Here, There and Everywhere (Butler, Vermont, #8)

by Marie Force

“Adversity is the first path to truth.” —Lord Byron

That didn’t mean he had feelings for her. It meant he had concern for her. Two totally different things.

“It’s just that I’m not capable of more than that.” “Bullshit.” “Excuse me?” “Don’t tell me you aren’t capable when I’ve seen your capabilities. You love Mia with all your heart. You love your sister, your brothers, your nieces and nephews. I’ve seen that with my own eyes.” “That’s different. They’re my family. Of course I love them.”

“I don't think you can ever be bitter about anything, because if you don't allow your heart to stay open, then all you have is a filled heart of hate and bitterness, and you're never able to love or like anybody.” —Debbie Reynolds

“Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” —Helen Keller

“Pleasure of love lasts but a moment. Pain of love lasts a lifetime.” —Bette Davis

“You will never know true happiness until you have truly loved, and you will never understand what pain really is until you have lost it.” — Unknown

“Don’t feel sad over someone who gave up on you, feel sorry for them because they gave up on someone who would have never given up on them.” —Frank Ocean

“It’s hard asking someone with a broken heart to fall in love again.” —Eric Kripke

“You weren’t just a star to me. You were my whole damn sky.” —Unknown

I’ve got an early meeting with one of our suppliers, who’s coming up from Rutland.”

“The thing about love was that it caught you unawares, turned up in the most unexpected places, even when you weren’t looking for it.” —Sarra Manning

“If you have made mistakes… there is always another chance for you… you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘Failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” —Mary Pickford

“Pain makes you stronger. Tears make you braver. Heartbreak makes you wiser.” —Marc & Angel Chernoff

“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love…” —Anais Nin

“There are all kinds of love in this world but never the same love twice.” —F. Scott Fitzgerald

“It is difficult to know at what moment love begins; it is less difficult to know that it has begun.” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people stay for a while and move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” —Flavia Weedn

They pulled up to Elmer Stillman’s home ten minutes later, and Cabot laughed at the sign hanging from Elmer’s mailbox that advertised Justice of the Peace, Notary Public, Free Advice. “That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

“About those intentions,” Elmer said, zeroing in on Cabot. “I would like to spend as much time as I possibly can making your granddaughter happier than she’s ever been,” Cabot said. “Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure yet. It’s mostly up to her.” He shifted his gaze from Elmer to her. “Whatever she wants is what I want.”

Izzy fanned her face. “I suppose I should thank you, Gramps, for helping to clarify things.” “That’s what I’m here for. I’ve been thinking of adding Clarifier of Things to my sign outside.” “You should.” Cabot took Izzy’s hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “You’re good at it.”

They were singing at the top of their lungs to Coldplay when Cabot rounded a curve and had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting Fred the moose. The car spun in a full circle before coming to a stop facing the nonplussed moose.

“Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell.” —Joan Crawford

“I’m so sorry, honey. But we’re okay. Everything is fine.” She clung to the comforting sound of his voice as he wiped away her tears. When Fred let out a loud moo, they couldn’t help but laugh. “He doesn’t have a care in the world after he scared the crap out of us,” Cabot said. “That’s Fred for you.” “I’ve heard the stories about him, but I had no idea he was so freaking huge.” “He’s the sweetest guy, but he has a bad habit of standing in the middle of the road.”

“See?” Izzy said. “All you have to do is ask nicely.” “The funniest part is you don’t even realize how insane that is,” Cabot said as he pressed the accelerator to get them moving again.

“A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.” —Mother Teresa

“A home is not a roof over your head,” his mother had said. “It’s the people who live under that roof. As long as we’re all together, we’re home.”

“Butterflies can't see their wings. They can’t see how truly beautiful they are, but everyone else can.” —Unknown

“We loved with a love that was more than love.” —Edgar Allan Poe

“It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness and a mood of helplessness prevail.” —Lech Walesa

“What hurts us is what heals us.” —Paulo Coelho

“I don’t know why they call it heartbreak. It feels like every other part of my body is broken, too.” —Terri Guillemets

“You flew off with the wings of my heart and left me flightless.” —Stelle Atwater

“Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.” —Lucille Ball

“Take chances, make mistakes. That's how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” —Mary Tyler Moore

“We are most alive when we’re in love.” —John Updike