Read Online Kelly McClymer-Must Love Black by Kelly McClymer - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Kelly McClymer
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don’t you?” Neither of them knew I was joking.
Oh well. If you have to explain a joke, it doesn’t work. I moved forward with our plan. “All clear. We’re going to be quiet, quick, and thorough, right? We get our photos and we get out.”
They whispered, “Yes, Pippa. Quick and quiet.”
We found quite a few butterflies in the garden, fluttering and flitting like butterflies do. White ones, blue ones, brown ones, huge yellow-and-black ones. It felt a little like a fairyland, to be honest. I’d never seen so many butterflies in my life. Not real ones, anyway. Mom had indulged my preaccident butterfly mania with necklaces, rings, barrettes, and printed sweatshirts. I knew if she’d heard of butterfly gardens, she’d have taken me to one. I wished I could show her this one.
I let the twins wander and argue in fierce whispers about which butterfly was the rarest, while I looked for a black butterfly. I didn’t really have a lot of hope of finding one. But it couldn’t hurt to look. After all, I was in a butterfly garden.
Triste very quickly found the butterfly she wanted to photograph. “This one,” she said as, camera in hand, she softly crept up on the unsuspecting butterfly. It was not the prettiest of the bunch, but she liked it.
Just as she snapped the first picture, Geoff came around the corner carrying pruning shears. He had on a clean T-shirt imprinted with the Chrysalis Cliff logo and a neat pair of jeans. Much better on the eyes than the chauffeur’s uniform from yesterday.
He said sternly, “What are you three doing here?”
Even though he smiled and clearly was not serious, the twins backed up and put their hands behind their backs. You’d think he’d found them pulling wings off butterflies rather than innocently photographing them.
I motioned to Triste, who had gotten as still as a baby rabbit sensing a nearby fox, to keep snapping while I defended them. “The girls need some pictures of butterflies for their online camp. We’re just going to take a few pictures and then we’ll go back upstairs.” It seemed reasonable to me.
Geoff nodded. “Don’t let me bother you.” He started trimming a dead-looking plant and I tried hard not to stare at the way his biceps flexed when he brought the handles of the shears together. Sarah would have made a flirtatious comment, but all I could think about was that Laurie had called him “my guy.” What a waste of hotness.
I didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy the view, because Lady Buena Verde appeared out of nowhere. She did not look happy. “You can’t be here. You must go up.” When we didn’t move, she shooed us with fluttery hands. “The rules really must be obeyed, Philippa.”
I looked at the girls, who were watching Lady Buena Verde with solemn expressions and clutching each other’s hand again. Another one of my inconvenient traits surfaced: stubbornness. I knew I would be risking my job if I defied Lady Buena Verde, but it wasn’t fair. We couldn’t just leave. Rienne didn’t have her butterfly picture yet. And as far as I could see, we weren’t even close to being in danger of disturbing any guests.
I felt as if roots were growing from my heels into theground, which was a very bad sign that my stubborn streak was about to go nuclear. I took a deep breath and looked at the girls. I knew what I wanted to say. And I knew it was going to get me in trouble. I opened my mouth and dug in my heels as a mostly gray butterfly lighted on Lady Buena Verde’s head. It fluttered gray wings for a moment, and then took off.
She didn’t notice, but the roots in my heels disappeared and I no longer had the urge to argue with Lady Buena Verde. Somehow the butterfly had reminded me that I could opt for the middle path. “We’ll wrap things right up, then,” I said sweetly but firmly and nodded at Rienne, who took my hint and quickly snapped shots of a few random butterflies. I grabbed the other camera from Triste and took a picture of
Oh well. If you have to explain a joke, it doesn’t work. I moved forward with our plan. “All clear. We’re going to be quiet, quick, and thorough, right? We get our photos and we get out.”
They whispered, “Yes, Pippa. Quick and quiet.”
We found quite a few butterflies in the garden, fluttering and flitting like butterflies do. White ones, blue ones, brown ones, huge yellow-and-black ones. It felt a little like a fairyland, to be honest. I’d never seen so many butterflies in my life. Not real ones, anyway. Mom had indulged my preaccident butterfly mania with necklaces, rings, barrettes, and printed sweatshirts. I knew if she’d heard of butterfly gardens, she’d have taken me to one. I wished I could show her this one.
I let the twins wander and argue in fierce whispers about which butterfly was the rarest, while I looked for a black butterfly. I didn’t really have a lot of hope of finding one. But it couldn’t hurt to look. After all, I was in a butterfly garden.
Triste very quickly found the butterfly she wanted to photograph. “This one,” she said as, camera in hand, she softly crept up on the unsuspecting butterfly. It was not the prettiest of the bunch, but she liked it.
Just as she snapped the first picture, Geoff came around the corner carrying pruning shears. He had on a clean T-shirt imprinted with the Chrysalis Cliff logo and a neat pair of jeans. Much better on the eyes than the chauffeur’s uniform from yesterday.
He said sternly, “What are you three doing here?”
Even though he smiled and clearly was not serious, the twins backed up and put their hands behind their backs. You’d think he’d found them pulling wings off butterflies rather than innocently photographing them.
I motioned to Triste, who had gotten as still as a baby rabbit sensing a nearby fox, to keep snapping while I defended them. “The girls need some pictures of butterflies for their online camp. We’re just going to take a few pictures and then we’ll go back upstairs.” It seemed reasonable to me.
Geoff nodded. “Don’t let me bother you.” He started trimming a dead-looking plant and I tried hard not to stare at the way his biceps flexed when he brought the handles of the shears together. Sarah would have made a flirtatious comment, but all I could think about was that Laurie had called him “my guy.” What a waste of hotness.
I didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy the view, because Lady Buena Verde appeared out of nowhere. She did not look happy. “You can’t be here. You must go up.” When we didn’t move, she shooed us with fluttery hands. “The rules really must be obeyed, Philippa.”
I looked at the girls, who were watching Lady Buena Verde with solemn expressions and clutching each other’s hand again. Another one of my inconvenient traits surfaced: stubbornness. I knew I would be risking my job if I defied Lady Buena Verde, but it wasn’t fair. We couldn’t just leave. Rienne didn’t have her butterfly picture yet. And as far as I could see, we weren’t even close to being in danger of disturbing any guests.
I felt as if roots were growing from my heels into theground, which was a very bad sign that my stubborn streak was about to go nuclear. I took a deep breath and looked at the girls. I knew what I wanted to say. And I knew it was going to get me in trouble. I opened my mouth and dug in my heels as a mostly gray butterfly lighted on Lady Buena Verde’s head. It fluttered gray wings for a moment, and then took off.
She didn’t notice, but the roots in my heels disappeared and I no longer had the urge to argue with Lady Buena Verde. Somehow the butterfly had reminded me that I could opt for the middle path. “We’ll wrap things right up, then,” I said sweetly but firmly and nodded at Rienne, who took my hint and quickly snapped shots of a few random butterflies. I grabbed the other camera from Triste and took a picture of
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