Rev It Up (43 page)

She could never determine just exactly what that something was—which was extremely irksome. But she’d have to deal with it, or ignore it, because she’d made her decision. She was here.

And speaking of here, where the heck was her escort? She tapped her fingers and glanced around impatiently. “Do you own one of their custom bikes?” she asked, just to have something to talk about because, yeah, waiting to see Nate was driving her crazy.

Big Red made a noise vaguely reminiscent of the bellow a mildly annoyed grizzly bear might make, and she didn’t know whether to take that as a
yes
or a
no
.

Great. Just great. This is turning out even worse than I imagined.

For those of you familiar with the vibrant city of Chicago, Illinois, you’ll notice I changed a few places and names, and embellished on the details of others. I did this to suit the story and to better highlight the diversity and challenges of this dynamic city I call home.

First and foremost, I must thank my dear husband. You never chastise me when, in the middle of a dinner conversation, my mind wanders off because it’s been taken over by the characters in my head. You just order another glass of wine and wait patiently for me to return to Earth. I’m forever grateful for that…

Secondly, as always, I must give major props to my agent, Nicole Resciniti. This book was a labor of love between the two of us—emphasis on the
labor
. I couldn’t have done it without you, and that’s a fact.

Thirdly, I want to give a shout-out to my editor, Leah Hultenschmidt. You’ve been ever-patient in molding me as an author, gently and persistently making my writing better. I appreciate your vision and wisdom more than you know.

And, finally,
thank
you
to our fighting men and women, those in uniform and those out of uniform. You protect our freedom and way of life so we all have the chance to live the American Dream.

Deep in the heart of the Windy City, three things can be found at Julie Ann Walker’s fingertips: a keyboard, a carafe of coffee, and a sleepy yellow Labrador retriever. They, along with her ever-patient husband, keep her grounded as her imagination flies high. Visit her at
www.julieannwalker.com
.