The Complete Legacy Series: Books 1 - 6

by Paula Kay

  Gigi nodded her head in agreement as the meeting came to a close.

  Chapter 33

  Gigi felt Douglas’s hand on her back as she sent off an email. She’d been up out of bed for a while at the small table in the room and was trying not to disturb him, but the space was small and she guessed that her lack of sleep had also kept her husband awake for most of the night.

  “Are you okay, honey?”

  “No, not really.” Gigi turned her head to look her husband in the eye.

  “Let’s go back to bed and talk.”

  It was the only real space in the small room where they could both fit comfortably to have a conversation. Gigi had to smile because once again something small had brought up a memory of Silvia and their first meeting—in the hut—on the mattress.

  “What’s so funny?” Douglas smiled as he scooted over in the bed to make room for Gigi.

  “Oh, I was just remembering the day we first met Silvia—the three of us in the bed having a nice chat.”

  “And with the baby.” Douglas laughed too. He put his hand behind her to rub her back gently while he spoke. “So you had a rough night sleeping?”

  “Yes.” She was trying to hold back tears.

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Gigi turned her head slightly to look at him. He was trying so hard to do the best that he could with the situation. She knew this.

  “I’m just—oh, I don’t know. I just feel very unsettled after our meeting with everyone last night.”

  Douglas was quiet for a few seconds; he seemed to be studying something across the room—gathering his thoughts before he spoke, Gigi thought.

  “I know what you mean.” He sighed and then looked over at her. “I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t feeling the same way.”

  Douglas reached for her hand. “I just—I don’t know what else we can do, darling. I’m going to do my best to find the right person. You do know that, don’t you?”

  Gigi leaned over to kiss him on the lips. “Yes, of course I do, honey. I’m sure it will all work out. I think it’s just so much to take in right now because it’s still so raw.”

  Douglas nodded his head, but he didn’t look reassured by her words.

  “I do have some good news,” Gigi said.

  “I’d love some good news.” He smiled. “What’s that?”

  “I got an email back from Lia today. She’s going to come—in just a few days. And she’ll stay the entire time you’re away and maybe a bit longer.”

  “That’s terrific. I must admit, I’m a little surprised.”

  “Oh?”

  “I assume you did tell her exactly how rugged it is around here?” Douglas laughed.

  “Well, if we can handle it, I’m sure that Lia can too.” Gigi smiled. “And yes, I did tell her that it was definitely not the Four Seasons here.”

  They both laughed.

  “That’s great. I’m glad she’s coming.”

  “Yes, she’s more than willing to roll her sleeves up to help. I have the feeling that Fernando won’t mind sharing the kitchen with her. And if we can find the ingredients she needs, we can do some fun Italian-themed dinner nights around here.”

  “That sounds lovely. I’m really glad that she’s able to get away from the restaurant.”

  “Yes, she said that it’s pretty quiet in Tuscany right now—nothing that Carlo and Sofia can’t handle. She tried to tell me that she was looking for a little adventure too, which of course cracked me up.” Gigi saw the questioning look on Douglas’s face. “Don’t you think this has been quite an adventure for us, honey?”

  Douglas planted a kiss firmly on her lips. “I think every day is an adventure with you, my love.”

  “Oh, you.” Gigi laughed too as she kissed him back.

  “I think we’d better make a move this morning. I’d like to take one final walk around the entire property before I nail down our budget and best guess of a timeline for the work to be done. Which reminds me—they are going to be starting the new dormitory tomorrow. So I’ll be here to get them started, but I’m going to be counting on you to oversee the project while I’m gone.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” Gigi laughed, but she was feeling great joy that Douglas was trusting her with the project. They’d really learned a lot about working together as a team, and she quite enjoyed this new level that their relationship seemed to be on. “And can I join you on this walk, sir?”

  Douglas brought her hand to his lips. “That would be my complete pleasure. Let’s get going then, so we can be finished before breakfast.”

  Douglas opened the door of the small hut and practically stepped right into Carlos, who was sitting on the small porch with his face in his hands. The boy looked up at the sound of the door opening, a wide grin on his face.

  “Buenos días, papa Doug.” And he turned his head to yell in through the screen door. “Buenos días, Ms. Gi.”

  Gigi came out onto the porch laughing as she leaned down to give the boy a big hug. “Good morning, Carlos. My, you’re up early.”

  “Si. I missed you.” He directed this towards Douglas as he reached his arms out to wrap around his waist.

  Douglas laughed as he hugged the boy back. “I’ve not gone anywhere yet, silly.”

  Gigi thought he must have seen the same flash pass across Carlos’s face as she did—a slight look of panic—until Douglas was quick to step off the porch, calling over his shoulder.

  “Would you like to come with Gigi and me for a little walk?”

  Carlos nodded his head, skipping up to fall in line with Douglas as he reached for his hand.

  Gigi noticed that the boy was much more affectionate over the past few days than he had been prior to their saying goodbye before they’d left for Antigua. She thought it was very sweet but she knew that Carlos must also be feeling a lot of emotion about Silvia’s passing.

  The three walked along the path together, Douglas looking like he was deep in thought; he seemed to be eyeing the buildings along the way. They’d pretty much decided that starting with the dorms, all of the structures would be rebuilt from the ground up. They’d do it in stages, being strategic about moving the kids from building to building to handle their sleeping and schooling schedules.

  Douglas had found a local contractor that he was very pleased with. He’d said that he had a very hard-working group of young men that could get a single building up within a week.

  Douglas stopped in a clearing to sit down on a big log, pulling Gigi down beside him. They both sat in silence watching Carlos skip around, entertaining himself with a funny song that he loved to sing.

  Douglas sighed and put his head down in his hands.

  “What is it?” Gigi reached her hand up to rub his back, her leg pressed against his. She could practically feel the weariness—the sadness—that seemed to be coming from his entire body, and her heart broke that much more before her husband even answered her.

  Douglas looked over at her. “I just—I can’t help thinking—if only I would have had the guys out sooner working on the dorm—they would have been here to fix the roof.”

  “Douglas. Don’t you dare blame yourself for that.” Her hand went around his, squeezing it fiercely. “You heard Tori, the same as I did. If it wouldn’t have been this time, it would have been something else that she’d have tried to do on her own. You couldn’t have predicted a fall like that. No one thought that she would die from being on the roof.”

  He brought their clasped hands up to his lips to kiss Gigi’s. “I know you’re right, honey. I just feel so unsettled about it all.” He looked her in the eyes. “Usually once I make a decision, that’s it. This time… I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

  “I know what you mean. It’s because there’s so much sadness here in a place that was only a week ago filled with so much joy. I feel that too. It’s awful and I want to fix it. I know you want to fix it too.”

  Douglas nodded his head and put his arm around Gigi�
��s waist. “I do, honey. I just want to do right by the kids—and by Silvia.”

  Gigi gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You will. Everything’s going to work out.”

  Chapter 34

  Douglas and Gigi sat for a few more minutes in silence, Gigi hoping that Douglas could, in fact, let go of any guilt that he was feeling about Silvia’s death. She needed for him to be okay—for them both to be okay. So much had happened, and she felt that they had changed. Both of them. Casa de los Niños—the children—had changed them.

  They would do the best that they could to give the kids the best chance in the world to go on and make everything of their lives—everything that Silvia had wanted for each one of them.

  Carlos ran up to them, interrupting her thoughts with his laughter as he hurled himself into Douglas’s arms.

  “Carlos.”

  The boy looked at Douglas.

  “I’m going away for a few days.”

  “No.”

  The tears were instant, and she guessed that Douglas was as surprised as she was by the boy’s strong reaction.

  Carlos buried his face in Douglas’s chest. “I don’t want you go.” The sobs were coming fast now.

  “Hey. Listen to me.” Douglas was trying to get the boy to look at him. “I’m going to be coming back. And Gigi will still be here while I’m gone.”

  “That’s right.” Gigi leaned over to give Carlos a quick kiss on his forehead. “You’re going to be just fine, and Douglas will be back again before you know it.”

  Carlos wiped the last of his tears away with a swipe of his hand and was quiet for several seconds; he seemed to be studying Douglas intently.

  “Do you promise? Do you promise you’ll come back?”

  Douglas smiled and nodded. “Yes, buddy. I promise. I won’t be gone long at all. Can we count on you to help with the little kids while I’m away?”

  Carlos was nodding his head, his eyes not leaving Douglas’s. He reached out his hands to put them on each side of Douglas’s face. “Ti amo, Papa Doug.”

  Gigi’s eyes instantly filled with tears as she witnessed the exchange in front of her. She could see the wetness in Douglas’s eyes as he cleared his throat, looking like he was fighting to get words out.

  He pulled the boy in for a hug and whispered, “I love you too, Carlos.”

  Gigi saw the tears and felt the emotion, raw and pure.

  “Honey,” she managed, reaching out her hand towards the boy. “You go help with breakfast now, okay? We’ll be right along.”

  Carlos nodded and, with one look back over his shoulder and a wave, took off running towards the dining hall.

  Douglas was crying beside her, his face in his hands, his whole body shaking. Gigi hadn’t ever seen this much emotion in her husband, and it was almost more than she could bear. She reached her hand out to rub his back, her own tears falling silently as she waited for him to relax enough to speak.

  Finally, after he’d been silent for several minutes, he turned his head to look at her, wiping away the last of his tears with his hand.

  “Honey, what do you think about staying?”

  Even as he spoke the words, Gigi saw his mood lift.

  “Yes, of course. We’ll stay to be sure everything is running smoothly. I thought we’d already decided that.”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

  Gigi was confused.

  “What do you mean? Sorry, I’m not following you, my dear husband.” She laughed a little, trying to lighten the mood.

  “I mean, I think we should stay. We should be the ones to run Casa de los Niños and look after the children.”

  Gigi felt herself looking at him as if he’d just said the strangest thing in the world to her, but slowly it registered and she felt her heart beating faster.

  “Honey, are you serious?”

  “As serious as I was the day I asked you to be my wife.” He winked at her.

  Gigi laughed at the memory of how sweet and nervous he’d been the day he proposed. She knew that Douglas didn’t say things that he didn’t mean. This seemed more spontaneous than normal, but she guessed that it had been on his mind the past few days.

  He was standing now and pulling her to him for a hug. “I can see this being our life.” He looked at her. “I mean, if it’s something you want too.”

  “Yes.” She laughed and hugged him back. “I’m just stunned. I can’t believe you’re saying this.”

  “I know. I never expected that I could be so taken—feel so invested—in these kids. And Carlos. Man, that little guy has my heart, ya know.”

  Gigi nodded, feeling the deepest love for her husband as she saw his eyes welling with tears once again at the mention of the little boy.

  “And you’re willing to give up your days of golf, then?” She winked, teasing him.

  “Funny you should say that.” Douglas laughed. “I was thinking that the kids really needed some type of sports program, and we do have this big clearing.” He gestured beyond where they were sitting.

  Gigi laughed. “That sounds like a brilliant idea—maybe after the buildings are finished.”

  “Of course.” Douglas pulled Gigi in for a deep kiss. “Do you know how glad I am that you started this whole thing?”

  “What, you mean with my constant nagging and depression?” She laughed, knowing exactly what he meant.

  “I didn’t even know that we needed something else in our lives, but you knew all along.”

  Gigi looked up into the eyes of the man she loved. “So, we’re really going to do this, then?”

  He smiled back at her, grinning widely. “We are.”

  She laughed. “You make me so happy.”

  He leaned over to kiss her again. “It’s you that makes me happy. And don’t you ever forget it.”

  They made their way hand-in-hand towards the dining hall, discussing what would happen over the next few weeks. They’d make the announcement to the children at dinner, after filling in Tori and the rest of the staff.

  Douglas would keep his flight home as scheduled, but with the intention of taking care of a few personal matters and talking to a realtor about putting the house up for sale. There’d be a lot to do after that and Gigi would have to make a few trips back as well, but they both agreed that the most important thing was to get settled in with the kids. They were committed to making sure that the children knew that they were there to stay.

  Chapter 35

  Gigi and Lia sat in the small living room of what had been Silvia’s place. Once Gigi and Douglas had made the announcement that they were staying, Tori had insisted that they made the move into the bigger space, and there hadn’t been a reason to resist. Gigi felt quite sure that Silvia’s blessing was all over the decisions they were making, and now it gave her a great sense of peace to be in the space that she knew Silvia had enjoyed so much.

  Lia had fallen in love with baby Gabriela from the moment she saw her, and was holding her now as the two women talked. Lia had been there for a week, and the two friends had developed an easy pattern of working alongside one another at Casa de los Niños. Gigi had been right in thinking that Lia wouldn’t have any issues with the ruggedness of the place and that she’d fall for the kids just as Gigi and Douglas had done.

  Gigi looked at her friend and grinned.

  “You know, Gabriela is one of the few children here that is adoptable.”

  Lia looked over at her and laughed. “Oh, really? You don’t think I’m too old to start raising kids?”

  Gigi looked at her friend as she chose her words carefully. “I’m only partly joking, you know.”

  Lia laughed. “Well, we’ll have to see what Antonio thinks about that. It’s certainly not been anything we’ve ever talked about but—well, who knows? Stranger things have happened, I suppose.” She leaned down to kiss Gabriela on the nose as the child giggled in her arms.

  “Speaking of Antonio…” Gigi could hardly believe that in just a few days everyone tha
t she loved would be there in the jungle of Guatemala with her. It was a rather surreal feeling, to say the least.

  Lia grinned. “Antonio’s arriving on Friday. And I spoke to Blu also. They’ll be in on Saturday.”

  “I still can’t believe that everyone is coming. Douglas will be so surprised,” Gigi said.

  Douglas was due back tomorrow, and Gigi had let him know that Lia had decided to stay on for the ribbon-cutting ceremony and party that they were having on Sunday for the building dedication. The men had finished it up the day before and Gigi had been over the moon with how well it had turned out. She couldn’t wait for Douglas to see it.

  Lia laughed. “Seriously, Gigi, I really can’t believe that you two are doing this. I’m incredibly happy for you. We all are.” She reached for Gigi’s hand, and Gigi caught a look of something on her friend’s face.

  “What is it? That look?” She laughed, knowing her friend well.

  “Well, I knew you’d be okay. I really did.” Lia laughed. “But I really can’t believe the change I’m seeing in you. I mean, I can remember speaking to you not so many weeks ago and—well, it’s just really incredible how quickly things can change, isn’t it?”

  Gigi reached over to hug her friend. “And I know that you know a thing or two about that also. But yes, you’re right. I feel like a different person, and dare I say that I don’t know that I’ve ever been happier.” Gigi felt a lump form in her throat. “And Lia, wait until you see Douglas—with the kids, I mean. He’s really incredible.”

  Lia smiled. “I can’t wait to see him—and the both of you in action around here.”

  Chapter 36

  Everyone gathered close to the porch of the new dormitory where Gigi, Douglas, and Tori stood in front of the big ribbon that they’d placed across the front door. The children had been mesmerized by it and the new building, and Gigi guessed that they were more than curious to see the new place where they’d be sleeping. All of the older kids had agreed that they wanted to wait for Douglas to return before they saw it. And they wanted to throw a big party.