Mary E. Pearson

“I see Jenna, smiling, chattering. And failing. When you are perfect, is there anywhere else to go?”

“I looked at her, unsure how to answer. Even after everything Mikael had done, every day I had to let go again. He was a habit in my thoughts, not any more welcome than a rash, but I'd find myself thinking of him before I even realized what I was doing. Banishing him from my thoughts was like learning to breathe in a new way. It was a conscious effort.”

“Faith and science, I have learned, are two sides of the same coin, separated by an expanse so small, but wide enough that one side can't see the other. They don't know they are connected.”

“Of course you did." I took a step closer. "You have strengths, Tavish, that I greatly admire. You're skills helped saved Rafe's and my lives, for which I'll always be indebted to you. But there are other kinds of strength too. Quiet, gentle ones that are just as valuable, even if you don't entirely understand them.”

“You have to make your peace with Kaden, and he with you. You are not on opposite sides anymore. Do you understand?”

“Chance. It weaves through our lives like a golden thread, sometimes knotting, tangling, and breaking along the way. Loose threads are left hanging, but the in and out, the back and forth continues, the weaving goes on. It doesn't stop.”

“The dictionary says my identity should be all about being separate or distinct, and yet it feels like it is so wrapped up in others.”