Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
Callum
It took me five weeks to get back to Chicago, but I’m finally back. I walk into the dining room at the Mancini house and hear some of them talking.
“Has anyone noticed that Callum and Cillian have the same last name?” Lorenzo Mancini asks.
“Sure, but McGregor is a common name in Scotland, and Cillian was born in Ireland. So it’s not unusual that we have the same last name,” I say as I sit down to eat.
“Who has the same last name?” Cillian asks as he walks into the room.
“We do,” I say to Cillian.
“Ohh. Yeah, but that’s not uncommon, considering where we’re from.”
“But you two never knew each other, right?” Lorenzo asks.
“Why all the questions?” I ask him.
Lorenzo looks at Cillian and I see him nod at him.
“It’s me. I’ve asked Lorenzo to look into who my father is.
He left my mam and me when I was one. Then I lost my mam when I was sixteen.
So I threw myself into hockey even more and eventually got drafted by the Chicago Redhawks.
But I’ve always wondered. So Lorenzo, Sebastiano and Francesco are looking into it for me. ”
“My faither left us when I was one too.” I frown.
“That’s an odd coincidence. You two have the same last name, and you weren’t born that far apart. I know I don’t have to point out that your first names are similar too,” Sebastiano says as joins us with Francesco, Celestino and Domenico.
I start to think that maybe I need to have them look into my faither too. But I need to talk to my mam first. I don’t want to dredge up any bad memories for her. If she decides that she doesn’t want me to look, I won’t.
“I need to talk to my mam first, but would you be willing to look into mine too?” I ask them.
“Of course. Just let us know what you need.”
“Wouldn’t it be crazy if you two are actually related?” Celestino asks us.
Growing up, I always wanted siblings. I asked her once when I was older why I never saw her go on dates. She said she just never met anyone worth dating. I still hope that one day she’ll find someone. I hate thinking about her living alone.
“We could be like, distant cousins. I’ll talk to my mam today and let you know. I appreciate the help.”
“Of course. I can’t guarantee that we’ll find what you’re looking for, but we’ll do our best,” Sebastiano says to me.
The question is, do I really want to know about my faither? He chose to leave my mam and me. He hurt the one person who’s done everything for me. I step outside to call my mam.
“Hello, my favorite son.”
I chuckle.
“Hi, Mam. How are you doing?”
“I’m good. I’m headed back to Saltcoats tomorrow. What’s going on?”
“You remember Cillian McGregor?”
“Aye, I do.”
“He’s having some of the family look for his faither. I know I always say that I don’t care. And part of me still doesn’t. But I wanted to know your thoughts on having them look for mine.”
“You mean your faither?”
“Aye. But if you don’t want me to, I won’t.”
“Sweet boy, it’s up to you. If you want to try, you can. I tried to find him, but after a year of him not returning my calls, I had to give up. We had only been together for two years.”
“Did you ever meet his parents?”
“No. I talked to his mam on the phone a few times. I did try to call his parents after he disappeared. But their number was disconnected. So I now wonder if they were even his parents. I’m sorry that I didn’t change your name, but I didn’t have the money at the time.”
“It’s okay, Mam. You have nothing to be sorry for. This is all on him.”
“I still feel like I should’ve done more for you.”
“Mam, I had you and that’s all I ever needed. You raised me to be the best man I could be. There’s nothing that man could’ve given me that you didn’t.”
I hear my mam sniffle as I’m talking. I hate making her cry, but she needs to know that she’s an incredible person.
“Thank you, Callum. I love you, son.”
“I love you too, Mam. Do you want to know what I find out?”
“Yes. I would. I’ve always wanted to know why he left. Let me know if you need any information. I’ll do my best to tell you everything I remember.”
“Okay, Mam, we’ll talk soon.”
After I hang up, I head straight back to where everyone is.
“Looks like my mam is okay with us looking for the loser. I’ll tell you everything I know and if you need more, Mam said I can ask her. I know this can’t be easy for her, but I hope we can find out why he left.”
“We should at least be able to find where he is. Whether he wants to talk to us is another story,” Francesco says to me.
“I agree. I feel like if he disregards us, he’s a worse man than I originally thought.”
“I agree.” Sebastiano nods.
I’m a little worried about how this will turn out. But at the same time, both my mam and I need answers.
Moira
It’s taken Callum over a month to get back to Chicago.
But he’s finally here with me and I’m so happy.
It’s been a while since I’ve even dated anyone.
The last guy was Zachary, he was a dancer with Magic Nights.
The Bastianinis own it. We call them dancers, but really, they’re strippers.
A lot of the men in the family do it. Callum has hinted that he might join them.
I’m not thrilled about it. But I’d be a selfish girlfriend if I asked him not to.
He really wants to do it and I need to find a way to be supportive.
Zachary was a guy I met in high school. We went out a few times, but I wanted to focus on school so we broke up and stayed friends.
We lost touch when we graduated. But one night when we were at the club, there he was.
We started dating, I told the girls about it, but I asked them not to say anything to anyone.
I didn’t want to make a big deal about it in case it didn’t work out.
Then one night I walked into his dressing room and he was fucking the girl he had just taken on stage with him.
Luciana was right behind me when we found them and she fired him on the spot.
We had to tell her brothers that I was seeing him and they decided to back her up on firing him.
He was really angry and he tried to call and text me, but after a few weeks, I blocked him.
I’ve seen him around Lake Renegade a few times.
But for the most part, he keeps his distance.
“Did you hear that Callum’s been talking to Celestino about joining Magic Nights?” Isabella laughs.
“Shush,” I say as I roll my eyes.
“Are you okay with that?”
“It’s not like I can ask him not to. And I trust him. I mean, Rónán and Finn dance and you’re all okay.”
“You and Callum will be okay too. He loves you, and that’s the main thing. I hate when women put their hands on Finn. But I also know that it’s an act on his part. And that he’s mine. One hundred percent mine.”
Isabella hugs me.
“Thank you. I know all of that logically, but there’s still the part of me that worries. I get it now—why you, Luciana and Maeve want to be at the shows. At first I was like, why would you want to watch them?”
“Yeah, I rather see it than be at home wondering,” Maeve says as she walks in. Maeve is Francesco’s wife and she’s been through a lot with him. But they found their way through it all.
“I’m just excited that Callum’s back with me. Being apart was the worst.”
“I think that was the worst part for me too. Being apart from each other,” Maeve nods.
I just hope that Callum and I don’t have to spend anymore time apart.