“Julia, we are all children at Christmastime.”“You are not,” I pointed out.He gave me a shadowy smile. “I think you told me once I was born old.”

“You not watching the road is making me a little jumpy.” “No, I think city boy is scared of the woods.” She gave a quick laugh before saying, “Granny once told me she saw the devil out there. Pitchfork and all.” “Well, if I was scared, that wouldn’t help.”

“I knew a man once who told me that I smiled at the wrong things.""Do you?"Only by the light of those who smile at nothing.”

“What are you doing all the time? And why do you say nothing? You are evil, you know, and sometimes when you smiled at me I hated you. I wanted to strike you. I wanted to make you bleed. You smiled at me the way you smiled at everyone, you told me what you told everyone— and you tell nothing but lies. What are you always hiding? And do you think I did not know when you made love to me, you were making love to no one? No one! Or everyone—but not me, certainly. I am nothing to you, nothing, and you bring me fever but no delight.”

“Dylan, this is my friend, Sadie, I told you about.” He looked at me and gave me a slow smile. “Amanda said you were at school last year. How did I miss you?” he asked, his smile turning into a cocky grin. Before I could think of anything to say, Amanda cleared her throat, again and said, “And this is her date tonight, Jax Stone.”

“I gave you the best of me, he'd told her once, and with every beat of her son's heart, she knew he'd exactly done that.”