Second Wind (Book #1 in Next Chapter Series)

Three and a half years after losing her husband, Maggie Parker has learned how to keep moving - one mile, one memory, one quiet morning at a time. Running used to be her joy; now it's her refuge, the only place she can still hear her heartbeat.

When she considers joining a local training group to prepare for a race, she meets Matt Marino - younger, confident, and disarmingly kind. He runs like the world belongs to him, and somehow, when he looks at Maggie, she starts to believe it could belong to her too.

What begins as friendship and flirty pursuit-shared miles and sidelong smiles-quickly builds into something that stirs every part of her she thought had gone still. But opening her heart again means facing the grief she's outrun for too long...and daring to love someone who challenges everything she thought she wanted.

As the race approaches, Maggie must decide if she's brave enough to step into a future that's faster, freer, and far more uncertain than the past she left behind.

Because sometimes, the finish line isn't the end,
it's where you find your second wind.