Quotes from Mary Connealy

She practically growled. He was afraid of her when she growled.

Whattaya say, Cassie, will you marry me?

She'd do whatever Rylan asked. And if her collar strangled her, or if it was awkward scrubbing floors in a dress, then she'd remember Jesus on the cross and how He'd suffered. Then she'd compare her own meager pain and endure it quietly. A trace of peace crept through her as she prayed…

Praying should help, remembering Bible verses should help. Rylan figured he must be doing it wrong because it was only making him worry more. So he forced his thoughts from those worries and found himself watching every move Maizy made. That was another kind of madness.

Rylan tried not to share so many of his worries. She was so sympathetic it made him want to succeed all the more, and that made his fear of failing cut so deep he couldn't stand it. Rylan wasn't good at church attendance. He was a believer, but he found Sundays to be as demanding on a ranch as every other day, and he'd let his worship time slip.

My name is Fitzgerald O'Neill Dawson. My mother was born in Ireland and she landed all her love for the Old Country right smack on my head with a single name.

bringing some horses to corral over here. He'll have more supplies, too." Julia hoped the ranch foreman didn't get back at mealtime.

He pictured Maizy here, permanently. His. He liked the idea so much it shocked him. And then he pictured her at his side when they got thrown off the land. Rylan hated to see her go. But he knew if he talked her into staying permanently, he'd end up dragging her down with him when he failed. And that would hurt worse than broken ribs any day.

I didn't expect you to do all this work, Maizy. You probably don't even need to come over every day." And that made him feel so sorry for himself. What would he do without her company?

Surely by now you've heard it all a dozen times." "I like hearing about your dream though. It's nice. Tell me again.

there was no humor behind that smile. Rafe looked at the tippy table Julia had contrived. Julia saw him judging her home harshly, but

I'm not waiting for you or any other man to tell me anything ever again.

The truth was he'd overreacted that day because he didn't like running into her. Sure, there was danger from wild bulls and grizzlies in the area—though Rylan hadn't foreseen the two tangling. But the real reason it upset him to find her was she wasn't exactly safe from him. Oh, he'd never physically harm her, but he might end up spending time with her and talking and learning all about her.

She might be judging her home harshly, too. "I met up with Steele. He already crossed the stream and is headed back to the ranch. He said he'd ride around, going across

Get back to bed." It was humiliating how easily a man could be pushed around when he had a broken leg. Rylan found himself tucked back in bed and Maizy was making breakfast before he really knew what had happened. It didn't help that he was dizzy.

Her father had arranged it. He'd as good as sold her to Wendell to pay off debts. She looked down at her daughter and wondered if her father owed more money. Audra had a little sister, Carolyn. Would her father sell Carolyn to some brute? There was a baby brother, Isaac. He might not be such a commodity as a girl, but he might already be learning to behave in the image of her father.

She stalked toward the door and as she swung it open, she turned back and said, "You're not even steady on your feet. You wouldn't last two minutes on the back of a horse, and I sure as shootin' ain't riding to town for the doctor. So you can just forget gettin' that cast off today. The doctor wouldn't agree to that fool notion anyway.

the bowl from her hands. "Careful, it's hot." Rafe moved fast, setting it down on the table. "Told me that a little late." "Father is mostly asleep.

We need to settle a few things before tomorrow." "We sure do." Rylan suspected they wanted to talk about different things.

Penny had little patience for a man who poured

The petulant Cassie began to rear her head more fiercely. She wanted to hurt Red because she was hurting, and it didn't seem fair that she had to hurt alone. She wanted to scream at him and loathe all men through him, because he could never have a child, but he could make a child grow inside a woman and then leave her to die alone.

If he could have reached it, he'd have kicked his own backside.

And no amount of trousers and sweat-soaked shirts could change the fact that she was about the prettiest thing he'd ever seen.

mattered; he stank up the cabin just by walking inside. "You've brought