Page 124 of Sparking Sara

He smiles and then moves me aside as he retrieves his phone from his jeans. He pulls me back to his chest, covers me with a sheet, and holds the phone at arm’s length before he starts recording.

“You are my future, Sara Francis. And I’ll tell it to you every single day. I won’t ever let you forget that I love you.”

“And I won’t let you forget thatIloveyou.”

He kisses me for posterity and then turns the video off.

“There,” he says. “Recorded for all of history.”

Tears prickle the backs of my eyes. “How did I ever get so lucky?”

“I wouldn’t call what happened to youlucky,” he says.

“No, it was. It is. I’d go through it all again if it meant finding you.”

He stares at me, and I can tell he’s holding back tears of his own. He turns his phone back on and starts recording. “I definitely need that one on video.”

We laugh and joke around and record more silly declarations of love.

And I realize, three years gone or not, this is hands-down the best day of my life.

Chapter Thirty-two

Donovan wipes a tear from his eye. “That’s the most romantic story I’ve ever heard, honey. I knew he was the man for you.”

“I think I knew it, too,” I say. “I was just too stupid to listen to my gut.”

“You are anything but stupid, my girl.”

“Sometimes it doesn’t feel that way when I can’t read a magazine from cover to cover.”

He gives me a sympathetic look. “Healing can take a long time with injuries like yours. But if I had a man like that at home to read to me, I’m not sure I’d be too eager to do it myself.” He winks at me and fans himself. “Oh, that voice.”

I flush, remembering when Denver read Baylor’s book to me at the rehab center, and I wonder if Donovan overheard it.

My left leg slips off the pedal of the foot bike and I rest my foot on the floor. “Do you think I will ever have the normal use of my leg again?”

“It’s hard to say. Maybe this is your new normal. Maybe having a limp is part of who you are. That doesn’t make you any less of a woman.” He directs me to put my foot back on the pedal. “But if anyone can overcome their obstacles, it’s you, Sara. I don’t mind telling you that when I first laid eyes on you, I never imagined you’d be the person you are today. I see a lot of patients with brain injuries. And you, my girl, are a true miracle. So, limp or not, you’ve been given a second chance at life. Not a lot of people get that.”

“I know. And I’m grateful. And even if I never regain the full use of my leg or the ability to read a full Stephen King novel, I would never take back what happened.”

“Because it’s how you met Denver,” he says.

I nod.

“Girl, your story should be made into a movie.”

I laugh. “Who will play you?”

“Zac Efron, of course.”

“Wow—that didn’t take you long to answer. Obsessed much?”

We spend the rest of my session discussing which actors would portray us in our movie.

All this talk of love stories has me thinking of Baylor and her books. Since I still can’t read all that well, I bought and listened to the audio version of her book that was based on her own love story. And I’m suddenly struck with the urge to finish her painting.

“What is it?” Donovan asks. “It looks like a light bulb just went off in your head.”

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