Page 111 of Penalty Shots

He sits next to me and slides the folder onto my lap. "I hope you like it."

I look at him with narrowed eyes. "What did you do?"

"Consider it the beginning of a dream," he whispers.

Ok, now I'm really curious. I slide the bow off of it and open the holder. Inside is a form with the words,Texas Adoption Registrationin big bold letters.

I shut the holder and look at Keelan. He's smiling with that charming side grin. "Well… what do you say?"

"Are you ready for this?" I ask him.

"I'm ready, Rina."

My heart flutters at the thought of us taking this leap. Somehow, it's even bigger than us getting married and moving in together in what feels like a flash.

This is him telling me that he's ready for life to change—drastically.

My mom leans in and says from the side of her mouth, "Are you going to tell us what thethisis or are we going to have to guess?"

Keelan laughs.

I open the holder again and pull out the forms. "Keelan and I… are going to adopt a child."

"Or two or three," Keelan adds.

The entire room falls silent, and then, as if a giant sign above our heads lights up saying 'Applause,' they all jump up in cheers and a flurry of hugs.

"That's… amazing," my dad says, taking me into a giant hug. He squeezes me hard, and I feel all the years of his pain of watching Mom suffer melt away.

Keelan and I have talked long and hard about what the future holds for us.

We could try to have kids of our own. But as we both know, there are so many ways to build a family. Looking at the faces in the room around us is the perfect example.

Keelan lost his parents but gained a mom in Ginny, a brother in Ryker, and an entire family with the Heatwave. And now, another set of parents with mine.

And I never got a sibling, but I have a sister in Izzy and a brother in Ryker and all the boys of the Heatwave.

Life is funny like that.

We try so hard to make the story make sense on our terms when, all along, there's a thin thread weaving us all together in a giant tapestry of color and textures.

I never would've planned for this to be our story. But that's the great thing about taking leaps of faith. Sometimes, people you never expected are there to not only keep you from drowning but show you how to truly live.

"Ok, my turn," I say, reaching under the tree.

I pull out a box that is much heavier than I expected it to be. I slide it onto Keelan's lap.

He shakes it, and it thumps inside.

"What the heck is it?" He says, ripping open the wrapping paper and opening the box.

Inside is a giant red lollipop, large enough to make all other red lollipops pale in comparison.

"I saw it in New York and had it mailed back home," I tell him.

He looks up from the box with tears in his eyes. "It's my favorite," he says, pulling me to him and kissing me.

"You're my favorite," I whisper, holding the box he gave me with our future inside to my chest.