The Masterpiece Quotes
"Grow up, Grace. You live with the mess you make."
"Don’t start a fight, but hit hard if one comes to you; knock your enemy down until he stays down; watch your back."
"You know I love you, baby. You know I’m gonna come back. Don’t you?"
"Draw me a Confederate soldier and a Union soldier, and I’ll count them toward the term paper you didn’t turn in."
"I’m not angry with you. I’m just... I don’t know what I want, but I think you’re what I need."
"Bobby Ray hugged the wall and inched along the narrow ledge on his toes."
"If I swear, it won’t be aimed at you. But I’ll try to be careful when you’re around. Deal?"
"Bobby Ray realized before he’d gone a block the whole job had been a setup."
"It took him an hour to make his way back to his BMW."
"I love you, little man. I missed you so much today."
"You did say you wanted someone detail-oriented."
"Maybe God was punishing her. He had every right, considering how she’d behaved after the divorce."
"Handsome is as handsome does, my granny used to say."
"He’s living the American dream and seems to hate his life."
"The more Patrick talked, the guiltier Grace felt."
"God cares what I do, and my friends love me enough to hold up a warning sign if I’m heading the wrong way."
"We’re adults, Ms. Moore. Good friends won’t tell you how to live. Your life is your business."
"I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to make any more mistakes."
"You’ve come a long way, son, but you still don’t know who you are or what you want, do you?"
"Where had all the money come from to build this monument to religion? From conquest and the conquered? Did the devout fork over offerings?"
"How much money did it take to get into heaven, anyway?"
"Live and let live" was religion enough for him.
"Why would anyone worship a man who claimed to be God and yet died on a cross?"
"The tears had dried, and they looked peaceful."
"I loved the smell of the store and lingered as patrons came and went."
"Every minute with him was precious. She didn’t want to miss even one."
"It's a lot to take in. You'll catch on soon enough."
"I believe in God. Life can be pretty unbearable without something to believe in."
"Samuel thrives here, Grace. He has family. You wanted us to be his family."
"This is part of a healthy transition, mi amor."
"Taking care of Samuel has always been my pleasure. He is our little angel."
"Wash all my sins away, Lord. Cleanse my heart and mind from those memories that taunt me. Wash me whiter than snow."
"He hadn’t found himself yet. All he cared about when he came into my gallery was getting the paintings on a wall and seeing if they’d sell."
"Everyone is always in a hurry." Especially him.
"Be still, and wait. I love you and I am here. I am always here."
"I love you so much. I've loved you since I walked into McDonald's and saw you behind the counter."
"Sex is powerful. In the right context, it's a beautiful gift from God."
"Try not to stamp Grace into the ground so you can put out the fire."
"We’re all sinners, and friendship is a good place to start a lasting relationship."
"I felt safe with Brian, no hint of temptation. Surely, that was a good sign."
"Heart racing, she went into the kitchen and pulled her phone from her purse."
"She heard Elvis Presley singing 'Big Boss Man.'"
"Bobby Ray Dean awakened to the whoop of a police car siren and red lights flashing across the ceiling."
"He hoped Mama’s new friend would leave enough money to buy a few cans of Dinty Moore stew and Spam, maybe even some eggs and bread and milk."
"She was soft and smelled of sweet perfume. He clung to her like ivy on a brick wall."
"The neon sign came on across the street. He wondered who Jesus was."
"Stay still and quiet as a little mouse, Mommy had said, and so Gracie did."
"You’re safe, Grace. No one is going to hurt you."
"It takes intelligence to create all that, intelligence beyond anything human beings can understand. That’s part of why I believe in God."
"We’re born. We survive as best we can. We die. End of story."
"He didn’t want a child of his growing up fatherless with a mother who had to turn tricks for a living."
"We’re only staying for as long as it takes me to clear out the house and put it on the market. I have to get back to work. So you’re coming with me to Fresno."
"Your mother is dead. So is your father. Do you understand what that means? They’re not here."
"A gift from the Lord that smells like the forest."
"Everyone these days likes to think they’ll go to heaven or a better place somewhere. The truth is, the price for sin is death and hell."
"I’m doing the best I can, baby. You know I’m gonna come back. Don’t I always?"
"How do you make amends for something you don’t understand?"
"I think he left them behind so you’d know how much he loved you."
"Blood doesn’t always matter. I’ve had to make a family."
"It should be, considering the time and money I’ve spent on it."
"You have a perfectly good bed, and I find you in the closet."
"Do you know Jesus loves you, Grace? Just like that little girl standing beside him on the felt board."
"Maybe there’s more of my sister in her than that—"
"I hope Brad is burning in hell. Forgive? I just . . . can’t."
"I didn’t want to stay around and watch what I knew would happen."
"Tomorrow would take care of itself, and he would be watching over her."
"He lived from one day to the next, doing whatever seemed right in his own eyes, and felt rootless and adrift. She lived to please an imaginary friend and seemed grounded—secure in her faith, if nothing else."
"Get a grip, Roman. Grace Moore deserves the right kind of guy. Even if the wrong kind wants her."
"The problem was the more he knew, the more he wanted to know; the closer he got, the closer he wanted to be."
""Carrizo Plain, Yosemite, Mono Lake, the Dardanelles. Enough to inspire a lifetime of painting.""
""Roman?" Grace gripped his arm. "Are you all right?""
""Roman. Oh, God . . . Jesus, help him. Help us!""
""Release him." A quiet voice spoke from above, and the being from the pit fell away into darkness."
""Oh, God." He moaned, crying now. "Oh, Jesus, don’t let go of me.""
""Roman." She put her hand on his arm. He looked at her, eyes wild, and said something she couldn’t understand. He yanked at the belts that held him. She leaned down. "These people know how to help you.""
""You’re going to be fine." Please, God, make it so."
""He keeps asking for you. Try to calm him down. We want to prep him for surgery, but he’s convinced if he goes under anesthesia, he’ll end up in hell."
""Jesus," Roman rasped. "He got me out. They were hanging on to me. Ripping at my leg.""
"Sometimes you have to end a friendship so you can move on."
"The minute I saw that painting, I knew I had you."
"You’ve been building a reputation for yourself."
"I didn’t believe there was a hell until I went there."
"Love is worth it, Bobby Ray. It’s the best part of being human."
"‘Faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.’ It can last forever."
"Whatever the reason, it’s clear God’s not done with you yet."
"You don’t go into a relationship thinking about odds."
"Be honest with Grace. Tell her how you feel."
"I want a man who wants more than a friend with benefits!"
"I’m more than your boss or your brother, and you know it."
"I see it in your eyes every time you look at me."
"We’re only kissing, Grace. I’m not going to do anything more than that until you’re ready."
"What’s best for Samuel is to be with his real mother full-time."
"You don’t have to give him up. You can stay here."
"You care more about Sammy than you do about me or Javier."
"All you care about is Samuel, and he isn’t even yours!"
"More important things than your own children!" Alicia started to rise again, but one look from Ruben had her sitting. She turned her face away.
"Maybe she'll believe me when I get on the bus to boot camp."
"It's all right, chiquita. I knew this day would come. I warned her. She knows a child belongs with his mother."
"You have a good job and a beautiful place to raise your son."
"Call the church, honey. See if any of the men who help people move are available this weekend."