Remember the Aspens: The Aspen Series, #3

By Elizabeth Sherry

Revised and Re-edited 8/26/2014

Lynn is on a mission for the perfect wedding dress and veil for her best friend. After she finds exactly what she's looking for she finds herself almost abducted...not only once, but with two other attempts. She unwillingly puts her friends' lives in danger as they try to unravel the reason why.

While trying to stay alive to find the answers she needs, she finds a wonderful man who will die trying to save her. But she prays it won't come to that.

Other books by Elizabeth Sherry:

Under the Aspens (The Aspen Series #1)
The Aspens Fall (The Aspen Series #2)
Remember the Aspens (The Aspen Series #3)
The Aspens End (The Aspen Series #4)
The Aspens Collection (The Aspen Series Box Set)
Crime at Cripple Creek (The Sisters Week Series #1)
Murder at Myrtle Beach (The Sisters Week Series #2)
Trapped In Tunica (The Sisters Week Series #3)
The Sister’s Week Series: Volumes 1-3 (Box Set)
Alone and Afraid (Rocky Mountain Series #1)
On the Run (Rocky Mountain Series #2)
Not her Baby (Roky Mountain Series #3)
Deadly White Christmas

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scarecrow Books
• Release date: May 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9781497748200

Book preview

Books by Elizabeth Sherry:

Under the Aspens (The Aspen Series #1)

The Aspens Fall (The Aspen Series #2)

Remember the Aspens (The Aspen Series #3)

The Aspens End (The Aspen Series #4)

The Aspens Collection (The Aspen Series Box Set)

Crime at Cripple Creek (The Sisters Week Series #1)

Murder at Myrtle Beach (The Sisters Week Series #2)

Trapped In Tunica (The Sisters Week Series #3)

The Sister’s Week Series: Volumes 1-3 (Box Set)

Alone and Afraid (Rocky Mountain Home Series #1)

On the Run (Rocky Mountain Home Series #2)

Not Her Baby (rocky Mountain Home Series #3)

Rocky Mountain Home Series Collection (Vol 1-3)

Deadly White Christmas (Angel Mountain scents Series #1)

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REMEMBER THE

ASPENS

Elizabeth Sherry

Chapter 1

Make sure to bundle up, the doorman told Lynn as she exited the hotel, excited about her upcoming shopping trip downtown. She was to help her best friend, Sher, find a wedding dress.

As she stepped onto the sidewalk, she lifted her face toward the sun. Bundle up? She laughed to herself . . . she was used to the thirty-degree weather of Colorado in winter. This San Diego weather was a day in the tropics to her.

Lynn and Sher had been best friends since grade school, sharing the great times and the not so great times together. Right now was one of the great times. Sher would finally be marrying the man she had loved for the past two years, and Lynn would be the maid of honor. To Lynn’s delight, Sher agreed to leave everything about the dress and veil up to her. She couldn’t wait to get started. Lynn grew up with Sher and her brother, Brad. They were all as close as blood relatives.

The fact that both had recently come close to dying at the hands of a maniacal shooter—in different instances—just shook her to the core. Thankfully, Glen, Sher’s fiancée, had been there to provide the glue that kept them both alive. Now Glen and Sher would be getting married in just four months in a double ceremony with Brad and his new love Hannah, who he met and fell in love with during all the chaos.

Lynn decided that on this trip she would not only find the perfect wedding dress and veil for Sher, but also some magnificent wedding presents for both couples. She was the buyer for her department store for the past six years and made at least two trips a month to San Diego...not only to choose clothes but accessories as well. But this trip would not seem like work at all but a two-day, pleasure-buying excursion. Then she would head back home to Colorado Springs.

If she didn’t find what she was looking for in San Diego, she would travel up to Escondido, where there were some beautiful bridal shops as well as one of her favorite Mexican restaurants.

By the time late morning had rolled around, Lynn hadn’t found anything that spoke to her. She approached her buying religiously—if an item jumped out at her, i.e., spoke to her, she always went with her gut and ordered the product. No such luck this day. She saw some beautiful gowns but not anything particularly outstanding—and for Sher, it had to be nothing short of outstanding. She decided to drive up to Escondido after lunch and see what those shops had to offer. . She walked back to her hotel to get the rental car to make the trek to Escondido. After a hearty lunch at her favorite restaurant—the best burritos she’d ever tasted—she was ready to face her shopping journey with renewed vigor.

Luck was with Lynn as she entered the first bridal shop after lunch. She found the perfect dress for Sher—in the perfect size, a six. This garment spoke to her loud and clear. The dress had delicate spaghetti straps and a bodice with an intricate design in rhinestones on just the right side. A work of art, Lynn thought happily. Fitted at the waist and hips, the dress then flared out towards the bottom with the same intricate rhinestone design on the train of the dress. Lynn envisioned Sher in the dress and smiled. She knew Sher would love it too. Lynn paid for the dress and arranged to have it delivered to her shop in Colorado Springs. Next up: the perfect veil. And she didn’t see anything in this shop that would do the dress justice. She stepped out of the shop, satisfied with the dress purchase and ready to continue the hunt to complete the wedding ensemble. Due to a slight traffic accident on the corner, Lynn made a right-hand turn so she could go around the block and come out ahead of the accident. To her delight, just before she would get back on the main road, she saw a quaint little shop on the right with a bridal dress and veil in the window. She immediately pulled over to the curb. Yes, the veil was speaking to her.

The clerk, a young Hispanic woman, offered her assistance and Lynn pointed directly at the veil in the window. The young woman shook her head. I don’t think that veil is for sale. It’s for display only.

Lynn waved her off. "Please, I will pay extra for that veil...no other veil will do. Look, you are showing it off in your window—you must certainly be able to sell it. Call the shop owner if you must, but...surely you can sell it. Just replace the veil with another one. I must have that one and no other." Lynn held the clerk’s gaze firmly. Hesitating for a moment, the clerk shrugged and took the veil out of the window. After packing it carefully in a box, she rang up the purchase and watched Lynn practically skip out the door of the shop. This veil was the most beautiful creation Lynn had seen in a long time—with almost exactly the same details as the dress. It’s perfect, absolutely perfect. Lynn smiled all the way back to her hotel, where she placed the veil in the hotel safe. Her first priority of the day now accomplished, Lynn freshened her makeup and hair and headed back out to the nearby department stores. It’s a great day when things come together.

Chapter 2

After shopping, Lynn headed back to the hotel, a little disappointed. She didn’t find too much in the way of clothing, but she did snap up a few stellar accessories.

Exhausted, she decided to see about changing her flight reservations so she could return home tomorrow. She was looking forward to a shower, a quick dinner, then relaxing with a movie.

As the elevator doors closed, a hand reached in to stop them. The doors reopened, and a man stepped in, pushing the button to close the doors. He didn’t select a floor, so she figured he was going to the same floor she was. He stood there, not saying a word, but looked Lynn up and down, which caused her to instinctively move closer to her side of the elevator. She was grateful that her room was on the third floor, even though she originally had been disappointed that she couldn’t get a room higher up in the hotel. Now she was glad—not too much longer in the elevator. On the next floor up, the elevator stopped and the doors slowly opened. Now there will be others on the elevator with us. Lynn gave a quiet sigh of relief.

But the sense of relief didn’t last for long.

The man swiftly moved to