Free A Treasure Worth Keeping by Kathryn Springer Page A

kitchen. “Wow. Something smells good.”
    “Garlic bread.” Evie wiped her hands on the old-fashioned pinafore apron she’d found in a box of linens at the shop. When she’d gotten back from Sam’s, she’d found Seth still hard at work in Patrick’s office.
    Feeling a little awkward with someone else in the house, she’d reheated some leftover pasta from the night before and lingered in the kitchen, hoping Seth would finish soon. She wanted the house to herself to sort through the strange jumble of emotions she felt whenever Sam Cutter cruised the perimeter of her personal space.
    She drew a deep breath. Even when he wasn’t around, the man had the most unsettling way of creeping into her thoughts. “Are you finished?”
    “No. As a matter of fact, I’ve got a little problem. Your dad gave me his password but he must have changed it and forgotten to tell me. Think you can take a look? Most people use familiar words. Birthdays. Names of children. That sort of thing.”
    “I can try.” Evie followed him into the office and sat down in the chair.
    “Here’s what I’ve got so far.” He pushed a piece of paper in front of her. “Charlotte. Sara. Jo. Do you see a pattern there? Are they middle names? Old girlfriends?”
    Evie didn’t think the last comment particularly funny.
    “There’s more than one password?”
    Seth smiled and shrugged. “You know Patrick.”
    That she did. Her dad probably thought he needed a password to protect his password.
    “They aren’t middle names.” Or old girlfriends. She studied the names a few more seconds and started to laugh. “I can’t believe Dad remembered. We had an aquarium when I was growing up. Every time we got a new fish, my sisters and I named it after the heroine of a book we were reading at the time. Charlotte is from Charlotte’s Web. Sara is in A Little Princess and Jo is one of the March sisters in Little Women. ”
    Seth leaned closer, his eyes strangely intent. “What’s the next one?”
    “Let me think….” Evie bit her lip. Nancy Drew? No, Caitlin had vetoed that one. It had been a blue Betta fish and according to Caitlin’s logic, a fish named Nancy Drew had to be red. No wonder she’d started an image consulting business after graduating from college.
    “Evie?”
    The sound of Sam’s voice startled her. She twisted in the chair and saw him standing in the doorway behind her.
    “I knocked but you must not have heard me.”
    “Sam. What are you doing here?” Once again her first thought was for her father. She rose to her feet but Seth’s hand snaked out and caught her wrist.
    “I’ve got two more calls to make this evening, Miss McBride.” The faint bite in the words surprised her. Seth hadn’t mentioned other appointments. And he certainly hadn’t seemed to be in a hurry to finish up before now.
    Evie gently tugged her wrist free. “This will only take a minute.”
    “Sure.” Seth’s lips worked into a smile. “No problem.”
    Sam leaned against the door frame and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I forgot to give you Faith’s reading list for her book reports when you were over this afternoon. I saw the lights on and decided to drop it off.”
    Not exactly an emergency, Evie thought. Maybe he’d had another argument with Faith and wanted to talk about it. “I’ll be right back, Seth.”
    As soon as they were in the hall, Sam took hold of her arm and guided her toward the door. When Evie opened her mouth to protest, Sam tapped his finger against her lips, shocking her into silence.
    Once they were outside, she pulled away from him and planted her hands on her hips. “What do you think you’re doing?”
    “Who is that guy?” Sam asked tersely.
    “Seth Lansky. Dad hired him to install some software.”
    “Your dad set up the appointment? He told you about it before he left?”
    “No. He forgot. But that’s nothing new—”
    “Evie. Think about it.” Sam’s eyes held hers intently. “Patrick wouldn’t hire