A Treasure Worth Keeping. Kathryn Springer

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.”