Never tell, p.1
Never Tell, page 1
Dear Reader,
What would you do if everything you held dear in the world was suddenly gone? Would you have the courage and sheer grit to pick up the pieces and build a new and different life for yourself?
Intriguing questions like this seemed to fuel my creative engine when I began to think about the plot for this book. In Never Tell, as always, I’ve plunged my heroine into a kind of hell where she’ll need courage, self-reliance and, yes, sheer grit just to survive. I promise that her plight will touch your heart, and her struggle to overcome the truly dreadful hand she’s been dealt will leave you feeling that there is always hope after tragedy. There are enduring friendships to be treasured. And there is always love to be found in the world…if we just open our hearts to receive it.
I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed writing the story. I would love to hear from you! If you would like to be part of my mailing list, please write me at P.O. Box 141, Pearland, Texas 77588-0141. Or visit my Web site at www.authorkarenyoung.com.
Happy reading!
Karen Young
Also by KAREN YOUNG
IN CONFIDENCE
PRIVATE LIVES
FULL CIRCLE
GOOD GIRLS
KAREN YOUNG
NEVER TELL
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe thanks to several people for their generous support and suggestions during the development of this book. To Emilie Richards and Erica Spindler for the brainstorming session in Santa Fe. To Joanna Wayne and Gloria Alvarez for one of those “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” ideas. To Barbara Colley for keeping me focused. To Jon Salem for…well, he knows why.
Warm and loving thanks to Alison Simmons for her generous donation of time and ideas on a part of this business of writing that seems to come naturally to her, but not to me. Thank goodness she works cheap! And finally, to my editor, Valerie Gray, whose thoughtful insights are always right on.
In loving memory of Linda Kay West
Contents
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
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
One
The telephone shrilled the fourth ring, but Erica Stewart resisted coming fully awake. Let it go to voice mail, she thought, while a part of her still struggled to finish the dream. The phone rang again and Willie, her cat, nudged her hand with his head. Purring loudly, he climbed on her chest and pawed at the blanket. With a sigh, she raised herself on one elbow and looked at the caller ID, then groggily reached over and picked it up. “What?” She knew she sounded grumpy, but she wasn’t at her best before coffee and all her friends knew that.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
“This had better be good, Jason,” she grumbled, falling back against her pillow. “It’s Sunday. You know it’s the only day I can sleep in.”
“You’ll forgive me when you hear this,” her business partner and quintessential morning person said. “Have you seen the Sunday Chronicle?”
“You woke me from a sound sleep, Jason. I’m still in bed. And thanks to you, Willie’s now meowing to be fed. So, no, I haven’t seen the newspaper.”
“Wait’ll you see the article in Zest, sugar. It’s fantastic. It’s gonna mean success with a big S for us. Get dressed,” he told her. “I’m coming over.”
“Can’t you just—” She stopped, realizing the line was dead. Grumbling, she threw off the covers and glared at Willie, who was wailing now. “I’m up, I’m up.”
When Jason knocked on her door fifteen minutes later, she’d barely had time to brush her teeth and throw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. He had a bakery box in one hand, a newspaper under his arm and a cardboard tray holding two cups of Starbucks coffee in the other. “Here, straight house blend, no frills, just the way you like it,” Jason said, thrusting the coffee at her. Then, waggling his eyebrows suggestively, he offered the box. “Kolaches. Mixed varieties.”
He knew she had a weakness for the delicious pastry stuffed with everything she shouldn’t eat. Why was it some people preferred to skip breakfast altogether when for her it was the best meal of the day? And irresistible. With a sheepish groan, she grabbed the box, turned and led the way into her kitchen.
The table in her breakfast nook was littered with fabric scraps, scissors and parchment-paper patterns. Sitting in the midst of that was her laptop. She remembered looking at the clock around 2:30 a.m. and thinking she should shut down and go to bed. She did, finally, about an hour later, knowing it was Sunday and she would be able to sleep in.
“Whoa, somebody’s been busy,” Jason said, looking at the mess on the table.
“Until the wee hours,” Erica said, setting the coffee and kolaches on a countertop nearby. She collected the material scraps and dropped them into a box, tossed the paper patterns into a tall trash can she’d placed beside her chair and shoved the computer to the opposite side of the table. “But it was worth it. I finished the design for Jill McNeal’s evening jacket. I’m really happy with it, Jason. I think she’ll be pleased.”
“Have your coffee first,” he told her. “And sit down. We’ll look at the design and pig out after you look at this.” With a flourish, he snapped the fold from the newspaper and spread it out on the table.
Erica removed the plastic lid from her coffee cup and sat. Then, tucking a strand of dark hair behind one ear, she turned her attention to the paper. Her gray eyes went wide. The first thing she noticed was her own photo on the cover of Zest, the Houston Chronicle’s Sunday magazine. Small but prominently displayed at the top, it was a teaser for a feature article inside.
“Wait’ll you see the article,” Jason said. “It’ll blow your mind. We couldn’t pay enough for advertising like this, Erica.” Not waiting for her to find it, he leaned over and flipped the pages until he located it. He straightened and stood back to gauge her reaction. “Have a look at that, partner.”
He was right about one thing. They could never afford to pay for advertising at this level. She was pictured arranging the display in the front window of the shop in the Village. She remembered the day she’d worked on the display. She’d wanted the fabric she’d used in the jacket to coordinate with the quilt, another of her original designs. She’d draped the quilt over an antique chair, which she’d borrowed from a shop located a couple of doors down. On the floor beside the chair was a tall urn containing a few gnarled and leafless limbs she’d collected on the side of a country road. River stones had been strewn over the floor to look as if they’d been cast out carelessly, adding a last artful touch to the oddly eclectic grouping. She’d had some doubt about the photographer’s request to shoot her at work in the window, but the result was more than interesting.
Jason grinned with delight. “Is it great, or what?”
“It’s nice.” The article wasn’t about Erica alone. It was a piece showcasing the unique personality of the Village, a favored location for merchants, upscale and otherwise, some selling unique merchandise while others offered chain-store quality. When Erica and Jason decided to open a retail outlet for her jacket and quilt designs, they’d chosen the Village as much for its personality as for its location near upscale River Oaks.
“Nice?” Jason propped his hands on his hips. “That’s it, just nice?”
“It’s really terrific.”
“You know what this means, Erica.” He sat down on the cushioned seat of the bay window, but he was so energized that he was instantly up and pacing again. “It’s going to make us a household word. You’ve already made a name for yourself in Houston and this article is simply icing on the cake. Circulation for the Chronicle takes us throughout the whole state of Texas and beyond.”
“First Texas and then the world?” she teased, smiling while savoring the taste of the coffee. Jason’s expectations were anything but modest. He really believed Erica Stewart was destined to become a label as well known as Kate Spade or Cynthia Rowley. He was so certain that sometimes Erica almost believed it herself. This morning, however, her expectations were firmly grounded. She needed a couple of seamstresses to work full-time on the jackets and quilts, but so far she’d found only one who met her exacting standards. Her creations were pricey, unavoidably so, as they were labor intensive. She wanted anyone who bought a jacket or a quilt to get full value for their money.
“I’m not the one in denial,” Jason said, biting into a kolache. “You are.” Then, chewing on the pastry, he pointed to the article. “Do you think they do these feature articles for just anybody? Hell, no. Even if you can’t believe you’re destined to be a significant player, sugar, other folks do.” He tapped the article with a forefinger. “Now all we have to do is make the most of what’s been handed t
“Uh-huh.” Erica rose and rummaged in a wire basket where she’d stashed recent mail. “If you’re excited over that article, you’ll really love this.” When she found what she was looking for, she handed it to Jason, who gave it a quick once-over. Then, doing a double take, he reread it.
“This isn’t a joke,” he said, looking at her. “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?”
“No, Jason. Where would I get letterhead with a Texas Today logo? It’s real.”
“You’ve been named one of Twenty Women to Watch in Texas,” he said in a tone of wonderment.
“I know. I’ve read it,” she said dryly.
“Do you have a clue what this means?”
“I’ve got friends in high places?” But she was smiling, knowing Jason would get almost as much pleasure from the honor as she did. Maybe more.
“We agreed we couldn’t find enough money to buy the Zest article, but this knocks that right out of the ballpark.”
She licked raspberry filling from her finger before grabbing a napkin. “Hey, maybe we’ll find the money to hire another seamstress.”
“I’m serious, Erica. This is…this will…” He shook his head. “I’m speechless.”
“Now, that is a first.” Taking the letter from him, she sat down again and reread it. “I’m flattered, Jace. And you’re right. This is a once-in-a-career boost, and yet…”
He looked at her in disbelief, propping his hands on his hips. “And what, for Pete’s sake? You can’t possibly find anything negative in this. You said the Zest article was a fluke, and that if our shop wasn’t in the Village, and they didn’t just happen to be featuring businesses there, we would never have been included. And when you got that order for jackets from that boutique in the Galleria, you called Christopher Crane to make sure he meant it for Erica Stewart and not our competition in Dallas. It was legit and that’s because you’re good. Chris Crane doesn’t just run his finger down the yellow pages and pick a designer at random to feature in his shop, darlin’. You’re good, you’re better than good and I wish to hell you believed it as much as I do.”
“Okay, okay.” She gave a weak smile and rubbed her forehead with two fingers. “I get a headache when you start to lecture.”
“You should,” he said with no sympathy. After a beat or two, he dropped into a chair opposite her. “I don’t get why you keep trying to downplay your success, Erica. If I were in your place, the Astrodome wouldn’t be big enough for my ego.”
She studied his face with affection. They’d been friends since meeting in an art class in college more than twelve years ago. He’d been the male model that day. It was later when Erica learned he was actually an art student, and that he’d volunteered to model because it was just the zany kind of thing Jason sometimes did. He was physically beautiful. No other word fit. He had every natural asset needed for a career as a male model. His hair was a thick, glossy near-black, his eyes were startlingly blue and he had cheekbones to die for. Added to all that, his tall, hard-muscled body looked delectable in clothes. In fact, he’d briefly pursued modeling as a career, but quickly abandoned it as being, in his words, “soul-destroying and shallow beyond belief.” In his bones he was a serious artist, but unlike Erica, he hadn’t been able to support himself with his art.
To tell the truth, Erica wouldn’t have been able to support herself with her art, either, if Jason hadn’t come up with the bright idea that the two of them should collaborate. In his opinion, her fabric designs had commercial appeal. He’d pitched the idea at the darkest time in her life. She’d been holed up in her house popping antidepressants, stashing away the jackets and quilts she designed in a closet in the cluttered room where she created them. Had it not been for Jason and his dogged determination to save her from herself, Erica wondered how long it would have taken her to decide to reenter the land of the living. So, with her designs and Jason’s ability to promote and sell anything except his paintings, he persuaded her that going into business together would be a good thing. And indeed it was. With hard work, plus a lucky break or two, they’d achieved quite a remarkable commercial success.
“I just have this feeling, Jace,” she said, moving a finger over the Texas Today logo. “I know you think it’s my insecurity talking, but every once in a while I just feel as if that success you’re crowing about has been helped along by some outside force. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it’s there.”
“Here we go again.” He rolled his eyes. “That is total bullshit, Erica. You’re a talented artist and that’s why the world is noticing you.” He chose another kolache from the box and added, “Helped along by the somewhat brilliant promotional contributions that have come from me, if you’ll excuse me saying so.”
“I’ve had to excuse a lot more than that since you nagged me into opening the shop,” she reminded him dryly.
“Your lucky day.”
She smiled and gave in. “Okay, okay. Between the two of us, we’re enjoying a little taste of success.”
“And it’s sweet indeed.”
“So I’ll stop looking for a worm in the apple.”
“Good. Because there isn’t one.” Grabbing a pen, he got ready to do what he did best: seizing opportunity and running with it.
“More coffee, Morton?”
Lillian Trask lifted the decanter from the server and waited to pour. Along with coffee and juice, the breakfast cart was laden with scrambled eggs, bacon, croissants and a collection of gourmet jams and jellies. For herself, she preferred only fruit and yogurt to start the day, but her husband liked a hearty meal. After a moment, he grunted a response and she refilled his cup.
He held a cell phone to his ear with one hand while he scanned the pages of the Sunday edition of the Houston Chronicle with the other. Open and within easy reach was his trusty Blackberry, on which he received and sent e-mail, retrieved information, accessed his address book, noted the weather and even picked up breaking news. Since sitting down to breakfast twenty minutes ago, he’d been focused on the Blackberry or talking on his cell phone. She’d once tried to declare mealtime a no-business zone, but she’d been instantly overruled. Only if they had guests did she expect conversation with a meal. When they were alone, Morton was too busy talking business to talk to her.
Actually, it was rare that they breakfasted together. When she came downstairs in the mornings, more often than not, he was already out of the house, headed downtown to the offices of CentrexO. As its CEO, he was never separated from the company, not even when he was in Galveston, where his boat was docked. She hated going out on the boat, or rather, his yacht, as he constantly reminded her. The luxurious Bertram was equipped with every convenience to live aboard for days—even weeks—at a time. But she tended to get seasick, and nothing was worse than being miles offshore with her head spinning and her stomach revolting. At those times, Morton was utterly unsympathetic. He, of course, was never seasick.
They owned a condominium overlooking the Gulf and she could spend a weekend there if she wanted, but she seldom did so. It was a seventh-floor corner unit with a great view, but when she was there, she felt lonely and isolated. There was no magic in watching a stunning sunrise or sunset alone.
She finished her breakfast, listening with half an ear to Morton’s conversation with a business associate. Maria, the housekeeper, appeared to clear the table, and when that was done, Lillian turned her attention to the stack of mail she hadn’t gotten around to opening yesterday. She didn’t hear Morton addressing her directly until he barked her name for the third time.
“What? Oh, I’m sorry, Morton. What did you say?”
“That was John Frazier in Washington,” he told her testily as he entered something in his Blackberry. It irritated him when he didn’t have her full attention. “He’s at the airport on his way back to Houston.”
“John Frazier.” She repeated the vaguely familiar name but couldn’t place him.
“You met him at the fund-raiser last month,” he reminded her.
She thought a minute, then remembered Frazier as a tall, thin man with a practiced smile. “He manages one of those PACs, doesn’t he?” It would be impossible to guess which one, as Morton was a heavy contributor to several political action funds.
