“A ghost from her past, part of a world to which she no longer belonged but had never stopped missing.”

“Put your arms around my neck, sweetheart.""Whatever for?"He grasped her wrists and lifted her arms himself. "Because," he whispered, "we're going to dance."....."This will never work. I appreciate the thought. It's very sweet, but-""Shut up," he whispered. The first notes of the next number drifted to them, and she realized it was the band's rendition of Montgomery's hit song, "I swear." Tears sprang to her eyes, for the instant she recognized the tune, she knew Ryan had requested it."Dance with me," he whispered."I feel foolish.""Who'll see? Only me, and I'm our best bud, so I don't count. Besides, why should you feel foolish?""My legs are dangling. My feet will thump your shins." "Those soft slippers won't hurt my shins," he assured her.And with that, he swept her into a waltz.-Ryan and Bethany (Phantom Waltz)”

“This was how God had intended it to be. A precious gift. A sacred oneness.I love you. He said the words in the way he held her, his rock hard arms so gentle they felt like air around her. I love you. His hands told her-not merely touching her, but worshiping her.”

“Was her God up there in the sky as she believed? Did he truly hear man's whispers,his thoughts? Hunter could see his own Gods,Mother Earth,Mother Moon, Father Sun, the wind coming from four directions. It was easy to believe in what he could see. Why did Loretta's God hide himself?”

“Afterward, she hooked a limp arm around his neck, buried her face against his shoulder, and whispered, "Don't ever get hypothermia with anyone but me.”

“A man whose yesterdays rest on his horizon travels forward into his past. The result is that he goes a very long way to nowhere.”

“What was she thinking? Tarnished Silver? Brother. He probably practiced that smoldering look in the mirror so all women within a mile would fall over like nine pins when he smiled. Well, count her out. He was mouthwatering to look at, but so was cheesecake, and cheesecake was a heck of a lot safer.”