Page 9 of Impossible

Chapter Four

`Liam

Harper and I are on our way to my parent’s house for our weekly Sunday dinners. My siblings and I always show up, but I have skipped the last month in an effort to get Harper in a routine. I suppose part of it was not wanting to be around everyone while my life was crumbling. Now that I’m starting work in a week and have daycare lined up for Harper, I'm starting to feel like I might be able to handle this single dad life. Riley is a lifesaver! I can’t believe she didn’t’ think I would jump at the opportunity for her to watch Harper.

Life is hard enough without Becca, but knowing one of her best friends is going to help take care of our baby girl makes me feel like Becca had a part in this. She's working things out for her baby girl from wherever she is.

After I pull into the driveway, I unlock the car seat and grab the diaper bag as I make my way up the front porch and into the house. I can hear all the commotion coming from the kitchen. When I walk in there, everyone is standing around the island with a drink while mom is cooking. They all turn to me, and the laughter dies down.

“No need to stop having fun on my account,” I tell them.

“Sorry, I’m just surprised to see you. I didn’t know you were coming,” my youngest brother Logan says.

“Harper and I are on the same page now. I figured it was time we started getting out of the house.”

“Of course, it is.” Dad comes over and grabs Harper’s car seat as he walks it to the corner of the room and takes his granddaughter out.

“Glad to have you back,” Jackson says. He is the third oldest sibling out of the five of us. Greyson is standing in the corner of the kitchen, helping mom with dinner. He is the second oldest while Peyton is the baby.

“You know, it feels good to be here,” I admit.

“I’m sure it does. Everyone was getting worried about you. I told them to chill the fuck out, you just needed some space,” Jackson says.

Jackson and I have always understood each other pretty well. I’m not surprised that if anyone gets it, it’s him. He’s a heart surgeon at Chicago Hospital and his schedule is pretty crazy, so I don’t get to see him as often as I would like to.

“Thanks, man. You should see Peyton and Mom when they come over. They are like two crazed momma bears. It would be funny to watch if it wasn’t driving me insane.”

“Ha, I can totally see them doing it. But really, it’s good to see you doing better.”

“Any beer for me or are you going to hog it all? Maybe piss yourself again after drinking one too many.” I say to Logan as he joins us.

“Oh, he’s got jokes. Good one, brother!”

“Seriously, though. Get me a beer.”

Jackson joins in. “Get him a beer, dickhead.”

I laugh at how easy it is to jump back into ganging up on Logan. Don’t feel bad, the punk deserves it and he can take it.

“Fuck you guys. I’m not your servant. Get your own damn beer, I’m going to steal my niece away from Dad.”

Mom calls us all to sit down for dinner. I go to grab Harper from Logan, but he does a Heisman move to keep me away from her. I shrug my shoulders. I’m not going to complain about a chance to eat dinner in peace. I take a seat next to Peyton and Jackson while Logan sits across from me with Harper.

We all begin to dig into the feast that Mom has prepared. Greyson tries to steal Harper from Logan and I watch as the two battle it out while I sit back and enjoy my dinner without having to rush through each bite.

“Boys, stop that right now. You’re going to scare your poor niece.”

“Well, tell Logan to stop hogging her,” Greyson complains.

“I’ve had her for like ten seconds. Wait your damn turn,” Logan fires back.

“You boys drive me crazy.” Mom looks to me. “Anyway, I was so happy to hear you found someone to watch Harper on the days that I can’t be there.”

Peyton looks at me. “You found someone to watch Harper? Who is it?”

“Riley, Becca’s best friend,” I tell her.

“Oh, yeah. I remember her. She’s a teacher, isn’t she?”

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