Levi shuffled down the front steps, talking to a friend, his Pokémon backpack drooping off one shoulder. Kitty’s heart ignited. A bright flash and gone. Her love became something else. It roared at her—a new, beautifully shaped thing.

She clutched the basketball. Doubts, fears, triumphs, dreams . . . they all sailed through her. Tears pricked at her eyes. Her mouth quivered.

Courtney stepped ahead of her, greeting Levi as he said goodbye to his pal and crossed the sidewalk toward her. He lifted his backpack higher onto his shoulder but it slipped right off again.

“Hi, baby.”

“Hi, Mom.”

“You remember the important conversation we had this morning?”

“Yeah.”

Courtney nodded and stepped to one side, and suddenly Levi was looking into Kitty’s eyes, and Kitty was looking into his. The lightest frown touched his brow, but it was beautiful. He was beautiful, everything about him. She remembered the tiny five-week-old bundle in her arms, and how her heart had ached for him. So much had changed since then, and so much remained the same.

She thumbed a tear from her cheekbone and smiled.

“Hello, Levi,” she said.

Acknowledgments

I have taken a few creative liberties with the city of Los Angeles—certain street names and venues—to better serve the story. Similarly, I sprinkled in the names of real celebrities, to create a sense of time and place, but these are my versions of these celebrities, existing in a fictional world, and no inference is intended.

That being said, I wanted the Los Angeles depicted in this novel to feel authentic, and so brought in the expertise of Chris Ryall, my friend, first reader, and a native Californian. Chris took to the first draft with great enthusiasm, and helped me create the right setting and vibe. He did one hell of a job. If anything here does not ring true, that’s on me, not Chris.

Tim Lebbon and Christopher Golden also cast their expert eyes over an early draft, and both made suggestions that helped make this a better novel. Moreover, they reminded me how important it is to have beta readers you can trust. They, along with Chris Ryall, have been my go-to guys for many years now, and I owe them so much. An extra shout-out to Tim: No Second Chances was written during the long, difficult months of COVID-19, and Tim became my regular Skype companion. His good humor, friendship, and willingness to listen gave me the lift I so often needed. Thanks, pal!