After Nicholas hung up the phone, he watched his mother carry buckets and garden tools across the couch grass toward a bed that would, come spring, be brightly ablaze as tropical coral with colorful arctotis, impatiens, and petunias. Katherine dug… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share Image
“I need to ask, are you afraid of spiders?" Nicholas blinked, suddenly caught off guard, "Yes, I'm afraid of spiders." "Were you always?" "What… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
After Nicholas hung up the phone, he watched his mother carry buckets and garden tools across the couch grass toward a bed that would,… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“She put her tongue out and felt the raw edges of the torn silk. She looped her tongue around them and drew them into… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“Laine slowly rolled out of bed. The queen size was one of the few new things in the house. But now, even the new… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“Laine taped the last box shut. That was it, then: All of Gavin's belongings put away; some for charity, some for the dump, some… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“It's easy to love men when you're sixteen. Every year after that, it gets just a little bit harder. Or maybe men just get… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“Laine had been very proud of herself last night. Nicholas had talked about ghosts and magic and woven a bit of a spell himself.… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
Hannah expected this to make her sob even more, but instead she found her tears drying up and her tummy growing warm. How dare… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“A month ago, Gavin had given his employer four weeks' notice. "I'll get a job around here," he'd told her. "Something low-stress, part-time, maybe.… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“And the kids?" "Quincy, nothing. All she wants to do is look for Saturn's rings and bring home every creature from the pound. Nelson,… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“The rain thundered down so heavily that Pritam could imagine that space itself was made of water and was pouring through rents in the… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“Tears sprang from her eyes and she bit her lip to stop herself from howling at the bright pain.” — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“Christ can forgive you," he whispered, though he didn't believe it. There wasn't a hint of compassion in those ice-blue eyes. "That's grand," she… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“His hatred for her was now as solid as the boards he lay on, as the stones ringing the firepit.” — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
“But a smell shivered him awake. It was a scent as old as the world. It was a hundred aromas of a thousand places.… — Stephen M. Irwin Copy Share
