Eighty-Eight Keys
by Catherine
Lavender
New
Adult Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Published by Whimsical Publications LLC
Release Date: January 28, 2013
Heat Level: Sweet
Word Count: 54,000
Available at…
Blurb
Leah is a young
woman who is trying to break free from a strict religious background and pursue
her dream as a pianist in the world of show business. While trying to find her
independence her heart is held captive by Jason Rowe a local basketball star
who established an organization to help troubled youth. When Jason is found
murdered in his home, Leah is determined to get answers from a closed
investigation. During her state of emotional turmoil, Leah finds comfort not
only in the melody of her music, but in the arms of a married man named Calvin.
With her dreams at her fingertips, Leah is tangled in a web of lies and deceit.
Despite the fear of learning the truth, Leah has to realize that only the truth
can set her free.
A
dead lover, with a trail of broken hearts…
A
married man, with a double-life…
A
dream chaser, with a killer at her heels…
A
piano, with eighty-eight keys…
Excerpt
The jarring ring of the telephone pulled Leah back into the present.
It took her a couple of rings to find the buried cell phone. “Hello?”
“Hey, Leah, it’s
Quincy
She settled back
into a small section of the couch. “Hi, Quincy
“You sure?” She
could hear the concern in his voice. “You sound a little sad.”
The picture of
her and Jason crumpled in her fist. “Well, you know how it is. I’m surrounded
by ghosts at every turn.” Her inner voice urged her to change the subject
quickly. “How are you doing?”
“Well, that kind
of brings me to the second purpose of this call. Would you mind coming in this
afternoon? There is still so much to do for the gala, and we can use all the
help we can get.”
Leah looked at
her watch, then at the mess in her living room. “Yep, I can be there in a
couple of hours.”
Saying her
goodbyes, Leah hung up the phone and made a mental note to pick up, packing
boxes along the way. When her lease was up, she was moving to her neon oasis—Las Vegas
Running thirty
minutes late, Leah pulled into the parking lot of Bright Horizons Youth Group.
She didn’t see Mrs. Turner and Rosa until she almost collided into them.
“Oh, oops,
sorry,” Leah said, fumbling with her purse and notebook. “I, um, didn’t see you
there.” The look on Rosa ’s face was pure
anger.
“Well, we are
certainly glad you’re here,” Mrs. Turner said with an airy smile. “There is
just so much that needs to be done, and well, it is your business to know how
to do this.”
Leah smiled,
situating her purse on her shoulder, and avoided eye contact with Rosa in case one of the thousand daggers thrown from her
eyes would penetrate. “You know, I am just happy to help,” she said to the
older woman. Leah cringed at the overly eager sound of her own voice.
“And we are so
glad you are helping, swallowing your pride for the good of Bright Horizons.”
Mrs. Turner wore her Armani dress like it was a second skin, her makeup and
hair flawless as always. Her smile was etched, and didn’t quite spread to the
rest of her face.
“I don’t
understand why…” Rosa said. Her hostility
spoke volumes.
Leah braced
herself for a very vocal confrontation.
“No, dear.” Mrs.
Turner put a beautifully manicured hand on Rosa ’s
forearm. “You don’t understand, and you never will if you don’t check your
attitude.”
A car horn
caused all three women to look around. “Ah, that’s for me.” Mrs. Turner pulled
a sheet of paper from her book, not acknowledging the impatient student
honking.
Leah didn’t want
to know why the University’s current basketball star was sitting in Mrs.
Turner’s car.
“If you both
will excuse me, I have more important mat-ters to attend to.” She handed Leah a
long list, “Be a dear and see if you can crank this out.”
The two women
eyed each other warily.
“Why would you
think that?” Leah usually kept to herself as far as Rosa
was concerned, but the implication bothered her.
About the Author
Catherine Lavender is
from Baltimore , Maryland
but now resides in Tampa , Florida
Connect with Catherine Lavender:
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