"'What's your name?... It doesn't matter. I think I'm going to call you Angel.' Straightening, he took her hand. 'Come on now, Angel. I have things to teach you.' He lifted her and sat her on the big bed. 'You can call me Duke, when you get your tongue back.'" (prologue, p. 44)

"And by morning, Sarah knew that Cleo had told her God's truth about everything." (prologue, p. 44)

"Michael Hosea was a quiet man, but there wasn't anything soft about him. There was something in his look that made men treat him with respect. It wasn't just his height or the strength of his body, which were both impressive enough. It was the clear steadiness of his gaze. He knew what he was about even if the rest of the world didn't."(chapter 2, p.55)

"It came to her with sudden finality that there was no...