“He ain’t my friend,’ Harry said. ‘Not no more, he ain’t.’Strax leaned across to Jenny. ‘At what age do these cubs become grammatical?’ he demanded.‘Depends,’ she told him. ‘At what age do Sontarans become pacifists?”

“Don’t sulk,” he told her. “It doesn’t become someone of your age.” She rolled her eyes even as, he was delighted to note, she kissed him back. “Oh, the age thing? You just had to go there, didn’t you?”

“Come with me to the Pacific Design Center.”“Why?”“Because I need help picking out a new couch,” he said, peering up at her uncertainly. “Isn’t that what friends do?”“Okay.”“Okay.” “Should we go?”Taylor went back inside her apartment and grabbed her keys. As she followed Jason out to his car, she tapped him on the shoulder. “Hey—can I drive the Aston Martin?”“No.”“But isn’t that what friends do?”“No.”“My, my, you’re awfully grumpy today . . . Is something wrong?”“Buckle up, sweetheart,” he told her. “This ain’t no PT Cruiser.”

“Right is right, and wrong is wrong, and a body ain’t got no business doing wrong when he ain’t ignorant and knows better.”

“Impulsively, she leaned across the truck and kissed him on the cheek. He glanced over in surprise when she pulled away, but pleasure glowed in his eyes."What was that for?""Just seemed like the thing to do," she said."Well, feel free to do it more often," he encouraged. "I assure you I won't mind.”

“Papa, ain’t it a caution that we can only eat two legs off a frog, ’stead of four.” And he said: “Rob, here’s what you do. You catch a real big bullfrog and make friends with him. And teach him to jump backwards. That’ll make his front legs big as the hind.”