bottle of whiskey.
“You can open it now or wait and I’ll celebrate with you when you get your next bit of good news.” Marcus knew that Sierra and I were trying to have a baby and he also knew that I was terrified. His offer to sit and drink with me was as much for celebration as it was for me to sit with him to get my head straight once we found out a baby was on the way.
“Thank you, brother,” I told him. “I’ll hold onto this for a while.”
“I’m so proud of you both,” Reagan beamed. “You worked so hard and finally got your GEDs. Are we going to be attending a college graduation for one or both of you someday?”
“I’m thinking of enrolling in a few classes,” Sierra said shyly. “I haven’t decided which ones yet, though.”
“Brenda and I are always looking for an associate we can trust,” Reagan told her. “You should consider getting your real estate license. You can help people find their forever home. It’s actually a very rewarding job.”
“I’ll consider it. I might have to pick your brain a little bit about the details,” Sierra told her friend. “Right now, let’s go and celebrate together with lunch!”
“Wait a second,” I told our little group. “Our girls are skipping school to see that their parents finally got their GEDs because years ago they dropped out of school. Anyone else see an issue with that?”
“Well, we thought it would be good to bring them up here since they helped you first drop out of school and then study to pass this test,” Reagan laughed at his little pun. “Get it? They helped you drop out.”
“That was horrible,” Marcus shook his head. “Fucking horrible.”
The girls and I were laughing and finally Marcus was, too, even though he shot an exasperated glare at his partner first.
“Did you get everything packed up like I told you?” I asked our daughters. When they both nodded, I smiled at them. “You guys have fun this weekend.”
“Fun? Where are they going?”
“I’ll be honest. I knew they were going to be cutting class today. I already called them out for it. They packed because they’re going to be spending the weekend with Holly while you and I take an impromptu trip out of town to celebrate our good test scores and our first anniversary.”
“I thought you forgot,” Sierra smiled. “I’m so glad you didn’t forget.”
“One of the best days of my life, honey. There’s no way I could ever forget it.”
EPILOGUE
“Look at the progression of the little girl,” I heard the woman whisper to the man next to her. “It’s like watching her grow up.”
“Beautiful,” the man agreed. “But the other girl doesn’t have any as a baby. I wonder why.”
“That’s because my dad didn’t meet me until I was 11,” I said softly from behind them.
“That is you!” the woman exclaimed, glancing from my face to the sculptures I had displayed on the wall.
“Yes, along with my sister Leia,” I confirmed. “Our parents married when we were 11 and my dad adopted me that same year.”
“A father’s love right there,” the man smiled as he looked back at the sculptures my dad had made through the years. “I assume those aren’t for sale.”
“No, they are not,” I laughed softly. “But I do have plenty of pieces around the gallery that are available.”
“The eagle is his?”
“Yes, that’s his work.”
“My wife is interested in the painting in the south room,” the man told me as he started to walk. He stopped at a metal statue right before the wide doorway that led to one of the back rooms. “But I like this. Does this artist do commission work?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact he does. The artist is Jace Duke, you may have seen his pieces around town. He has a few in other areas of the state, too.”
“That’s his work in front of the children’s hospital in Dallas isn’t it?” the client asked. I was impressed that he could recognize an artist’s work on sight.
“Yes, sir - that’s his.”
“Exquisite, don’t you think, honey?” The man held his hand out to his wife and she took it in hers as she moved up to stand beside him.
“Which painting did you want to discuss?” I asked the woman.
I walked with the couple through the doorway and across the open gallery space. There was a painting there that took up most of the wall. The vivid colors of the Texas sunset lit up the