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EIGHTY EIGHT KEYS by Catherine Lavender (CR) - Blurb and Excerpt
Book 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…
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Book 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. I was just calling to check up on you.”
She
settled back into a small section of the couch. “Hi, Quincy. I’m doing okay.”
“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. Leah was going to
be a pianist.
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.
Rosa
brushed past Leah. “Don’t you dare screw this up,” she hissed.
“Why
would you think that?” Leah usually kept to herself as far as Rosa was
concerned, but the implication bothered
her.
Rosa
slid on a pair of sunglasses. “Because you screw everything up.”
Author Bio
Catherine
Lavender is from Baltimore, Maryland but now resides in Tampa, Florida with her
miniature schnauzer name Ripken. She is an animal activist, as well as a
supporter of the organization First Book which helps supply literature for
underprivileged children. In her spare time, Catherine enjoys reading classic
literature and playing the acoustic guitar.
I am looking forward to reading this one!
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