Chapter Liam
Liam
Dawn crept through the curtains of Liam’s childhood bedroom, painting slashes of gold across the faded hockey posters his parents had never taken down.
He’d been awake for hours, watching the darkness slowly retreat, feeling each minute tick by with stark clarity.
Sleep had abandoned him somewhere around three in the morning, leaving him alone with memories and anticipation.
He reached for the nightstand, fingers closing around the worn hockey puck — a twin to the one he’d left at Sunny’s stepfather’s grave when he was desperately searching for her.
It had become something of a talisman since then, a physical reminder of the moment he’d chosen to fight for what mattered.
“Not getting cold feet, are you?” His father’s voice, accompanied by the scent of fresh coffee, pulled Liam from his thoughts. Michael Anderson stood in the doorway, two steaming mugs in hand, looking surprisingly comfortable in the suit pants and undershirt of his formal attire.
“No,” Liam said, sitting up and accepting the coffee with a grateful nod. “Not at all.”
His father settled on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight. “Then what?”
Liam stared into the dark liquid, searching for words. “I’m not sure I deserve it, maybe. This second chance.”
His father was quiet for a long moment. “You know, when you were about sixteen, you came home after losing that championship game. Remember? The one where you missed the—”
“The penalty shot. Yeah, I remember.” Liam grimaced. Some failures never quite faded.
“You were convinced you’d never play hockey again. That you didn’t deserve to.” His father’s eyes, the same shade of blue as his own, crinkled at the corners. “I told you then what I’ll tell you now. Life isn’t about what we deserve, son. It’s about what we do with what we’re given.”
“I already made a mess of the proposal,” Liam admitted.
His father smiled. “You didn’t tell me that part.”
“We were at the park with the girls. I had this whole speech planned, but then Maddie scraped her knee, and Hailey found a frog, and everything went sideways.” Liam chuckled softly at the memory.
“I ended up asking her while we were washing mud off Hailey’s hands at the water fountain. Not exactly romantic.”
“And what did she say?”
Liam’s lips curved into a smile. “She said it was perfect because it was real. That’s what she loves, the real stuff. Even the messy parts.”
A knock at the door interrupted them.
Tyler Reynolds, team captain and best man, poked his head in, already fully dressed in his suit.
“The guys are here. You ready to get moving, or should I tell them you’ve made a run for it?” Tyler’s grin was wide and his eyes were kind.
Liam set down his coffee. “Tell them I’ll be right there.”
After his father left, Liam showered and began to dress, laying out the new suit he’d bought for the occasion. As he buttoned his shirt, his teammates filed in, bringing with them a wave of cheerful energy and good-natured ribbing.
“Look at this guy, giving up his freedom willingly,” joked Alex, the same teammate who’d once made lewd comments about Sunny that had led to a fight. They’d since found a tentative peace, though Liam would never consider him a close friend.
“Some of us don’t see it as giving up anything,” Tyler countered, helping Liam with his cufflinks.
“Some of us see it as gaining everything.” The quiet understanding in Tyler’s voice reminded Liam of their conversation, when Tyler had shared his own experience with miscarriage.
That little moment of connection had been a lifeline when Liam was drowning.
Left alone briefly as the others went to check on arrangements, Liam found himself reaching for his wallet.
Tucked behind his driver’s license was a small, worn photo of Kate, smiling on their honeymoon.
It had been taken the morning after their wedding, her hair tousled from sleep, eyes bright with love.
“I think you’d like her, Kate,” he whispered, running his thumb over her face.
“She loves them so much. She’s made us all whole again, in a different way.
” He felt a familiar tightness in his throat, but it wasn’t the crushing grief that had once accompanied thoughts of Kate.
It was something gentler now, a bittersweet gratitude.
The door burst open and Maddie and Hailey tumbled in, a flurry of excitement in their flower girl dresses, pulling him firmly back to the present.
“Daddy, do we look pretty?” Hailey twirled, her dress — a pale blue that matched her eyes — billowing out around her like a cloud.
“The prettiest girls I’ve ever seen,” Liam said, crouching down to their level. They were growing so fast, changing every day.
Maddie, ever the more serious of the two, handed him a folded piece of construction paper. “We made this for you and Sunny.”
Liam opened it to find a drawing of four stick figures holding hands beneath a rainbow. In careful block letters across the top: To Dad & Sunny: Our Family Forever.
“Do you like it?” Hailey asked anxiously, leaning against his arm.
“I love it.” Liam blinked rapidly, his vision blurring. “It’s perfect.”
Maddie fidgeted with the ribbon on her dress, her eyes downcast. “Dad?”
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I went to see Mom yesterday. With Grandma.” Her voice was small but steady. “I told her about today. I told her it was okay for you to be happy again.”
Liam felt as though the air had been knocked from his lungs. He looked at his oldest daughter, seeing for the first time how much she’d processed, how much she understood. Kate’s eyes looked back at him from Maddie’s face, serious and wise beyond her years.
“Maddie…” He couldn’t finish, just pulled her into a fierce hug, then reached for Hailey to include her too.
“Don’t cry, Daddy,” Hailey patted his cheek. “It’s a happy day!”
Liam laughed through his tears. “The happiest,” he agreed, holding his daughters close and marveling at how far they’d all come.
The moment was interrupted by another knock. Liam looked up, expecting Tyler, but instead found his sister Morgan standing awkwardly in the doorway.
“Girls, why don’t you go find Grandma? She was looking for you,” Liam said gently, his eyes never leaving Morgan’s face. They hadn’t spoken face to face since their confrontation months ago, when she’d said such cruel things about Sunny and their relationship.
After the girls had gone, an uncomfortable silence stretched between them, even though Morgan had apologized over the phone.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” Liam finally said.
Morgan twisted her hands together. “I wasn’t sure I’d be welcome.”
“You’re my sister.”
“I was horrible to you. To Sunny.” She met his eyes, her own filled with regret. “I was jealous and bitter and taking out my own failed relationships on you.”
“Morgan—”
“No, let me finish.” She took a deep breath. “I was wrong. About everything. I see how happy she makes you, how good she is with the girls. I’ve been too proud to admit it until now.”
She reached into her purse and pulled out a small velvet box. “These were Grandma’s. I’ve been saving them.” She opened the box to reveal a pair of antique gold cufflinks, inlaid with deep blue stones that matched his eyes.
Liam felt something long-knotted inside him begin to loosen. “Thank you,” he said simply, accepting the box.
“There’s something else.” Morgan reached back into her purse and withdrew an envelope. “I found these when I was cleaning out my storage unit last month. They’re from when we were kids.”
Liam opened the envelope to find photographs — him and Morgan as children, playing hockey on the frozen pond behind their childhood home. One showed him, no more than eleven, helping a young Morgan, about seven, lace up her skates.
“You were always the one who took care of everyone,” Morgan said softly. “Even back then. You taught me to skate. You stood up to the boys who teased me. You were my hero.” Her voice broke. “And I repaid that by trying to sabotage your happiness.”
Liam set the photos aside and pulled his sister into a hug that she returned fiercely, her tears dampening his shirt.
“I’m so sorry, Liam,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when Kate died. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for the girls. And I’m sorry about Sunny.”
“You’re here now,” Liam said, his own voice rough with emotion. “That’s what matters.”
Morgan hesitated. “Don’t mess this up,” she whispered fiercely in his ear. “At least one of us should be happy in this life.”
After she left, Liam changed his cufflinks for his grandmother’s, the weight of them unfamiliar but comforting against his wrists.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.
This is really happening, he thought. He was marrying Sunny today, taking a step he’d never imagined taking again after losing Kate. And somehow, impossibly, it felt right.