Jonas, Tate’s teenaged son … looking like mini-Tate, giving me the understanding that in a few years, me and every woman over twenty-five years of age in Carnal would be moved to become a cougar.

“You wanna know what else I know?” he asked.“What do you know, honey?” “My girl …”

“You’d always shine through,” he muttered and now he sounded sleepy but I was ag…”

“I lay under Luke, pretty certain I was going to die and wishing I’d made a will…”

“May feel like you're falling', Tabby, but remember, I'm at the bottom ready to …”