'Tis the Season: A Collection of Mimi's Christmas Books (11 page)

Kale put his arm around the shoulders of a middle-aged lady whose expression of happiness from the moment she saw him made Leilani take to her instantly. “Leilani, Mano this lady looks after my house…and me. She’s a wonder, and her name is Mia. She’ll be here all day, so if you need anything, she’ll help you.

Mia, these are my friends and they’ll be spending the day with me here. While I work, they’ll be at the beach. If you don’t mind, can you make up a lunch basket for later and I’ll take it to them?”

Mia smiled at Mano and shook hands with Leilani. “How nice to meet you? Yes, go and enjoy the beach, I’ll make a nice picnic meal for you but in the meantime, I have a few snacks you might want to take along for now.” She bustled around the room, and gathered up enough food for twice as many people. Then she passed the fancy woven sack to Mano who stood tall as he put it over his shoulder. “Boys need food to grow big and strong, like Kale.”

Kale grinned and beckoned. “I’ll take you on a bit of a tour and then show you the trail to the beach.”

Chapter Thirteen

As Kale took them from room to room, Mano was very talkative, asking question about all kinds of things that surprised Leilani. For a small boy, he had a lot of knowledge and seemed interested in many things. For instance, in the games room, he’d asked about video games Leilani had never heard of. Thankfully, Kale knew and could answer him intelligently.

Guess she’d have to study about the toys and other important items necessary for today’s youth. She’d be coming across as a real dunce if she didn’t do something, and soon.

Later, sitting on the large beach mat that Kale had set up before leaving them, she looked over at the small boy who sat with his back turned toward her. “Mano, did you want to play in the water? I can go with you if you like.”

“Babies play.” He made it sound as if she’d insulted him.

“I meant, we could swim. Do you know how?”

Instantly, she understood that she’d gone too far. He stood up, glared at her, and then ran to the water. On the way he’d stripped off his t-shirt and shoes and once close to the waves, he arced his body and with a running leap, dove into the surf.

She followed with her heart in her mouth. Heavens, he was a prickly little guy. Seems she couldn’t say anything right. For the next while, she swam in circles, staying within arm’s reach but not crowding Mano. He swam like a fish, and as she watched, she realized he was showing off for her. She rather enjoyed his performance and kept her eye on him until he headed back for shore to sit on the sand.

She tagged along and sat near him. “You swim wonderfully.”

“I’m almost six. I could swim since I was little.” His haughty announcement drew a smile, which she hid. Instead, she nodded.

“Yes. I see. Did your grandmother teach you?” Instantly, she again realized the error of her ways.

He glared at her with tear-filled eyes, and ran back to the blanket. Then he lay facing the opposite direction.

She moved to sit next to him, her heart aching for his pain. “I’m sorry about your grandmother, Mano. I wished I could have had more time with her. She seemed like such a lovely lady.”

“Don’t talk!” Stiff and unyielding, he spat the words over his shoulder.

Leilani put on her short beach cover up and lay down next to the boy. Once she sensed he slept, she rolled over onto her stomach and wept inside for the hurt that the boy suffered. If only he’d let her help him, talk with him—hold him.

The heat of the sun warmed her as she drifted off. Afterwards, she supposed it was her sleepless night that lefthe her so tired. The hideous barking of a large and angry dog close by woke her.

Mano! He’s gone!
Panic forced her to her feet, and the sound of a boy’s screams made her run faster than she’d ever thought possible. Rounding the corner to a fenced-in area, she saw her terrified little cousin on the ground, and a huge, vicious animal standing over him.

Without thinking, she jumped the fence, ran past the Doberman and straight to Mano, scooping him into her arms. A whistle and shout forced the dog to back away and go to his master. And in the meantime, Leilani rocked the shaken child, all the while whispering murmurs of endearments and calming noises.

Kale came at a run, and his large hand reached to tenderly brush through Mano’s curls. “You’re okay, boy. Don’t be afraid. Cesar thought you were an intruder. He would never bite you, but he would have kept you pinned until someone called him away.”

As soon as Mano realized Kale had approached and heard his voice, he swung away from Leilani and arched toward him—his desires obvious. Once safely held by Kale, he turned tear-filled eyes and watched to see what Leilani would do. As if daring her to force him back into her arms. Her hands dropped and she smiled. “You were very smart, Mano. You didn’t try to run away.”

With a noticeable tremor in his voice, Mano said. “I saw his big teeth, but he didn’t bite me.”

“Cesar’s a good dog. He’s been trained not to bite. Would you like me to introduce you to him? I promise, once he knows you’re his friend, he’ll never attack again.”

Leilani started to refuse, and when Kale shot her a frown, she stopped and watched the boy carefully. Mano first looked at her to see her reaction. Then he looked at Kale, who smiled encouragingly. Then he glared at the dog who sat at a distance with a watchful grin on his face, panting, with his sharp teeth visible. A shudder gripped him at the same time as his shoulders stiffened. “Will you stay with me?”

“Of course!” Kale carried Mano, and they all walked up to the waiting canine, which began whining his greeting and wriggling his rear end that seemed glued to the ground. With a hand motion, Kale released him from his hold, and the dog sprinted toward them, friendly and looking for pats.

Close up, Leilani could see the dog was very young, though not a puppy and his delight in the small boy caught at her heartstrings. He licked his face, which made Mano laugh and want to be lowered. When the dog rushed him, he bravely pushed him away and ruffled the fur around his ears—exactly the same way as Kale.

When Cesar ran to Leilani, she bent over to pat him and had her face washed too. “Why Kale, he’s a big beautiful baby.”

“But trained to guard. It was brave of you to run past him to get to Mano. Cesar can be frightening.” Kale took Mano’s hand and held his other out to her. “Mia has our lunch ready. What say we go and have a picnic?”

“Can Cesar come?” Mano still had an arm around the dog’s neck, while the animal gazed back at him with adoration.

“Leilani, would this be okay with you?” Kale watched her reaction closely.

“He’s more than welcome, as long as he doesn’t try and steal my food. Don’t know about you guys but when I get the…um poop scared out of me, it makes me kinda hungry.”

Kale roared, even Mano giggled, and Leilani felt as if she’d made headway with both these prickly males. Her heart sang.

Chapter Fourteen

“Are you sure he’s okay with Mia? She’s trying to bake, and Mano has a thousand questions,” Leilani’s nervousness showed.

That afternoon, Kale discovered that Leilani’s new ward had a voracious appetite for knowledge. Not only did the half-pint ask questions, he demanded explanations and wasn’t at all satisfied with one-word answers.

“Mia is in her glory, trust me. She loved it when I would bake with her as a boy and I only did so because I knew I’d get to eat all the misshaped cookies.” He grinned evilly, and she knew his secret.

“And you made very sure there would be a number of those, right?”

“Who, me? Are you accusing me of being naughty?”

“Yep.”

“Poor Mano. He hasn’t a hope in hell of getting anything past you, does he?”

“Nope.” She laughed at his disgust, and then followed when he beckoned her to come. “Where are you taking me?”

“I haven’t shown you the entire house. There’s a private studio off-limits to most of my guests. Somehow, I feel as if you would appreciate it, and for the life of me, I don’t know why, but I want to share it with you.”

From the minute he’d stepped into his private sanctuary earlier, he’d felt an overwhelming need to bring Leilani to see his treasures. Maybe to feed his ego, who knows?

All morning he’d fought the urge to rush to the beach, throw her over his shoulder, and haul the loveable creature into his paradise. Now that the moment had come, nervous streaks of fear pumped through his stomach and left him experiencing a reaction that he hated.

Sensitivity unmanned him and he’d always hated how much he cared. Still reeling from the power of his emotions, he remembered as a young lad when he’d first shown his mother his secret hobby. How letdown he’d felt when he saw her struggle to show an interest, begrudging him the time he spent here dabbling rather than at the hotels.
Dabbling!

He stopped for a minute to catch his breath, and decide once and for all if he trusted Leilani to understand. Could he handle it if she didn’t get it…get him?

Meanwhile, she stood with him at the entrance to the covered courtyard where he often lunched. A gasp made him study her rapt face. Then he looked to see the familiar setting through her eyes.

Graced with a warm, oak-colored patio set, chairs to match covered with white and blue typical island materials, and many larger shade trees, the spacious area was indeed quite a feature. A multitude of poinsettias planted in fancy urns of various sizes embellished the gleaming white walls, as did the garlands that Mia insisted on using to decorate for the Christmas season.

He supposed to one unfamiliar with the room, the area showed pleasantly, but being used to luxurious surroundings all his life, he’d become immune. After hearing her gasps of admiration, the villa-like setting presented him with a completely new perspective—an awakening. Kale swung his gaze in every direction, copying Leilani and knew the minute when she’d seen the window he’d worked so hard to make perfect.

The pattern in the multi-colored pieces of stained glass was of a number of elves and fairies peeking out from under the fronds of island ferns. He’d designed the characters to be cheeky and mischievous, and they’d turned out exactly as he’d seen them in his imagination. The window was rich with vibrant tones of greens from dark to light and also bright reds, pinks, yellows, all constructed using intriguing types of glass. Not breathing, he waited—and waited.

Her silence captured his attention. He finally gathered the courage to look down into her face and saw tears gathering in her eyes. She slid her fingers into his hand and whispered. “What genius made that window? It’s incredible!”

Now, he couldn’t wait to drag her into the studio and show her more. There were so many he’d made over the years, all huge, all incredibly intricate, and all different. In his eyes, the gallery presented a wonderland. At the end of the room, a whole wall of windows, where the natural light made the room glow between the colored glass and bevels of crystals, produced a festival of prisms and had been his ultimate achievement. When she saw those, the tears began to fall.

“I’m embarrassed by my lack of control, Kale. But beauty like this makes me weep every time.” Her slender body had turned away before he could stop her.

The words pleased him to such a degree that he hesitated to touch and instead let his eyes eat her up. Such a tiny thing to hold so much emotion, and he knew, without any more doubts, that he needed her to belong to him…from this day forward…for better or for worse.

He also knew she had enough on her plate right now, and it would require patience. If he became her strength through the troubled times, maybe she’d learn to love him back.

Chapter Fifteen

Leilani looked around at all the people who had shown up for Aunt Mele’s celebration and realized that her aunt, unlike her mother, had made many friends over her lifetime.

These individuals truly cared that they’d lost a companion and neighbour, and it was obvious when it came time for them to file past where Leilani sat with an empty chair next to her after the ceremony.

She appreciated seeing Kale, who had come to sit in the very front as if he wanted to be near her and she liked that he hugged her as if she mattered. Most of all, 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.