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Chapter thirty-Eight

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"I know what it needs," Michael stated as he Allie, Amelia, Pete and Martha stood in the home that Michael and Pete had been working so hard on. Five days had passed since they'd received word of Michael's family and Allie was just now feeling confident enough about Martha's spirit to leave the hotel.

The woman had been heartbroken and in a bit of a fog for days and Allie's heart had hurt for her. She knew that Jonathon Treadwell had been an evil man but a son was a son and Allie knew that Martha had loved him despite his evilness. The woman did not have a single bit of hate in her soul for anyone... except perhaps her institutionalized daughter-in-law.

"What does it need, Michael?" Martha asked, glancing around.

Michael walked into the bedroom that he and Allie would share and came out moments later with the red, white and blue quilt that Allie had worked so hard on. He had a smile on his face as he draped it over the couch and Allie felt her heart swell.

"Much better," he stated.

"It does brighten the place up nice, doesn't it?" Pete agreed.

"Yes it does," Martha said from near the door. Allie could tell the woman was attempting to be cheerful for them but she was hurting.

"Martha, would you like us to stay at the hotel a while longer?" Allie offered gently.

Martha waved her hand, "Of course not! You're only a few minutes away here and you all have worked hard on this place. Enjoy it. Though I'll expect to see you in the morning, Allie. You're still an employee you know."

Allie smiled and hugged the woman tight, enjoying the softness of her full body. It was comforting and soothing just as a grandmother was supposed to be, "I wouldn't miss being there a single day, Martha. We love you deeply.'

"Just as I love you, dear," Martha replied, kissing her temple, "Now, Pete and I should be getting along and letting the family enjoy their first night in their new home."

"Thank you for letting your hotel be our home while we needed it," Allie said gratefully.

"It will always be your home whenever you need it," Martha assured them.

"What about me?" Pete asked with a grin. "Don't I get one of them big hugs and a thank you for giving you this mansion?"

Allie laughed and hugged him tightly. She realized that she wasn't afraid of this man, as a matter of fact she didn't shy away nor feel afraid and uncomfortable around most men any longer. It seemed that even some of her fears and scars from the past had been healed over the last few months.

"Alright now, y'all have fun," Pete tipped his head and then led Martha from the house, closing the door behind them.

"This is amazing, Allie!" Amelia cried as she scrambled up the ladder to her loft bedroom. "Our own house! I never once thought we'd have a place that was ours."

"I didn't either," Allie admitted as she looked around the lantern and lamp lit interior. It was nearing bedtime and the trio had already eaten supper at the hotel with Martha. Allie glanced toward the closed bedroom door and trembled as she thought of the bed that waited on the other side.

The bed that Allie would share with her husband from here on out. Their bed. In their home. She smiled as she turned her gaze to Michael to see him laughing up at Amelia as the girl danced around the loft.

Allie let it sink in and settle around her heart like a warm blanket. Family. She had a real, true family. Michael, Amelia, Martha, Pete... these people meant everything to her and she would do anything for them. She would protect them and care for them with everything she had for the rest of her life because that was the kind of family she wanted hers to be.