The Complete Legacy Series: Books 1 - 6

by Paula Kay

  “How are you feeling, honey? Did you have a rest?”

  “I did. Yes. Did you?”

  “No.” Gigi laughed. “Not really. Too much going on, and Douglas wouldn’t leave me alone.” She winked at Jemma.

  Jemma laughed. “Okay. Say no more. I’m still a child, remember.”

  “Silly. I meant that he had lots to talk about.”

  “Sure. Sure you did.”

  Jemma was enjoying their light-hearted banter. Already things felt easier here. As she’d been getting ready for dinner, she’d taken a shower and just let her hair dry naturally, falling around her face the way that she liked. And no make-up—somehow being in the middle of the jungle with a made-up face just felt all wrong. She felt a sense of freedom after being there only hours.

  “I think Rafael has a place saved for you.” Gigi gestured towards one of the tables in the corner where Rafael sat taking to a little girl that Jemma thought she recognized as Maria. “Do you like your room, bella?” Jemma grinned. She’d not heard the familiar term of endearment from Gigi in a while and it reminded her of many good conversations that the two of them had shared over the years.

  “I love the new building. And thanks for giving me a little space.”

  “Well, I know that you’re not a child—that you might appreciate a little privacy.” She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “Douglas and I trust you.”

  Jemma leaned in to give her a hug. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

  “Good. Now go over there and see what Rafael has on those plates for you.”

  Jemma made her way over to where Rafael was waiting for her, plates piled high with some type of chicken dish.

  “Hi.” His grin was wide. “Did you have a nice rest?”

  “I did, thanks.” Jemma walked around the table to sit down beside the little girl. “Are you Maria?”

  She noticed the pad and pencil off to the side, beside Maria’s plate.

  The little girl nodded, her eyes wide. “Do you remember me?”

  “I do. Yes.” Jemma smiled widely at her. “Can I sit by you?”

  “Yes.” Maria smiled back and slid over on the bench just a little. “I wanted to say hi to you, and Rafael said that you wouldn’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all.” Jemma pulled her legs over the bench and sat down to dig into her food. “Is that your drawing?” She gestured toward the paper beside the little girl.

  Maria nodded, a big smile on her face. “Yes, I was just trying to draw a portrait of Rafael.” She giggled as he wiggled his eyebrows at her across the table. “But he never sits still long enough for me.”

  “Your drawing is quite good.”

  “Do you like to draw?” Maria asked her.

  “I used to.” Jemma smiled at her. “You must be about seven now? Is that right?”

  “Yes. I’m turning eight next month.”

  Jemma felt a pang in her stomach. She really must call Kylie soon. Sitting here with Maria now reminded her of her sister, and she wanted to be sure to stay in touch with her. Her hand automatically went to the necklace around her neck. Somehow in the day before they’d left LA, Gigi had managed to take it somewhere and get it fixed for her. She noticed Maria and Rafael both watching her.

  “Shall we?”

  Rafael nodded as the three ate their meal in silence for a few minutes, Jemma content to look around the busy room, memories flooding her about the last time she’d been here. She waved to Tori, who was sitting across the room with a table full of kids. Tori had been the first person to introduce Gigi and Douglas to Casa de los Niños all those years ago. She’d been at the orphanage for ten years and Jemma doubted that she’d ever leave.

  “Maria is being adopted.” Rafael’s words broke into Jemma’s thoughts.

  Jemma looked down at the little girl beside her, who had a big smile on her face.

  “Are you?”

  Maria nodded. “Yes. My mother and father are coming to pick me up soon. I’m going to live in America.”

  Jemma met Rafael’s eyes across the table. She knew that it was unusual for the kids here to be adopted these days. Most of them would spend their entire childhoods at the orphanage and then go on to college or move to the city to find jobs—or stay on and work at the orphanage as Rafael had apparently done.

  “Are you excited about moving to America?” Jemma asked the little girl, curious to know her answer.

  “I’m excited to have parents.” She grinned and Jemma felt her heart beat a little faster.

  “I bet your parents are very excited about getting you also.”

  “Do you think so?” Maria asked the question like she was genuinely unsure.

  “Maria.” Rafael voice was quiet.

  “Yeah, Raf?”

  “They’re just as excited as you are.” He smiled at the little girl. “And what are we gonna do without you around here?” He winked at her and Maria laughed.

  “I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to find someone else to make you my famous dessert.”

  Jemma thought the whole exchange between the two was quite endearing. She looked down at Maria. “What’s your famous dessert?”

  Maria laughed. “Oh, it’s just this lime pie. Fernanda taught me how to make it last year and it’s Raf’s favorite.”

  “Maria. It is not just a lime pie.” Rafael feigned a look of shock and then directed towards Jemma. “It’s the best lime pie you’ll ever taste.”

  Jemma laughed at the two and looked over again at Maria, who was giggling and looking up at Jemma.

  “It is pretty good. I’ll make it for you sometime—before I leave.”

  “That would be great. I love lime pie.” Jemma smiled and put her arm lightly around the young girl’s shoulders to draw her in for a little side hug.

  The three finished their meal and then Maria got up to start collecting their plates.

  “Thank you,” said Jemma. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I do, actually. It’s my job.”

  Jemma caught Rafael’s eye and remembered the tight ship that Gigi, Douglas, and Tori ran here. Everyone had their chores and everyone worked together—and played together. Silvia had always seen to that when she was alive, and it was something that Gigi and Douglas had kept going when they took over.

  Once Maria had left with their dishes, Jemma turned her attention to Rafael. “And you? What are you doing these days?”

  “I’m mostly the resident handyman, I guess. But I’ll do pretty much whatever Douglas needs around here. Usually it’s fixing things or building something, but sometimes I’ll go to meet someone in the city—a volunteer or guests to bring here. And I do also help out with the kids when we’re short on volunteers—or when I’m bored, basically.” He laughed. “What about you? What’s going on in the world of sunshine and movie stars?”

  Jemma remembered how funny she’d thought Rafael’s perceptions of America were when she’d met him. It seemed like a lot of the people here had a strong impression of the United States based on whatever current popular TV series had made its way there. But she’d also had the big realization that her life at the beach in La Jolla actually was a little bit like those TV shows, so then she’d had to explain that she kind of knew that her life wasn’t necessarily typical of that of a fifteen-year-old American girl. It had all been rather confusing to Rafael at the time. She had to stifle a laugh at just how much more confusing her life might seem right now.

  “That’s kind of a long story.” She laughed.

  “I’d like to hear it.” His face was kind, his smile genuine. “Shall we go for a walk?”

  Jemma got up from the table, smiling at him. “We shall.”

  She caught Gigi’s eye from across the room. She and Douglas were sitting at a table laughing with a large group of kids. Gigi smiled and waved to her before Jemma turned to follow Rafael out toward the path that she remembered led through the jungle.

  The two walked for a few minutes in silence, Jemma t
aking in the lushness of the trees and various plants that she remembered loving when she was here last. She used to bring a sketchpad out here and sketch various scenes for hours at a time. It had really been a very creative time for her now that she thought about it—a time unlike any she’d had since. She sighed, feeling the weight of everything that had happened since she’d last been there.

  “Is something wrong?”

  Jemma eyed Rafael carefully and gestured towards a big log off of the path. “Can we sit?”

  Rafael nodded, taking off one of the two shirts he had on to lay it across the log before Jemma sat down.

  Her heart melted just a bit more at the kind gesture and then she opened up to Rafael more than she’d opened up to anyone—maybe in her whole life—telling him everything until it seemed she had no more words to speak or tears to cry.

  Chapter 20

  Jemma relaxed fully into the embrace that Rafael had offered her when she’d finished speaking. Her tears were lessening and she felt emotionally drained but more comfortable with another person than she’d felt in a long time. She glanced up at Rafael and then slowly made herself sit up on the log next to him, eyeing him carefully.

  His gaze was so intense, the concern so obvious on his face.

  “Are you okay?”

  Jemma nodded. “I think so. Sorry for dumping all that on you. Not really sure where that need came from all of a sudden.” She laughed lightly, hoping to lighten the mood.

  Rafael was quick to reach over and take her hand. “Don’t feel like that. You can tell me anything. I mean that, Jemma.”

  She felt a stray tear slip down her face at the gentleness of his touch and his words. It had been so long since Jemma had trusted anyone—since she’d let her guard down so completely—that she still couldn’t quite believe that she’d shared so much with him.

  “Thank you. That really means a lot to me.”

  She’d told him everything she could think of—about the money, about Dex, about the partying and her running away and about what she was supposed to be doing and figuring out while she was here at the orphanage.

  Rafael had listened so attentively, and even though their lives had been so different, she didn’t feel any judgment from him at all.

  “Do you want to talk more about it—about what your ideas are for the future?”

  Jemma didn’t want to talk anymore. She was very tired all of a sudden. She shook her head. “Ya know, I think I really need to get some good sleep. Do you mind if we head back?”

  “No, not at all. It’s a good idea, I think.”

  They walked back in silence. Jemma stopped off to say goodnight to Gigi and Douglas and also to have a quick chat with Tori, whom she’d not said hello to yet. She promised she’d see them all at breakfast and went back to her room to settle in for a good night’s sleep.

  As she drifted off, she couldn’t help but have a few doubts about having shared so much with Rafael. Maybe it had been too much. She’d grown used to keeping her thoughts and her emotions to herself, so it felt odd and disconcerting that this man she barely knew anymore knew so much about her and her current problems. She had never opened up to Dex like that—at least not about her real feelings. She didn’t know exactly what had made her do it, but she hoped that she’d have some clarity about it all in the morning when she woke up rested.

  The rest of the week seemed to pass slowly to Jemma. She spent most of her time in her room listening to music or watching something on her laptop. She knew that she’d been avoiding Rafael ever since they’d…since she’d had the big talk with him—spewing every single thing that was ever bothering her out of her mouth. She’d had a lot of regret after that night, waking up that next morning convinced that she’d made a mistake to share so much of herself. She was embarrassed, and Rafael’s attempts at trying to talk to her since then had only strengthened her resolve to keep to herself.

  She was cordial when they happened to see one another in the kitchen or for meals in the dining hall, but she knew she was being standoffish and she didn’t care. Gigi had been by to talk to her that morning, asking her what was wrong and trying to convince her to come join the others in some activities. And she’d also asked her about Rafael—if something had happened between the two of them.

  Jemma had told her that everything was fine—that she just felt like being alone—to think about things, she had told Gigi, but she was pretty sure that Gigi wasn’t buying it. Jemma was just marking off the days until she turned eighteen in two weeks. On her birthday, she’d buy a ticket to LA and hope that Dex would be there to pick her up on the other end. Well, she actually hadn’t heard anything from Dex—her texts and e-mails had gone unanswered so far, but she still held out hope. If not, she’d figure everything out on her own once she got to LA.

  She’d ask Douglas about accessing her trust—he was the trustee and she knew that he’d give her that information, so she’d be able to check into a nice hotel or do whatever she wanted when she returned to LA.

  The ding from her phone of an incoming text interrupted her thoughts. She’d only really been texting with her mom, Chase, and her grandmother, who had been checking in with her daily. She was telling them everything was fine, but she was sure that they’d been speaking to Gigi also, so who knew if they really believed her? At least she was keeping out of trouble. That was the thing that would keep them all happy.

  She looked down to see a text from a number she didn’t recognize.

  Hey beautiful.

  She smiled.

  Who is this?

  She knew who it was. When Eduardo hadn’t sent her anything the first few days after she’d met him, she assumed that he hadn’t been interested in her after all. Now she was happy for the possibility of some excitement—or at least some flirtation.

  Your secret admirer.

  Jemma bit her lip as she thought about how to respond—how far to take it with Eduardo. She did seem to gravitate towards the “bad boys” for some reason. And she was a bit bored.

  What if I don’t want it to be a secret?

  She hit the send button and felt her heart racing as she waited for his response.

  Meet me at the dock tonight at midnight. I’ll bring the beer, you wear something sexy.

  She was playing with fire. And she didn’t care.

  I’ll be there.

  She could sneak out at midnight, no problem. She knew that it was pretty quiet at night, and as long as they didn’t make a lot of loud noise they could hang out near the dock without anyone knowing.

  She took a shower and got ready for dinner, careful to not display anything out of the ordinary. She’d change her clothes and put on just a touch of make-up later before she met Eduardo.

  Jemma took her normal spot at the table in the corner with Maria, noticing Rafael watching her from across the room. She felt bad if she thought about him too much, so she pushed the thoughts aside; but it was always hard to be in the same room with him and not feel bad. She hadn’t wanted to hurt him. That was for sure. She sighed. She really was a jerk.

  Maria looked at her from across the table. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing, why?”

  “You just made that loud sighing noise.”

  “I did?”

  “You did.”

  Maria was grinning at her, and Jemma made a mental note to call Kylie the next day. She missed her sister terribly, and having gotten close to Maria was reminding her of that every day.

  She finished her dinner, opting out of the pre-bedtime campfire ritual—just as she’d done every night since she’d been there—and she lay on her bed waiting for midnight to come. She’d changed into the one top she had that did reveal some cleavage and made up her face just the way that Dex had liked it. What was good enough for Dex would probably impress Eduardo.

  At eleven fifty-five, she grabbed a small flashlight and quietly slipped out the door. It was dark outside but the light she carried shone just enough for her to make her way t
o where the swimming hole and dock were. As she got nearer she could make out a small light and figured out that it was the cigarette that Eduardo must be smoking. God, she was dying for a cigarette.

  She walked over to where he stood, suddenly feeling a bit shy. She really hoped that she’d have enough instinct and good sense not to mess around with anyone too bad.

  Before she could even think about what he was doing, Eduardo had pulled her close and was kissing her on the mouth. Though she was taken by surprise, she didn’t resist. It felt good to be kissed—to be wanted in that way again. Still, she wondered if there was an underlying danger to the excitement she was feeling. She could feel the strength of his body against hers and she had the distinct impression that Eduardo was not someone to play with.

  But she loved the excitement of it.

  She pushed him away after an intense minute or two of kissing to look at his face in the moonlight.

  “Wow. It’s nice to see you too.” She laughed, but Eduardo didn’t look like he was into joking around.

  He tried to pull her towards him for another kiss, but she held him at a distance, gesturing towards the cigarette that he still held in his hand. “Can I have a drag of that?”

  He handed it to her, a smile on his lips. “You look delicious.” He reached out, putting his hand just under the low neckline of her shirt, startling her as she felt his fingers on her breast.

  She reached up to remove his hand with her free one, laughing more out of nervousness now.

  “Easy there, tiger. Slow down.”

  He eyed her with a funny look, taking the cigarette back from her when she offered it.

  Fire. That’s what Eduardo was. She should know better. The thoughts came from somewhere, so apparently she wasn’t totally oblivious to possible danger. But did she care?

  “Don’t be a tease.”

  “I’m not a tease.”

  Just an idiot sometimes.