Love and Neckties
Rockland Falls book 4
Copyright © 2020 Lacey Black
Cover Design by Melissa Gill Designs
Cover Photographer Regina Wamba
Cover Models Nikki and Frankie
Editing by Kara Hildebrand
Proofreading by Joanne Thompson & Karen Hrdlicka
Format by Brenda Wright, Formatting Done Wright
This book is a work of fiction. Any reference to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means without the prior written permission of the author.
All rights reserved.
Index
Also by Lacey Black
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Epilogue
Another Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Lacey Black
Rivers Edge series
Trust Me, Rivers Edge book 1 (Maddox and Avery) – FREE at all retailers
~ #1 Bestseller in Contemporary Romance
Fight Me, Rivers Edge book 2 (Jake and Erin)
Expect Me, Rivers Edge book 3 (Travis and Josselyn)
Promise Me: A Novella, Rivers Edge book 3.5 (Jase and Holly)
Protect Me, Rivers Edge book 4 (Nate and Lia)
Boss Me, Rivers Edge book 5 (Will and Carmen)
Trust Us: A Rivers Edge Christmas Novella (Maddox and Avery)
~ This novella was originally part of the Christmas Miracles Anthology
With Me, A Rivers Edge Christmas Novella (Brooklyn and Becker)
BOX SET – contains all 5 novels, 2 novellas, and a BONUS short story
Bound Together series
Submerged, Bound Together book 1 (Blake and Carly)
~ An International Bestseller
Profited, Bound Together book 2 (Reid and Dani)
~A Bestseller, reaching Top 100 on 2 e-retailers
Entwined, Bound Together book 3 (Luke and Sidney)
Summer Sisters series
My Kinda Kisses, Summer Sisters book 1 (Jaime and Ryan)
~A Bestseller, reaching Top 100 on 2 e-retailers
My Kinda Night, Summer Sisters book 2 (Payton and Dean)
My Kinda Song, Summer Sisters book 3 (Abby and Levi)
My Kinda Mess, Summer Sisters book 4 (Lexi and Linkin)
My Kinda Player, Summer Sisters book 5 (AJ and Sawyer)
My Kinda Forever, Summer Sisters book 6 (Meghan and Nick)
My Kinda Wedding, A Summer Sisters Novella book 7 (Meghan and Nick)
Rockland Falls series
Love and Pancakes, Rockland Falls book 1
Love and Lingerie, Rockland Falls book 2
Love and Landscape, Rockland Falls book 3
Love and Neckties, Rockland Falls book 4
Standalone
Music Notes, a sexy contemporary romance standalone
A Place To Call Home, a Memorial Day novella
Exes and Ho Ho Ho’s, a sexy contemporary romance standalone novella
Pants on Fire, a sexy contemporary romance standalone
Co-Written with NYT Bestselling Author, Kaylee Ryan
It’s Not Over, Fair Lakes book 1
Just Getting Started, Fair Lakes book 2
*Coming Soon from Lacey Black
Can’t Get Enough, Fair Lakes book 3, with Kaylee Ryan
Double Dog Dare You, a new standalone (Royce from Pants on Fire)
Grip, A Driven World Novel
Chapter One
Samuel
I adjust the small angel pendant on Mrs. Hammond’s suit collar one final time, making sure everything is just right. Soft, classical music pipes through the speakers, while the video montage of her life plays on the screen in back. The flowers and plants are displayed perfectly, and the family is ready to say their final goodbyes with loved ones who came to share their condolences.
Her visitation will begin soon, just a typical Tuesday for me.
I make my way to the main office where Elma, our assistant, types an obituary for our website. She struggles with uploading to the site, yet can type like a court stenographer. Elma came from the typewriter era, and while she’s the master at making sure the obits are worded correctly, she struggles with just about every other aspect of the process.
“Why does this line keep blinking at me? It moved up the page and now my words are typing in the wrong spot,” the older woman complains, jabbing at the delete button with her frail finger.
“The cursor is supposed to move and blink, Elma. If it’s not in the right spot, it’s because you moved it,” I tell her calmly. This is a daily occurrence and something I’m used to fixing.
“I just don’t see the point of these machines. The Royal Epoch over there was working just fine,” she grumbles, pointing to the antique device that hasn’t been used in more than two decades, yet refuses to let me get rid of “in case they come back in style.”
As I move to look at the screen over her shoulder, I’m assaulted with the scent of mothballs and Avon perfume. Timeless, I believe is what she calls it, though it really just reminds me of my grandma’s bathroom when I was a kid.
I move the mouse, demonstrating once more how she can do so herself, but she’s already getting up and moving on to filing. Elma’s the only woman to ever have stepped foot in the office of Hanson Funeral Home. Her late husband, Ernest, started the business in 1964, with Elma running the office with an iron fist. In the eighties, their son, Robert, joined the family business, eventually taking over a few years ago when Ernest passed away. Now, Rob’s son, Aaron, has finished school and joined his dad in their family legacy.
Unfortunately, Aaron doesn’t actually care about working.
That leaves Rob and me, the one the young Hanson leans on to do, well, everything. I don’t mind, though. I’m as dedicated to this business as the old man was before his heart attack, God rest his soul.
“The Hammond family should be here soon,” Elma states, as I complete the upload of our newest obituary to the website.
“I’ll meet them at the door,” I reply, heading toward the wooden front entrance of our funeral home. I stop by the fireplace first, checking the knot on my navy blue tie in the mirror. It’s already flawless, of course, but I always verify before meeting a family. Or before leaving the house. A perfectly executed double Windsor knot is on display, my favorite knot to tie.
I learned how to tie a necktie when I was seven, your basic four-in-hand knot. Over the years, I’ve learned four additional ways to
