“I almost envy your horse," she said, "because these thighs hug him all day."-Rebecca to Jake”

“Rebecca tilted her face up to Jake and she felt his lips brushing lightly against hers. Then his lips were beside her ear, whispering, "A lifetime of happiness, Reb, I promise.”

“Your marriage," Jake said, almost impatiently. "It's like the grapes. Just a paint job."He went straight to bed.”

“Zinnia always wants to hug me and pat me because she has a boy my same age named Melvin. I said maybe some day Melvin could come play at our farm, and I could bring him to the maze and show him the shortcuts. Zinnia started crying. That’s when I seen that she has freckles.”

“She felt as if she'd been hugging puppies all day.”

“America grinned. “No, it’s something else,” she said, watching Travis’ hand as he patted my thigh. She was right; he was different. There was an air of peace around him, almost as if some kind of new contentment had settled into his soul.”