I'm Kona Love You Forever (Islands of Aloha Mystery Series Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

had to leave.
    “We’ve been gone a long time,” Farrah said. “We need to run by Beatrice’s before it gets too late. I’ll be bummed if Sir Lipton doesn’t remember me.”
    “She will,” I said. “Dogs don’t forget.”
    Sir Lipton was Farrah’s dog—half-Jack Russell, half-beagle. When Farrah first got the puppy she’d dubbed it “Sir Lipton.” Sometime later she learned the name should’ve been “Dame Lipton.” Even though the dog had more than established its gender by producing a litter of puppies, I’d been unable to convince Farrah to use the correct pronoun. In her mind the dog was a “he.” I’d learned long ago Farrah wasn’t inclined to admit a mistake no matter how compelling the evidence.
    “Maybe I should’ve taken him with us,” she said. “He would have liked Tahiti.”
    Ono chimed in. “ It would’ve been a nightmare dealing with the quarantine laws for all the islands we visited.”
    “Yeah, but I still feel bad about leaving him. He likes sailing.”
    After another half-hour of hugs and kisses the last of the guests had left.
    “ Mahalo for doing all that,” I said to Steve.
    “Doing all what ? I picked up some pupus at the grocery store and arm-twisted a few friends to bring drinks. On the bell curve of parties, this one was two standard deviations to the left.”
    “Well, it was still nice of you to get everyone together on such short notice.”
    “ Oh, honey,” he said. “It was my pleasure. My people are always up for a party. By the way, don’t you think Farrah looks fabulous? Did you see how buff her arms are? Maybe I should take up sailing.” He preened in the hall mirror, flexing his biceps like a well-oiled gym rat at a body-building competition.
    “Let’s clean this mess up,” I said. “I’ve got a busy day tomorrow.” I told him about Sifu Doug bringing his niece to my shop. “He said I can call her an ‘intern’ so I don’t have to pay her.”
    “ Huh. You’d think Doug and Lani would love having a free babysitter for a week,” he said. “They never get to go anywhere.”
    “Yeah.”
    “The girl must be some kind of wonderful if they’re dumping her on you instead.”
    ***
    I skipped my workout the next morning. I slept in a half-hour later than usual and took my time getting ready. It was silly of me to care what a teenage-girl from Honolulu might think of me, but I couldn’t help it. I changed my clothes at least three times before going out to the kitchen.
    “Don’t you look spiffy,” said Steve. He was munching on Greek yogurt mixed with granola. Did I make that much noise when I ate granola? I hoped not.
    “I’ve got a busy day,” I said.
    “Yeah. More importantly, you’ve got Doug’s reject from the big city coming in to follow you around and drive you nuts. Are those chandelier earrings for her benefit or are you hooking up with Hatch at lunchtime? A little quickie over the lunch hour may be just what you need to get you through the rest of the day with the Honolulu hellion.”
    I never wear jewelry. Okay, I rarely wear it. Me sporting bling is a sure sign of distress—like flying the flag upside down or tapping S-O-S in Morse Code on the coffin lid as they’re about to bury you alive.
    “I thought the se earrings looked kinda nice with this shirt,” I said.
    “They’re great. I’m just surprised to see you all dolled up for Doug’s cast-off.” He kept his head down, ostensibly concentrating on his yogurt, but I spotted the smirk.
    ***
    I pulled into the alley behind my shop and parked. As I locked the car doors with a peep, I remembered Farrah would be working at the Gadda for the first time in over two months. I hurried to her back door.
    The bell on the door jangled as I went in. Farrah had “belled” both the front and back doors of her store and her apartment to sound an alert whenever someone came in. She wasn’t one for fancy alarm systems or security cameras, but she’d become edgy after an intruder