Outside Read Online Free Page B

your room. I’m not sure if you had your own room on the, uh, farm -”
    “Shiloh isn’t a farm,” I say quickly, frowning. “It’s heaven on Earth for the Lord’s chosen people.”
    “Of course it is, sweetie.”
    I cringe at my outburst and lower my head, trying to make myself invisible.
    Beth waves her hand. “Come on. Come see your room. You can look through Holly’s clothes and see if there’s something you’d be more comfortable in than that hospital gown. After that, we’ll have lunch. Holly should be home by then.” She claps her hands together once, smiling brightly. “I’m so excited for you two to meet!”
    Her smile is infectious and once again, I’m smiling back against my will.
    The room she leads me to at the top of the stairs is like nothing I’ve ever seen. The bed alone is as big as my bedroom at Shiloh, it seems. There’s a large dresser against one wall with a mirror mounted behind it and an enormous window on the opposite side of the room, covered by gauzy orange and purple drapes.
    Instead of stiff white linens, the bed has a vibrant orange cover on it that I can’t help running my hand over.
    “This is your closet,” Beth says, opening a door to the right of the bed. “There’s not much in there at the moment, but we’ll get you all set up in no time.”
    A few dresses and tops hang from the bar inside the closet. The only one I’ll be able to wear is the long black dress, but that’s only if I can find a suitable top to cover the immodest straps where the sleeves should be.
    “Bathroom is across the hall,” she continues. “You’ll have to share with Holly. I hope you don’t mind.”
    I don’t tell her that I’m used to sharing a bathroom. Shiloh had one bathhouse for women and one for men separated by the laundry room. There were shower stalls with private dressing areas concealed behind fabric curtains to promote modesty, but Naomi and her friends used to pull the curtain open as I undressed to expose me to the other women and throw mud on me. I’ve never bathed in a room with an actual door. And I’ve never stayed in a house that had a bathroom in it.
    “Well,” she says after a moment. “I’ll leave you to get settled.” She closes the door as she steps out.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
    ALAINA
     
    Beth’s dining table is taller than the one we had in Shiloh and it’s covered with a pretty purple and gold cloth. The chair swivels as I attempt to climb into it wearing the long dress from the hospital under a large gray shirt with a hood on it that I found in the closet. Once I’m settled, Beth sets a plate of food in front of me.
    “Leftover veggie lasagna,” she says. “All the produce is organic. It’s made with eggplant, zucchini, kale, and goat cheese.”
    I have no idea what kale is, and under normal circumstances, I hate goat cheese, but I have to sit on my hands so I don’t automatically start shoveling food into my mouth. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until this moment.
    I lower my head and quietly say a prayer of thanks to the Lord. Before I can finish, the front door bangs, followed by a loud, “Mom!”
    “In here, Holly,” Beth calls, continuing to set plates of food and cups of water on the table. The last thing she sets on the table is a basket of breadsticks slathered in butter and my mouth waters so hard, I worry I might drool on myself.
    “Amen,” I whisper quickly, reaching for one of the breadsticks.
    A girl my age with shoulder-length, caramel colored hair walks into the kitchen with her head held high. My eyes boggle. Her legs are completely bare! Fully exposed and on display for the world to see! Her arms and shoulders are showing too and her top clings to her body in a way that makes me blush.
    She pauses when she sees me at the table.
    “Holly, this is your cousin Alaina,” Beth says, slipping into the chair on my right.
    Holly scowls, her small, up-turned nose wrinkling. “Cult cousin?”
    Putting her