欧宝娱乐

“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.”
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh

“Sometimes,' I said, 'you have to let one story end so the next one can begin.'
'How do you know when that will happen?'
'You don't,' I said. 'Which is why you should always carry on.”
― Lindsay Mattick

“After seeing Dylan with the redhead, I sunk deeper into a depression. Even working at Lark鈥檚 house did nothing to distract me. I simply went through the motions. Fortunately, Lark was especially tired and slept most of the day, so she never noticed my bad mood.
Harlow wasn鈥檛 as oblivious as we washed dishes after dinner.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 up, stinky pup?鈥�
I rolled my eyes at her nickname for me. 鈥淣othing.鈥�
鈥淪he doesn鈥檛 want to deal with the leaves,鈥� Jace said from behind us. Our ten year old brother crossed his arms like Dad often did when suspicious. 鈥淪ee, she got spooked last night and bailed on raking the leaves. They ended up blowing around the yard and now she鈥檚 trying to get out of raking them again.鈥�
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not it.鈥�
鈥淪ure, it is,鈥� he said, his dark hair covering his narrowed eyes. 鈥淲hat else could it be?鈥�
Grumpy, I decided to punish him. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about a sexy guy.鈥�
Jace鈥檚 face twisted into horror. 鈥淓ww!鈥� he cried, running out of the room.
Harlow and I laughed at the sound of him telling on me to Mom.
鈥淚n a few years, girls will be all he thinks about,鈥� I said, returning to the dishes.
Harlow leaned her head against my shoulder. 鈥淪exy guy, huh?鈥�
鈥淪houldn鈥檛 you be getting ready for your fight?鈥�
Harlow glanced at the clock. 鈥淵eah. When I get back, I want to hear about the sexy guy making you sigh so much.鈥�
As my sister dressed to go, I finished the dishes and struggled to stop sighing.
I was still grumpy when Dad got home. In this living room, he told Harlow to be careful. She said something and laughed.
When Harlow started fighting at the Thunderdome, she called herself Joy and hid it from our parents. She didn鈥檛 think they鈥檇 approve and she was right. Harlow and I were na茂ve to assume they wouldn鈥檛 find out long before she told them the truth though.
Dad might be a pastor, but he learned about the Lord in prison. As a member of the Reapers, Dad had eyes and ears all over Ellsberg. He likely knew Harlow was fighting before she threw her first punch.
Entering the kitchen, Dad smiled at me. 鈥淪top talking about cute boys around your brother. He has a sensitive gag reflex.鈥�
I laughed as he got himself a beer and joined me at the sink. 鈥淢om said we have leftovers. Mind warming them up for me?鈥�
Shaking my head, I filled a plate and set it in the microwave.
鈥淎re you okay?鈥� Dad asked, frowning at me. 鈥淵ou look worn down.鈥�
鈥淚 had a long day.鈥�
鈥淵ou sure that鈥檚 it?鈥�
We watched each other and I remembered the first time he asked if I was okay. Five years earlier when I was brought to this house and met my new family. I didn鈥檛 remember a lot from that day besides thinking these people were too good to be true. I figured they鈥檇 wait until Kirk was gone then hurt me.
I couldn鈥檛 remember when I knew Dad was a good man who loved me. Not like my real dad loved me. Tad felt the kind of love a person died to protect. I saw the love in his eyes as he waited for his food to finish warming.
鈥淚 wish I was stronger.鈥�
鈥淪o do I,鈥� he said softly. 鈥淓veryone does. They just don鈥檛 admit it. That鈥檚 what makes you so brave. You can admit your fears.鈥�
Even thinking he was full of shit, I smiled. 鈥淭hanks, Dad.鈥�
Taking his plate out of the microwave, he inhaled. 鈥淢om makes the best meatloaf.鈥�
鈥淚 made it.鈥�
Grinning, Dad nudged me with his hip. 鈥淚f you make this meatloaf for the boy you鈥檙e hung up on, you鈥檒l own him.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檒l remember that.”
― Bijou Hunter, Damaged and the Bulldog

“I remained with Lark in the hospital room until Aaron arrived out of breath from running.
鈥淢y muse,鈥� he said, taking her hand.
Leaving them alone to prepare for the surgery, I walked into the waiting room. Cooper patted the chair next to him and I joined him.
鈥淪he鈥檒l be okay,鈥� he said, sounding convincing.
I didn鈥檛 feel like talking, so I texted Dylan, Harlow, Mom, and Dad to let them know what was happening. Cooper spoke quietly on the phone with Farah who was on her way with Tawny.
First, Dick and Maryann arrived then Raven not long afterwards with Bailey.
鈥淲e were shopping when you called,鈥� Bailey announced as Raven hurried to Lark鈥檚 room.
Joining her brother, Bailey tapped her foot and stared at the door. 鈥淗ow long will it take?鈥�
鈥淧atience,鈥� Cooper muttered then returned to talking with Farah.
Bailey changed seats, so she was next to me. 鈥淒on鈥檛 be scared. Pixies are powerful creatures.鈥�
Smiling softly, I took Bailey鈥檚 hand and waited.”
― Bijou Hunter, Damaged and the Bulldog

“He looks up and notices the Plexiglas box on the rickety shelf above the toilet and his eyes grow two sizes bigger. He looks at me and back at the trophy. "Is that a fucking Stanley Cup ring?"

"Yeah. Jude's first," I explain. "He gave it to my dad. Dad used to keep it here. It was a prized possession in his favorite place."

"In the shitter?" Holden is both stunned and horrified as he rises to his feet and leans forward to admire it.

"He kept it on his dresser, where he could see it first thing in the morning and last thing at night." I say and I almost smile as I explain the rest. "But Sadie, Dixie and I always move it to the bathroom. At first, Jude actually thought Dad kept it there, but then he realized it was our way of keeping him humble. Reminding him rings and trophies mean shit to us. He still has to be a good person."

Holden chuckles and I'm surprised by how good it feels to make him laugh. "You girls sure know how to keep a guy in place ... and dishonor a symbol of the hardest trophy to win in sports.”
― Victoria Denault, Now or Never

“Were you going to tell me you're coming to visit?"

"Were you going to tell me you're banging my contractor?"

"No. It's none of your business," I say firmly, trying not to sound shocked that he knows. I'm going to have to murder Sadie or Dixie later, whichever one told him. Maybe killing them both would be easiest. "Why are you coming?"

"Why are you banging the contractor?"

I grit my teeth. He's in one of those snarky moods that he's been perfecting since he was a preteen. Back then he used to parrot back everything I said on our twelve-hour drives to Maine from Toronto and it would get me so mad I would scream. If he wants to play, I'll play to win. "Well, where can I start ... he's built like a tank and hung like a horse."

"Winnie!"

"Not to mention that scruffy beard and the way it feels between my--”
― Victoria Denault, Now or Never

“If you're worried about some weird client-contractor rule you're breaking, keep in mind I didn't hire you. I didn't want you here at all."

His lip quirks up in the corner. "But now you love me."

I smile back at him. "I'm pretty sure fucking your client is a bigger broken rule than just having them do manual labor for you.”
― Victoria Denault, Now or Never

“That kid is great for my ego."

"Don't make me regret this," I warn but smile at him.

"You know, I could hire you to run my fan club, since you're so good at finding people who see me for the true athletic superstar that I am, " Jude says, his grin even deeper.”
― Victoria Denault, Now or Never

“I had never thought of school as fun before, but then, I'd never before had a hummingbird, a witch, or a maybe-immortal for teachers.”
― Laurence Yep, A Dragon's Guide to Making Your Human Smarter

“Wait." Posey lifts his finger in the air. "We first need to ask him--does he want the girl back? That how this goes. I've seen it many times. Boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy is a jackass and loses girl, boy confides in bros and tells them what a jackass he is, then boy CONFESSES his need for girl, and boy creates action plan with bros to get girl back. We need the confession before we can move on.”
― Meghan Quinn, Kiss and Don't Tell