Home > Author > Alice Valdal
1 " You can stretch to your fullest in this land, Emma, and not touch any edges. There's no dream too big for the wilderness. I'd hate to see it tamed and carved up into little fiefdoms. "
― Alice Valdal , Her One and Only
2 " Rain in Ireland had been a gentle blessing from the heavens. Here the deluge poured from the skies over Pine Creek Farm as though driven by the devil himself. Whipped by wind, studded with ice, the storm lashed between the mountain peaks, filling him with reckless exhilaration. "
― Alice Valdal , The Man For Her
3 " For the first time in his life he felt completely free. He turned his face to the sky, letting the rain strike him with all its power, taking that power for himself. "
4 " Her voice, a pool of quiet and calm in the midst of the storm, filled him with a deep yearning. No woman had ever spoken so tenderly to him, never offered comfort or praise or love as generously as Lottie did to her horses. "
5 " In December the man welcomed the spirit of Christmas into his home. He bought candies and nuts and treats for his family and his neighbours. He invited all the relatives to Christmas dinner. Of course, his wife had to do a lot of cooking but she didn’t mind for she loved the man who loved Christmas. "
― Alice Valdal , The Man Who Loved Christmas
6 " Explaining what she intended was simple. Explaining the why behind her changes was harder, especially with Sean lounging in his chair, cradling a cup of strong coffee between his hands and regarding her with open admiration. "
7 " But that kiss by the granary had changed everything, thrown her off balance, awakened old dreams, stirred up forgotten feelings and sent her rummaging through an old trunk. Now Sean’s steady regard made her blush like a maiden and sent the air whooshing from her lungs. "
8 " Yet, when Sean and Michael had departed, fishing rods in hand and a gargantuan lunch stowed in their packs, she found herself wandering listlessly about the house, picking up and then setting down a variety of small tasks, unable to settle, unable to quiet the thoughts that churned through her mind. It wasn’t being alone that bothered her. She was used to solitude. But today she felt abandoned, left behind. Her son was entering the robust world of men and she was excluded. "
9 " Lottie heard the door close behind the stranger who was so suddenly an essential part of her life, and closed her eyes, seeking the oblivion of sleep. Yet, despite her exhaustion, she stayed wakeful, a host of conflicting emotions sweeping through her as powerful as the storm that had swept through the valley, and just as frightening. "
10 " Sean was waiting for her, dressed in his Sunday suit, his hair slicked down. He looked so handsome and so like Patrick he took her breath away. For one brief moment she felt as though she had stepped back to the time when she hadn’t a care in the world and love sweetened every waking moment. "
11 " It was time to open the windows of her soul, allow the light and warmth of the sun to penetrate the chill recesses of her heart. "
12 " She was learning to accept that the camaraderie between her son and Sean was unique to man and boy. She could observe but not share. It didn’t mean they’d forgotten her. "
13 " Sean’s smile grew broader. He loved Lottie in a temper. It added a tang to their days the way onions added spice to a stew. "
14 " She clamped her lips hard together when she felt Michael lift her hair. For a long moment he didn’t move but then, he took a deep breath. The scissors snipped shut. The heavy braid fell into her lap. The thick tresses Patrick had loved to twine between his fingers, telling her they bound his heart to hers, were gone. She swallowed hard. She wanted to cry—for Patrick and for the girl she once had been. "
15 " It was a measure of her distress, that she made no attempt to pull away but allowed him to hold her, leaning her head against his shoulder while sobs shook her frame, seeming to come from the deepest recesses of her soul. "
16 " It had been a mere three weeks since he had arrived in a thunder storm, hungry, tense and unknown. Pine Creek Farm had healed him. Now, he walked with an air of confidence. Other men accepted his direction without question and Michael followed him about like an adoring puppy. "
17 " While he’d been mooning about under the stars, coming to terms with the fact he’d fallen in love with a sharp-tongued, pig-headed, beautiful and courageous woman, she’d been pining after his rascal cousin. His jaw hardened. If she wanted to waste her life it was her own business. "
18 " After ten years of living alone with only a child for company, it still shocked her to see a man on the place. It shocked her even more to find herself admiring the set of his shoulders and the easy way he swung the heavy forks of hay. Her chores awaited her inside but she spent another moment enjoying the tableau by the corral. "
