How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
So Roy didn't look back and he didn't slow down. He pedaled as fast as he could, his arms taut and his legs burning.
He wouldn't stop until he reached the crest of his imaginary Montana mountain and coasted downhill into the coolness of the valley. (17.183-184)
Even though he's in Florida, Roy's mind is still living in Montana. This shows how Montana is such a huge part of Roy that even while biking up a hill, he envisions the mountains of his old home.
Quote #8
The policeman was grimly preoccupied with another concern. His gaze shifted from the massive bulldozer to the bird burrow, then back again.
Until that moment, Officer David Delinko had been so busy worrying about solving the Mother Paula's case and saving his own career that he hadn't thought much about anything else. Now he understood what was going to happen to the little owls if he did his job properly, and it weighted him with an aching and unshakeable sorrow. (18.41-43)
And now it hits Delinko. It happens quickly but the police officer realizes the consequences of his actions if he's to catch the Mother Paula's vandal. And since it triggers a sense of guilt, it's safe to say that Delinko has a soft spot for the owls.
Quote #9
As dusk fell, they waited in a friendly and uncomplicated silence, though there was plenty they could have talked about. Except for the fence with its fading streamers, the land bore no sign that the pancake-house people had ever been there. (Epilogue. 46)
Roy, his father, Curly, and Officer Delinko all have the same idea and visit the old construction site to see the owls. With Mother Paula's gone, the land is getting back to the way it's supposed to be.