When I was a child, Mama had the best voice of all the members of the church. She had loved to sing. Her words had soared like an angel's over the swells of the organ. In fact, I now suspected, her entire theology had been taken from the hymnal.

I curtsied. 'Thank you, Mr. Stansbury. And I apologize for my lack of grace.'He bowed. 'Never apologize for being courageous, Miss Withersby.

There comes a time when even the thing you love betrays you...you have to know when it's time to give it up, I suppose. Doesn't mean you love it any less, of course. Just means it's time to move on. When you can't agree with the decisions that bind you, then you have to take your talents elsewhere.

Love is not some tool for manipulation. Love is a gift - love is from God. Love means everything.