Natasha's Legacy

By

Heather Greenis

Digital ISBNs:

EPUB 9781772990287

Kindle 9781772990294

WEB PDF 9781772990300

Print ISBN 9781772990317

Copyright 2015 by Heather Greenis

Cover art by Michelle Lee Copyright 2015

All rights reserved. Without limiting the
rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the
prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the
publisher of this book

* * *

Dedication

To my husband, Doug, and niece, Kelsi Morris. For
reading, rereading and offering suggestions to make my dream a
reality. To my family and friends for all your support.

I love you all.

To the team at Books We Love.

Jude, for opening the publishing door and investing
in me and my story. Thank you.

Present Day

The loud hum of
u
nfamiliar chatter tore Keeghan out of her slumber.
Laughing and yelling.
Prying her eyes open,
she vaguely remembered they were in Kassima, and the time
difference. Too much of a time change.
Shut
up
, she willed the people in the hall.
I
need sleep.
Turning her head, she shifted her attention to
her husband. Nothing woke Will from a deep sleep. “What I’d give to
sleep as soundly as you do,” she grumbled. She rolled over, settled
her head on her pillow, and snuggled her back into Will’s
chest.

An hour later, she began to wake, yawning.
Without opening her eyes, she extended her hand, feeling around the
bed for Will. “Where is he?”

Focusing on her surroundings, she heard
running water. Will was either in the shower or shaving. Opening
her eyes, she saw the television in their hotel room, and the navy
patterned bedspread on the queen-size bed. Rolling onto her side,
she tried to focus on the clock radio on Will’s side of the bed.
“Eight o’clock. Will allowed me to sleep in.”

* * *

Will was sitting on the edge of the bed,
watching the news on television when Keeghan stepped out of the
bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. She paused to admire
the picture he made in his dark shorts and burgundy silk golf
shirt.

“I had another dream,” she informed him.

Will turned the television off.

“Now, where did the previous dream leave
off?” she questioned him.

“Hope married her university friend and
Stewart fell in love again. You left me feeling sorry for the poor
dude. Izabella turned down his proposal.”

“Right. They renovated and put a huge
addition on the orphanage, and Stewart and Izabella moved in with
Hope and Adam.”

“They got married after all?”

“Nope.”

“Seriously?” He raised his eyebrows. “They
just shacked up? Living in sin?
Tsk, tsk
.
Why buy the cow for a little milk.”

“Why buy the pig for just a little
wiener?”

“Touché. One for Keeghan. Just remember, this
little piggy loves the … I’m not about to call you a cow,
love.”

“Smart decision. Anyway, yup. They shacked
up, but that wasn’t common knowledge. Only the immediate family
knew the truth.”

“Hmm!”

Will dug out the notebook from his briefcase,
ready to scribble some notes as Keeghan removed denim walking
shorts and a short-sleeved red top from her suitcase. She began
chatting about her dream.

Their conversation continued during breakfast
and the drive to the university. Keeghan discussed Hope’s
miscarriages and the birth of their son and their daughter.
Alexander Stewart, named in honour of his grandfathers, and then
Rose Alisha. Their son, a shy Venderkemp, their daughter, a true
outspoken Donovan. By the end of the dream, Alex, the shy quiet one
had been engaged to a woman the family detested. This relationship
shattered the close bond the brother and sister once shared.

“Hope is married with two kids, and Alex and
Rose are typical teenagers,” he confirmed, “although you would know
more about sibling rivalry than I would. Please tell me you’re
willing to have more than one kid.”

They had discussed the topic. She wanted two
kids. “One at a time, Will. If they turn out like you—”

“You’ll want at least six or eight.” He
smiled and winked at her. “Are you ready to look at more archives?”
he asked, as he pulled into the university parking lot.

“You’re funny. You’re far more enthusiastic
than I expected. I enjoyed studying history in school, you didn’t.
I thought once you spent ten minutes in the library, it would be
like pulling teeth trying to get you to continue.”

“I’m maturing.” A false grin appeared on his
face before he turned his attention back to finding a parking spot.
“To be honest, I want to see pictures of both Alex and Rose
Venderkemp.”

“There's a spot,” she stating, pointing.

“I need a general time-frame, Keegh. How long
would it have been after Hope graduated before Alex would have
attended?”

They got out of the rental sedan and Keeghan
reached for Will's hand.

“They waited a year after their marriage and
then suffered two terrible miscarriages. Hope almost lost her life.
To be honest, I’d like to see pictures of Christine, Richard, and
Elaine. And Rose’s boyfriend and both of Alex’s girlfriends.”

“Then that will be one of our goals, my love.
What were
their
surnames?”

“Christine … Elaine McClaire and Richard …
ugh.” Keeghan paused and gave it some thought. She placed her hands
on her head. “I don’t remember hearing them. She squeezed a handful
of hair and scowled. “Crap. That pisses me off.”

“Take a deep breath, love.” Will put his hand
on her shoulder. “This is how the whole search started. You
couldn’t remember Natasha’s last name.”

She smiled. “You’re the
best. You’re so supportive of … everything.
Once we begin
looking at the school books, I’m hoping something in my memory
clicks.”

They entered the library, acquired the
reference books for the period, then walked to the section with
tables, sat down, and began flipping pages. A half hour later, Will
touched Keeghan’s hand. Looking toward him, he was beaming with
pride.

“I found their son.”

Keeghan leaned over and saw the name
Alexander Stewart Venderkemp—business /
psychology.
Then she looked at the picture. “Agh!
That’s
Alexander,” she gasped.

“Yeah. I told you that.”

“No, Will. That’s
Alexander
. The man who’s telling the story in my
dream. I knew it. I
need
to get him to
talk to me. Not as a narrator, but to really talk to me and provide
some clarification. I must be dense, but I have no idea why this
story is important to me.”

“If you get to dream about this guy, I get to
dream about Hope or Natasha.”

Keeghan sat back in her chair and smiled.
“I’m sure you would have a great conversation with both of them,
but I doubt you’d remember it in the morning.”

“Who cares? I’d enjoy it while it lasted.” He
winked at her and then focused on the picture. “If you think back
to your dream, is Alex in his late teens … early twenties?”

She pulled herself back to the table looked
at the picture. “I don’t think so. He seems a bit older than that.”
She looked up at her husband. “Come to think of it, this makes
sense. He broke up with the bitchy Elaine. It isn’t the greatest
time in his life. I hope this means the best is yet to come for
Alex. I like him. A little dense and naive, but he has a good
heart. He has the potential to be a sweetheart.”

“If I were to invade someone’s dreams and
pick a particular time frame, I recall that our lives weren’t a bed
of roses until your father decided I was a decent guy.”

“No. It wasn’t awful, but nothing like it is
today. You enjoy seeing my family now as much as I do. I must
admit, I wouldn’t be too impressed if one of our kids brought
someone like Elaine home either.” She stared at the school picture
of Alex. “Don’t let Alex and Elaine reconcile.”

“You think that’s a possibility?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Stay tuned for
my next dream to figure that one out. In the meantime, back to the
books. I’m sure you’re just as curious as I am to see Elaine’s
picture.”

Will nodded and continued turning pages. An
hour later, they were both yawning but no further ahead in their
search. They finished the books they were looking through and went
back to the beginning. After another hour of searching, they were
no further ahead.

“Shit, did we miss Elaine’s name? It isn’t
mentioned anywhere.”

“What are the chances Elaine didn’t
graduate?” Keeghan questioned. “Her father paid to get her
admitted, but that wouldn’t guarantee a degree. Depending on what
we find here, we’ll go to the library or wherever archives are kept
and search through old newspapers.”

“Good idea. We’re assuming she went back to
university after the breakup. If word got out it wasn’t her choice,
but his, that would be humiliating. There is always the possibility
they reconciled and got married.” Will closed the book. “We won’t
know that until your next dream either. Would it be wrong to assume
Elaine and Alex relieved Adam and Hope of their duties once they
were married, had a few children, and lived happily ever after?
Alex and Tom managed the orphanage and Elaine became a mom. Given
the dates of these books, the First World War ended about five
years ago. I’m surprised good old cousin Matthew didn’t go off to
fight. Perhaps they were too far south for that. That’s a history
lesson that’ll have to wait for another day.”

Silent, Keeghan sat back in her chair and
took a deep breath, thinking about Will’s comment. The war had
never been mentioned in her dream, making it seem a world away. “I
never even thought about the war. This story would have been a lot
different if they lived in Germany. Somehow I don’t think I would
be enjoying my dreams as much. I remember reading
The Diary of Anne Frank
and later watching the movie.
That poor family. Living in fear.”

“I know. I didn’t read the book but I did
watch the movie. My heart ached for that family. For all the people
affected.”

“We live in a crazy world, Will. Greed and
power dominate this planet. Sad thing is, we haven’t learned a damn
thing. Travel back in history. Everything has changed and nothing
has changed. We have seen too many wars. Today, politicians are
still creating havoc. The news is full of sad, depressing …
stuff.”

“I hear ya. I swear a politician’s motto is
‘give to the rich and to hell with the poor.’ I swear, for a lot of
Conservative politicians, all they think or care about is me, me,
me. If it doesn’t affect them personally, it doesn’t matter. Work a
few years, get a full pension, and don’t give a shit about anyone
you hurt along the way. We need a leader, with a heart and a
brain.”

Keeghan nodded, regretting opening a topic
that made her happy-go-lucky husband fume.

“This conversation is too depressing,” Will
groaned. “Enough. Canada has a new leader, and a new party in
power. Fingers are crossed for the promised change. I’m getting
tired and my eyes are sore. I haven’t looked through this many
books since my university days.”

Keeghan sat up and looked at the books in
front of her. “I’m not ready to give up, not yet. Give me a bit
more time. Chances are Rose Venderkemp went to Picton like the rest
of her family.”