“What do you want want to be remembered for?" she asked tartly.He slowly shook his head. "I just want to be remembered.”

“Has any woman ever touched you?" she asked as she splayed her fingers over his thigh."No.""Do you want a woman to touch you?""No."She stilled, and Clay pushed himself up. He cradled her check in his palm. "I want you to touch me.”

“The melody drifted into an aching silence. Austin lifted his head, and she saw his tears, trailing along his cheeks, glistening in the moonlight.She slipped from beneath the blankets, her bare feet hitting the cold floor. "What were you playing?" she asked reverently, not wanting to disturb the ambiance that remained in the room."That was my heart breaking," he said, his voice ragged.She felt as though her own heart might shatter as she took a step toward him. "Austin—""Don't stop loving me, Loree. You want me to learn what those little black bugs on those pieces of paper mean, I'll learn. You want me to play the violin from dawn until dusk, hell, I'll play till midnight, just don't stop loving me."She flung her arms around his neck and felt his arms come around her back, the violin tapping against her backside. "Oh, Austin, I couldn't stop loving you if I wanted.""I do know how to love, Loree. I just don't know how to keep a woman loving me.""I'll always love you, Austin," she said trailing kisses over his face. "Always."She felt a slight movement away from her as he set the violin aside, and then his arms came around her, tighter than before. "Let me love you, Loree. I need to love you."-Austin and Loree”

“And what about you, Frannie? he wanted to ask. Who will save you?”

“You loved her, but you let her marry some other fella? Why’d you do a fool thing like that?” “Because it was best for her.” “How do you know it was best for her?” Houston swiveled his head and captured his brother’s gaze. “What?” Austin shrugged. “What if what you thought was best for her wasn’t what she wanted?” “What are you talking about?” Austin slid his backside across the porch. “I’m not learned in these matters so I don’t understand how you know what you did was best for her.”-Houston and Austin”

“He'd built a wall around his heart to protect it, and she was slowly brick by brick, smile by smile, laugh by laugh, kindness by kindness, tearing it down. Tomorrow he'd refortify it.Tonight he simply wanted the haven she could provide.”

“Stay."The strangled word, spoken in anguish, tore at her heart, ripped through her resolve. She swiped at the tears raining over her cheeks and slowly turned, forcing the painful truth past her lips. "I can't stay. I can no longer give you what you want. I can't give you a son." Dallas stepped off the veranda and extended a bouquet of wildflowers toward her. "Then stay and give me what I need." Her heart lurched at the abundance of flowers wilting within his smothering grasp. She shook her head vigorously. "You don't need me. There are a dozen eligible women in Leighton who would happily give you a son and within the month there will be at least a dozen more—" "I'll never love any of them as much as I love you. I know that as surely as I know the sun will come up in the morning." Her breath caught, her trembling increased, words lodged in her throat. He loved her? She watched as he swallowed."I know I'm not an easy man. I don't expect you to ever love me, but if you'll tolerate me, I give you my word that I'll do whatever it takes to make you happy—"Quickly stepping forward, she pressed her shaking fingers against his warm lips. "My God, don't you know that I love you? Why do you think I'm leaving? I'm leaving because I do love you—so much. Dallas, I want you to have your dream, I want you to have your son."Closing his eyes, he laid his roughened hand over hers where it quivered against his lips and pressed a kiss against the heart of her palm."I can't promise that I won't have days when I'll look toward the horizon and feel the aching emptiness that comes from knowing we'll never have a child to pass our legacy on to…"Opening his eyes, he captured her gaze. "But I know the emptiness you'll leave behind will eat away at me every minute of every day."-Dallas and Dee”