Free Loveable Christmas Angel: Book #3 - Romance and Heavenly Spirits! (Angels with Attitudes) by Mimi Barbour Page A

she cherished his whispered words, “I’m here if you need me.”
    Being difficult as usual, that morning Mano had still refused to bathe or change his clothes, which were becoming grimy and bearing a slight odor. When they arrived at the spacious room where her aunt’s body lay in the casket, he took one look, dropped his bouquet of flowers, and ran straight into Pi’s arms. She’d instantly nodded her agreement at his silent request to take the boy outside.
    They had discussed previously whether they would bring the boy, and she finally decided to leave it up to Mano himself. He’d insisted he wanted to come. The reality for such a small boy doomed his decision, and Leilani totally understood.
    Once the service ended and the coffin closed, they asked Mano if he wanted to say goodbye and leave his token with the many others. Surprisingly, he agreed, and with tears spilling down his cheeks, and his tangled hair like a halo of curls around his head, he knelt by the brass side and whispered words no one could make out. Then he stood tall, forced his shoulders straight, and swiped at his wet cheeks. The hard glint in his eyes made Leilani shiver. She knew there were going to be stormy days ahead and didn’t know if she was equipped to handle them.
    Before Kale could reach out to her, Mano stepped in-between and in a no-nonsense voice, he said, “I want to go home.”
    Pi, who had lingered close to the boy, answered. “We’ll be back at the hotel in no time…”
    “No! I want to go home. To my house. Now…please!” The last word had a heart-rending pleading tone that made the hairs on Leilani’s neck wake up and send shivers all over her body.
    She looked to Kale and then Pi, and knew they were waiting for her decision. Mano, aware she was now in power, narrowed his eyes and said. “My clothes are there and a bathtub.”
    “Well then, we best go and get you clean.” She smiled and nodded, then watched as the miniature devil nodded in unison. You little monkey; you got your way this time.
    Kale took her aside and put his arm around her, a gesture she appreciated, since the day before, Mano hadn’t left them alone for even a minute. Many people had hugged her that morning, and many whispered words of sympathy, but none meant as much as his. “Did you want me to come with you?”
    “No, Kale, you have work waiting, and I know Pi will stay with us. Mano is comfortable with him. We won’t be long but I do need to go through Auntie’s personal belongings to search for her will. We need to see if she’s left instructions for her final resting place before I make any further decisions.”
    “I understand. Then I’ll leave you to it.” He kissed her cheek and she watched him walk away—a man in an expensively tailored suit who carried himself like someone used to the world’s best.
    * * *
    Later, pulling into the driveway of her Aunt’s house for the second time, Leilani could see that the whole place really was as dilapidated as she’d thought earlier. It needed a huge amount of work and money to bring back the charm from days gone by but any property in Hawaii, especially this close to the city, was premium. It would bring in a tidy sum for Mano’s education and a proper nest egg for his future.
    They stepped from the vehicle where Mano ignored her, and instead, kept himself amused with the trinkets. She hesitated before entering the house. “Mano, before you go and get cleaned up will you take Pi and me around and show us everything?” Leilani added before he could refuse, “like Kale did when we visited his home.”
    She saw him ponder her request first before he nodded, “Okay. You must come this way.” Like the perfect little replica of Kale, he took them through the spacious four bedrooms, two bathrooms and then to closets and even the laundry. Then he beckoned them to follow him out the back door and into the yard.
    Old paddock fencing, surprisingly well kept though mostly unpainted, enclosed a