Quotes from Barbara Delinsky

he shot her a dry, sidelong glance. "The phones started

Mom?' Eaton didn't reply. 'Does she know about any of this?' 'No.' Hugh pressed the throbbing pulse at his brow. 'Did

She could never understand that when you were with the right people, you didn't need words in order to know what they felt.

after my diagnosis, I panicked every time I felt a pain. Then I decided that hope was a better way to go. I choose to believe that I'll live to grow old.

The beauty of it, to him, was that the routine was never the same. Bud break never occurred on the same date two years in a row. Waiting for it, watching for it, feeling the excitement when the vines suddenly burst into the palest of pale greens was … incredible. Same the critical few days when the buds burst into bloom.

She shifted in her chair, eyeing her front door with trepidation as she began to wonder if something might be wrong. What if he'd been hurt somewhere—if he'd been in an automobile accident or, more bizarre but nonetheless

From heartache came strength, from strength, satisfaction.

Annie took his hand. She kissed it and held it to the pulse point at her neck. She didn't speak. Words would have been an intrusion on what was happening between them. She could almost see the tiny ends of the soul-wire that had been severed in October, winding around each other, knotting, connecting in a way that she doubted would ever again come undone. That was how she wanted it.

On that bright May morning, with the lilacs budding and the kids off to school, Tom Markham approached his wife with the best of intentions.

And then—the kicker—they were cousins. Casey suspected she would forever feel protective of Meg, and that wasn't a bad thing.

That's the dilemma with family. When it comes to our parents, we're always children. At what point do we grow up? They raise us to function as individuals, but when do they allow us to act independently?

Nicole craved sweets. Her list included peach pie, rhubarb pie, and pumpkin pie, all of which would be on hand the following week for the Fourth of July cookout on the bluff, so she knew Quinnie cooks would have their recipe cards nearby. In addition to pies, she wanted recipes for blueberry cobbler, apple crisp, molasses Indian pudding, Isobel Skane's chocolate almond candy, and, of course, Melissa Parker's marble macadamia brownies.

A person couldn't wipe out the memories that shaped her being. She was a blend of past, present, and future.

Deviation," I repeated, thinking, There it is, so fast, the unsettled something. "It's a little more than that, Dad. We've actually been able to help someone. You know how good that feels. You do it in your work all the time, but James and I don't.

You were selfish. It was all about Emily. You hung around only as long as it suited you, then you ran. Amelia's words haunted me, because they so related to what was happening right now with my marriage and my job. As revived as I had felt leaving the cats, I was suddenly

I'd found my path. I might not know the exact twists and turns it would take, but that was part of what I'd learned. Options changed. Needs changed. I could wing it a little. The important thing was seeing the overall picture. The forest.

Waking up Thursday morning to another dreary day and the sense of being physically stuffed, they focused on FISH. While Charlotte interviewed the postmaster about the origin, techniques, and ingredients for his best-in-Maine lobster bakes, Nicole set off to gather recipes for glazed salmon, baked pesto haddock, and cod crusted with marjoram, a minted savory unique to Quinnipeague, and sage.

Sitting at my kitten's grave, I forgave myself for the last ten years. Wrong turns? No. I had acted in good faith, doing what I thought was right. But what was right, now, was seeing that my needs had changed. One of those new needs had just surfaced. I wanted a pet. I didn't care what kind; James could choose. Or not. He would argue against it, but when I thought of my baby and the

I haven't done anything as rewarding as this since I passed the bar. It was the best, Roger. I totally know what you mean about feeling good when you help people. I would represent one person like Lee any day over the jackasses I've been working with for the last seven years!

Life through a child's eye has to be supersized to hold the huge wealth of possibility she sees.

Clams served on Quinnipeague were dug from the from the flats hours before cooking, and the batter, which was exquisitely light, held bits of parsley and thyme. Other fried clams couldn't compare.

You showed me the side of life I was missing. The memory of it was here in Bell Valley, waiting for me. Now I have to go home and blend the two—right brain, left brain—rational, intuitive." I wasn't sure

Wingback chairs had been originally designed to protect their occupants either from drafts or the heat of a fire.

tattoos are like bumper stickers in some respects. Their wearers want to tell the world something.