on the boat. The thought of them at the mercy of Superior’s changing moods made her uneasy.
    It’s not your business, Evie, and Sam Cutter would be the first person to tell you so.
    “Come back soon.” Sophie escorted them outside. “When I talked to Patrick this morning, he asked me if I had plans to stop by Beach Glass soon and introduce myself. I can’t wait to tell him that you beat me to it.”
    “Dad called you? This morning? I thought they weren’t going to be able to contact us until they got to the lodge.”
    Sophie looked away, flustered. “We talked only a few minutes. I think he called from a gas station and the connection wasn’t very good…. Look, there’s Sam.”
    Sure enough, Sam was striding down the driveway toward them. Seeing the uncomfortable look on Sophie’s face, Evie got the impression Sam’s appearance provided a welcome disruption.
    She tried to squelch the tiny pinprick of hurt. Why had her dad checked in with Sophie first? It didn’t make sense. Especially when Patrick knew she wanted to keep in close contact…
    “Studying hard?”
    The glint in Sam’s eyes told Evie he was on to her.
    “Don’t you dare scold these sweet girls, Sam,” Sophie said. “They’re good company. And Sadie and the puppies love the attention.”
    Faith wrapped her arms around Sophie’s waist and gave her a fierce hug. “We’ll be back.”
    They said their goodbyes, and Evie and Sam fell into step together while Faith dashed ahead of them.
    “ Canis familiaris, hmm?”
    Evie swallowed hard when Sam’s breath stirred her hair. He was so close she could smell the pleasing blend of shower soap and afternoon sun. And a hint of coconut-scented sunscreen.
    When she finally found her voice, it sounded a little breathless even to her own ears. “I thought Faith and I should take some time to get to know each other before we jumped into her lessons.”
    Sam slanted a look at her. “I think you know her already. It didn’t take you long to figure out the way to Faith’s heart is through those puppies.”
    Faith, several yards ahead of them, heard the word puppies and darted