All the Blue of Heaven Read Online Free PDF Page B

flashing.
               
The young woman scuttled back through the kitchen door, all her bravado gone.
               
“I will appreciate it if you refrain from spreading your ideas around here,”
she hissed.
               
“But I was only– “
               
“Maggie has had a hard life and the very best she can hope for is a good
position. There is no question of her traipsing off to California. Do you
understand what happens to girls like that over there?” Her mother’s face was
furious, lips barely moving over her clenched teeth.
               
Allie swallowed. She did know. Her friend Susanna ministered to those girls
when they ended up in the hospital, or decided to leave their ‘work’. Broken
lives and broken hearts, and none of them had ever intended to be what they had
become.
               
“You’ve had your adventure. But it’s over now and you should be thankful that
nothing worse came to pass,” her mother said.
               
Her throat squeezed shut as visions of the studio flashed in her mind. The
smoke, the searing pain, the sound of screaming from people trapped in the
rubble. She swayed where she stood, her vision growing dark at the edges.
    ***
               
Thomas turned onto the main thoroughfare and wished he had not told Mr. Brewer
he would visit the sick mare that evening. He should be with Allie, helping
ease her return. Mrs. Leeds was a Christian woman with deep faith, but she
could be somewhat formidable in the best of circumstances. What Allie needed
now, from what he could see, was the gentlest of care. She wore a haunted look,
the shadows under her eyes were too deep. Of course, she has been unwell, which
was also very clear. She moved gingerly and continually adjusted that scarf at
her neck. His stomach clenched, imagining what had transpired, besides the loss
of her beautiful hair. Eight years ago, he would have demanded to know every
detail. Eight years ago, he thought she belonged to him. But she was not his
then and was not his now. No matter how concerned he was, or how much he wanted
to help, he must respect her privacy.
               
His flinched as he remembered her reaction to the hot tea on her hand. Was she
angry at him? Did she pull away from his touch because he was repugnant to her?
Thomas shook his head and blew out a breath in frustration. She seemed so
familiar, and yet a stranger at the same time. Her voice, those beautiful eyes,
her sweet lips, all the same. But there was a distance in her gaze that unsettled
him.
               
 When he was young, there were awful moments when Thomas would glance up
at his father and see he was not there in the room. His thoughts were on some
battlefield in Virginia, watching his comrades fall by the dozens. An
expression, a look, lasting less than a second; he’d seen it on Allie’s face
tonight. She was mentally and physically fragile, but seemed determined to put
on a front of confident strength. She had always been confident to the point of
utter, infuriating stubbornness but what he saw tonight was a woman pretending
to be in control.
               
Perhaps it’s better this way, he thought, heaving a sigh and weaving between a
rattling cart and a shiny black automobile. The wind picked up and his hair
ruffled in the breeze that leaked through the cracks in the door frame. Perhaps
she and her mother will find a way through this crisis together, without any
help. The chill wind buffeted the car and Thomas glanced down at the seat,
putting out a hand half-way for his hat. It was not there. With a flash, he
remembered setting it on the mantel piece in the sitting room.
               
Before he reasoned it through, Thomas pulled over to the side of the road. Mr.
Brewer could wait. There was plenty of time to see to that mare later in the
evening. With a deft movement, Thomas turned the car around and sped