Lost Melody by Lori Copeland Read Free Book Online Page B

She could take her time, work herself up to being ready to take on a student. No rush. After all, she really hadn’t made a firm decision until the words tumbled out of her mouth while talking to Nana last night. Of course she’d feel anxious about it. Anyone would in her shoes.
    So the dream had been merely a symptom of her subconscious stress over two major decisions. That, and a sleeping pill with side effects. Nothing more. Since the decisions were all made, and she wasn’t going to take the pills anymore, she wouldn’t have to worry about having any more weird dreams.
    Then why couldn’t she shake the unsettling feeling that the dream was only the beginning, and that the real nightmare was about to start?

Chapter 6
    J ILL’S HAND HAD BARELY TURNED the knob at home when the front door was jerked out of her grasp. Nana stood in the entry hall, her shiny red lips stretched into an exasperated grimace.
    “There
you are. Where have you been? Your appointment ended two hours ago, and you didn’t answer your cell phone.”
    She reached outside to grasp Jill’s coat sleeve, and in the next moment Jill found herself snatched over the threshold with a suddenness that nearly threw her off balance. The door shut behind her with a firm
thump.
    “I must have forgotten to turn my phone back on after my appointment, and then I went by Centerside to see Mom.”
    Jill had barely unfastened the last button of her coat when the garment was whisked off her shoulders and tossed haphazardly over an already-full coatrack.
    “We’ve been waiting for an hour.” Nana placed a hand on Jill’s back and propelled her toward the living room.
    Jill almost stumbled over the threshold. “We?”
    The small room was filled to capacity with elderly ladies. Chairs from the kitchen table had been brought in and placed between the existing furniture to form a circle around the perimeter of the room. Every available seat was occupied, andsomehow five ladies had managed to wedge themselves into the depths of the sofa. A mishmash of brightly colored clothing and various shades of gray hair blurred together in Jill’s vision, while an alarming clash of perfumes threatened to send her nose into sensory overload. She barely had time to identify the mob as Nana’s knitting group when a communal squeal arose from a dozen throats. In the next moment, they swarmed.
    “You’re getting married!”
    “So happy for you.”
    “I remember your eighth birthday party like it was yesterday.”
    She was swept into a hug, then passed from one set of arms to another before being nearly squeezed breathless by Mrs. Montgomery, an enthusiastic eighty-year-old with the bosom of a stripper and the strength of a wrestler.
    A clap of hands behind her cut through the excited babble. “All right, girls, we’ve got work to do.”
    At Nana’s commanding voice, the chatter ceased and the ladies returned to their seats. Mrs. Montgomery gave Jill’s arm a final pat before settling into one of the armchairs and picking up the cup and saucer from the floor beside it.
    Jill turned to Nana. “Are you having a tea party?”
    “No, dear. We don’t have time for that. They’re here to help us with the wedding.”
    Nods of assent around the room. Jill managed an awkward smile, then grabbed Nana’s arm and pulled her toward the kitchen.
    “But we told you last night we’re having a private ceremony,” she whispered. “Small. Just family. We don’t plan to invite anyone from town.”
    “Oh, we don’t expect to come, hon.” Mrs. Tolliver twisted around on the sofa to give Jill an earnest glance. “We’ll just helpyou work out the details beforehand. Then we’ll watch the video at the reception.”
    “Video?” Jill widened her eyes. “Reception?”
    Mrs. Fontaine spoke up from her chair near the fireplace. “We were thinking it would be nice to have a reception afterward, maybe in late January. You know, a celebration with your friends and church