He smiled weakly at her. “Yes they do, Camille. Thank you. I’m not sure how I’d do any of this without you.”
She bit her lip and looked behind her surreptitiously. “About that donation.”
Seamus braced himself. “Is there any way to send it back? The director knows I can make my usual payments, doesn’t he?”
“I talked to him, but he says it’s out of his hands. She’s taken care of for at least the next ten years.”
Seamus flinched. He knew how expensive it was here. “I didn’t realize it was that much.”
Camille bit her lip again. “Is it a family member? I thought you hadn’t told anyone yet.”
“I hadn’t, but no, it’s not family. It’s…well, he either thinks he’s helping, or he’s making a stupidly over-the-top gesture to get my attention.”
Camille’s eyes were wide. “He? Oh my. So she was right about you being in love?”
Was she? Seamus sighed. “If she was, I’m an idiot, Camille.”
“I hope you’re an idiot then, Seamus. You deserve to have someone care about you that much.”
That was just it. That much money was nothing to Bellamy. It didn’t mean he cared. Seamus honestly wasn’t sure what it meant. Did Bellamy want him, or was he trying to ease a guilty conscience?
“Thank you, Camille. I really appreciate it and I’ll see you soon, okay?”
She nodded, but her expression turned somber. “Not too soon, I hope. As good as you are to visit, Seamus, I don’t think it’s healthy for either of you.”
He knew it, but what could he do? “I’m all she’s got.”
Seamus took his phone out of his pocket as he strode to his car. He found the number he couldn’t erase but swore he’d never call and sent a text.
Come to Finn’s at two o’clock. I know you’re in town.
He didn’t wait for a response, just climbed into his car and turned it in the direction of his parents’ house. He needed to see his kids and say goodbye, and then he’d head over to the bar so he and Bellamy could hash this out alone.
Maybe he would finally find out what the hell was going through Bellamy Demir’s head.
***
“The children are packed, but I’m taking them to the store for a few last-minute items,” his mother told him as soon as he walked through the door. “They can spend the night here since we’re leaving early. And don’t worry, I have copies of all their birth certificates so we won’t lose them in Customs or anything.”
She had one for Jake too, he knew. They’d called in a lot of favors to find it and the hospital his son had been born in.
His mother was still talking and making lists as she disappeared in a whirlwind and his father grinned, taking a seat at the kitchen table and gesturing for Seamus to join him. Owen had that same grin. It usually meant trouble. “A whole week at home alone. What will you do with yourself?”
Confront the man I had an affair with in Ireland and find out why he hasn’t tried to contact me in the last five months.
Seamus shrugged with a tense smile. “Same old, same old.”
“Well, that’s a shame.” Shawn stirred his coffee. “Speaking of things that make no sense, I got a phone call today from an irate old man who accused me of stealing his grandchildren. Said his name was Aaron. Any idea what that was about, son?”
“Oh.” Aaron’s grandchildren. He had no idea how they’d managed to scrape the money together for airfare, and to be honest he didn’t want to think about it too much since it was possibly illegal. “Aaron’s the guy I told you about, Dad. The Finn who threw plates at my head when I went to visit?”
Shawn started rocking with laughter, hitting the table with the flat of his hand. “That’s who that was? Well, he definitely sounded like he wanted to throw a few more today. Why does he think I’m kidnapping his grandkids?” Shawn shook his finger at his son. “Tell me you aren’t adopting another child, Seamus. I’ve already spent the money I won from your cousin’s bet.”
“It’s not nice to bet on your own child, Dad.”
“I was being supportive.”
Seamus shrugged uncomfortably, his mind on other things. “Their names are William and Matthew. I met them while I was there and I guess they both really wanted to come for a visit.”
And by visit Seamus was fairly certain they meant moving in and putting an ocean between them, their grandfather and no doubt several men William owed money to. “They’re decent kids who could use some direction.”
“Kids?” Shawn frowned. “How young are they?”
“William is twenty-three. He’s between jobs at the moment, but he’s definitely worked in a bar before.” Most recently in the back of one, fighting for his pocket money. William, or Billy, as his brother called him, was sure an old flame of his lived near his American cousins. He said it was fate that had brought Seamus to Galway. That it was time he found out the truth.