She swallows, and when she draws in a breath, I think she’s going to deny it. But she doesn’t say a word. Her only response is sliding a hand up to cup the back of my neck. Fuck yes.

“I’m not going to do that for you.” It takes every drop of my will to force myself to step back. “I want you to talk to me. I want you to scream at me for every shitty decision I ever made. Then I want you to kiss me and tell me I get another chance. I want you to break it off with that douchebag completely and be with me, but I’m not going to do it for you.” I take another step toward the door. “You’re going to have to make the choice yourself.”

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A huge thank-you goes out to everyone who helped make this story into more than a mess of words on the page. Most of all, a big thanks to my incredible family. Brian, you are my absolute favorite human. Thank you for believing in me, for listening to me, and for being the calm to my constant storm. Date nights forever! To my kids, Jack and Mary, you are so freaking cool, and I’m so proud of you both. I’m the luckiest mama ever! Thank you for inspiring me to be my very best. To my sister Kim, thank you for coming up with the Jackson Brews slogan. I love it so much I had to put it on T-shirts (and, okay, that part was your idea too). Of course, to my mom, dad, brothers, sisters, in-laws, aunts, uncles, various cousins, and cousins-in-law, thank you for cheering me on—each in your own way. On all days, but especially the heavy ones, I’m grateful for my tribe.

I’m lucky enough to have a life full of amazing friends. Thanks to my writing friends who sprint with me and talk me off the ledge when the book looks like a disaster. To my BFF, Mira Lyn Kelly, who does more than her fair share of hand-holding, hair-stroking, and pep-talking, my eternal gratitude. To my CrossFit friends who have just accepted that sometimes I disappear for a few months but don’t hold it against me, thank you.

To everyone who provided me feedback on this story along the way—especially Heather Carver, Samantha Leighton, Tina Allen, Lisa Kuhne, Dina Littner, Nancy Miller, and Janice Owen—you’re all awesome. A huge, special thanks to Chanpreet Singh, who was my sensitivity reader for Teagan’s story and held my hand through some of the cultural elements in this book. I’m grateful to my source at the Terre Haute Fire Department for answering my protocol questions. Any errors are my own. I appreciate you all so much!

I have the best editorial team. It truly takes a village. Lauren Clarke and Rhonda Merwarth, thank you for the insightful line and content edits. You push me to be a better writer and make my stories the best they can be. Thanks to Arran McNicol at Editing720 for proofreading. I’ve worked hard to put together this team, and I’m proud of it!