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Acknowledgments

This novel was both a joy and a challenge to write; a joy because it's rity of those who serve in the e becausewell, to be coing There are those people, however, who e that much easier, and without further ado, I'd like to thank them

To Cat, my wife and the woman I love with all my heart Thanks for your patience, babe

To Miles, Ryan, Landon, Lexie, and Savannah, my children Thanks for your endless enthusiasm, kids

To Theresa Park,

To Jamie Raab, my editor Thanks for your kindness and wisdom

To David Young, the new CEO of Hachette Book Group USA, Maureen Egen, Jennifer Romanello, Harvey-Jane Kowal, Shannon O'Keefe, Sharon Krassney, Abby Koons, Denise DiNovi, Edna Farley, Howie Sanders, David Park, Flag, Scott Schwimer, Lynn Harris, Mark JohnsonI'm thankful for your friendship

To h track team (which won both the indoor and outdoor North Carolina State Championships): Dave Simpson, Philemon Gray, Karjuan Willia, Andrew Hendrix, Mike Weir, Dan Castelow, Marques Moore, Raishad Dobie, Darryl Barnes, Jayr Whitfield, Kelvin Hardesty, Julian Carter, and Brett Whitneywhat a season, guys!

Prologue

Lenoir, 2006

What does it mean to truly love another?

There was a tiht I knew the answer: It meant that I'd care for Savannah more deeply than I cared for ether It wouldn't have taken much She once told me that the key to happiness was achievable dreae, familythe basics It meant I'd have a steady job, the house with the white picket fence, and a h to haul our kids to school or to the dentist or off to soccer practice or piano recitals Two or three kids, she was never clear on that, but ested that we let nature take its course and allow God to ious, I mean--and I suppose that was part of the reason I fell for her But nobeside her in bed at the end of the day, holding her while we talked and laughed, lost in each other's arms

It doesn't sound so far-fetched, right? When two people love each other? That's what I thought, too And while part ofto happen When I leave here again, I'll never come back

For now, though, I'll sit on the hillside overlooking her ranch and wait for her to appear She won't be able to see me, of course In the ars, and I learned well, because I had no desire to die in son dump in the middle of the Iraqi desert But I had to come back to this small North Carolina mountain town to find out what happened When a person sets a thing in ret, until you learn the truth

But of this I am certain: Savannah will never know I've been here today

Part ofso close yet so untouchable, but her story and mine are different now It wasn't easy for me to accept this simple truth, because there was a time when our stories were the sao There are memories for both of us, of course, but I've learned thatpresence, and in this, Savannah and I are different as well If hers are stars in the nighttime sky, mine are the haunted empty spaces in between And unlike her, I've been burdened by questions I've asked ether Why did I do it? And would I do it again?

It was I, you see, who ended it