Catherine Anderson

“Mother's Eden: Does your Matthew... Well, does he make you feel as if he just handed you a handful of Stars?Eden: He make me feel as if he handed me the moon as well, Mama. Maybe the whole universe.”

“I strike fear into you because I am a man?""It isn't funny.""I do not laugh. It is a sad thing, yes, that your husband is a man. A very terrible thing.”

“What was she thinking? Tarnished Silver? Brother. He probably practiced that smoldering look in the mirror so all women within a mile would fall over like nine pins when he smiled. Well, count her out. He was mouthwatering to look at, but so was cheesecake, and cheesecake was a heck of a lot safer.”

“Do you think courage means being fearless? Or daring? Courage, real courage, is taking three steps when it terrifies you.”

“A ghost from her past, part of a world to which she no longer belonged but had never stopped missing.”

“And if you ever - and I do mean ever - try to leave me, I’m goin’ with you.”

“Annie giggled again. She couldn’t seem to stop herself. And when she did, the most incredible thing happened. Alex’s grin vanished, and after gazing down at her for what seemed to her several endless seconds, he got tears in his eyes. “Thank you,” he said. Only that, just a simple “thank you.” But to Annie, those were the two most wonderful words she’d ever seen spoken, and they meant more to her than a thousand others might have. With them, he told her a wealth of things, namely that he had meant everything he’d said to her in the attic, that he not only wouldn’t punish her for making noise, but that he wanted her to.”

“When God saw fit to bestow such a gift, a man with any sense didn’t ask questions.”