False Start by Rebecca Minelga

She’s sunshine and sweetness. He’s a fallen hero with a plan. And the dog? He might be the only one who can teach them both how to love again. Jif Pritchard lives for laughter, late nights, and making life fun, but when a classroom crisis shatters her carefree world, she’s desperate to help her students feel safe again. Enter Miles Porter: ex-firefighter, professional brooder, and the man who lost everything when an injury ended his career. Now he’s stuck playing therapy handler with his four-legged partner, Nix, and the last thing he needs is a whirlwind teacher who talks too much and smiles too big. But as Nix works his magic on Jif’s shell-shocked third graders, Miles starts to see the cracks behind her glittering facade. And Jif? She can’t stop wondering what it would take to melt the walls around his scarred heart. When sparks fly, Jif and Miles will have to decide: cling to the lives they thought they wanted or risk everything for the messy, beautiful future they never saw coming.

Adult • Romance • Women's Fiction

Content Warning: This novel includes challenging themes of medical trauma, PTSD, body image issues, homelessness, and implications of the possibility of sexual assault, as well as a school-based emergency that initially presents as a possible School Intruder Scenario. While these are important stories to tell, please be mindful of your mental health. If you need help, call 988 or your local Suicide and Crisis hotline.