THE CALLAHANS (A Mafia Romance): The Complete 5 Books Series

by Glenna Sinclair

  “You look like you could use a nap. Keeping up with this rascal is a full-time job.”

  Her eyes fell to the baby and lit with such complete joy that it was hard to miss. She was so in love with David that sometimes I wondered if I should be jealous. But then she turned those eyes on me and I knew there was nothing to be concerned about.

  I leaned close and kissed her. “Love you.”

  She patted the side of my face lightly.

  “So, am I ever going to see you now that your dad promoted you to CEO of MCorp?”

  “Probably more than before since Sean put his foot down against me acting within the mob. He’s decided that now that he has most of the Italian mob at his disposal, he doesn’t need any of us to work protection for him like Jack did. So it’s just MCorp now.”

  “Good. I can’t say that I’m sorry to see that happen. I’ve had my fill of late nights, wondering where you are and what you’re up to.”

  “I would have quit before if you’d asked me.”

  “I know. That’s why I didn’t ask. I wanted it to be your choice.”

  “Well, it was more Sean’s than mine, but…”

  “Technicalities.”

  I tugged at her chair and slid her closer to me. “What are we going to do with all the free time we have on our hands now?”

  “I think we’re going to be quite busy. There’s David here.”

  “Yeah, he’s a bit of a handful.”

  “And then the new baby.”

  “Yeah, I suppose…wait? What did you say?”

  There was amusement in her eyes as she looked up at me. “You haven’t noticed the signs?”

  “What signs?”

  “The nausea, the sleepiness. The crankiness?”

  “I just thought—”

  And that’s when I realized that anything I said would be the wrong thing. “A new baby,” I said instead. “That’s incredible, babe.”

  “Yeah? You don’t think it’s too much?”

  “I told you, I’d be happy with a whole houseful of babies as long as they all look like you.”

  She kissed me, and there was real passion in her kiss. I drew her close and kissed her back until the baby began to squirm and forced me to let go.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I promised her. “As long as we’re together, we can handle anything.”

  She nodded in agreement. “Until I get fat and ugly…”

  “Never.”

  ***

  Sean

  “We’ll have to talk to the caterer tomorrow,” Delaney said, tugging at my hand to get my attention. “Make sure they have those little sandwich things that you like so much.”

  “Sandwiches for a wedding reception?”

  “Why not? It’s going to be outside. We’ll just have an old-fashioned Southern picnic theme.”

  “We don’t have to dress in top hats and canes, do we?”

  She sat back a little and studied me as though she was considering it. Then she laughed. “No, babe. You dress however you feel most comfortable.”

  “Jeans.”

  “No. A suit. One of those light, casual things.”

  “Look out, Sean,” Carmine called from down the table, “she’s already calling all the shots.”

  He laughed, but I could feel the tension rush through Delaney.

  “Don’t worry. I like it when you call all the shots.”

  She groaned, smacking me lightly on the shoulder, but she didn’t turn away from my kiss. I pulled her close and kissed her firmly, making it clear to anyone watching that this was my woman and this was my moment. Then I picked her up out of her chair and walked her to the dance floor.

  “As long as I get to dance with you at our wedding, I’ll wear anything you want and eat whatever you set in front of me.”

  “That’s a deal.”

  I twirled her away from me, then pulled her back, holding her close, my forehead resting against mine. I’d never imagined myself finding happiness in a long-term relationship. But I couldn’t imagine my life without Delaney.

  Sometimes, late at night, I still thought about that night in the hospital room.

  I still thought about the moment I pressed the pillow against her face, about the look in her eye as she saw it coming. I imagined fear and panic there, but I knew it hadn’t been. There was just overwhelming relief. She was glad to have it over with, glad that the pain would be gone. She was grateful for my help.

  I hated myself for what I did. I hated that I was capable of such a thing. But Pops’ forgiveness. Killian and Kyle and Ian, even Stacy, each telling me they understood and that they wished I’d told them sooner, eased the guilt a little. But it also increased it just a touch. I wished they weren’t so quick to accept what I’d done.

  It was a terrible thing to be placed in that position. Momma shouldn’t have asked me. But she shouldn’t have had to suffer in such pain either.

  I pulled Delaney closer to me, wishing Momma had lived to meet her. I wished she’d be here for my wedding and for life we had yet to live. But I was grateful to have found Delaney at all, grateful that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me.

  You take what you can get out of life. I had my family. I had Delaney. What more did I need?

  ***

  Kyle

  The moment Ian and Mia left, I grabbed Amelia’s hand and pulled her to my car. I needed air; I needed to get out of that place. I needed to hold my wife in my arms and pretend that this was all the world consisted of.

  “Promise me that it will always be like this.”

  “I promise I won’t leave you. And I promise I won’t let anyone come between us. But that’s about all I can promise.”

  “That’s enough.”

  I kissed her, and then I drew her closer and kissed her like my life depended on it.

  There were only a few things in my life that I was sure of.

  Abigail loved me.

  Pops was proud of me.

  Killian and Sean accepted me as their brother.

  Ian would always have my back.

  And now this.

  Amelia was the love of my life.

  There was nothing more I needed.

  ***

  Abigail…seven years ago

  I lay alone in that hospital bed and listened to Brian speak to Sean outside the door. I heard him give the same speech to each of our children, warning them how thin I was, how sick I looked. Warning them that the bag of bones on which they were about to rest their eyes was not the fat, cheerful mother they’d known most of their lives. And each one responded differently.

  Killian nodded—I could see the shadow bounce up and down on the linoleum floor. He was stoic, my oldest child. I could remember when he was two and he fell on the steps outside our crappy little apartment, cutting open his knee. I cried more than he did, because Brian wasn’t there and he should have been. Cried because I knew Brian was practically living with that woman when he should have been at home with Killian and me—despite the fact that I was the one who kicked him out. Crying because I knew it wasn’t just a fling and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to convince him to come back to me this time.

  Killian was witness to all the ups and downs of my marriage. I never meant to burden my children with my problems, my adult problems. But, somehow, it was unavoidable.

  And then he came into the room, this big, strapping man, and all I could see was that gangly two-year-old boy falling on the front steps.

  I was going to miss so much. I would never see him get married. I’d never see him hold his own child in his arms. I’d never whisper the same lullaby to that child that I used to whisper to him. It killed my soul just to look at him and know that.

  Then Stacy. She sobbed before Brian could get the first words out. I’d tried so hard to hide my illness from her for the longest time, but I hadn’t realized how well I’d succeeded until now. Sweet Stacy, the blonde-haired child who’d been abandoned in a flea-bag motel after her drug-addicte
d mother took off with another of her johns. Who could resist that angelic face or her sweet, sweet voice? I saw it on Brian’s face. He fell head over heels for her the moment he set eyes on her—even though she wanted nothing to do with him. She’d had enough of men who used her for things little girls should know nothing about. But she warmed up to him.

  She would always be a Daddy’s girl. They would stay close, I knew. And she would marry.

  Maybe Killian. I saw the way he looked at her. Killian loved her in a way he would never love anyone else. I wanted to pull him aside and assure him that it was okay, that she needed him as much as he needed her. But he wasn’t ready to hear that just yet.

  They’d make beautiful babies together; they would have a lovely life. The one Brian and I might have had if I’d been a little more accepting and he’d been a little more patient. Maybe Killian and Stacy had gotten enough of our good qualities and fewer of our bad.

  Kyle was next. I worried about Kyle. Even though he was just as stoic as Killian on the outside, I knew he was soft as jelly on the inside. He struggled with the past, struggled with the things that had happened to him. He carried around a lot of guilt, too, a gift from his biological mother. He’d need a strong woman who would refuse to allow him to push her away. I prayed he’d find one.

  Ian. Ian was broken in ways that he refused to allow anyone to see, even me. I ached inside for him and worried every day that something would set him off and he’d head down the wrong path. I tried to get him help, but therapists can only do so much if he refused to talk to them. It was something Ian would have to learn to deal with on his own someday.

  He cried when he sat beside my bed. We talked about school and the future. Talked about the possibility of him falling in love and marrying. He was convinced it would never happen, but I knew he was wrong. No one could be alone permanently. We, as human beings, are designed to seek out others like ourselves. Ian was no different. I could only hope that he would find a woman who could love him despite all his quirks.

  Then Kevin.

  Of all my children, Kevin was the one I feared for the most. I knew my death would be a terrible blow for him. I tried to tell him how strong he was. I tried to reassure him that he could survive. But he wouldn’t hear me. He kept talking about holistic cures for my cancer, with hope in his eyes that he knew we didn’t have. I was dying, and I welcomed the release. I just wished he could understand.

  Brian didn’t get it either. He thought I should fight. He thought I should live with the pain and continue to survive no matter what that survival meant. But I couldn’t. I wasn’t that strong. I wanted to be strong for him, but it simply wasn’t in me.

  “I will always love you,” I told him late one night, weeks after we knew of my fate. “Promise me you’ll go on with your life. You’ll move on to some pretty young thing.”

  He kissed my cheek and laughed. “You know you’re the only pretty young thing I want.”

  “I won’t be here forever. You’ll have to stand up for the children and show them that life goes on.”

  “I will. We will.”

  “You have to understand that I won’t always be here, Brian.”

  “We don’t know what the future will bring.”

  “But we do. I’m dying.”

  But he refused to listen.

  And then there was Sean.

  Sean was my baby, the last baby to come from my womb. He was the child I carried while Brian was off with that woman…while he was off falling in love again. Sean was the child I held close, clung to because I was so afraid of losing everything else. He was the one thing I could keep close and control. Love without conditions.

  But he was grown now, nearly a man in his own rights. And he was so full of optimism, looking to the future with such excitement. He was going to be a lawyer and had plans to open a law firm with the girl he was with. My only child who’d already found love and a future he was optimistic about. He had it together.

  He was the one who could survive the horrible thing I had to ask of him.

  I couldn’t ask Brian. He so desperately wanted me to live that I knew he’d have me in restraints before he’d allow it. I tried asking him…it wasn’t going to happen.

  I couldn’t ask Killian. He was strong. Stoic. He would be there for his brothers and sister when it was said and done, but only if I didn’t add this guilt to his shoulders.

  I couldn’t ask Ian. He was broken enough already.

  I couldn’t ask Kyle. He was too soft, too desperate for love.

  I couldn’t ask Kevin. There was just something not right about his obsession with finding a cure for my illness.

  And Stacy...I couldn’t ask an angel.

  Sean was the only one left.

  ***

  Sean…seven years ago

  “The doctor’s going to discharge her in a few days, but he’s going to send us home with some medication that should help slow the growth of the cancer.”

  “And how much time will that buy her?”

  “Don’t know. At least a month or two more. When you’re counting your days in weeks, that’s pretty impressive.”

  I nodded. “What if she finds out?”

  “Then she can yell at me. But I’m not ready to let her go.”

  I nodded again, not sure what else to do.

  “Killian, Ian, Kevin, and Kyle have all had some time alone with her. Stacy came up, but she was crying so hard I had to make her step out. I’ll bring her back tomorrow.”

  “Does she know how bad it is?”

  “Of course. We saw three doctors, and each one said the same thing. We even went to some holistic quack, and he told her the same thing.”

  “There’s nothing that can be done?”

  “No.” Pops looked away, but not before I saw the tears in his eyes. “She just wants to be kept comfortable. She says there’s no point in fighting the inevitable. But you kids…you need more time with her.”

  We stood there for a moment, an uncomfortable silence falling between us. Then Pops rubbed his face with both hands, wiping away the grief and replacing it with simple exhaustion.

  “I’m gonna go say goodnight. I’ll be back first thing in the morning. If you need anything…”

  “I know.”

  I followed him back into the room, but stayed back as he leaned down and whispered to her before kissing her gently. Momma said something as he turned to leave, grasping his hand and whispering intently to him. He nodded several times, kissing her harder before he turned away again. There were tears on his cheeks, and his chin was trembling. I’d never seen my dad cry before. It was traumatizing.

  I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying myself.

  I sat in a chair beside the bed, half turned so that I didn’t have to stare at her back. The sight of it was just too much.

  “None of you should have to go through this.”

  Her voice should have been weak, but it wasn’t. There was strength there that was so much like the voice I’d grown up with, the voice that told me to clean my room and whispered words of affection all on the same day, sometimes at the same time.

  “It’s not your fault, Momma.”

  “I know. But I hate seeing the grief in your eyes.”

  I knew I shouldn’t look at her, but I couldn’t help myself. She had turned back toward me, her hand outstretched once again. And there were tears in her eyes.

  “I love you, Momma.”

  “I know.”

  I took her hand, shocked by how cold it was. I held it between both mine, rubbing it a little the way she used to do when we’d come in from playing in the snow and our hands would be beet red from the cold.

  “I’ve talked with each of your brothers and your sister. I’ve said my goodbyes.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t talk like that.”

  “You’ve always been the strongest. Killian thinks he is because he’s the oldest, but he’s really just a big teddy bear. And Ian…he saw too much wh
en he was a child. He shouldn’t have to be strong now. Kyle is such a child still even though he likes to think he’s a man. And Kevin…poor Kevin.”

  I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her fingertips. She smiled, but pulled her hand away.

  “Stacy isn’t going to take my death well. You’ll have to watch out for her, make sure she keeps her head on straight.”

  “Killian was always her favorite. You should be telling this to him.”

  “Killian will be there for her. Eventually. But I think it’s going to take him a little while to come around.”

  “Momma—”

  “Kevin’s going to need some help, too. He’s always been so angry, and this is just pushing him over the edge. Promise me you’ll be there for him.”

  “You know I will be.”

  “And Kyle. Take care of Kyle. But don’t get so deep in taking care of your siblings that you forget about yourself.” She reached for my hand, squeezing it lightly. “I’m so proud of you for getting into law school. You make sure that you finish, that you do everything you’ve always wanted to do.”

  “I will, Momma.”

  “I love you, Sean. You were always my favorite.” She smiled softly. “When I was pregnant with you, you would kick like crazy every time I desperately needed a little comfort. And when you were a toddler, I’d be crying and you’d come over and give me a hug or cuddle with me until I was feeling better. You were so intuitive, so empathetic. I adored you so much.”

  I pulled the chair closer to the bed and leaned in close to her. “I love you. I don’t know what we’re going to do without you. You’re the one who’s always held us together.”

  “You’ll be fine. You’ll just have to learn to lean on one another a little better.”

  She closed her eyes for a long moment, her face contorted. She was in pain…it had never occurred to me that she was suffering until that moment, until I saw the pain on her face.

  “Momma…”

  She opened her eyes and continued like nothing had happened. “Your father is quite capable of taking care of himself. But he’ll be devastated when everything is said and done. You’ll have to watch over him, make sure he doesn’t just give up on life.”