The Complete Legacy Series: Books 1 - 6

by Paula Kay

  Gigi guessed that the confusion probably showed on her face, as Silvia continued to explain.

  “Many of the children who live here do have a living parent who gave them up, but hasn’t signed away their rights to the child. So they are not eligible for adoption. So here, we just care for them for as long as they need us. Many will go on to get jobs or even work here at the orphanage. We’ve had a few who have even gone on to university, which we’re quite proud of.”

  “That’s so great. I can see why Tori was so taken with you all here,” Gigi said.

  “Tori’s been a godsend to me—definitely a case of God bringing someone to help just when I needed it the most. We’ll really miss her around here.”

  “Oh? I didn’t realize that she was leaving.”

  “Well, she believes that she’ll be back soon. She has some things back home to attend to.” Silvia tousled the hair of the little girl stirring awake in her lap. “And we know that God will provide more help for us, isn’t that right, Maria?”

  Gigi tried to hide the worry that she felt on her face, but Silvia reached out to take her hand.

  “Now don’t you worry, Gigi. We’re fine here—more than fine. We’ve actually got some great volunteers at the moment, of which you and Douglas are my new favorites.” She winked. “Besides, we may just win you over for a longer stay before the week is done.”

  Gigi saw the gleam in Silvia’s eye and knew that she was teasing, but she couldn’t help the stirring that she felt in her heart—that feeling that was starting to become quite familiar to her now.

  “Well, we do feel that we need to honor our commitment to Loretta and Frank, but who knows after that? Stranger things have happened.” Gigi laughed and Silvia got up from the bed, placing Maria down to walk as she reached to take the baby from Gigi.

  “I can keep her here for awhile if you don’t mind.” Gigi looked down at the sleeping child in her arms. “She looks so peaceful.”

  Silvia bent down to place a soft kiss on the baby’s forehead. “She does, yes. She likes you.” She grinned at Gigi. “And I was only joking about the ‘winning you over’ comment—well, mostly joking.” She laughed. “I really just appreciate you being here and will look forward to spending more time with you throughout the week. I have the feeling that you’re going to fit right in around here.”

  “I think so too. It already feels pretty good to me,” Gigi said, looking down at the baby asleep in her arms.

  Silvia turned just before she stepped outside the small room. “Dinner will be around six-thirty, and not that you have to feel like working so soon after arriving or anything, but feel free to join us earlier—if you’d like to help.”

  Gigi nodded her head. “You can count on it.”

  “Oh, and if you need some relief with the baby before then, bring her across to the main building. There will be someone to watch her there—a volunteer or one of the older children.”

  “Thank you. I will. Silvia?”

  Silvia turned around to face her from just outside the open door.

  “I’m glad that we’re here—that we’ve met you. It feels very right to me.” Gigi was trying to hold back some of her emotion.

  Silvia grinned as she walked back across the room, making her way to where Gigi still sat on the mattress holding the baby. She reached down to give Gigi a big hug. When she finally released her embrace several seconds later, she looked Gigi intently in the eyes before she spoke. “It feels right to me too.”

  Chapter 19

  Gigi sat on the mattress holding the baby girl long after Silvia had left the room. There was a nice breeze blowing through the open doorway, and she could hear the sounds of children’s laughter from not very far away. The child stirred in her arms, and Gigi looked down just in time to see a big smile come across her face when she looked up to see who was holding her.

  “Hi there, pretty girl.” Gigi put her face close to the baby, smiling widely as she spoke to her. “I didn’t even get your name, did I?” The little girl looked at her with wide eyes, making the sounds that only a delighted baby can make—sounds that can soften even the hardest of hearts—not that Gigi needed any warming up to at all by small children. It was a role that she was more than comfortable with—a role that she’d been missing desperately. “We’ll just call you bella for now, won’t we?” The baby giggled, seemingly delighted with the conversation.

  Gigi tilted her own head back as she laughed, and when she glanced up, she saw Douglas standing in the doorway. “Hey, you. How long have you been standing there?”

  He had a habit of catching her off guard every once in a while when she would find him watching her, that smile on his face, his eyes filled with the love that she’d never tire of appreciating.

  “Oh, long enough to witness one of the loveliest interactions that I’ve seen in a long time.” He laughed as he crossed the small room to sit down on the mattress next to Gigi and the little girl, reaching his finger down for the baby to grasp. “Hi there, little one. Are you having fun?”

  Gigi looked at him, feeling the big grin that didn’t seem to leave her face these past few days. “Isn’t she beautiful? And she seems so happy.”

  Douglas reached over to give Gigi a quick kiss on the cheek. “She does. And so do you.”

  “I am. I’m so happy. Holding this little one in my arms—well, it’s exactly what I imagined it would be. Look at her. She just wants to be held, talked to, loved.”

  “All things that you are extremely skilled at, my darling,” Douglas teased, winking at her and settling in beside her with his back against the wall.

  “Well, babies are easy to love.” She teased him back but only for a second before she reached out her hand to grasp his on his lap. “And adoring husbands. They’re pretty easy to love too.”

  They both laughed, and Douglas was quiet beside her as he watched Gigi talk and coo with the little girl, the baby’s giggling plenty of entertainment for both of them for the next several minutes.

  “Do you regret not having children, Gigi?” Douglas’s voice was quiet.

  She thought for a few seconds before answering him. Of course it was a topic that they’d discussed before, but she sensed that he was seeing something different in her here—probably the same intense feeling that she was having but couldn’t quite grasp herself.

  “You know, the truth is, I think I do regret it. For many years, looking after Arianna was enough for me. I didn’t even really think about the fact that I was unmarried, that those years of having children of my own were passing me by. And I suppose by the time I’d been with the Sinclairs for so long, I thought that I’d be a grandmother of sorts to Ari’s children. So yes, I guess if I’m being honest, I wish that I did have my own grandchildren to look after, to love.”

  Douglas brought her hand up to his lips, a gesture Gigi never tired of. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at him, and it was all she could do to speak.

  “Do you regret it? Not having children?”

  Gigi knew most of Douglas’s history long before the two of them became involved because of his close friendship with the Sinclairs. She’d known the terrible time that he’d gone through watching his first wife lose her battle with cancer. And before she’d gotten sick, Douglas had been extremely focused on his career as a prominent lawyer in San Francisco. He and Gigi had talked about the fact that he’d not been willing to sacrifice the time needed for a child, that it had been a source of frustration between him and his wife. And then everything became about her illness. Gigi guessed that Douglas did have regrets, but they were different from her own.

  “I don’t think about it much, but I suppose if I had to do it all over again, yes. I would have had children. But I’m not sure that I would have been a great father.”

  Gigi caught the frown that appeared for just seconds on his face.

  “I do think I would have been an excellent grandparent.” He laughed, and Gigi guessed that he was probably trying to lighten the mood.


  “Well, for the record, I think you would have been an excellent father. And you are most definitely a good grandpa.”

  Douglas laughed kissing her hand again. “Yes, we mustn’t forget the girls. Jemma would never forgive us.”

  They had happily taken on the role of grandparents to Jemma and Kylie, and Gigi would always think of Blu as a daughter of sorts. Their easy relationship had evolved over the years, especially since Arianna’s passing, and Gigi and Douglas knew that they were considered an extension of Blu’s family.

  Gigi looked at him for a moment as she adjusted the baby, who seemed to finally be getting slightly restless in her lap. “And also for the record…” She leaned over to kiss him on the lips. “I wouldn’t change a thing if it meant not having you in my life right now.”

  He smiled at her and she thought she saw just the hint of a tear in his eye. “Me either.”

  Gigi held the baby out to Douglas. “Will you hold her for just a minute while I get up and use the restroom? I’m going to go early to help with dinner if you’d like to come. We can drop the baby off to someone on the way.” She laughed. “Silvia sure does make everything sound so easy around here, but I gather that there’s plenty of people to look after the little ones.”

  “Yes, I’ll come with you.” He stood up to take the little girl from Gigi. “I’m not sure how easy I’d say things are here but I think I know what you mean.”

  “Oh? I didn’t even get a chance to hear about your walk—or to fill you in on the rest of my conversation with Silvia. Let’s make sure to call it an early night so that we have plenty of time to talk.”

  Douglas nodded, his focus for the moment on the little girl he held in his arms.

  Chapter 20

  Everything had a very busy feel to it around the orphanage, and Gigi loved it. She and Douglas had found the building that Silvia had mentioned taking the baby to. Inside were more toddlers than Gigi had seen in long time. She laughed when she entered the room and saw the chaos that seemed loud but happy to her.

  “Hi, I’m Kate. You must be Gigi and Douglas.” A young girl stepped forward to greet them and take the baby out of Douglas’s arms. “How is Gabriela feeling?

  “Gabriela. What a sweet name. We didn’t know it until now, but she’s been so good. I think her tummy must be feeling better, as she’s hardly cried at all. And great to meet you, Kate.” Gigi extended her hand to her. “This is quite a full room you have here.” She laughed, looking around at the somewhat oddly organized busyness happening around her.

  “Yes.” Kate laughed too as she looked around the room. “Gabriela is our youngest right now. It would be more difficult with more babies, but actually the older girls help a lot with the younger kids.” Kate gestured to one corner of the room where two older girls seemed to be working on a crafts project with the little ones. “They’re wonderful, really. Have a look around if you like,” Kate added with a big grin. “We’ll all be heading over to the dining room shortly.”

  “That’s where we’re going after this,” Gigi said as she walked over to say hello to the children and check out their project. She noticed Douglas’s eyes darting around the room and she knew him well enough to know that he was assessing the quality of the building. She guessed that it was part of what he’d done earlier while out on his walk, and she knew that there would be discussions between them later about his assessment and what they might do to help the orphanage in terms of a donation.

  The two said their goodbyes, with some hugs from the children and a last kiss to the smiling Gabriela, who seemed more than content with her new playmates for the night, and headed off to the dining room to see what they could do to help prepare for dinner.

  There was a little clearing in the center of several buildings that were all within an easy distance of one another. As they walked along the path, Douglas pointed into the distance past the big building that Gigi guessed must be the dining room.

  “The garden is back there and it’s quite impressive, I must say—lots of variety, and it seems to be tended to very well.”

  Gigi nodded her head. “I’d love to have a proper look tomorrow—get the full tour of the place. Right now it looks like someone is very happy to see you.”

  Before they’d made it to the dining room a young boy came running fast towards Douglas, his arms outstretched and a big grin on his face. Gigi guessed that he must have been about six or seven.

  Douglas laughed, as he bent down to give the little boy the high five that he’d held his palm up for. “Gigi, this is Carlos.”

  Carlos grinned widely at Gigi. “Hola.”

  “Hola, Carlos. How old are you?”

  “I am seven years old.”

  Gigi smiled at the expression of a child who was proud of his perfect English. “It’s very nice to meet you.” She smiled at Douglas, who had lifted the little boy onto his shoulders.

  “I met Carlos when I was out walking earlier. He’s the one who showed me the garden. And he’s quite the tour guide, aren’t you Carlos?”

  “I don’t understand, Mr. Doug.”

  Gigi and Douglas laughed at the confused but happy face smiling down at them.

  “I was telling Gigi that you did a good job showing me around.”

  “Oh, yes. And more tomorrow, si?”

  “Yes, tomorrow we want to see everything. Isn’t that right, Gigi?”

  Gigi nodded, reaching over to rub her hand across the little boy’s back. “Yes, that would be great, Carlos.”

  “Ms. Gigi?”

  “Yes.”

  “That feels really good.”

  Gigi laughed because the wide smile and look on the child’s face was priceless—like a cat that hadn’t had a proper back scratch in ages.

  “Well, aren’t you just a very polite little boy?”

  Carlos looked like he was debating whether or not to speak his thoughts out loud, which made Gigi even more amused. “Ms. Gigi.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m actually almost eight years old.” He looked so somber as he spoke that it was all Gigi could do to keep from laughing, but she kept herself composed as she replied to his rather serious statement.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. You’re not a little boy at all, are you then?”

  “No. I’m a bit small for my age, but Ms. Silvia says I’ll get bigger if I keep eating very well.”

  “Yes, that’s right.” Gigi smiled, but the thought also crossed her mind that she had noticed that many of the children did seem rather small for their age. She and Douglas would have to sit down with Silvia and make sure that they were getting the nutrition and calories that they needed. That would be priority number one in terms of the financial help that they could offer. Nothing was more important than that.

  Gigi and Douglas, with Carlos on Douglas’s shoulders, walked up to the dining room. It was a large area with a cement floor, and Gigi guessed that there were about twenty picnic-sized tables throughout. In fact, the area reminded her of what she’d seen at some of the big parks back home. There weren’t walls except for the one at the far end, but the whole area was covered. To Gigi, it looked practical, while at the same time inviting.

  The older kids were busy setting the tables, singing to the music playing from a large boom box in the corner, and before she could step further inside the room she felt little arms coming around her middle from behind, which made her instantly smile.

  “Hola, Ms. Gigi,” a quiet voice said.

  Gigi turned around to scoop up the smiling Jimena into her arms. “Hola, Jimena. How are you?”

  “I’m hungry.” The child said it with an expression on her face that made both Gigi and Douglas laugh.

  “Well, I bet you’re going to be eating dinner very soon.” Gigi set her down and took her by the hand. “Shall we go see if there’s something we can help with?”

  Jimena shook her head. “I have to help set the tables.” Her expression grew quite serious again. “It’s my chore.”

&nb
sp; Gigi laughed. “Okay. You go do that and you can sit by me at dinner if you like. Would that be good?”

  “Si.” Jimena grinned and then ran off towards the tables.

  “Mr. Doug?”

  Douglas had taken Carlos off his shoulders and the little boy was beside him, tugging on his shirt lightly as he spoke to get his attention.

  “Yeah, buddy?” Douglas said, grinning as he put his hand around the small boy’s shoulders.

  “Can I sit by you at dinner?”

  Gigi loved the interaction and the expression on her husband’s face. Everything that had happened up until now was worth it for the experiences they were having. She’d never quite seen him this way with a child before and it was incredibly endearing to her.

  “I’d like that very much, Carlos,” Douglas said, giving the child a big smile to match his own. “Now should you be helping with the tables also?”

  Carlos nodded, his eyes wide. “Si. I have to go do my chores too.”

  “Okay then. You come by us for dinner in a little while.”

  “I will. Adios, Mr. Doug.” Carlos put his arms around Douglas’s waist to give him a big squeeze before he took off running in the same direction that Jimena had gone. He stopped and turned as if he’d forgotten something. “Adios, Ms. Gigi. It was very nice meeting you.” His grin was wide, and Gigi called out a goodbye as she reached over to put her arm around her husband.

  Douglas leaned towards her to kiss her on the lips. “What a sweet kid.”

  “Yes, and I think he’s taken quite a liking to you, Mr. Doug,” Gigi teased, kissing him again. “Douglas?”

  “Yes, love.”

  “Are we going to be able to leave them in a week?”

  She meant it as a joke but the look they shared said it all.

  “It might be hard, huh?” Douglas laughed.

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “Well, let’s not worry about that now, okay, honey? We have a full week ahead of us and I’m pretty sure that there’s a lot to be done around here. I think we’ll be earning our keep.” He winked, and Gigi laughed as she hugged him to her.