Both of us were quiet with the recognition that something was ending, and something was beginning.

A couple of times in your life, it happens like that. You meet a stranger, and all you know is that you need to know everything about him.

But I hadn't known what love was. And I wondered how you could ever be sure, when you thought you loved someone, if you really did.

Asking an eight-year-old girl if something is a little over-the-top is like asking a Texan if there are too many jalapenos in the salsa. The answer is always no." -Liberty Jones

I thought about the future, the oceans and continents he would cross, far away from everyone who knew and loved him. Far outside the sphere of his mothers prayers. Among the women of the future, there was one who would know his secrets and bear his children, and witness the changes the years worked on him. And it wouldnt be me. -Liberty Jones

To Cam surprise, she was smiling up at him steadily, her eyes midnight. His expression turned quizzical. "What's so amus­ing?" Amelia toyed with a button on his coat. "I was just thinking . . . tonight those two old hens will probably go to their beds, cold and alone." An impish grin curved her lips. "Whereas I will be with a wicked, handsome Rom who will keep me warm all night.

I felt the kind of loneliness that can happen in a roomful of people when everyone but you seems to be in on the good time.