CHAPTER ONE
Callum
I was born in Scotland and raised by my mam. I never knew myfaither, he left us when I was a year old. My mam said she didn’t know why, and when she tried to find him, it was like he just fell off the face of the earth. So she did everything she could for us. When I was ten, my granny and granda came back into our lives. They hadn’t talked to my mam since she told them she was pregnant. They didn’t agree with her choice to keep me. I remember the day they came over, my mam was so shocked when she opened the door. They apologized for being so closed-minded, and they were sorry it took them so long to come and apologize.
At first, she told them we didn’t need them. That we were doing just fine alone. But they kept coming back, and one day my mam gave in and sat down to talk with them. And from then on, they were in our lives. They would help take care of me when my mam needed to work. They even paid for her to go on a vacation. Life was different after that. Not that it was better, because mymam had always been the best mam. But she was less stressed and seemed a lot happier.
When I was twenty-one, I graduated from University with a degree in finance and business. Then I moved to Doolin, which is in County Clare, Ireland. It was there I thought I met the love of my life, her name was Maeve Flanagan. But I realized early on that her heart would never fully belong to me. I still held on to the hope that it could change. But then, the man who held that part of her heart that I never would, came back. And that’s when I realized that I wanted her to be happy. Even if that meant it wouldn’t be with me. So as much as I loved her, I let her go.
Then I met Moira Cooper. She made me realize that Maeve wasn’t really my soulmate. And I planned to move to Chicago to be with her and to be close to Saoirse. Saoirse is Maeve and Francesco Bastianini’s daughter. But I spent the first four years of her life raising her. She’s as much my daughter as she is theirs.
It took me a few months, but I finally moved to Chicago about a year ago. But I was only able to stay for three months. My plan was to be there for good, I had hired four managers to take care of the cafe for me. We’re open seven days a week, with the exception of Saint Patrick’s Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Things were going well, but three months after I moved, one of my managers had an emergency and had to quit. Then, another found out she was pregnant and decided she didn’t want to work anymore. So I had to go back and figure out what to do.
I hated leaving Moira, we were in the process of moving in together and planning our future. But now I’ve been away from her for seven months. She was able to come to visit me once a few months ago and I wish she could’ve stayed. But she’s in school and had to get back to Chicago.
I’ve thought about selling the cafe, but I worked so hard to buy it. Instead, I think I’ll ask my mam if she would want to runit. I like that I’m able to take care of her now. But I don’t know what else to do. And I miss Moira so much.
Moira
I barely remember my parents. I was five when they left me with my grandparents and they never came back. I’d like to say I missed them, but I really didn’t. Even before they abandoned me, they weren’t really interested in being my parents. They left me alone a lot and would just tell me not to answer the door or the phone. My grandparents would come to see me and I remember a few times they told my parents they’d take me from them. I don’t know if they cared, but at least I know my grandparents did.
My grandparents did their best to raise me. But they were older and I became a really angry teenager. I can see now that I was a handful. But they taught me that hard work will get me what I want and that if I expected others to give things to me, I was mistaken.
I had applied to several colleges, but the one I really wanted was Wildcat University in Chicago. They had the program I needed to complete to become a physical therapist. And I would still be close to my grandparents. They told me they were so proud of me.
I lost my grandparents the summer before I started at Wildcat. They went out for dinner and a car full of people hit them head-on. There were five of them in the other car, two of them died that day too. But every one of them was wasted, they said it was a birthday celebration. For their sentencing, I wrote an impact statement. I told them if they had just taken a cab or had a designated driver, my grandparents would still behere. But because they were selfish, they took away the only two people who ever loved me. There was only one of them that I saw shed a tear that day. The other two glared at me like it was my fault. It was the hardest thing I have gone through and I still miss them every day.
When I got to Wildcat, I met a group of people and we instantly clicked. For the first time since my grandparents passed, I felt loved and accepted. Isabella and Luciana Bastianini were the first ones to start talking to me. Then we met Clara Sullivan, Evangeline Kealoha and Owen Bayne. We’re all from different places, and we’ve been a tight-knit group for the last four years.
Isabella and Luciana are twins and come from a big family. We’ve come to call it the ‘Lake Renegade family.’ There are four main families and they all protect each other, no matter what. In the last two years, we’ve all been brought into the family. The twins are the daughters of Giacomo Bastianini. He’s the president of the Cimaruta Motorcycle Club. When they told us about their family, I admit I was a little scared. Everything I’d ever heard about motorcycle clubs were bad things. But after I met them and got to know them, I realized how much good they were doing and how much of a real family they all were. Then we met the Mancinis, they’re the Chicago Mafia. And that added a whole new layer of craziness to our new family, which I thought nothing could top. But I was wrong. Now we have the Athanasious and the Nikolaidises. They’re real-life shifters.
Being a part of the Lake Renegade family has given me what I always dreamed of. A real family, one that doesn’t judge me for my past or expect anything of me. They just love me. My grandparents would’ve loved every one of them.
CHAPTER TWO
Callum
I’m a prospect for the Cimaruta MC, I started in Chicago with the mother chapter. But because I’m in Ireland now, they’ve allowed me to keep prospecting with the chapter here. When I get back to Chicago, Giacomo has told me that they’ll patch me in then. I’m excited for that to happen.
Today, I’m headed to the home I grew up in so I can talk to my mam. As much as I love Scotland and Ireland, I need to be in Chicago with Moira. I thought about driving to my mam’s place, but it would take me a little over nine hours. So I chose to drive to Dublin and take a flight instead. While it’s still going to take me five hours to get there, it’s still better than driving all that way. If I had my Moira with me, I’d drive it without grumbling.
While I’m waiting for my flight, I text my girl. It’s a six-hour time difference for us, so she may not be awake.
Callum: Morning gorgeous, I’m sitting here missing you. I wasn’t sure if you’d be awake. But I wanted to say hi
Moira: Hi are you on the plane?
Callum: No, we haven’t boarded yet. I miss you
Moira: I miss you more
Callum: If my mam says yes to taking over the cafe, I should be able to get back to Chicago in a few months
Moira: I love that. Do you think she’ll mind doing it?
Callum: I’m not sure, but if she doesn’t want to, then I’ll start looking at selling
