Free Forgotten Lullaby by Rita Herron

What does she have against him, anyway?”
    Kate paused. “You know how Mom is—he didn’t come from the right sort of family and all that rubbish.”
    Emma sighed. “I’ve always thought her notions about people’s backgrounds were ridiculous.”
    Kate laughed. “That’s exactly what you told her on your wedding day.”
    Emma chuckled. “I bet she loved that.”
    â€œAlmost as much as your not having a big wedding.”
    â€œDid we elope?”
    â€œNo.” Kate said, “You were married at this quaint little chapel in Raleigh. You thought Grant and his parents would feel more comfortable with that.”
    â€œWhy would I think that?”
    â€œWell, Grant’s parents are more…you know, lower class.” Kate twisted her hair around one finger. “It turned out to be a lovely wedding. Simple, but elegant.”
    â€œAnd you—what do you think of Grant?”
    â€œThere’s no denying Grant is attractive. A woman would have to be blind not to think so. But…” Kate hesitated.
    â€œBut what?”
    Kate unwound her hair and finger-combed it. “It’s nothing. Besides, I really don’t want to interfere, Emma.”
    Earlier Emma had sensed tension between Grant and Kate. Now she knew she was right. What was Kate hiding from her?
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    â€œH OW ABOUT ANOTHER SCOTCH ? That one’s getting watery.”
    â€œNo, thanks.” Grant pushed away the nearly full drink and tossed a five-dollar bill on the bar. One sip had been all he could stomach. He didn’t want to get drunk; he wanted to be home with Emma. The heady sultry taste of the scotch had only fired his need for his wife. Dammit, he refused to let Kate run him out of his own house. Emma needed him now. And he needed to be with her, to see for himself she was safe.
    Whether or not she remembered the details, she had promised to love, honor and cherish him and he’d made the same promise to her. They’d squabbled over her sister before, and if he had to, he’d remind her of the devious things Kate had done in the past. Like the fact that Kate had frivolously spent her inheritance, then hounded Emma for money, even forged Emma’s name on a couple of checks. She’d even had the audacity to argue when Emma refused to cover for her.
    Yeah, Kate had her secrets, and she hadn’t always been so buddy-buddy with Emma. In fact, she’d been openly jealous. Now she intended to take advantage ofEmma’s amnesia to worm her way back into Emma’s good graces. But he’d stop her.
    If he had to, he’d remind Kate that he knew about a few of her underhanded tricks and he’d tell Emma the truth about her. He climbed in his car and headed home. He’d do anything to keep his wife safe, anything at all. Even if it meant keeping her away from her own sister.
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    â€œI FEEL MUCH BETTER ,” Emma said after a bath. She relaxed on the couch, her hair wrapped in a towel. Kate brought her a comb and Emma worked through the tangles, sweeping her honey-golden strands over her shoulders.
    â€œOkay, now for the surprise.” Kate popped a video in the television, adjusted the volume and settled down beside Emma. Within seconds soft piano music filled the room. Emma covered her mouth in astonishment as she recognized the wedding march. She was watching her own wedding.
    She leaned forward, soaking in every detail. She wore a beautiful ivory antique wedding dress that swept the floor with its scalloped train. An antique-style hat trimmed in lace adorned her head, and she carried a bouquet of white roses and peach-tipped carnations in one hand. Kate was dressed in a peach-colored tea-length dress with baby’s breath and tiny peach carnations tucked in her shoulder-length brown hair. Emma’s uncle escorted her down the aisle, and even though she couldn’t remember it, she knew she’d been missing her father that