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Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Allie was scolding herself and yet unable to shake her fears as she stood from the bath, dried herself with a soft white towel and slid into her clean underclothes and dress. Michael loved her, he had told her over and over that he did, he had shown her that he did and she had no logical reason to doubt his devotion to her....

But she did doubt it. It was scary to know that your man loved you because you were simply the first person to show him kindness. What if someone prettier, funnier, smarter, more carefree or more pure showed him kindness? Would he fall in love with them, and, if he did, could Allie truly blame him?

The man had been locked up his entire life so how could he truly know what he wanted? The sad fact of life was that no man would choose Allie when presented with any other choice--why would he?

Allie styled her wet hair into a neat bun on the back of her head and then walked to the changing screen Michael was bathing behind, "Are you nearly finished, Michael?"

"I don't want to get out yet," Michael replied, sounding half asleep. "It feels good."

Despite her worries, Allie smiled. How could a person keep from smiling when speaking to Michael? Then her mood darkened.... As soon as others knew what an amazing man Michael was, Allie was certain to lose him. She couldn't compete with other women--certainly not those two downstairs who had been looking at Michael with more than just politeness.

Allie didn't think Michael had noticed, he was too innocent to recognize the obvious glances, but Allie had noticed and she wasn't pleased.

Allie might know that trying to hold on to Michael was futile but she'd be damned if she were going to let him go without a fight. He was the one bright spot of true and pure happiness she'd found in her entire life and she wanted him by her side. She had vowed once to move aside when the time came but she was realizing now that she would not be able to do that quite so simply.

"I'll go get our supper then," Allie said as she walked to the door, "You go ahead and keep enjoying your bath."

Allie left the room, closing the door quietly behind her and made her way down the hallway. She followed the scents of food to a café that was crowded with people eating their final meal of the day. There was a loud din inside the room. Utensils clanking, conversations, hollers for refills--the noise was deafening and Allie was happy that Michael had stayed in the room. He would have no doubt been overwhelmed by it all.

Stepping to the counter, Allie recognized the gray haired woman who had been so kind to them upon arriving, "There you are!" the woman smiled welcomingly despite the chaos that seemed to be going on in the kitchen behind her.

"The ladies that brought our bath told us to come down when we were done and get supper..."

The woman nodded, "Of course." A man hollered out for her and the woman held up her hand, "I'm really busy, sweetheart. Why don't you just go on back in the kitchen and tell Maria what you're there for and she'll give you the meals."

Allie nodded, thanked the woman once again and then slipped through a door into a bustling kitchen. Four people were inside. The two women who had brought the water up to their room were putting orders on plates, an elderly man was washing off the dirty dishes and a Mexican lady was frying up the steaks and potatoes and baking all the biscuits.

Somehow Allie had remained unnoticed as she'd stepped inside. She was about to speak up and make her presence known when the conversation of the ladies reached her ears, "I've never seen anyone that looks like that before," the red-haired woman declared.