“Shame, when she was younger, had stopped her. Fear, as she grew older, trapped the truth within her.”

“What are you doing?" she asked.Grimacing, he considered returning his mouth to hers and kissing her until she forgot the question and his strange behavior, but he had to know the truth. Dammit, he had to know. "Amelia told me that her toes curl when Houston kisses her. I was just trying to see if your toes curl when I kiss you." She turned a lovely shade of rose and rolled her shoulders toward her chin. "My whole body curls when you kiss me." "Your whole body?" She nodded quickly."Every inch." "Well, hell," he said as he settled his mouth greedily over hers with plans to keep her body tightly curled for the remainder of the night.-Dallas and Dee”

“She thought her world had stoppedfalling apart, but she was wrong. It had simply becomeisolated, her focus narrowed to struggling not tocontinually grieve for all that had been irrevocably lost”

“Meg forgot about cautioning him to be quiet. She forgot about everything but watching the care with which he wrapped a blanket around Mama Warner before gingerly lifting her into his arms and cradling her against his chest."Comfortable?" he asked."You know how to hold a woman so she feels precious. Makes me wish I was sixty years younger.”

“Please," Meg whispered. "I don't want any trouble here."He released his hold on her. As though she might say something further, she parted her lips slightly. Then she walked out of the church."Touch her again, and I'll kill you," Daniel said.Clay wondered if he should tell her brother that he'd be doing him a favor if he killed him… because his heart had just died.”

“Sighing, she looked out at the fog. It was like life, preventing her from seeing what was beyond reach. She wasn’t unhappy. She simply felt that something important was missing from her life”

“She was twelve,” Claybourne went on, his voice flat, but the fury still simmering just beneath the surface. “Sold to a house of ill repute, one known for specializing in virgins. He was her first. As far as I know, her only. So yes, the four of us circle around her the way one might an injured butterfly, never touching it for fear of damaging it more, forever hoping that a day will come when it will again fly. If you harm her, in any manner, no matter how slight, you will answer to us. And while Graves might not have stopped by to issue a warning, don’t underestimate him. With that scalpel of his, he could slice out your heart and you’d never feel it.”