Free Stranger on the Shore (Mirabelle Harbor, Book 4) by Marilyn Brant Page B

life. We’re selling the bracelets for the first time this weekend at the Annual St. Armand’s Craft Festival.”
    “And, because Little Miss Texas has been talkin’ them up in her shop all month, we have a list of advanced orders and have to make at least a hundred more pieces by Saturday,” Lorelei complained, digging for a clamp and arching her eyebrow again.
    “Well, what was I supposed to do?” Joy cried. “Not show the customers the new charms when they came in? Y’all know how cute they are.”
    “They are the cutest,” Lorelei admitted, putting the finishing touches on the bracelet she was working on by attaching that final clamp.
    Abby glanced at me, noting that I was still clutching the bracelet with the butterfly, and she smiled. “Let’s show them to Marianna. I think she’ll like them, too.”
    Lorelei nodded and tipped over a small black canister filled with sterling-silver-shaped creatures. “See this one here?” She pointed to a butterfly charm just like the one in my hand. “That’s the Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly. It’s been threatened since 1976 and endangered in these parts since 1984.” And then she rifled through a few more and pulled out a chunky sea animal of some kind. “This one’s a manatee.”
    “Oh!” I’d heard of them, of course, and I knew they were endangered, but I’d never seen a charm shaped like one before. “What other animals do you have?”
    The three women hunted through the pile until they found a representative charm of every type—seven in all. In addition to the swallowtail butterfly and the manatee, there were also charms for the shortnose sturgeon, the American crocodile, the peregrine falcon, the Florida panther, and the green sea turtle.
    “All endangered,” Joy said, frowning, the change in expression creating a crease just above the bridge her nose. “Even before the big oil spill, but that sure didn’t help. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission does what it can, but it’s a never-ending battle. They can use every penny we send them. Aside from subtracting the cost of materials, we donate one-hundred percent of what we make from the jewelry.”
    “So, you three came up with this idea?” I asked, reaching for my wallet and pulling out a couple of twenty-dollar bills. Yes, yes, I vowed there’d be no more unnecessary spending, but I fully intended to help support this cause. A world without butterflies and sea turtles wasn’t a place I wanted to live. Definitely worth cutting back on a few carryout dinners and fudge treats.
    “No, Joy came up with it,” Lorelei said, “but we were enthusiastic supporters.”
    “Well, I’d really like to help, too,” I said. “Is there any chance I could buy just three bracelets early? This one for me—” I held up the one in my palm. “And two others? I’d like to get one for my sister and another my daughter. I know they’ll love them. Plus, I’d like to make an additional cash donation.”
    Joy glanced at me speculatively, and I noticed Lorelei and Abby exchanging a look that I didn’t immediately understand. In a surprise move, Joy lurched forward and grasped my hand. Her slender, cool fingers were very gentle, but it was still a little...odd.
    “She’s very turquoise,” Joy informed her friends. This comment took the moment past “a little odd” and deep into the territory of “rather strange.” Then she released my hand and broke into a grin. “No,” she said brightly.
    I blinked at her and thought back to what I’d originally asked. “You’re saying, no, I can’t buy the bracelets early, or, no, I can’t make a donation, or both?”
    “You can’t buy that bracelet,” Joy told me, referring to the one in my hand, “because I’m giving it to you. You can buy the other two, if you’d like, but not until this weekend. You said you’ll still be in Sarasota, right?”
    I nodded, sensing a catch coming.
    “Good. Then come to the Craft Festival and get