I let Callum rattle on about good ol’ Steve for about ten minutes before I interrupt him.
“Callum, this is interesting and I appreciate you sharing with me, but…” I hesitate. “I have to ask you a question that’s been bothering me from the moment I stepped foot in your house.”
“Sure, Ella. You can ask me anything.”
“Why are your sons so unhappy?” I think of Reed’s perpetually sullen face and swallow hard. “Why are they so angry? We both know they don’t like me and I want to know why.”
Callum scrubs a hand down his face. “You just have to give it some time. They’ll come around.”
I fold my legs up underneath me on the bed. There’s only one chair in the stateroom, so Callum sat on it while I took the bed. It’s awkward to be in here sitting on a mattress while talking to my new father figure about my newly discovered but deceased father.
“You said that before, but I don’t think they will,” I say quietly. “And I don’t get it. I mean, is it the money? Do they really resent you giving me money?”
“It’s not the money. It’s…shit—I mean, shoot.” Callum stumbles over his words. “God, I need a drink.” He laughs a little. “But I’d bet you wouldn’t let me have one.”
“Not now.” I cross my arms. Callum wants me to be tough with him? I can do that.
“Straight up, no shit. That’s how you want it, right?”
I have to smile. “Right.”
He tilts his head back to stare at the ceiling. “At this point, my relationship with the boys is so broken I could bring Mother Teresa home and they’d accuse her of trying to get in my pants. They think I cheated on their mother and caused her death.”
I make an effort to keep my jaw closed. Okay. Wow. Well, that explains some of it. I take a breath. “And did you?”
“No. I never cheated on her. I was never even tempted, not once during our marriage. When I was young, Steve and I ran a little wild, but once I married Maria I never looked at another woman.”
He sounds sincere, but I feel like I’m not getting the whole story. “Then why are your kids always in a foul mood?”
“Steve was…” Callum looks away. “Hell, Ella, I wanted time for you to learn to love your father, not tell you all the crappy things that he did because he was lonely.”
I grasp at every straw I can in order to force Callum to spill whatever it is he’s trying so hard to hide. “Look, I’m not trying to be mean, but I don’t know Steve and now that he’s gone, I won’t ever know him. He’s not a real person to mean, not like Reed or Easton or you. You want me to be a Royal, but I’m never going to be one if everyone in the family doesn’t accept me. Why would I ever come back after graduation to a place where I don’t feel wanted?”
My attempts at emotional blackmail are a success. Callum instantly starts speaking, and I’m genuinely touched at how badly he wants me to be part of his family.
“Steve was a bachelor for a long time. He liked to brag a lot, and I think when the boys were younger they thought their Uncle Steve was the epitome of manhood. He’d tell them stories of our wilder days and I never stopped him. We spent a lot of time jetting around on business trips and Steve took advantage of that. I promise you I didn’t, but... not everyone believed that.”
Like his kids. Like his wife.
He shifts in his chair, obviously uncomfortable with this story. “Maria became depressed and I didn’t recognize the signs. Looking back, I realize that her distance and moodiness were symptoms of a serious issue, but I was too busy trying to keep the business in the black during the recession. She was getting more and more pills with only the boys to keep her company. When she had the overdose and I was halfway around the world in Tokyo pulling Steve out of a whorehouse, they blamed me.”
Maybe they were right to blame you, I think.
“Steve wasn’t a bad guy, but you…you’re…evidence, I guess. Evidence that he led me around by the nose into things that eventually killed their mother.” His eyes plead with me for understanding, even forgiveness, but I’m not the one who can give him that. “When he got the letter from your mom, Steve changed. He was a new man overnight. I swear to you, he would have been the most attentive, doting father. He wanted kids and was over the moon when he discovered you. He would have started looking for you immediately but he’d had this trip planned for a long time with Dinah. It was hang-gliding in a place that apparently doesn’t allow it, but Steve managed to bribe some local officials to let them make a run. He was going to look for you the minute he came back. Don’t hate him.”
“I don’t hate him. I don’t even know him. I…”