Morningside Cuesta isn't hope an animal?

He wondered - why are all these women so set on gettin' promises off of me? - but this was Adeline, and his first answer would always be yes, anything. And even when he'd swallowed that back and taken a moment to think, Grayday found himself able to carry on. "I promise."

There were a million things that could follow that up. Even if it's better for you? he wanted to ask, but he feared the answer, and more than that, he knew it would only bring more uncertainty into her heart. She seemed so fragile, right then. Like he could breathe wrong and break her - and Grayday couldn't bring himself to say anything that might hurt her more than he already had. He didn't know how they'd gotten to this point, where anger faded to this desperate plea she now asked of him. He wondered if they would ever get back to the time when they embraced in affection and nothing else.

"I'm done askin' things of you, Adeline," he murmured. "From now on - I'm never gonna make you do a thing, alright? We're gonna go by your schedule. Your rules. I can't keep doing this to you. So if you wanna go home, that's what we'll do. If you wanna go to Slivertip, we'll do that. I'll follow you."

Sunny and Dawn were hovering somewhere in the back of his mind, but he was past that. This love he had for her was so warped, so principal that it overruled every other responsibility he had. He loved his children, but he loved Adeline more. He was his girl. His best, his favorite.