Forever Hold Your Piece (The Becker Sisters Bridal Series Book 1) Read online

  Table of Contents

  FOREVER HOLD YOUR PIECE

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  FOREVER HOLD YOUR PIECE

  The Becker Sisters Bridal Series

  ELIZABETH JOHN

  SOUL MATE PUBLISHING

  New York

  FOREVER HOLD YOUR PIECE

  Copyright©2018

  ELIZABETH JOHN

  Cover Design by Anna Lena-Spies

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Published in the United States of America by

  Soul Mate Publishing

  P.O. Box 24

  Macedon, New York, 14502

  ISBN: 978-1-68291-751-0

  www.SoulMatePublishing.com

  The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

  To my dad, Frank —

  although you are sorely missed,

  you now live where cherry blossoms bloom forever.

  Acknowledgments

  Special thanks to the following people:

  My husband, son, and daughter who make my life interesting and keep me on my toes.

  My critique partners, Roni, Mo, and Maria for their insight, plotting help, and brainstorming sessions.

  My wonderful editor Debby Gilbert for her guidance and expertise.

  The fabulous staff at Soul Mate Publishing, including Lori Polito for her editing assistance and Anna Spies for the beautiful cover.

  Chapter 1

  For the first time in her life, Lily Becker got exactly what she had always wanted. Solitude. And she couldn’t believe how much she hated what she had once coveted.

  Cold morning sea air whipped against her body as she closed the door on the empty home she shared with her two sisters.

  She shivered away her regrets.

  “Be careful what you wish for,” she muttered to her trusted companion, Leo, a Maltese terrier mix, always glued to her side. “Don’t worry, boy, I know you miss them too, but Rose and Chrissy will be back from Italy in a couple of weeks.”

  Her sisters were her best friends, her partners in the family bridal shop, and they were rarely apart from one another. With them away on a business trip, being alone wasn’t peaceful. Only a handful of years ago, both her parents were alive and the house was filled with people she loved.

  Lily scooped up Leo and whispered against his soft ear. “You’re the only one I can admit this to, but I even miss Sam.”

  Of course her reprehensible, MIA ex-fiancé, wouldn’t dare show his face now, a year later, and besides, she refused to waste another minute thinking about him, especially this morning. A shipment of new gowns from an exclusive bridal dress designer would arrive at her shop momentarily, and Sam was not going to ruin this momentous occasion for her too.

  Lily ran down the stairs and pressed the key alarm toward her van. The beep blasted through the silence of the early morning fog rolling off the ocean. Leo woofed at something next door.

  She twisted her head and peeked over her shoulder. Her heart pounded as she x-rayed the fog for anyone lurking, about to jump out at her. Don’t be a wimp. Like before. No one is going to be there.

  Something moved above her line of vision on her neighbor’s upper deck. Startled, Lily gasped. Through the mist, Aunt Bee, her elderly neighbor, stood using her cane as support, watching. She hovered like an apparition under the glow of the floodlight.

  Lily’s heart slammed against her chest. “Aunt Bee, it’s six-thirty in the morning! And it’s freezing out! Go back inside.”

  “Couldn’t sleep, dearie. Looks like that storm is going to miss us. Don’t need another storm like last time. We were spared again, you and I.” She grew silent and her lips tightened as she tapped her cane once on the deck’s wood floor. The sound amplified in the eerie morning quiet. “My stove’s out again and I can’t make my tea. I know you’re off to catch that delivery of special dresses, but could you spare a moment?”

  Lily nodded, but inwardly sighed. Anything to get Aunt Bee back into the house. She half suspected the old gal was checking on her. The town’s Chief of Police, who was also like a second father to Lily, probably made the suggestion after the incident last week.

  She tugged on Leo’s leash and raced up the steps. Once inside, Aunt Bee let Lily go ahead of her. Leo barked, and two obese cats suddenly appeared. Lily let out a nervous laugh.

  One night last week, soon after her sisters had left, she had sworn someone was breaking into her house. Turned out to be a false alarm, but that incident creeped her out. The chief concluded she hadn’t latched the window to the crawlspace. Crazy thing was, she knew she had secured the metal clips a few days earlier when she and her sisters had begun to ready the house for winter.

  Still a little rattled, she noticed her hand shook as she dropped the leash. “You can play with your friends for one minute.”

  Lily weaved and bobbed through the maze of stuff her neighbor had compiled and followed the path that led into the kitchen. She lit the pilot with the long lighter on the counter and put the kettle on the stove. “Do you have enough to eat today? I can bring something back later for dinner if you’d like.”

  Aunt Bee placed her frail hand on Lily’s arm. “You’re a good soul. I don’t know what I’d do without you and your sisters.” She patted her shoulder. “But I have plenty of leftovers from the food you brought over last night. With your sisters away, I’m sure you have a lot more on your plate covering their jobs than worrying about me.”

  Aunt Bee hunched over and squinted a
t a calendar hanging on the refrigerator. “Today’s Thursday. Elsie and Margaret are coming over at lunchtime to play bridge. We’re having Italian. Now, I know you’re in a hurry. Go on.” She slipped Leo a dog treat from her housecoat pocket, then chased them out.

  Leo clamped the biscuit in his mouth as he ran down the stairs. He wagged his tail, waiting patiently for her to open the white van embossed with the Betty Ann’s Bridal logo. After he jumped in the passenger seat, he started to crunch on the biscuit, depositing crumbs not only on the leather, but in every cranny available. With no time to clean up after him, she smiled and said, “You’re lucky you’re cute. I let you get away with murder.”

  As she drove away, an older black sedan with tinted windows pulled out from the corner of her street. Normally she wouldn’t have even noticed such a thing, but with her radar already on high alert that morning, Lily got the sensation the car was following her. She almost called the chief, but she didn’t want to look like an idiot again. She could take care of herself.

  As her van’s lights gleamed through the foggy streets, the sedan stayed behind her all the way to the family bridal shop. She strained unsuccessfully to catch the license plate as the driver zoomed past her.

  Lily turned down the side street of the shop. She shook her head, forcing her mind to clear and laughed off her concern. Nothing sinister ever happened in this sleepy New Jersey shore town. Face it. You’re not used to being alone.

  With her sisters away, Lily had a lot to handle on her own. Little time to sleep. Stress took its toll. When she was able to go to bed, the quiet house creaked at night, keeping her awake. Their childhood home rebelled against the silence. That’s all. No one skulked around her house in the dark or shadowed her when she worked late by herself. Her mother used to say, Lily was the worrier in her group of girls. She sighed. Her mother proved to be right.

  She stepped along the side street to the alley behind the shop. A few moments later, with Leo in the crook of her arm, she peered over her shoulder into the darkness of the early morning. No one lingered.

  Lily jiggled her keys in the back door lock and pushed the steel entry open. The smell of sea air rushed in behind her.

  Unease struck her when she didn’t hear the security alarm beep. She rolled her eyes, frustrated that her new assistant must have forgotten to set the alarm again. She locked the door, grumbling as she flicked on lights, and took the couple of steps into her office. Lily stared at the alarm box on the wall. Sure enough a green light showed the device set to off.

  She’d have to have another conversation with Haley about her job responsibilities. Right now, nothing was going to distract her from receiving the shipment of dresses or the many appointments she had scheduled for the day.

  Lily placed Leo on the floor, dropped her bag on her desk, and checked her cell phone to confirm the time. Yes, fifteen minutes. She had exactly fifteen minutes before the shipment arrived. The special carrier swore to her he would get there by 7:00. He’d better. She paid a fortune for the service.

  Lily hurried out of her office and dashed down a narrow hallway to the shop’s entrance. The extreme chaos would be over soon. She didn’t know what she and her sisters had been thinking when they came up with a plan of Rose and Chrissy traveling to Europe to scout for up and coming wedding dress designers. Three weeks was an awfully long time for both Rose and Chrissy to be away, even with a new assistant. Her younger sisters had been excited about their adventure, she didn’t have the heart to deny them the experience, but their trip burdened her beyond what any of them had expected.

  She peeked around the mannequins dressed in bridal gowns and tuxedos in the front window to the lighted street for the delivery truck. She had used this courier service before and knew that sometimes he came a few minutes early. The delivery guy would need for her to sign for the shipment. If she missed him, he wouldn’t leave her packages.

  When she didn’t see him, Lily flicked on the lights in the front and went to the main door. Her breath fogged up the door’s glass, and she touched the cold pane, amazed at how the crisp fall weather had crept silently in as summer renters in her beach community literally seemed to vanish overnight.

  Lily reached to unlock the door when she heard a rustle behind her, off to the side wall. She whipped around and Leo growled. He barked and moved by her feet to offer protection. The noise had sounded like dresses being moved on the racks. No employees should be there that early.

  She hesitated. What if Haley hadn’t been at fault, and instead, the alarm system had been tampered with? Had someone broken in? Or was her imagination getting the best of her again? She scrutinized the racks. Was someone hiding among the gowns?

  She clutched at her neck, not sure of what to do. Her cell phone was in her office. Fighting back panic, she searched the massive room for anything to be used as a weapon. Nothing came into view. Then on one of the tables she spotted a slim glass vase filled with blue marbles. She yanked out the white faux lilies, tossing them as she picked up the vase, heavy and awkward overhead. Prepared to throw the container at someone if necessary, Lily licked at her dry lips, certain the thick glass would damage whatever target she hit.

  Lily froze and strained to listen for more strange noises. Her blood pounded in her ears. She had to get help. No other businesses nearby would be open this early except restaurants serving breakfast. If she unlocked the door quickly, she could race down the street a few blocks to the all-season restaurant and call the chief. Right now, she didn’t care if she looked paranoid. But what about the delivery guy? She couldn’t abandon him to deal with a possible intruder. She stole a glance toward the front window. No car lights appeared down the street.

  The intruder could be a squatter. The chief had told her they had a rash of homeless people living in summer vacation homes that had been sealed up for the approaching winter. Maybe one of them chose to sleep in her family’s store for the night. They could have disabled the alarm somehow.

  Her only choice was to call out and hope to scare them away. “I know you’re there. I’ve called the police,” she lied. “They’re on their way.”

  A car door slammed. Lily twisted around. Leo bared his teeth and let out a warning growl. His growl turned into a series of barks. Suddenly she heard a guttural sound and before the noise registered, someone charged from the racks of dresses, knocking into her and sending her sprawling to the ground. The vase flew into the air and came crashing down inches from her head. The thickness of the carpet saved the glass from shattering but did nothing about keeping the wind from being knocked out of her. Leo charged at the assailant. Then the assailant, a blur of black, dashed down the hall, the same one that led to the back entrance. Leo took off after the intruder.

  She sat up quickly. The room spun. “Leo, no! Come back!”

  Seconds later, Lily heard rattling at the back door, a yelp, and then a slam indicating the intruder had fled. Then Leo began to bark excessively.

  Lily stood up slowly, feeling unsteady on her feet and frantic with worry about her dog. “Leo! Here, boy!” She picked up the vase, braced the jar up in the air, and crept down the hall.

  When she got to the door, Leo stood high up on his hind legs, paws scratching, teeth snapping. Lily let out a whoosh of air, relieved that Leo wasn’t hurt. His ears and tail rose up as he flashed his teeth. His loud bark had to be waking up all the year-round residents, as he issued a warning to whomever was out there not to come back in.

  She reached over to lock the door with one hand, holding the vase ready to strike with the other. Before she rotated the knob, a face appeared in the door’s window. Lily screamed. Leo lurched at the door, standing on his hind legs and snarled.

  The face belonged to a man she’d never seen before. His breath steamed up the glass as he said, “Hey, I’m Jake Ward. Your new neighbor. Rented the tackle shop next door.”

 
“Stay back!” Her heart slammed against her chest as she stared into the stranger’s brown eyes.

  “Whoa!” He held his hands up in the air as he spotted the vase. “Just trying to be neighborly. I heard your dog barking. Came to introduce myself to his owner. Are you always this friendly?” He gave her a sparkling grin.

  Lily’s head tried to wrap around the message her ears were receiving. A few days ago, she and her sisters were upset to learn someone had taken over the vacant bait and tackle shop next to their own. The same location they wanted to buy. The chief did say his name was Jake something.

  “Show me some ID.” She jerked her chin up as she grasped the lock and twisted.

  He arched a brow, taken aback. “ID? And what’s up with Killer there?” he said through the glass, once again flashing a dazzling smile.

  She ignored his reference to her protective dog. Then she attempted to ignore the sparkle that flickered in his yes, I know I’m gorgeous eyes and the fine creases in the cheeks of his very handsome face. Laugh lines, earned over time.

  Her ex had laughed a lot too. She learned, firsthand, when someone smiled, the gesture didn’t mean they were feeling that way on the inside. Even though her head knew that, at the moment, her body contradicted her cynical mind and reacted when she took in the rest of his physique. Tall, in top notch physical shape, and studying her like she was some exotic fish at the aquarium.

  “Someone broke into my place. Now show me some ID,” she demanded with more conviction, siding with her head.

  The smile disappeared and he frowned. “Are you okay? Call the cops!”

  “Yes, and I did,” she lied again. “Now prove you’re Jake.”

  He peered around as if to search for the long-gone intruder. “That’s good. That you’re not hurt. My ID’s in my truck out front.”