A Thousand Letters (The Austens #2)

by Staci Hart

Now let the night be dark for all of me / Let the night be too dark for me to see / Into the future. Let what will be, be."

"I can't help it. What will we do without you?" And to that, he only had one answer, and he gave it to me with strength his body no longer possessed, but his soul always would. "Live."

She loved you more than anything, and that love will never die.

"Otherwise, we're just …" Waiting. "… spending as much time with him as we can."

"You're what I give to the world, what I leave behind. I am proud." He said it slowly, every word with intention, with concentration, as if it were the most important thing he'd ever say. "Now, we have truth. Hold onto it."

"Braveness isn't always loud. Sometimes it's silent. There's braveness in sacrifice and kindness. It's in doing a thing that needs to be done, even though it's hard, and even though it hurts."

"Wade, really," I soothed. "It's all right. This … this isn't easy for any of us. Least of all you. Don't worry about me." He met my eyes, gray and cool as snow. "I always have. Can't stop now."

"And I think I'm still in love with him." The words were quiet, and I didn't know why I said them, the things I never said aloud.

"Good. And see? People love telling me their secrets."

I only hoped she'd forgive me.

"He punishes himself by pushing you away. It's easier to believe he can't have you, easier to think you're out of reach, because if he can have you, he'll have to deal with his regrets, his mistakes. He'll have to deal with his grief."

You are loved and cared for, with or without me. So please, don't break or bend. Don't crumble and fall. Stand up tall and face the sun and remember me."

"Life is short, so short, so precious, every minute, every day. Don't let the people you love, the people who make you happy, the people who bring you joy — don't let them go. Hang on to them, even when it hurts. When it seems impossible. Hold on to the things that breathe life into you. Listen to your soul and honor what it tells you. Live. Fight for what you love. Because one day, you'll be where I am, and in that moment I want you to look back gladly, with no regrets."