Whiskey in the Jar Romance

His eyes were rife with emotion, and in that single glance, she saw the full, haunting depths of a self-imposed loneliness that allowed him to hold nothing close to him. This she saw and recognized because the same fears were present in her own breast. A dog, a horse . . . these were safe because they loved unconditionally and asked nothing in return. They did not know how to deceive, how to hurt, how to lie or cause pain. They did not know how to take something that had been full of hope and beauty, and twist it into ugliness, fear, and pain.