Nolan: Return to Signal Bend Read Online Free

stopped as her eyes landed on a beacon of bright blue in the middle of this strange, dark room. On a small, round table with a marble top sat an old-fashioned bell jar. Inside it was an arrangement of about a dozen bright blue butterflies. It was so beautiful, Iris’s breath literally stopped for a moment.
     
    “Are they real?”
     
    “Yes. Not alive, of course, but real. Do you like it? Will your stepmother?”
     
    Honestly, Iris didn’t know. But the blue in the butterflies’ wings was the same color as Shannon’s eyes, and the whole thing was just so beautiful . Sad, yes, but beautiful.
     
    She stroked the glass of the jar. “How much is it?”
     
    Geoff sighed. “I’m sorry to say that this piece is six hundred dollars.”
     
    Iris jerked her hand from the glass so quickly an onlooker might have thought it had caught fire. “Oh.”
     
    “But,” he added, “If you like that, let me show you these.”
     
    He walked over to a display piece that was shelves on top—filled with weird old books and strange glass baubles—and narrow drawers on the bottom. When he pulled out a drawer, Iris saw a collection of individually-framed butterflies and moths.
     
    With the cost of the bell jar clanging in her head, she eyed a small frame with a similar blue butterfly. When she pointed to it, Geoff lifted it from the drawer and handed it to her. Up close, she could see subtle variations in the blues of the wings, and the way the black edging seemed like lace. Again, she brushed a finger over the glass. “How much for this one?”
     
    Geoff dipped down and looked at the underside of the frame without disturbing it in her hand. “This one is fifty.”
     
    She let out a disappointed breath and handed it back. “I’m sorry.”
     
    He didn’t take the frame from her. “This is an antique shop, Iris. There’s some flexibility in the price. Make me an offer.”
     
    There wasn’t any flexibility in her pocket, though. “I only have twenty-eight dollars.”
     
    Geoff crossed his arms and regarded the frame still in her hand. He seemed to be thinking. “I could let it go for twenty-five, if you promise you’re not trying to work me.”
     
    “I promise! That would be awesome!” Iris almost wanted to hug this guy, and she wasn’t even sure Shannon would like the gift. She really hoped so, though.
     
    They went back out to the front, Geoff smiling almost as much as Iris, and he led her to the desk. As he wrote out the purchase on a paper pad, Iris noticed a small, handmade notice, written in calligraphy, propped on a brass stand: Help Wanted. Intrepid Soul for Sales and Acquisitions .
     
    “Why an ‘intrepid soul’?” she asked.
     
    “We have to dig around in some interesting places to find things out of the ordinary for our shelves. The last person I hired was afraid of spiders. Spiders are virtually our co-workers.”
     
    Iris stared at that sign while an idea formed in her head. She loved Signal Bend. She loved being with her dad and Shannon, and Millie and Joe, her twin little sister and brother. She liked this weird shop. She even liked Geoff. She had no bigger—or even smaller—plans for the future.
     
    And creepy-crawlies had never bothered her.
     
    “What other qualifications do you need?”
     
    He stopped writing on his pad and stood up straight. “Are you applying? What qualifications do you have?”
     
    “A degree in American Studies.” As she said it, she realized that it was an actual qualification for a job like this. “And I…um…I worked in the food court at college for three years. That’s sort of retail. And I know Signal Bend. I was born here. My dad is Horde.”
     
    His expression sharpened with fresh interest. “Really? Who?”
     
    “Showdown Ryan.”
     
    Geoff’s friendly face brightened even more with understanding. “ Shannon is your stepmom! Oh, you’re right. Those earrings would not have been right for her at all.” He nodded at the framed butterfly,