CHAPTER 21 Liam Bradley
A White Van
Rather than focus on what’s coming after brunch, I decide to put my energy into my family.
We’re here to celebrate my sister and her new husband, and all of us are gathered in the main dining room at the Bradley Mansion.
Some cleaning service came in between last night and this morning and transformed the place, setting up for a big family brunch.
Everleigh planned every last detail down to the caterers who have a large buffet spread waiting for us when we walk in.
I arrive a little before Penny, and Everleigh is waiting at the door to greet me. She pulls me into a hug.
“Congrats, big sis,” I say.
“Thanks, little bro. And I could say the same. I heard about your news. You doing okay?”
I press my lips together. After I let Dex in on it last night, somehow everyone else knew within ten seconds. “I’m doing okay. Actually, I just talked to Izzy, and I’m meeting her in a couple of hours to do a DNA test.”
“Izzy, that’s the mother?” Ivy asks, appearing as if out of thin air. Great, so now my two sisters can both grill me.
I nod.
“And then what?” Everleigh asks.
“Then what…what?”
Ev rolls her eyes. “When you get the results, what’s the plan?”
I shrug. “I’m taking it one day at a time. One hour at a time.”
“Would you raise the baby with her?” Ivy asks.
I can’t help the face I make at her question.
“I’m guessing that’s a no?” Ev asks.
I laugh. “Yeah, it’s a no. We slept together a few times, and that’s all it was. I don’t want to be with her any more than she’d want to be with me.”
“Doubt that, Liam. You’re a catch.” Ev punches my arm playfully. “So what about the baby?”
“If it’s mine, I guess I’ll figure something out,” I say. “She’s planning to give it up anyway.”
Ivy jumps in. “Maybe I can help.”
I glance over at her. “You?”
“Sure, why not? I’m family, and I’m thinking about moving to San Diego in a couple weeks.” Ivy holds up her hands like I should connect the dots because it all just makes sense, but I’m not fully sure it does.
“Working with VanBrad?”
She nods.
“You’ll have a job there,” I point out. “How will you be able to help me?”
She lifts a shoulder. “My boss is flexible.”
I laugh as I spot Madden over by the buffet table, probably telling the server how to do her job. “Him?”
“No, Kennedy,” she deadpans.
All three of us get a laugh out of that.
“But really, Liam. If you need help, between Madden, Kennedy, and me, one of us can surely help you out. I’ll likely be working from home most of the time, and I can manage a baby in between my work responsibilities.”
“What are your work responsibilities?” I ask, mostly to change the subject and get the attention off the fact that I might have a kid here soon.
Penny walks in and hugs Everleigh as I chat with Ivy.
“Design Coordinator. Madden said design is basically understanding colors and textures, which I have experience with in fashion. So I’ll be building mood boards, helping buyers with upgrades and finishing packages, that sort of thing,” she says.
“And you think you could nanny while doing that?”
She shrugs. “If I live with you, sure.”
“Are you inviting yourself to live with me?”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m inviting myself to help you with your baby, including those middle-of-the-night feedings and all that sort of thing.
And also reminding you that I still have four years before I can access my trust fund, so…
yeah. I’ll take a free ride with my big bro as long as you keep the sex noises coming from the primary with your randoms down to a minimum. ”
Everleigh chooses that moment to walk away, and Penny turns around. Her eyes flash as she overheard everything Ivy just said. I can’t help but choke on something at the back of my throat.
“You okay, Liam?” Ivy asks.
“Fine,” I mutter. I glance at Penny, who tilts her head at me.
“There won’t be randoms or sex noises. I haven’t found a place to live yet, but I’ll be looking this week.
” I suppose having my sister live with me would fuck up any plans I have to have Penny come visit me, but at the same time…
I need the help, and if Penny can’t do it, Ivy would be a great choice.
I can get a hotel room for Penny and me. I’ll figure it out.
“Let me confirm this kid is even mine before we start making these plans,” I finally say. “I need to get something to eat.”
I walk away from Ivy and Penny and toward Madden, approaching yet another conversation I really don’t want to have.
“Are you heading out tonight?” he asks.
I shake my head. “Early tomorrow. You?”
“Kennedy is.”
I press my lips together. “You know I can’t go to Dad’s trial tomorrow. Don’t make me feel guilty when I was there for every other goddamn thing over the last year.”
He holds his hands up to placate me. “I’m not.
And I realize I’m the eldest and there are certain responsibilities that should have fallen to me this entire time.
My playing days are over, and he needs at least one of us there.
But if you’re back in town, I’d gladly trade off because we’re working on some things in San Diego that I need to be present for. ”
“I’ll do my best, man, but between starting with a new team and minicamp, I don’t know how much I’ll be around.”
He nods. “I know. And thanks for holding shit together here when I couldn’t.”
“Your turn,” I mutter, and he laughs.
Brunch feels interminable, mainly because I’m dreading what’s coming after brunch and also because the maid of honor is sitting beside the bride, and I’m not sitting beside the maid of honor.
Instead, I’m sitting between Madden, who’s turned in toward Kennedy the entire time, and Ivy, who’s talking to Ainsley the entire time on her other side.
I eat quickly, congratulate the bride and groom one more time for good measure, and bolt.
I debate heading down to the bar early to drink before the swab, but I force myself to pack instead.
We have Archer’s ballgame tonight, and Penny will need to pick up the boys. Sometime in there I’d love to give Penny a proper goodbye, but I’m not sure there will be time since after the ballgame, Archer asked us all to go to some bar in the suburbs.
I guess our embrace on the balcony this morning was it.
I head down to the bar right on time. The parking lot is virtually empty, so I head inside, where I find Izzy working.
I’m not sure how I didn’t notice before, but I can plainly see she’s pregnant now. I guess the last few times I’ve seen her, she’s been wearing an apron or baggy clothes. Today she’s in black yoga pants and a white Boulevard Tavern T-shirt, and she greets me at the door.
“Is the mobile unit here yet?” she asks.
“I, uh…don’t know. I wasn’t sure what to look for.”
She rolls her eyes, clearly unhappy with me, and then we head out to the parking lot together just as a white van pulls in. A man gets out and looks at us, and then he walks over. “Izzy?”
She nods. “That’s me. This is Liam.” She points her thumb in my direction.
“Hi.” What the fuck else am I supposed to say?
“I’ll need both of your IDs,” the man says. “Come take a seat in the van and we’ll get you processed.”
We follow him over, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t think it’s a great idea to get into a van with Izzy and some stranger, so I stand on the outside and listen as he gives us the rundown.
It’s apparently all legit, and I’m on my way home ten minutes later with the promise that I’ll have my results within a week.
When I get back home, Penny is sitting on the couch in the playroom waiting for me. She lifts to a stand and rushes over toward me. “How’d it go?”
I lift a shoulder. “They rubbed a Q-tip in my mouth, and apparently that’s enough to tell if I’m this kid’s father.”
“How are you feeling?”
I wrap my arms around her. “Nervous.”
She links her arms around my waist. “Me, too. I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you.”
I shake my head. “No reason to be sorry. You’re here now.”
“What time is your flight tomorrow?” Her voice is quiet.
“Early. Five, I think.” I don’t know why the weight of leaving feels so heavy.
It’s not like the season is officially starting, but minicamp feels like the kickoff of a new season when I need to start spending more time in San Diego.
I need to get to know my new teammates. I need to find a place to live.
“I’d like to say goodbye to the boys tonight before they go to bed. ”
She pulls back, and her eyes are full of wonder. “That’s really sweet, Liam. They’d love to say goodbye, I’m sure.”
My phone starts to ring, and I get the distinct feeling that every time it rings from now until I get the results, the ring is going to make my heart palpitate.
It’s a Chicago number I have saved, though I’m not sure why my father’s lawyer would be calling me. “Liam Bradley,” I answer. I’m still holding Penny in my arms.
“Liam, hello. It’s Paul Rawlings.”
“Hi,” I say awkwardly. What the fuck does he want with me?
“Look, I wouldn’t normally ask this, but I feel like your father might listen to you. We have a plea deal on the table if your father pleads guilty. He’ll likely be looking at five to eight instead of fifteen to twenty.”
“I can’t convince that man of anything, Mr. Rawlings,” I admit.
“If he’d just plead guilty, it would save everyone a hell of a lot of time and money,” he says. “The deal expires when we start jury selection tomorrow.”
My chest tightens as it feels like more pressure piled on top of more pressure. The only relief I feel from any of it is staring down into Penny’s eyes as I formulate a reply, but I’m well aware that the small measure of relief I have in her is going to be ripped away in a few hours.
“Well, there’s some reason he won’t, so that’s on him. I need to get to San Diego. This isn’t my problem. Try Madden.” I cut the call.
Her eyes are glowing as she looks up at me. “You okay?”
I voice the concerns. “It’s a lot of pressure being the one who knows everything about this case. In that respect, I’m glad I need to leave town. I just wish you could come. Are you sure you can’t?”
Her face falls, and she snags her lip between her teeth. “I wish I could, too. But you know I can’t.”
I love you. I’m about to say it. The words are on the tip of my tongue.
But saying it instead of I’m falling in love with you feels too heavy.
I let the moment pass even though I know deep down that if you love someone, you should tell them…or you might lose your chance to ever say it again.