Don't Tell A Soul Read online

  As Roe lay in a crumpled mess on the floor, Eva picked up her handbag and rushed to the exit. She didn’t want to be anywhere nearby when he woke up. Men were always meaner and more vengeful when they were taken out by a woman.

  Eva opened the exit door and stepped out into the chilly spring night. Her career as a stripper was over before it even started. Once Roe told every club owner in a hundred-mile radius that she’d flaked out on him, she wouldn’t be able to get a gig to save her life. But then . . . not getting a gig probably would save her life.

  CHAPTER 10

  YVONNE

  Pam and Taylor forced me into having this lunch. I do not feel like being interrogated about my date with Kingston, but by the way they are both staring at me across the table, I know their nosy behinds want to know all my business.

  “I think I’m going to order the coconut shrimp,” I say as I look back down at my menu and away from their demanding stares.

  “Me too,” Pam says. “I want some dessert, too. The bread pudding sounds good.”

  Taylor says, “A dessert, Pam? I guess that means the diet is over, huh?”

  “No one asked you to remind me about my diet. You could stand to lose a few, too,” Pam says.

  “I know it, girl. That’s why I’m eating a salad.”

  I shake my head at both of them. “Why can’t we ever enjoy a meal without you two wondering which thigh is going to get fatter?”

  “You hush, Yvonne!” Pam says. “You’ve never been plump, and you aren’t ever going to be plump.”

  “I’m thick. I ain’t plump,” Taylor says.

  “Thank you for reminding us, Taylor. You’re vixen-like,” Pam says with much attitude.

  “Yes, baby,” Taylor says. “Yvonne, you could end this bootleg conversation at any time by telling us all about your new boo, Kingston.”

  “He is not my new boo. He is the director of the choir and a very good friend.”

  “Well, how was your date?” Pam asks.

  “I don’t know if I would call it a date. It was more like two friends sharing a meal.”

  Taylor throws her hands up in the air and groans. “Would you please stop? Kingston has been drooling over you forever! I mean, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you wanted to get back with Luke.”

  “No, you didn’t!”

  “Yes, I did, Yvonne! Yes, I did! And that woman-beating, no-child-support-paying fool is getting married.”

  It feels like Taylor just knocked the wind out of me. When I saw Luke out with that young girl, I had no idea he was planning to marry her. I just thought that she was his new flavor of the month.

  “Who would marry him?” Pam asks. “Women just don’t do background checks these days.”

  “Probably a woman who wants to be the first lady of a church, because he’s calling himself a pastor, too,” Taylor says.

  My jaw drops, and I stand up from the table. I just can’t stay seated on this one. “He’s a pastor now?”

  Taylor nods. “Yep. You know that was always part of his game. That’s how he traps the honeys, talkin’ ’bout they gonna be in ministry together.”

  I shake my head and walk back and forth in front of our table. Taylor knows all about Luke’s game and the come-ons that he has for his women. She was one of them. But when I met him, he was just starting out in ministry. He was truly impressive in the pulpit, and he charmed me from day one. I didn’t know until after we were already married that he was an abuser and a cheater.

  “I bet she’s young too!” Taylor says. “He likes ’em young!”

  I give Taylor an evil glare, and Pam says, “Can you stop?”

  “Stop what? She knows that Luke is a hot mess! I ’on even know why she trippin’! I’m the one that needs to be trippin’! He probably taking up tithes and offerings and everything else. I wonder if they can put a child support order on an offering.”

  Now Pam and I both are glaring at Taylor.

  “What? Luke is a super villain. Can we at least agree to that?” Taylor says.

  I plop back down in my seat. “He is a villain, but I used to be married to him.”

  “You used to be married to him, and God has taken the shackles off!” Taylor exclaims.

  Pam chuckles. “I do have to agree with her. You are free of Luke, girl. Free to see someone else if you want.”

  “Someone like Kingston!” Taylor says.

  I let out a big sigh. Kingston is so nice. He is a gentleman, and he is very much interested in me. And to top it all off, he’s incredibly sexy.

  I’m so glad that Pam and Taylor can’t read my mind! I wouldn’t ever want them to know that I thought of Kingston, or any man, that way, but I can’t even pretend that the attraction between us is happening only in the spirit realm. Something carnal is definitely taking place.

  “Well, Kingston is fine,” Taylor says. “You better be glad I’m already with Spencer, because I’d definitely let him chase me.”

  “And what makes you think that you’re his type?” I ask.

  “I am every man’s type. But why you getting all touchy, Yvonne? I am in love with my man. I don’t want your boo.”

  “Stop teasing her, Taylor.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell you,” I say. “I enjoyed myself with Kingston. He is a lot of fun. Rhoda and Rochelle were there.”

  Taylor scrunches her nose into a frown. “All bad.”

  “I know.”

  “So are you going to go out with him again?” Pam asks.

  I shrug. “Maybe. I haven’t made up my mind yet. He’s already asked me to dinner after Bible study on Wednesday.”

  “First brunch and then dinner?” Taylor asks. “He sounds very interested.”

  “He is, but like I said, I haven’t decided yet to take him up on his offer. How do you know about Luke being engaged?”

  “He asked me to have coffee with him. He wants to see Joshua, but I don’t know if that’s even a good idea.”

  When Luke first went to prison, he called me collect and sent letters declaring his love. I suspected that he wanted me to take care of his money while he was gone and not give it over to Taylor for Joshua’s needs. But I stopped reading his letters after the first one and gave Taylor twenty thousand dollars out of our joint account. Then, when I finally decided to divorce Luke, I got half of what was left—a piddly thirty thousand. I had always thought we were better off financially, but Luke had mortgaged our home and he’d blown lots of his money on his various mistresses.

  Not once, with all of Luke’s begging and pleading for me to stay by his side, did he ask about his son or the grown daughter he’d left behind. He acted as if Joshua didn’t even exist, but now he wants to be in his life? If I were Taylor, I’d tell him to go somewhere that is extremely hot and smells like sulfur.

  “How is Joshua? Have you figured out what you’re doing about school yet?” Pam asks.

  Taylor says, “He’s fine, but I am definitely going to have to homeschool him for a while. There’s no other convenient solution.”

  When Taylor called and told me about Joshua’s problem at school, alarm bells went off in my mind. Immediately I started praying, because I couldn’t think of anything but Luke putting his hands on me.

  “Joshua sounds like he picked up something from Luke other than his looks,” I say. “I’ve got the scars to prove Luke’s anger management issues.”

  “Well, that’s why I’ve got y’all, right?” Taylor asks. “Y’all gonna help me pray?”

  Pam and I answer by each taking one of Taylor’s hands and bowing our heads. Praying is what we do when we have no idea what else to do, and I surely don’t know what to do about Taylor’s situation.

  CHAPTER 11

  PAM

  I’ve discovered a secret about my writing. If I do it outside of my home, I’m a lot more productive. Maybe it’s because the kids and Troy can’t bother me, or maybe it’s because I hold myself more accountable at this booth in Starbucks than at home, in my bed, wit
h my feet propped up and the TV playing in the background.

  My new story is about a struggling single mother of two who finally meets her dream man but is too caught up in her baggage to see that he’s a great guy. Admittedly, I got some of the inspiration from Taylor, who almost didn’t end up with Spencer. She broke up with him until she found herself, and then she was lucky that he was still available.

  I take a sip of my Chai Latte and type a few words. Then a couple sits down at the table next to me, and the writing stops. They are so into each other—he’s telling her how his life has changed since he found her, and she’s giggling and cooing at every word. I try to remember if Troy and I were ever like that. We weren’t.

  Not that we haven’t had some great times together, because we really got along great when we were younger, before the children. But this goo-goo gaga type stuff? I don’t remember Troy and I having that type of thing, and I don’t know if I would’ve wanted it.

  Since I can’t even think about writing anything with all this mushiness going on, I play solitaire on my computer and hope that they finish their coffee quickly. Then they can take their romantic selves back to the house or wherever else they gaze into one another’s eyes.

  “Pam?”

  I look up from my computer, and Logan is standing in front of me with a huge grin on his face and a cup in his hand. His jolliness is infectious, and I can’t do anything but smile back at him.

  “Hey, Logan! Getting your caffeine fix?”

  He nods. “Yep. Are you working on a book?”

  “I’m supposed to be writing, but I’m playing on my computer right now.”

  He helps himself to the seat across from me. “It’s okay to play for a while, but don’t get too off track. That book isn’t going to write itself.”

  Logan stares at me over his coffee cup as he sips, and darn it if I don’t have to look away from him. The intensity of his gaze feels too intimate; it makes me feel like we’re sharing a moment when we shouldn’t be.

  “You’re right. I need to get to work, but I guess I just got a little distracted.”

  Just as I say that, the romantic couple decides it’s time to take their party on the road. Now I can get some work done.

  “I admire writers,” Logan says. “It’s as if you can tap into something that most of us normal people can’t even touch.”

  This makes me laugh. “You’re not normal, Logan! According to Troy, you’re some kind of musical prodigy or something. He has nothing but great things to say about you.”

  “I’m just doing what I’m called to do, you know? Music is the thing I’m most passionate about. I can’t imagine my life without music. I can imagine myself without money, but I never want to think about a world without music. I wouldn’t want to live there.”

  I feel myself sigh. It sounds like the kind of noise that young girls make when they meet their musical idol in person. Like, if I had met Ralph Tresvant as a teenager, I probably would’ve made that sound. When it dawns on me that the noise I made was in response to Logan’s love of music, I’m a little embarrassed.

  “I’m the same way about writing and books,” I say. “I am so glad to finally get the opportunity to share my writing with the world. I got offered a book deal a long time ago, and then I had my son and couldn’t focus.”

  “It’s your time to shine, then. I’m sure Troy is going to be happy once you get out there and start doing the book signings and everything else. It’s exciting.”

  I take a long pause before replying. “I’m not sure that Troy is happy about anything other than Aria’s singing.”

  Logan sets his coffee cup on the table and folds his arms across his chest. His handsome face becomes serious. “You’re his wife, not Aria. If he’s not excited about this, then there is something wrong with him.”

  “No, no, no. It’s not like that.” Suddenly I feel the need to defend Troy. “He’s just, you know, frustrated about the music. He used to be very supportive of my writing. It’s only recently that he’s changed a little.”

  “You want me to talk to him?”

  My eyes widen. “Oh, dear God, no! He’d hate that I even shared any of this with you. As a matter of fact, I beg you not to mention it. I was just venting, and I shouldn’t have.”

  Logan’s face relaxes, and his smile returns. “Your secret is safe with me, Pam. I’d never want to see that pretty face frowning because of something I did.”

  Darn him! Now I’m looking away again. He makes me so dang uncomfortable, but in a good way. In a way I don’t want to stop.

  “I should probably get back to my writing now,” I say.

  “You should. I’ll be quiet so you can concentrate.”

  I shake my head and laugh again. “I can’t work with you sitting here!”

  This seems to tickle Logan. He gives a good and hearty laugh and then sips more of his coffee. “Now I’m the distraction.”

  “Yes, you are! You’re even more distracting than the couple that just left.”

  “I think I like that. I don’t believe I’ve distracted a woman in a long time.”

  Okay, now I’m giving him my “Yeah, right” face. There is no way this man has problems with the ladies. In fact, the only issue Logan probably has with women is which one to choose. He’s got to be beating them off with a stick.

  “Get the heck out of here, Logan. I know you’ve got women lining up to be with you.”

  “I’m more interested in quality than quantity. The great women out here are few and far between. As a matter of fact, I think that great women are an endangered species.”

  “Well, what is your definition of a great woman? You keep saying that. I hear women looking for a good man, but you are looking for a great woman.”

  Logan stretches his long legs out in front of the table and grazes my leg in the process. I jump like I’ve been electrocuted by a live wire.

  “A great woman is someone who knows she’s beautiful, even if she doesn’t look like a movie star. A great woman knows her worth and is confident enough to support her man and chase her own dreams.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah. I meant it when I told Troy he had a great woman. He needs to recognize it.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone.”

  He shrugs and then lets out a long sigh. “You’d be surprised at how many times I thought I’d found the one. Then, when I tell a woman I want to be celibate until marriage, it all falls apart.”

  Now this is interesting. Actually, this is book material! I’ve got to hear more about this. Writing can wait.

  “Come again? A celibate man? That’s a new one.”

  “You’ve never heard of a God-fearing man being celibate? I don’t think it’s that unusual, and if it is, it shouldn’t be.”

  “The only men that I know who are celibate are either virgins or they couldn’t get it even if they paid for it. I go to church with a lot of single brothas, and the majority of them are not celibate. That’s just real talk.”

  “So if there aren’t any celibate men, how are the women living saved and single? They can’t be celibate by themselves.”

  “Right. They are celibate because they are by themselves!”

  This makes Logan roar with laughter. He literally has tears in his eyes, he’s laughing so hard.

  “Pam, you are funny!”

  “I’m telling the truth, and you know it.”

  He clutches his side and laughs a little more. “Okay, okay. Let me clear something up. I am not a virgin, and obviously, I could get it if I wanted it.”

  “It’s not that obvious,” I say with a deadpan look on my face that makes Logan laugh some more.

  “Anyway! I can get with a woman if I want. I just want the next woman I connect with on that level to be my wife. I spent my twenties and half of my thirties having random encounters with women. It’s not what it’s cracked up to be. I’m ready for something real.”

  “And you know what? God’s gonna bless you
with someone incredible. I can feel that.”

  “You got any friends? Wanna hook a brotha up?”

  I scan my mind and try to think of a single friend who’d fit his description of a great woman. I don’t have one friend who’s anything like what he’s looking for. And the ones that come close would probably think he’s gay for not wanting to have sex.

  “If I think of anyone, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

  “You could just clone yourself, and that would be perfect.”

  Why does he keep saying these things to me? I feel like he’s crossing some invisible line that’s drawn in the atmosphere. Maybe he’s ignoring the line, or maybe I’m not making it clear that there even is a line. Either way, there’s a twinge of guilt in the pit of my stomach that makes me question this entire exchange.

  “Logan, I will be praying that God sends the woman you’re waiting for. In the meantime, as much as I’m enjoying chopping it up with you, I really, really need to get some work done.”

  Finally, Logan stands, and a wave of relief washes over me. “Okay. I’ll let you get to your work. You just make sure you don’t put any of my business in that book you’re writing.”

  “You didn’t know? Anything you say to me is liable to end up on the page. I come with a disclaimer.”

  “I’d be honored to be in your book. Just make sure you embellish a brotha a little bit. Talk to you soon.”

  I wave good-bye to Logan as he leaves the Starbucks. Half of the women in here give him second and third looks as he exits the building, taking all that swagger with him. I let out another long sigh and type a few more words.

  Who knows? Logan just might end up in my book. But he doesn’t need any embellishment at all. In this case the truth is better than any fiction I’d ever create.

  CHAPTER 12

  EVA

  Eva looked at the little piece of paper with Yvonne’s number on it. She had considered calling more than once but couldn’t think of what she’d say if Yvonne answered.