“Michael Rafferty was a goodman. A solid man. He was never going to be Hugh Jackman handsome or Bill Gates rich or King of England powerful. But he was hers and he was Sean's and that was more than enough”

“He thought about all the holes in him, the blank places, the voids where others felt things. When it came down to it, he was really just a screen, more empty than solid, his emotions blowing through him, only angry catching and holding.”

“How sweetly he came to her, she thought. Even with his bulk and power, he came to her...sweetly.”

“Is he Catholic?" her grandmother asked on the way out.He's a drug dealer -- so if he is religious, he's got incredible powers of reconciliation."He looks like a good boy," her vovo said over her shoulder. "A good Catholic boy." And that was that -- for now.”

“...the only thing that had tethered her to the earth had been him and it was strange, but she felt welded to him on some core level now. He had seen her at her absolute worst, at her weakest and most insane, and he hadn't looked away. He hadn't judged and he hadn't been burned.It was as if in the heat of her meltdown they had melted together.This was more than emotion. It was a matter of soul.”

“Man, life was complicated. But the truth was simple. He was her home. He was where she belonged.”

“Man, he wasn't going to need a stress test anytime soon. If his heart could get through a kiss from her, he could probably run a marathon.While dragging a car behind him.Sideways to the road.”