Page 142 of Sparking Sara

He pulls me into his arms and I look up at him. “I’d marry you tonight, Denver Andrews.”

“Good, because first thing Monday morning, we’re going to the courthouse to get our marriage license.”

“We are?”

He nods. “We’ll make a better case for being Joey’s foster parents, and ultimately adopting him, if we’re married.”

Tears wet my eyes again at the reality of what just happened. “I’m going to be a mom?”

“You are. Better yet, you’re going to be my wife.”

I smile. “Sara Andrews. I like the sound of that.”

“Andrews?” he says. “I figured you’d want to keep your name because of your art.”

I look around at the gallery of paintings. The paintings that were all inspired by him. The paintings that are nothing like the old ones I used to make. I pick up the can of spray paint that still lies on the floor where it fell earlier. I walk over to the banner with my name on it that’s hanging on the wall. I mark a red X through my last name and under it, write Denver’s.

“These aren’t paintings by Sara Francis,” I say. “These are Sara Andrews originals.”

“How did I get so lucky?” he asks.

“I’ve been asking myself that every day.”

Lydia hands me my phone. “I think I got all of it,” she says, smiling.

“Thank you,” I tell her, knowing I’ll watch the video later. Because Denver was right—it’s something I’ll always want to remember.

Ivy joins us, showing me a picture on her phone. “This really does say it all,” she says.

Denver looks over my shoulder at the photo of him on bended knee, looking up at me. There is so much emotion on his face. He squeezes me from behind. “Look at the way I love you,” he says.

I crane my neck and gaze back at him. I can’t believe he’s mine. My man. My partner. My fiancé. My savior. My life.

Denver takes me into his arms and nods to the photo on Ivy’s phone. “You may be about to become Sara Andrews, but I’m going to need you to paint one last Sara Francis memory.”

Epilogue

Denver

I look in the rearview mirror and see Joey helping his sisters with their snacks. It’s a long road trip, driving from New York to Missouri, but it’s one we’ve wanted to take for a while now. Sara and I both have fond memories of going on road trips with our parents when we were younger. It’s taken us a while to plan this one—seven years to be exact. We didn’t want to make the trip with an infant, but we wanted to go during baseball season since Joey is such a huge fan of his Uncle Sawyer. The timing just never worked out. Until now.

I reach over and put my hand on Sara’s belly. It’s big enough now that I can do that. And there is nothing better than feeling the kick of my son growing inside her.

Twice, I’ve gotten to watch my gorgeous wife grow beautifully big with my babies. And twice, we’ve had the honor of giving a child a forever home through adoption.

“What’s on your mind, Captain Andrews?” she asks as I rub her belly.

I glance back at our three incredible children, and I smile. “Sometimes, I just can’t believe how happy I am.”

She brings my hand up to her lips, placing a kiss on the back of it.

“Mommy, where are my crayons?” Sadie squeals, interrupting our moment.

Sara reaches into her bag of goodies, pulling out a bright-yellow box and a coloring book. She hands them to her. “Here you go, sweetie.”

“She’s taking after her mother,” I say.

“She’s four,” Sara says. “All four-year-olds color.”

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