Blood Trails Quotes

“Once I’m marked as the Hunter’s daughter, what man will ever love me? I won’t dare have children for fear they might turn out like him. No one will ever want me—ever!”
“That’s not true!” Bud yelled. “I want you! I’ve always wanted you.”
Holly choked, then clapped a hand over her mouth. Her pulse was roaring in her ears. Had she really heard that, or was it just her imagination?
Bud groaned. Now he’d done it, but by God, he wasn’t taking any of it back. When she didn’t answer, he knew she was shocked.
“Are you going to cry all night?”
“No,” Holly said, then winced. She sounded like a damn mouse, squeaking in the dark.
“Good. So keep your sweet ass in one piece and come home as soon as you can. Do you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Talk to you later.”
Holly shivered. “Later.”
The dial tone was suddenly buzzing in her ear. She dropped her phone and then covered her mouth with both hands, muffling her words.
“Oh, my God, oh, my God, he did not just say that.”
She bolted out of bed, dashed into the bathroom and flipped on the light. What she saw in the mirror made her wince. She looked like hell, with her hair all over the place, her eyes red and puffy, and her lips all swollen.
“Bud Tate loves me,” she whispered. It was her best dream come true.”
― Sharon Sala, Blood Trails

“When the wedding march began again and he came back a third time, it was with Holly. Her hair was down and loose over her shoulders, while the sleeveless ice-white gown she was wearing hugged every curve of her body to perfection. They walked down the aisle toward the altar arm in arm, and when they reached the pastor, again he asked, “Who gives this woman to this man?”
“I’m keeping this one for myself,” Bud said.
The congregation roared.
And so it began, the ritual that would bind these women to their men.
It had begun with laughter.
It ended in vows and promises.
For Andrew Slade’s daughters, the end of their wedding was just the beginning of the rest of their lives.”
― Sharon Sala, Blood Trails

“I love you, Robert Tate.”
Bud fingered her ring. “I love you, too. I think I’m going to rest now. Promise you won’t go anywhere without me.”
“I promise.”
He closed his eyes.
Holly lay facing him, burning every nuance of his misery into her brain. She was determined to remember, when she was in labor giving birth to their first child, that, for the love of his woman, he’d been the first to bear pain.”
― Sharon Sala, Blood Trails

“Don’t leave your room again until I get there.”
Holly’s heart leaped; then her eyes filled with tears. “You’re coming here?”
“My plane leaves Missoula at six o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ll be in St. Louis around 2:00 p.m. if there are no delays.”
“Thank you, Bud, thank you so much.”
“I don’t need thanks.”
Holly shivered. The gruff, raspy tone in his voice rattled her. Even as she asked the question, she knew what he was going to say.
“What do you need?”
“Just you, baby.”
“That scares me, too,” she whispered.
Bud pinched the bridge of his nose to quell a surge of panic. Was this where she told him that she didn’t feel the same way he did? He had to make it right. He couldn’t bear it if she suddenly became afraid or uneasy around him.
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have ever said anything to—”
“No, you misunderstand me,” Holly said softly. “I’m not scared of you. I’ve loved you for years.”
Bud could have wept with relief. “Then it’s all good,” he said softly. “I just want you to stay safe until I can get to you. Can you promise to do that for me?”
“I didn’t leave the room all day,” Holly said. “I won’t budge until you get here, I promise.”
“Thank you, honey,” he said. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll get through this thing you’re dealing with, but we’ll do it together, so you won’t be in any danger, okay?”
“Okay.”
“I love you, Holly.”
The breath caught in Holly’s throat. “I love you, too.”
“Thank you, God,” Bud said, and hung up.”
― Sharon Sala, Blood Trails

“How’s your hand?” she asked, as she opened the driver’s side door.
Bud tweaked her ear. “You are such a mother hen.”
Holly grinned. “So shoot me. I’m practicing for the real thing.”
Bud stumbled. The thought of someone else being the father of her children was physically painful.
Holly grabbed his elbow, then slipped an arm around his waist to steady him. “See? You do need a keeper.”
Bud gritted his teeth to keep from sweeping her into his arms. “As long as it was you, I guess I wouldn’t mind.”
― Sharon Sala, Blood Trails