Bigger (The Nicky Beets series) (24 page)

“Um, I dunno … seven?” I teased. Chuck slapped my butt playfully.

“Seriously,” he said.

“Two,” I answered. “Ideally one boy and one girl.”

“That sounds perfect,” he said. He’d moved on to smoothing my crazy curly
hair away from my face. “And where should we live?”

I saw a look in Chuck’s eye that I had trouble discerning.

“What are our options?” I asked.

“Well, right now there’s one interesting option,” he started. “I got a
job offer. They called this morning.”

“Oh!” I propped myself up on one elbow. “Where is it?”

“A very small, old gold-mining town called Nettle. It’s in the Nevada
foothills. I went for my interview and … it’s small, but cute. It’d be an
adventure.”

If we moved, I’d have to quit my job. We’d have to make new friends. We’d
have to find time to make trips to visit our parents. I stared into his magnetic
eyes and knew one thing: Whatever happened, all I needed was him by my side.

“All right,” I said.

“All right, you’ll do it?” he was surprised.

“Yes! Let’s do it. Let’s have an adventure,” I said. “Marry me, and take
me to the sticks.”

Chuck laughed quietly. He pressed his muscled body against my softer one
and kissed me slowly. We fit together like puzzle pieces; it couldn’t have felt
more right.

Acknowledgements

The idea for this book came to me during a road trip, so I wrote it down
in a notebook, as I’ve written down hundreds of ideas over the years. Nicky’s
early crisis in the novel – being seen on a TV segment about obesity
– is one of my waking nightmares.

I’ve known since I was a teenager that I wanted to write a novel, but as
with many things it got put off until the encouragement I received from my
friends and family was so overwhelming, I had little choice but to take the
plunge.

Patrick Weiss, for starters, has missed his calling as a motivational
speaker. He and Meagan Weiss are among the most supportive of this effort.

Christina Stubler deserves a medal for reading and editing various
iterations of
Bigger
. She’s been an
enormous source of encouragement for me in so many ways these last few years,
and her talented photographer husband John Stubler is responsible for my author
photo.

For some reason my parents, Paul and Anita Mayes, have never once
expressed doubt as I edited and re-edited (and re-edited and re-edited) the
book. They, and my sister and brother-in-law Sarah and Cody Glossop have been
huge cheerleaders. And my sweet niece Ava Glossop taught me a thing or two
along the way.

Evelyn Garcia has always been my fairy godmother. I wish Tony Garcia,
Beth Mayes, Sharyne Kelley, and Millie King could have seen me finish this
project. Linda Garcia and Susan Ramsey always managed to infect me with their
energy when discussing the book. Bruce Kelley always made me laugh.
 

Bryan McClain and Kem Gong have been unflagging in their encouragement
and are always handy for extremely useful tips, not the least of which led to
the creation of the book’s cover.

Minal Gandhi-Shepard and Rozina Kapadia offered tons of support and tips on
the plot – thank goodness.

Ellie Pierce had a few invaluable insights that led to one of my major
re-editing sessions.

Other priceless friends who have offered their encouragement, support,
tips, glasses of wine, advice, and overall go-get-‘ems as I struggled through
my first work of fiction: Russell and Katie Heredia, Mike and Tanya Osegueda,
Christie Moore-Taylor, Greg and Mary Saca, Gene and Diane Rosenthal, Jacqueline
Ramseyer, Melissa Samaniego, Sasha Brown, Mandy Fishburn, Michelle Leary,
Demetrius Madrigal, Genevieve Bookwalter, Cat Mylinh, Ryan and Stephanie
Fletcher, Kiandra Schardt, Geoff Fink, Anne Swenson, Shirley Wilson, Judy Gong,
and Jackie McClain. And, of course, my blogging buddies, whom I feel very close
to.

I saved the best for last. My wonderful husband, Brendan Kelley. He was
the first to tell me it was time to write the book, and he’s been what’s held
me up for a while now as we both struggled through life’s tough knocks. None of
it would be possible without him. I love you beyond possibility, B. One baby
down, one to go.

About
the Author

Bigger
is Erin Mayes’ first
foray into fiction. She holds a degree in journalism and has a background in
reporting for community newspapers in Northern California. She lives in San
Jose, California, with her husband and two cats.