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Link Quote Stars Tags Author
3f69700 "I am a man" he told her, "and men do not consume pink beverages. Get thee gone woman, and bring me something brown." -- clare city-of-glass isabelle jace Cassandra Clare
2f53aac "Is this the part where you say if I hurt her, you'll kill me?" "No" Simon said, "If you hurt Clary she's quite capable of killing you herself. Possibly with a variety of weapons." jace simon Cassandra Clare
0ed0e04 "Don't order any of the faerie food," said Jace, looking at her over the top of his menu. "It tends to make humans a little crazy. One minute you're munching a faerie plum, the next minute you're running naked down Madison Avenue with antlers on your head. Not," he added hastily, "that this has ever happened to me." city-of-bones jace mortal-instruments Cassandra Clare
ae582ee "Can I help you with something?" Clary turned instant traitor against her gender. "Those girls on the other side of the car are staring at you." Jace assumed an air of mellow gratification. "Of course they are," he said, "I am stunningly attractive." clary jace Cassandra Clare
877f737 "What's this?" he demanded, looking from Clary to his companions, as if they might know what she was doing there. "It's a girl," Jace said,recovering his composure. "Surely you've seen girls before, Alec. Your sister Isabelle is one." love jace mortal-instruments Cassandra Clare
44c9f39 "It's not gray," Clary felt compelled to point out. "It's green." "If there was such a thing as terminal literalism, you'd have died in childhood," said Jace." humor gray-book jace Cassandra Clare
1bad3b9 "Jace shook his blond head in exasperation. "You had to make a crazy jail friend, didn't you? You couldn't just count ceiling tiles or tame a pet mouse like normal prisoners do?" jace Cassandra Clare
564e6b8 "We need to talk. All of us About what we're going to do now." "I was going to watch Project Runway." humor clary jace Cassandra Clare
57ea138 "I don't care," Clary said. "He'd do it for me. Tell me he wouldn't. If I were missing-" "He'd burn the whole world down till he could dig you out of the ashes. I know," Alec said." chapter-one city-of-lost-souls clary-fray jace mortal-instruments Cassandra Clare
d2f0c5d "Is there some particular reason that you're here?" ... "Not this again." "Not what again?" said Clary. "Every time I annoy him, he retreats into his No Mundanes Allowed tree house." Simon pointed at Jace." jace simon mundane Cassandra Clare
1aef713 "How awfully convenient for you, regardless. And for him. He won't have to worry about you spilling his secrets." "Yeah," Jace said. "He's terrified I'll tell everyone that he's always wanted to be a ballerina." jace Cassandra Clare
a77753d And next time you're planning to injure yourself to get me attention, just remember that a little sweet talk works wonders. humor love clary-and-jace jace-and-clary jace Cassandra Clare
b7d80e0 You're so easy to tease. And yes, your friend is just fine. Well, except that he keeps putting all my things away and trying to clean up. Now I can't find anything. He's compulsive. jace Cassandra Clare
f4103a5 "She turned and looked at him. "Ducks?" she said again. A smile tugged the edge of his mouth. "I hate ducks. Don't know why. I just always have." -- ducks clary-fray jace Cassandra Clare
597d855 "It's a coffee cup." She could hear the irritation in her own voice. "I know it's a coffee cup." "I can't wait till you draw something really complicated, like the Brooklyn Bridge or a lobster. You'll probably send me a singing telegram." jace Cassandra Clare
a6245f2 "I stabbed you. With a massive sword. You caught on fire." His lips twitched, almost imperceptibly. "Okay, so maybe our problems aren't like other couples." repartee jace Cassandra Clare
edb1459 "You're not going," he said as soon as she'd finished. "If I have to tie you up and sit on you until this insane whim of yours passes, you are not going to Idris." - Jace" jace Cassandra Clare
04b125b "Magnus rolled onto his back and put his feet up on the arm of the sofa. "What do you care if Alec's miserable?" "What do I ?" Jace said, so loudly that Chairman Meow rolled off the couch and landed on the floor. "Of course I care about Alec; he's my best friend, my . And he's unhappy. And so are you, by the look of things. Takeout containers everywhere, you haven't done anything to fix up the place, your cat looks dead --" "He's not dead." city-of-heavenly-fire jace magnus-bane Cassandra Clare
d021c5f "He grinned. It was a wicked grin, the kind that made the blood in Clary's veins run a little faster. "You want to go on a date?" Caught off guard, she stammered. "A wh-what?" "A date," Jace repeated. "Often 'a boring thing you have to memorize in history class,' but in this case, 'an offering of an evening of blisteringly white-hot romance with yours truly." "Really?" Clary was not sure what to make of this. "Blisteringly white-hot?" "It's me," said Jace. "Watching me play Scrabble is enough to make most women swoon. Imagine if I actually put in some effort." repartee clary-fray jace date Cassandra Clare
5678663 "Do you remember," he said, "when we first met and I told you I was ninety percent sure putting a rune on you wouldn't kill you--and you slapped me in the face and told me it was for the other ten percent?" Clary nodded. "I always figured a demon would kill me," he said. "A rogue Downworlder. A battle. But I realized then that I just might die if I didn't get to kiss you, and soon." Clary licked her dry lips. "Well, you did," she said. "Kiss me, I mean." He reached up and took a curl of her hair between his fingers. He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of his body, smell his soap and skin and hair. "Not enough," he said, letting her hair slip through his fingers. "If I kiss you all day every day for the rest of my life, it won't be enough." kiss jace Cassandra Clare
1f0e22d "You're pining," said Jace. Alec shrugged. "Look who's talking. 'oh I love her. Oh, she's my sister. Oh why, why, why--" malec clace clary jace references Cassandra Clare
04550d8 Every time I think I'm missing a piece of me, you give it back. love herondale clary-fray jace shadowhunters Cassandra Clare
74d2526 "While this is all very amusing, the kiss that will free the girl is the kiss that she most desires," she said. "Only that and nothing more." Jace's heart started to pound. He met the Queen's eyes with his own. "Why are you doing this?" ... "Desire is not always lessened by disgust...And as my words bind my magic, so you can know the truth. If she doesn't desire your kiss, she won't be free." "You don't have to do this, Clary, it's a trick--" (Simon) ...Isabelle sounded exasperated. 'Who cares, anyway? It's just a kiss." "That's right," Jace said. Clary looked up, then finally, and her wide green eyes rested on him. He moved toward her... and put his hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him... He could feel the tension in his own body, the effort of holding back, of not pulling her against him and taking this one chance, however dangerous and stupid and unwise, and kissing her the way he had thought he would never, in his life, be able to kiss her again. "It's just a kiss," he said, and heard the roughness in his own voice, and wondered if she heard it, too. Not that it mattered--there was no way to hide it. It was too much. He had never wanted like this before... She understood him, laughed when he laughed, saw through the defenses he put up to what was underneath. There was no Jace Wayland more real than the one he saw in her eyes when she looked at him... All he knew was that whatever he had to owe to Hell or Heaven for this chance, he was going to make it count. He...whispered in her ear. "You can close your eyes and think of England, if you like," he said. Her eyes fluttered shut, her lashes coppery lines against her pale, fragile skin. "I've never even been to England," she said, and the softness, the anxiety in her voice almost undid him. He had never kissed a girl without knowing she wanted it too, usually more than he did, and this was Clary, and he didn't know what she wanted. Her eyes were still closed, but she shivered, and leaned into him -- barely, but it was permission enough. His mouth came down on hers. And that was it. All the self-control he'd exerted over the past weeks went, like water crashing through a broken dam. Her arms came up around his neck and he pulled her against him... His hands flattened against her back... and she was up on the tips of her toes, kissing him as fiercely as he was kissing her... He clung to her more tightly, knotting his hands in her hair, trying to tell her, with the press of his mouth on hers, all the things he could never say out loud... His hands slid down to her waist... he had no idea what he would have done or said next, if it would have been something he could never have pretended away or taken back, but he heard a soft hiss of laughter -- the Faerie Queen -- in his ears, and it jolted him back to reality. He pulled away from Clary before he it was too late, unlocking her hands from around his neck and stepping back... Clary was staring at him. Her lips were parted, her hands still open. Her eyes were wide. Behind her, Alec and Isabelle were gaping at them; Simon looked as if he was about to throw up. ...If there had ever been any hope that he could have come to think of Clary as just his sister, this -- what had just happened between them -- had exploded it into a thousand pieces... He tried to read Clary's face -- did she feel the same? ... I know you felt it, he said to her with his eyes, and it was half bitter triumph and half pleading. I know you felt it, too...She glanced away from him... He whirled on the Queen. "Was that good enough?" he demanded. "Did that entertain you?" The Queen gave him a look: special and secretive and shared between the two of them. "We are quite entertained," she said. "But not, I think, so much as the both of you." kissing kiss clary-and-jace fairie-kiss jace-and-clary jace-and-clary-kissing jace-pov clary-fray the-mortal-instruments jace Cassandra Clare
aefcc18 "It's a girl," Jace said, recovering his composure. "Surely you've seen girls before, Alec. Your sister Isabelle is one." city-of-bones clary-fray isabelle-lightwood jace mortal-instruments Cassandra Clare
bc4207e A parabatai. Like he was. And Jace knew, too, what that faded rune meant: a parabatai whose other half was dead. He felt his sympathy leap toward Brother Zachariah, as he imagined himself without Alec, with only that faded rune to remind him where once he had been bonded to someone who knew all the best and worst parts of his soul. jace jem will Cassandra Clare
0d49bd4 "Clary wasn't sure what she'd expected -exclamations of delight, perhaps a smattering of applause. Instead there was silence, broken only when Jace said, "Somehow, I thought it would be bigger." Clary looked at the Cup in her hand. It was the size, perhaps, of an ordinary wineglass, only much heavier. Power thrummed through it, like blood through living veins. "It's a perfectly nice size," she said indignantly. "Oh, it's big enough," he said patronizingly, "but somehow I was expecting something... you know." He gestured with his hands, indicating something roughly the size of a house cat. "It's the Mortal Cup, Jace, not the Mortal Toilet Bowl," said Isabelle." isabelle jace mortal-instruments Cassandra Clare
13bacba "Isabelle says the Queen of the Seelie Court has requested an audience with us." "Sure," said Magnus. "And Madonna wants me as a backup dancer on her next world tour." Alec looked puzzled. "Who's Madonna?" "Who's the Queen of the Seelie Court?" said Clary. "She is the Queen of Faerie," said Magnus. "Well, the local one, anyway." Jace put his head in his hands. "Tell Isabelle no." "But she thinks it's a good idea," Alec protested. "Then tell her no twice." Alec frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" "Oh, just that some of Isabelle's ideas are world-beaters and some are total disasters. Remember that idea she had about using abandoned subway tunnels to get around under the city? Talk about giant rats--" "Let's not," said Simon. "I'd rather not talk about rats at all, in fact." jace magnus-bane Cassandra Clare
48144e5 "But you have to learn to bend a little," said Clary with a yawn. Despite the story's content, the rhythm of Jace's voice had made her sleepy. "Or you'll break." "Not if you're strong enough," said Jace firmly." clary-fray jace jace-wayland Cassandra Clare
8ab1515 "(Jace) "Is there anything special you want to see? Paris? Budapest? The Leaning Tower of Pisa?" Only if it falls on Sebastian's head, she thought." clary-fray jace sebastian lol Cassandra Clare
71d148b "But Clary never found out what it wasn't, because there was a cry of "Jace!" and Alec appeared, breathless from pushing his way through the crowd to get them. His dark hair was a mess and there was blood on his clothes, but his eyes were bright with a mixture of relief and anger. He grabbed Jace by the front of his jacket. "What happened to you?" Jace looked affronted. "What happened to me?" Alec looked at him, not lightly. "You said you were going for a walk! What kind of walk takes six hours?" "A long one?" Jace suggested." humor jace mortal-instruments Cassandra Clare
8605f03 She opened her mouth to answer, but he was already kissing her. She had kissed him so many times--soft gentle kisses, hard and desperate ones, brief brushes of the lips that said good-bye, and kisses that seemed to go on for hours--and this was no different. The way the memory of someone who had once lived in a house might linger even after they were gone, like a sort of psychic imprint, her body remembered Jace. Remembered the way he tasted, the slant of his mouth over hers, his scars under her fingers, the shape of his body under her hands. kiss romance jace Cassandra Clare
3924fb5 "So you speak French?" Isabelle sighed. "I wish I spoke another language. But Hodge never thought we needed to learn anything but ancient Greek and Latin, and nobody speaks those." "I also speak Russian and Italian. And some Romanian," Sebastian said with a modest smile. "I could teach you some phrases-" "Romanian? That's impressive," said Jace. "Not many people speak it." "Do you?" Sebastian asked with interest. "Not really," Jace said with a smile so disarming Simon knew he was lying. "My Romanian is pretty much limited to useful phrases like, 'Are these snakes poisonous?' and 'But you look much too young to be a police officer." romanian jace mortal-instruments sebastian Cassandra Clare
976da32 As long as I can dream, I will dream of you. love clary-fray jace mortal-instruments dreaming Cassandra Clare
c17ea61 Yes, she's bleeding to death upstairs, but I thought I'd avoid telling you right away, because I like to draw the suspense out. izzy jace suspense Cassandra Clare
8f7bb48 "It wouldn't be my move," Jace agreed. " First the candy and flowers, then the apology letters, THEN the ravenous demon hordes. In that order." "He might have sent her candy and flowers," Isabelle said. "We don't know." "Isabelle," said Hodge patiently, "this is the man who rained down destruction on Idris the like of which it had never seen,who set shadowhunter against Downworlder and made the streets of the Glass City run with blood." "That's sort of hot," Isabella argued, " that evil thing." hodge jace isabella Cassandra Clare
b033fbe "She knew how breakups went from hearing other girls complain about them. First the pulling away, the gradual refusal to return notes or phone calls. The vague messages saying nothing was wrong, that the other person just needed a little space. Then the speech about how "It's not you, it's me." Then the crying part. She'd never thought any of that would apply to her and Jace. What they had wasn't ordinary, or subject to the ordinary rules of relationships and breakups. They belonged to each other totally, and always will, and that was that. But maybe everyone felt that way? Until the moment they realized they were just like everyone else, and everyone they'd thought was real shattered apart." relationships love clary-and-jace clary-fray jace cassandra-clare Cassandra Clare
1d1855c "Jace snorted so loudly that she turned on him with a frown. He wiggled his mud-caked fingers at her. His nails were black crescents. "Filthy inside and out." humor city-of-ashes jace mortal-instruments Cassandra Clare
86feaf2 "Emma's gaze went from Alec to Jace, curious. "Do you worry about him?" she asked Alec, surprising a laugh out of him. "All the time," he said. "Jace could get himself killed putting his pants on in the morning. Being his parabatai is a full-time job." emma parabatai jace Cassandra Clare
ebaf872 "My heart is your heart," he said. "My hands are your hands." love jace Cassandra Clare
4d1aff5 "Once there was a boy," said Jace. Clary interrupted immediately. "A Shadowhunter boy?" "Of course." For a moment a bleak amusement colored his voice. Then it was gone. "When the boy was six years old, his father gave him a falcon to train. Falcons are raptors - killing birds, his father told him, the Shadowhunters of the sky. "The falcon didn't like the boy, and the boy didn't like it, either. Its sharp beak made him nervous, and its bright eyes always seemed to be watching him. It would slash at him with beak and talons when he came near: For weeks his wrists and hands were always bleeding. He didn't know it, but his father had selected a falcon that had lived in the wild for over a year, and thus was nearly impossible to tame. But the boy tried, because his father told him to make the falcon obedient, and he wanted to please his father. "He stayed with the falcon constantly, keeping it awake by talking to it and even playing music to it, because a tired bird was meant to be easier to tame. He learned the equipment: the jesses, the hood, the brail, the leash that bound the bird to his wrist. He was meant to keep the falcon blind, but he couldn't bring himself to do it - instead he tried to sit where the bird could see him as he touched and stroked its wings, willing it to trust him. Hee fed it from his hand, and at first it would not eat. Later it ate so savagely that its beak cut the skin of his palm. But the boy was glad, because it was progress, and because he wanted the bird to know him, even if the bird had to consume his blood to make that happen. "He began to see that the falcon was beautiful, that its slim wings were built for the speed of flight, that it was strong and swift, fierce and gentle. When it dived to the ground, it moved like likght. When it learned to circle and come to his wrist, he neary shouted with delight Sometimes the bird would hope to his shoulder and put its beak in his hair. He knew his falcon loved him, and when he was certain it was not just tamed but perfectly tamed, he went to his father and showed him what he had done, expecting him to be proud. "Instead his father took the bird, now tame and trusting, in his hands and broke its neck. 'I told you to make it obedient,' his father said, and dropped the falcon's lifeless body to the ground. 'Instead, you taught it to love you. Falcons are not meant to be loving pets: They are fierce and wild, savage and cruel. This bird was not tamed; it was broken.' "Later, when his father left him, the boy cried over his pet, until eventually his father sent a servant to take the body of the bird away and bury it. The boy never cried again, and he never forgot what he'd learned: that to love is to destroy, and that to be loved is to be the one destroyed." science love inspirational destroyed falcon jace Cassandra Clare
1f61f9d Can I touch your mango? jace Cassandra Clare
58cc68e Facilis descensus Averno Noctes atque dies patet atri ianua Ditis Sed revocare gradum superasque evadere ad auras Hoc opus labor est jace mortal-instruments latin Cassandra Clare
4c840e0 "If you're being punished," Clary said, "then so am I. Because all those things you felt, I felt them too, but we can't--we have to stop feeling this way, because it's our only chance." Jace's hands were tight at his sides. "Our only chance for what?" "To be together at all. Because otherwise we can't ever be around each other, not even just in the same room, and I can't stand that. I'd rather have you in my life even as a brother than not at all" jace-and-clary jace jace-wayland Cassandra Clare
a7d17d6 "We had and incident. I took care of it." "Really." Jace's voice dripped sarcasm. "Do you even know how to use that knife, Clarissa? Without poking a hole in yourself or any innocent bystanders?" jace mortal-instruments sarcasm Cassandra Clare
47710a1 "You know Jace Lightwood?" said Emma. "I-- What?" "He's famous," Emma said with obvious amazement. He's the best Shadowhunter. The best." cohf clary the-mortal-instruments jace shadowhunters Cassandra Clare
a972050 "Jordan slammed the coatrack down on the ground and sighed. "if you were a vampire, this would have been a lot more useful." "yes," said jace. "or, you know, just someone with a lot of coats." humor city-of-fallen-angels jace Cassandra Clare
980078d As long as we're together, I'm ready for anything. love jace Cassandra Clare
cf505aa Guys don't let other guys keep calling other guys. Okay that came out wrong. malec jace Cassandra Clare
39321e5 "Jace," she said. "Why are you doing this to me?" "Because you're lying to me. And you're lying to yourself." Jace's eyes were blazing, and even though his hands were stuffed into his pockets, she could see that they were knotted into fists." clarissa-fray clary-fray clary the-mortal-instruments jace jace-wayland jace-herondale Cassandra Clare
227dae6 very funny my sarcastic friend jace Cassandra Clare
0cb7344 "I love you, Clary," he said without looking at her. He was staring out into the church, at the row of lighted candles, their fold reflected in his eyes. "More than I ever--" He broke off. "God. More than I probably should. You know that, don't you?" -- romance love fray wayland clary jace teen Cassandra Clare
0a4b065 "Ugh," he said after a few swallows. "Dead blood." Jace's eyebrows went up. " Isn't all blood dead?" "The longer the animal whose blood I'm drinking has been dead, the worse the blood tastes," Simon explained. "Fresh is better." "But you've never drunk fresh blood. Have you?" Simon raised his own eyebrows in response. "Well, aside from mine, of course," Jace said. "And I'm sure my blood is fan-tastic." jace simon blood vampires Cassandra Clare
aa10b79 We're called Shadowhunters. At least, that's what we call ourselves. The Downworlders have less complimentary names for us. jace Cassandra Clare
95c8f3d "You've changed me for the better, and even if you left me, I would still have that." He paused. "Not that you should leave me," he added hastily" cohf jace-and-clary jace Cassandra Clare
04f209d "So, ninety-five percent of the time." She craned her head back to look up at time. "Ninety-five percent? What's the other five percent?" "Oh, you know, the usual--demons I might kill, runes I need to learn, people who've annoyed me recently, people who've annoyed me not so recently, ducks." "Ducks?" He waved her question away. "All right. Now watch this." He took her shoulders and turned her gently, so they were both facing the same way. A moment later--she wasn't sure how--the walls of the room seemed to melt away around them, and she found herself stepping out onto cobblestones. She gasped, turning to look behind her, and saw only a black wall, windows high up in an old stone building. Rows of similar house lined the canal they stood besides. If she craned her head to the left, she could see in the distance that the canal opened out into a much larger waterway, lined with grand buildings. Everywhere was the smell of water and stone. "Cool, huh?" Jace said proudly. She turned and looked at him. clary-fray jace Cassandra Clare
3202b53 If Jace was gold, catching the light and the attention, Alec was silver: so used to everyone else looking at Jace that that was where he looked too, so used to living in Jace's shadow that he didn't expect to be seen. Maybe it was enough to be the first person to tell Alec that he was worth being seen ahead of anyone in a room, and of being looked at longest. And silver, though few people knew it, was a rarer metal than gold. bane-chronicles magnus jace Cassandra Clare
d4a419d "Parabatai" said Jace. "It means a pair of warriors who fight together - who are closer than brothers. Alec is more than justmy best friend." tmi city-of-bones jace Cassandra Clare
d73f8e6 "Hello?" Isabelle called from the other side. "Simon, is your diva moment over? I need to talk to Jace." jace simon Cassandra Clare
c640ffb "Rolling my eyes, I took Dylan's hand and followed Harlow inside. Jace sat in the front of the TV. I knew he was grumpy based on the way he didn't look at me. When I flopped next to him on the couch, he did smile. "You smell like a strip club," he said, narrowing his eyes at me. "How would you know?" "I'm not telling you my secrets." Shaking my head, I sighed loudly. "Why do you make me do this to you? It's like you want to suffer." Jace knew what was coming, but his escape came too late. I pinned him on the couch and tickled him. Despite his efforts to seem unfazed, he couldn't withstand armpit tickling. While I tormented my laughing brother, Dad and Mom walked out from the kitchen. "He missed you," Mom said as I finally let Jace up. Catching his breath, my brother leaned next to me on the couch. "I miss beating you at videogames." "I miss you beating me too," I said, kissing his head. Harlow flopped on the couch next to us and I smiled at the familiar comfort of my family. Dylan watched us with a slight grin. When he caught Tad and Toni's gazes, his smile grew. Suspicious now, I glanced at Harlow who was busy gluing herself to me. "Are they up to something?" I whispered. "Am I going to be embarrassed?" "I don't know. If you feel embarrassed, I'll punch Dylan in the crotch and distract everyone." Rolling my eyes at her threat, I studied Dylan who grinned at me. "What?" I asked, nervous now. "She's on to you," Dad said. "Better ask now before she gets squirrely." "Squirrely," Jace snorted. "She gets batty too." Harlow laughed. "Winnie can do so many animal impressions." Ignoring them, I stood up and walked to a still smiling Dylan. "What?" "What happened to patience?" Without thinking, I reached to pinch my hand. Dylan took both hands then knelt on one knee. "Don't," Harlow blurted, grabbing for me. Everyone frowned at her. A moment passed where she stared at me in horror. Suddenly, she shrugged. "I meant don't stop. Go ahead, Dylan." The mood in the room shifted back to anticipation. Our gaze focused on Dylan who smiled up at me. "I know it's been a few weeks. I don't care. I love you and you love me, right?" "I love you so much." "I'm not stupid. I know we'll have problems. We run into issues. When we do, we'll work them out. We'll figure them out because we belong together. You believe that, don't you?" "Yes," I whispered, staring into his beautiful dark eyes. "Winona Todds, you are perfection and I refuse to live without you. Will you marry me?" My legs turning to jelly, I knelt down too. "Yes," I whispered, afraid he was about to change his mind. Maybe it was a trick. All these awful things rushed through my mind. I wasn't good enough for Dylan. He was going to leave me one day. I didn't deserve to be happy when I was so weak. "You love me," he whispered, pressing his forehead against mine. "You want me to be happy." "Yes," I said, tears rolling down my cheeks. "You're what I need to survive." "I'm not really strong yet." "I love you now. I don't want to wait. Do you want to wait for me?" Shaking my head, I looked at my smiling parents then back at Dylan. "We're in love and planning to live together. We need to make our relationship official, so your daddy won't kick my ass." Even laughing, I asked, "You want this?" "I can give up everything else in my life, but never you. Married or not, you belong with me." I exhaled uneasily then smiled. "Yes, I will marry you." marry-me squirrely tad-and-toni harlow jace Bijou Hunter
f452181 "After seeing Dylan with the redhead, I sunk deeper into a depression. Even working at Lark's 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't as oblivious as we washed dishes after dinner. "What's up, stinky pup?" I rolled my eyes at her nickname for me. "Nothing." "She doesn't want to deal with the leaves," Jace said from behind us. Our ten year old brother crossed his arms like Dad often did when suspicious. "See, she got spooked last night and bailed on raking the leaves. They ended up blowing around the yard and now she's trying to get out of raking them again." "That's not it." "Sure, it is," he said, his dark hair covering his narrowed eyes. "What else could it be?" Grumpy, I decided to punish him. "It's about a sexy guy." Jace's face twisted into horror. "Eww!" he cried, running out of the room. Harlow and I laughed at the sound of him telling on me to Mom. "In a few years, girls will be all he thinks about," I said, returning to the dishes. Harlow leaned her head against my shoulder. "Sexy guy, huh?" "Shouldn't you be getting ready for your fight?" Harlow glanced at the clock. "Yeah. When I get back, I want to hear about the sexy guy making you sigh so much." 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't think they'd approve and she was right. Harlow and I were naive to assume they wouldn't 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. "Stop talking about cute boys around your brother. He has a sensitive gag reflex." I laughed as he got himself a beer and joined me at the sink. "Mom said we have leftovers. Mind warming them up for me?" Shaking my head, I filled a plate and set it in the microwave. "Are you okay?" Dad asked, frowning at me. "You look worn down." "I had a long day." "You sure that's it?" 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't remember a lot from that day besides thinking these people were too good to be true. I figured they'd wait until Kirk was gone then hurt me. I couldn't 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. "I wish I was stronger." "So do I," he said softly. "Everyone does. They just don't admit it. That's what makes you so brave. You can admit your fears." Even thinking he was full of shit, I smiled. "Thanks, Dad." Taking his plate out of the microwave, he inhaled. "Mom makes the best meatloaf." "I made it." Grinning, Dad nudged me with his hip. "If you make this meatloaf for the boy you're hung up on, you'll own him." "I'll remember that." meatloaf tad harlow winnie jace Bijou Hunter
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