More Precious Than Gold Page 4

  “Mama likes the idea of a New Church school,” Wren added, rejoining the group.

  “A lot of people do,” Gayle said with unusual seriousness. “And there are a few smaller schools too. But not everyone thinks they should be the Church’s only focus.”

  “We don’t have to hear too much about the disagreements all the way up here, but Rowan is going to Philadelphia for theological school next year, so no doubt we’ll be hearing much more about it,” Wren said. “I don’t like the idea that he’ll be in the thick of the argument.”

  Louisa’s eyebrows shot to her hairline. She hadn’t realized Rowan wanted to become a minister. Gayle seemed just as surprised, and not entirely pleased.

  “Thanks, Wren.” Andrew smirked. “I’m sure Rowan would be happy to hear that you beat him to the punch and told everyone.”

  Wren, at least, had the good sense to slap a hand to her mouth and blush.

  “Sorry,” she moaned.

  A long, awkward pause followed. Louisa lowered her eyes and adjusted her glasses. She had been enjoying herself so much, had felt so free. These days it seemed if it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Money, the Church, the future. Where would it all end?

  “We should be getting home,” Wren filled the silence.

  “And we should be getting back to work,” C.J. agreed.

  “You’re right.” Louisa nodded and sidestepped around the group to the boulder where she’d parked her bicycle. She took three steps, then stopped dead. She’d thought things couldn’t get any worse, but the back tire of her beloved bicycle had gone completely flat. “No!”

  The others turned at her exclamation and saw what she saw. Andrew headed straight for the wounded bicycle, Louisa and Jamie following. When he reached it, Andrew squatted and checked the tire. He turned the wheel only a few inches before revealing a shard of glass wedged in the rubber.

  “We should have put up signs warning people about the broken glass.” Andrew shook his head as he stood. “I’ll get Rowan to post something.”

  “What are you going to do, Louisa?” Gayle asked as she stepped close, Wren flanking her other side.

  Louisa had no idea how much bicycle tires cost, but it was certainly more than she could afford. Her heart sank as she realized everything this meant. Wren and Gayle would ride around all summer without her, and she would be trapped at home. The only relief she had from her work had been snatched away from her. She wanted to cry right there, even if Andrew and Jamie were watching. Worse still, Andrew noticed her distress right away and moved closer to her.

  “That’s easy to fix.” Jamie’s off-hand comment cut through the dread of crying so close to Andrew. Jamie bent closer to study the tire. “I’ve got a repair kit at home. I can patch that in no time.” He straightened and glanced briefly to Wren—so briefly Louisa wondered if anyone noticed—before looking to her. “Would you mind if I took it home and fixed it?”

  “Mind?” Louisa sputtered. She looked to Andrew. He smiled at Jamie as though confirming that he had chosen his new friend wisely.

  “Well,” Jamie shrugged, “it would be good practice for me to work on this. It’s the kind of thing I should know how to do at a moment’s notice in case I need to … repair something.”

  “I … well, if you think you can fix it.” She wanted to ask if he expected payment. She wanted to ask, but she knew she couldn’t. She knew he wouldn’t. “Thank you, Jamie. That’s very kind of you.”

  “That is very kind of you,” Gayle echoed in a dreamy voice.

  “Yes.” Wren crossed her arms, watching Jamie with a confused frown. “Very kind. We should get going.” She started away from the group to retrieve her own bicycle.

  “How is Louisa going to get back?” Gayle dashed after her.

  “I’ll give her a ride,” Andrew offered, glancing from his sister to Louisa. “If that’s all right with you.”

  For some reason it was.

  “I really ought to go home, though,” Louisa sighed.

  “But you just got here,” Wren protested. “I thought we could go into town this afternoon and look at the new hats that came in at McGivney’s.”

  All the more reason for her to go home.

  “Without a bicycle, I’d just slow you down.”

  “No you wouldn’t.”

  “Besides, I have to get to work on the pillowcases I’m embroidering for the Fourth of July booth.”

  Wren opened her mouth to reply, but one quick glance from Andrew stopped her. She let out a breath and stepped forward to hug Louisa.

  “Well, all right. I’ll let you go this time. But I’m beginning to think you work too hard, Miss Louisa White.”

  When she stepped back, Gayle quickly took her place and squeezed Louisa tightly. Louisa was red with embarrassment by the time her friends finally let her go.

  “I’m sorry to be such trouble,” she apologized to Andrew as they walked away from the construction site to a spot where several bicycles were parked.

  “It’s no trouble at all.” He shrugged, hair tousled in the sea breeze. “I have a meeting in town this afternoon that I have to clean up for anyhow.”

  Louisa followed half a step behind him, walking parallel to her friends as they made for their own bikes.

  “Have you ever ridden on handlebars before?” Andrew asked.

  Louisa froze in her tracks, a grin spreading across her flushed face. “No.”

  “It’s the easiest thing in the world. All you have to do is balance. I’ve got the hard job.”

  He picked his bicycle out of the mass and rolled it around to where she had stopped.

  “Why, because I’m a lumpy load?”

  He laughed. “You look like you weigh as much as a feather.”

  He was being generous. Or blind. She sent him a sideways look as she took hold of the handlebar of his bike and tried to figure out how to climb on.

  “Catch me if I fall?”

  “Always,” he answered without pause. The sound of his voice filled her with confidence and she turned and hoisted herself to sit on the handlebars while he held the bicycle still.

  “Watch your skirt,” he cautioned her, readying to push off. “Make sure it doesn’t get caught in the wheel. You can put your feet up on the bumper covering the wheel if you need to.”

  Louisa waved quickly to her friends as she tried to figure out how to hold onto the handlebar and her skirt and her hat all at the same time. Wren and Gayle waved back and proceeded to squeal along with her when Andrew stepped on the pedals and the bicycle shot forward.

  “Hold on,” he laughed as he picked up speed. “We’re going for a ride.”

  Chapter 3

  After the first few shaky minutes on the handlebar of Andrew’s bicycle, Louisa figured out how to balance. It was a thousand times easier knowing that Andrew was strong and could steer the bike perfectly, even with her added weight.

  “Faster?” he asked once they made it to the main road.

  She didn’t dare turn her head to check, but she was sure he had that mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes.

  “Yes,” she giggled, shocked at her behavior.

  Encouraged, Andrew pedaled harder, zipping along the road. Louisa’s heart pounded with exhilaration. Salty seaside wind fluttered the ribbons of her hat and tangled her hair against her face. It was almost like being out on a boat, sailing over the waves.

  “Faster?” Andrew asked again, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice.

  “Faster,” she echoed.

  “You’re not scared?”

  “I’m terrified,” she laughed in reply, knuckles white on the thin metal handlebars.

  The road arched away from the beach for a stretch as it passed the turn-off to the McBride’s house. Louisa lived over a mile away, on the other side of town. The distance had always been a thorn in her side, but at that moment, as Andrew pedaled faster and faster, she blessed it. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so thrilled. Andrew held the bicycle wit
h rock steadiness as they navigated turns and passed houses.

  “I want to make a quick stop in town, all right?” Andrew shouted by her ear to be heard over the whipping of the wind as they flew down the road into town.

  “A stop?” Anxiety knotted in Louisa’s stomach.

  “A quick stop.” She could hear the smile in his voice even if she couldn’t see it.

  He began to slow as they passed the first of the tall brick buildings that marked the edge of town. There was more traffic here than on the open road, horses and carriages, pedestrians, and other bicycles. Andrew took another turn and began a slow ascent up a hill lined with shops. The bicycle wobbled with the effort of the climb, and Louisa’s exhilaration turned to genuine fear.

  “I can get off and walk now,” she squeaked.

  “We’re almost there.”

  He stopped the bicycle at the top of the hill. Louisa jumped off as fast as she could, legs rubbery. She straightened her glasses and brushed her skirts to hide her sudden attack of nerves. Surely someone had seen them and didn’t approve of their antics.

  “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Andrew asked, smile as mischievous as ever. He leaned his bicycle against the side of the shop where they’d stopped.

  “It was fantastic,” she answered, straightening her hat. “Until the end.”

  “The end is the best part.” He nodded to the steps leading up to the store. Louisa blinked, then followed his glance. They’d stopped in front of a soda shop. “Come on. I’ll buy you an ice cream.”

  Louisa was so startled by the gesture that she didn’t have the words to protest. Andrew steered her inside of the shop and up to the counter. He pulled out one of the high stools for her. As soon as she was seated, the soda jerk came over to take their order. He quirked an eyebrow at how grimy Andrew was from working all morning in contrast to how prim and proper Louisa looked.

  Andrew didn’t think twice before saying, “A dish of chocolate for me, and vanilla with strawberry sauce for Louisa.”

  Louisa’s brow flew up in surprise. Andrew laughed.

  “Well you can’t know someone for a dozen years or more without knowing what kind of ice cream they like,” Andrew explained. “It’s one of the first rules of friendship.”

  “Do you want whipped cream on that?” the soda jerk asked.

  “No,” they both answered at the same time, then burst into giggles.

  The soda jerk left to get their ice cream. Without warning, the uneasy feeling of worry swooped back into Louisa’s heart. She fought to keep it from showing in her expression, but all in vain.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s got you so worried these days?” Andrew asked, his voice so gentle all of a sudden that Louisa’s throat tightened with the urge to cry.

  “It’s nothing.” She tried to make light of her troubles. She glanced around the shop, wondering if Andrew would change his mind and expect her to pay for her own ice cream. It was a ridiculous thought. The McBrides had only ever treated her as family, but knowing that there was no way she could afford such a treat made her heart sink.

  Even though Andrew said nothing, Louisa wasn’t foolish enough to think that he would let the subject drop. He shifted on his stool, leaning on the counter, and grinned.

  “Do you want to know my secret?” he asked.

  Louisa’s worry vanished and a giddy swirl of excitement took its place.

  “Absolutely.” She sat straighter, face bursting into a smile.

  Andrew’s shoulders relaxed as her mood improved. He leaned closer.

  “I’m buying a boat.”

  “What?”

  “A fishing boat. Jamie’s buying one too. That’s why we’ve been so mysterious lately. We’re going into business together. That’s what my meeting this afternoon is about. I’m talking to a bank about a business loan. They’ve agreed to meet with me on a Saturday, since I’m heading out to sea for a few days on Monday.”

  “Andrew, that’s fantastic!”

  He shrugged off her congratulations with a wave of his hand and a toss of his sandy blond hair.

  “Mama wants me to focus on college, of course. I think if she had her way, she’d send me to theological school, like Rowan. But as I’ve told her, we can’t all be fishers of men. Some of us are just fishermen.”

  Louisa laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with being a fisherman.”

  “You think so?”

  She couldn’t believe that he would imagine otherwise.

  “You get to be out on the sea all day,” she reasoned. “You sail all up and down the coast. You see so much.”

  “Yes, and I work until my hands bleed, stuck on a tiny boat with the stink of fish all day.”

  He was trying to tease her, but she wouldn’t be fooled.

  “Oh, Andrew, I believe you love it. The adventure? The danger?” He opened his mouth but she cut him off with, “Yes, even the danger.” She arched an eyebrow and said, “The sea corresponds to Hell, you know.”

  Andrew laughed. “In the bad sense, maybe. In the good sense it corresponds to truths of the natural man, to memory-knowledge. The sea is full of memories.”

  As he spoke he glanced past her, eyes deep with emotion and thought.

  “You can see the whole history of the Earth in the breaking of the waves, hear the same sounds that men heard hundreds of years ago. Thousands of years ago. The sea is as deep as the soul of all mankind, and filled with just as much life.”

  His words carried her away, the sound of his voice soothed her. She leaned against the counter with him and sighed.

  “I would love to sail around the world someday,” she said.

  “Would you?” Andrew sat up in surprise.

  “Yes.” She took in a deep, longing breath. “I would love to trace the path of Sir Francis Drake’s voyage, battle my way around the tip of South America, float through the Pacific and watch the sun rise over crystal clear water.”

  “Drake had a hard time,” he reminded her with a grin.

  “Yes, but a modern ship would make quick work of it. Steam power can do so many things.”

  His laughter warmed her like the sun on the beach. “I wonder if you’d feel the same way after sailing through a storm in your modern ship. Steam engines are as helpless as sails in a strong gale.”

  The soda jerk returned with their dishes of ice cream, and Andrew paid him as Louisa picked up her spoon and dug into the treat. The sweetness of vanilla and strawberries put the perfect cap on a day that was turning out to be more beautiful than she ever would have expected.

  “Have you ever been caught in a storm at sea?” she asked, as easily as if she were chatting with Wren or Gayle.

  “Of course,” he answered, an ominous note in his voice. Instead of elaborating, he ate a spoonful of ice cream.

  “Well?”

  He arched an eyebrow. “You don’t want to know.”

  She couldn’t resist the urge to tease him. “Did you lash yourself to the mast and pray to the Lord to calm the stormy seas?”

  Light danced in his blue eyes over his grin. “Pretty close to it. There’s a lot of praying during a storm. And a lot of throwing up.”

  “Andrew.” She laughed, raising a hand to her mouth to keep from spitting ice cream on the counter. “I’m trying to eat.”

  “I’m just being honest,” he needled her before taking another bite.

  “And do you honestly work until your hands bleed?” she went on.

  Andrew held up his palms. They were red and rough with callouses. “Working the sea is one of the hardest forms of manual labor I know,” he explained. “But it brings so much good with it. My efforts help to feed people, actually feed them.”

  “How wonderful.”

  “It’s worth all the hard work to perform such a vital use.”

  “I … I think I know how you feel.”

  They continued to chat about the sea, about adventures, and about fishing as they ate their ice cream. There was far more to fishing tha
n Louisa had ever imagined. She knew that Andrew had been going out on boats ever since he finished school, and that he had helped out on the docks since he was old enough to have a part-time job. She’d had no idea just what the work involved, though.

  It was more than just the use, though. The glimmer in Andrew’s eyes as he talked about the way the sunlight danced off the waves, or when he described what it was like to see whales swimming far off shore, or the way he described the sunrise when there was nothing but light and color as far as the eye could see, made Louisa almost wish she were a man, and could travel the waves with him. She could see how the sea could call someone back over and over. She wished the work that she did filled her with as much joy as Andrew’s work.

  “So this boat you’re buying,” she asked him once they had left the soda shop, as they walked along the road leading out of town, toward her house. “Are you planning to hire men to fish for you or are you going to go out to sea and do it yourself?”

  “I’ll definitely keep going out myself,” he answered. “At least to begin with. If everything goes the way we’ve planned it, in a couple of years Jamie and I can buy more boats, hire more men, and sit behind desks all day growing a business.” He tapped the handlebar of his bicycle, which he walked between them. “That’s when I plan to go to college and get the degree Mama wants me to get.”

  “In Philadelphia?”

  A whole new kind of dread squeezed Louisa’s chest, and for no apparent reason.

  When Andrew shook his head and answered, “I’m thinking Boston College,” she was relieved. “That way I’ll be able to stay close to my business and my family.”

  He glanced at her, sun catching the highlights in his hair and the joy in his eyes. She snapped her eyes away so fast she had to push her glasses up her nose again. Why should it make her so happy that Andrew would stay nearby?