“Toby was right. Finn was my first love. But Toby, he was my second. And the sadness in that stretched like a thin cold river down the length of my whole life.”

“Vote for Toby. Vote for Toby. Hey, baby. How you doin'?" Slight pause. "Vote for Toby.”

“Toby smiled and started to speak, but Josh adjusted his hold on Tank and reached back, covering Toby's mouth."Wait," Grace said. "I think he was going to actually use words.""Yeah, but trust me, you don't want to hear them."Toby pulled Josh's hand away. "Are you my new mommy?"Grace's mouth fell open in shock, and Toby giggled at the sight."Okay, Tiger," Josh said. "You know I love the sound of your laugh, probably more than any sound in the world, but I will squash you like a grape if you say that to one more woman today.”

“Nugget?" said Micah, offering a lump to Toby."Thanks," said Toby. He took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. "I think maybe it is a squirrel." He said.”

“Toby Zeigler: There's literally no one in the world I don't hate right now.”

“I love you, Tess McGee. I don’t do big funny or heartfelt speeches in front of people at birthday parties, but I’m excellent in private alcoves in beer gardens.” He paused. “Okay, that sounded really bad, what I mean is …”I kissed him into silence. I pressed my forehead against his with a sigh. “I love you, too, Toby. In fact, that’s what I was going to tell you before we walked into the beer garden. Right before the really bad singing started.”Toby chuckled. He let out a sigh of relief. “Ready to reminisce?”I whispered my final word before he closed the distance.“Always.”