by Cydney Rax
Also by Cydney Rax
The Love & Revenge Series
If Your Wife Only Knew
My Married Boyfriend
Revenge of the Mistress
My Daughter’s Boyfriend
My Husband’s Girlfriend
Scandalous Betrayal
My Sister’s Ex
Brothers & Wives
Reckless (with Niobia Bryant and Grace Octavia)
Crush (with Michele Grant and Lutishia Lovely)
Published by Dafina Books
A SISTER’S SECRET
CYDNEY RAX
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Table of Contents
Also by Cydney Rax
Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgments
CHAPTER 1 - Running Her Mouth as Usual
CHAPTER 2 - Out of Bounds
CHAPTER 3 - Thotsicle
CHAPTER 4 - Confrontation
CHAPTER 5 - The Lord’s Day
CHAPTER 6 - Wifey
CHAPTER 7 - Men Are Men
CHAPTER 8 - Three-Way
CHAPTER 9 - You Must Think I’m Psycho
CHAPTER 10 - New Lovers
CHAPTER 11 - The Sex He Expects
CHAPTER 12 - He Maketh Me to Lie Down
CHAPTER 13 - Sudden Intervention
CHAPTER 14 - Who Put You in Charge
CHAPTER 15 - Sometimes We Ate Bologna for Dinner
CHAPTER 16 - Cupid Strikes Again
CHAPTER 17 - Tribal Matters
CHAPTER 18 - I Made a Mistake
CHAPTER 19 - Pow! Pow!
CHAPTER 20 - The Treason, the Reason, and the Season
Teaser chapter
To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.
DAFINA BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2018 by Cydney Rax
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Dafina and the Dafina logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-1-4967-1539-5
First Kensington Trade Paperback Printing: March 2018
eISBN-13: 978-1-4967-1545-6
eISBN-10: 1-4967-1545-4
First Kensington Electronic Edition: March 2018
Acknowledgments
I’m the luckiest woman in the world because I get to do this . . . again. Even though I’ve almost lost count on the various formats in which my novels have been published, I know it’s a lot . . . I am still walking around in a daze . . . pinching my arm . . . Dreams do come true! Writing is so hard, yet so much fun. Always grateful!
FIRST AND FOREMOST: I acknowledge the Creator of heaven and earth who gave me a writing ability and an unquenchable interest in developing characters and quirky story lines.
I must also thank Leford Nugent, who emailed me out of the blue one day talking about a book with five sisters. How did he know? He was my confirmation.
Thanks to Ms. Esi Sogah, my editor, for a partnership that challenges me in ways that I never could have imagined.
EXTRA SPECIAL THANKS to: The Houston Public Library ♥♥♥ (esp. Darryl Kiser).
And Michelle Sloan: Thanks for setting up the social media for fans (Twitter: @CydneyRaxFans, Facebook: cydneyraxfans, Instagram: cydneyraxfans). Thanks to those that support my books: The Literary Guru, Black Page Turners, the ladies of Shawndabooklover and Friends Readers Lounge, The Tea TV Show (@jointhetea on FB—what a divine connection!! Thanks so much for the video book review), Deborah Franklin #Fempire, Kalina M. Ross Anderson, African American Literary Awards Show (thanks for the IYWOK book nomination, but if there is ever a next time, give a sista a heads-up—LOL). And Diamond’s Literary World . . . much appreciated. And to each of the faithful readers across the country who contacts me and lets me know they can’t wait to read the next book, etc., I am floored by your kindness. Keep spreading the words, y’all. XOXO.
MUCH APPRECIATION: The U of Houston gang—Lisa Benford , Steven Burns (thanks for the animal 411), and my family members across the U.S.A. And to my author crew, the people who keep a smile on my face because you’re fun, talented, supportive, and you GET IT!! Love you bunches! Marissa Monteilh, Simone Kelly (marketing genius/author/Jamaican hustler [so very happy for you]), Electa Rome Parks, Sadeqa Johnson, and Margaret Johnson-Hodge.
AND I CAN’T FORGET: Burke Wood, B Creative Digital Media, and QBR Media for producing a lovely video interview. I had sooo much fun answering those wonderful questions. Thanks for all that you do to promote AA authors.
FINALLY, let’s get to reading of the first book of a new fictional series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Ciao!
Cydney
[email protected]
CHAPTER 1
Running Her Mouth as Usual
One Saturday morning in early September, the Reeves sisters gathered for their fifth Sister Day of the year. For the past few years, they’d congregated every two months beginning in January. Their meeting was similar to a self-instituted family holiday.
Their mother, Greta Reeves, had passed away nearly four years ago due to complications from surgery. Greta had still been in the hospital trying to recover when she unexpectedly took a turn for the worse. The doctor told the family to get to the hospital as soon as possible. And on that late December morning, all the daughters gathered around Greta’s bed, standing together in a circle, clutching each other’s hands, praying, crying and trying to hold it together. It hurt to realize their mother was losing her battle with leukemia right before their eyes. They knew they’d be left motherless once she took her last breath. But Greta Reeves was tired of sickness ravishing her frail body. She was ready to meet her Maker.
“Alita, Burgundy, Coco, Dru, Elyse.” She struggled to talk with a voice so hoarse it sounded like a whisper.
“Yes, Mama,” Burgundy replied, tears wetting her cheeks.
“I want all of you to look out for each other, ya hear?”
“We will,” Dru promised and gently squeezed Greta’s bony fingers.
“Stay strong, no matter how I look like now. Don’t remember me like this. Remember your mom as someone that loved and feared the Lord.”
“Okay, Mommy,” Coco wailed, barely able to keep herself from crawling onto the bed and lying next to Greta.
“I love you, girls. Don’t ever forget it.” Her faint scratchy voice was barely audible. “And I want you to love each other like I love you.”
Back then Elyse had just nodded. At fifteen, she was too stunned to realize what was actually happening.
Greta’s final words were, “His mercy endures forever. See you girls on the other side.” Then Jesus or the angels came to escort Greta, and she died in peace.
Since their mother’s untimely passing, Burgundy had stepped up to the plate. She could never forget the things that her mother wanted from them as a family even after her death. Burgundy always held a deep passion for Sister Day. She put a lot into planning their special days, and her commitment and enthusiasm quickly spread to her siblings. It grew into the lifeblood and new legacy for the Reeves sisters.
Including herself there were a total of five “Reeves” sisters: Thirty-six-year-old Alita was the eldest, and Burgundy was next in line. Then came Coco, followed by Drucilla. Last of all was
Elyse, the youngest at nineteen.
* * *
So it was time for the Reeves sisters to meet again. Alita complained she was low on gas, so Dru agreed to pick her up from her southwest Houston apartment, since she lived about ten minutes away from her. Then she and Alita drove on until they arrived at their favorite nail salon, which was where their meetings were typically held.
Elyse and Burgundy arrived soon thereafter. The sisters warmly greeted one another, glanced at their watches, and walked through the wide aisle of the spacious salon until they reached the pedicure stations.
“Where’s Dark Skin?”
“Don’t know,” Burgundy told Alita, “but we are not on her time schedule, that’s for sure.”
Fifteen minutes later, Coco raced through the salon door.
The sisters all looked up. They were in the early stages of getting a super-deluxe pedicure.
Alita scowled at Coco, who was gasping for breath. She was breathing hard and holding her hand against her chest. Her thick hair was parted in the middle and flanked by one big Afro puff on each side of her head. She wore dark purple lipstick, and purple rouge had been dusted on her round cheeks.
“’Bout time you got here,” Alita said. “Where your kids at?”
“I hired a sitter, Ms. Nosy.”
Coco clumsily climbed up on her chair and quickly lowered the armrest. She pressed buttons on the remote control to start the back massager. She reclined and briefly shut her eyes. When she opened them, all the sisters were gaping at her.
“Why you late?” Alita asked.
“Don’t start.” Coco shot her a warning look.
“Why your forehead all sweaty and shit like you just got through fucking?”
“Maybe I did just get through—”
“Don’t. No place now,” Elyse murmured and covered her ears. She gave a pained expression as she trembled in her chair.
“I can’t believe she spoke two sentences in a row,” remarked Alita. “I need her to speak up more so we can know what’s going on inside that sneaky little brain of hers.”
“Leave her alone,” Burgundy ordered Alita. “You know Elyse is shy. She doesn’t have to be loud and ghetto like you and Coco.” But Burgundy’s heart felt heavy as her eyes swept over the baby of the family. Even though the girl had been living with her since their mother died, there were times when dealing with Elyse caused Burgundy’s patience to wear thin. She didn’t know if her sister acted withdrawn because she was trying to get attention or if she was still mourning the loss of their mother.
Elyse was average height and very thin; when she woke up for the day her breakfast usually consisted of a piece of toast and a tiny apple. She barely had an appetite for the remainder of her day, choosing to pick at her food and sneaking to throw away her dinner when she thought no one was looking.
And today, even though the temperature was high, Elyse’s tiny frame was covered by an oversize men’s shirt, a pair of baggy cargo pants, and some high-top Chuck Taylors. Her uncombed hair was capped by a baseball hat worn backward.
As Burgundy returned her focus to her other sisters, she noticed that Alita was running her mouth as usual.
“Who you calling loud, B? I am not that loud, and ain’t nothing wrong with being ghetto. I’m proud of where I come from. South Side, H-town, all the way. All of us was raised there. But even though you’ve moved far away to the suburbs, you seem to have forgotten that you started from the bottom like most of us.”
“Alita, now is not the time,” Burgundy replied. “I am not about to fight with you over nothing. It’s going to be all love and peace today. Okay? Can we agree to disagree?”
Alita slouched in her chair and closed her eyes.
“Alita,” Burgundy repeated. “I was talking to you. I said, love and peace today, all right?’”
“Alita will behave,” Dru spoke up. “Now, what’s the new assignment, B?”
Burgundy smiled. “First of all, how did everything go with y’all concerning the last assignment? Did you get anything out of telling each other the truth and confronting someone in a nice way? Do you feel it helped you grow as a person and especially as a sister? Did you have any struggles with this assignment?”
“Well, it wasn’t a stretch for me ’cause I always tells the truth,” Coco said with attitude. “That’s just how I roll. It was no challenge.”
“Dark Skin, you a lying ass,” Alita hooted and hollered. “You only think that you always keep it real. But I know when you’re lying.”
The nail attendant looked at Alita then at Dru. She quickly pretended she wasn’t listening to their conversation. But Coco knew she had heard Alita’s insensitive comments.
“Look, dammit,” Coco complained, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “I’m sick of you calling me Dark Skin. Dru is brown skinned and so is Elyse; yet I don’t hear you giving them that type of nickname.”
“Uh, what?” Alita’s face registered pure shock. She was so accustomed to calling Coco “Dark Skin,” and seeing her respond to the nickname, that she had never thought twice about how the woman felt about it.
“Uh, nothing,” Coco retorted. “I am way more than the color of my skin, and I do not appreciate you calling me that.”
“But I’ve been calling you that since you were in elementary school.”
“And now that I’m grown up, I am asking you to stop. That’s not my name. My mama told me she named me Coco Chanel Reeves. And she told me that Coco means I’m passionate.”
“True that,” Alita said with a chuckle.
“And compassionate,” Coco added.
“I don’t know about that.”
“And romantic.”
Dru nodded in agreement. “Okay, now that’s accurate.”
“So anyway,” Coco continued, “I want to be called by my name. You understand?”
“All right . . . Dark and Lovely,” Alita said with a smirk.
“Oh, fuck it. You’re lame and you’re wrong.”
“Funny because that’s exactly how I feel about you, Coco,” Alita replied. “And you just use that nickname shit as an excuse to keep us from facing the more important matters.”
“What you talkin’ ’bout?”
“I’m still trying to figure out the pregnancy thang.”
“We on that again?”
“Yes, we are. Now. Why did you lie? We supposed to tell the truth and here you go, steadily lying.”
“W-w-well,” Coco sputtered. “Maybe I got good reasons for not wantin’ to tell e’rything you feel you need to know.”
“That could be true, Coco,” Burgundy said. “But still, you should try to be truthful. Or even find a new way of telling us the truth.”
“Ain’t. Easy.”
The room grew eerily quiet except for the sounds of bubbles splashing inside each girl’s pedicure pan. Coco, the ultimate “fronter,” was the one who liked to put on a façade. She wanted the sisters to think she was holding life down. Yet her life was frustrating, complex, hard, and exhausting, and she didn’t want everyone commenting on it.
“What’s not easy, Sis?” Burgundy replied.
Coco loudly exhaled and settled back in her chair, harboring a distant look in her eyes.
“Sometimes I wonder if it’s all worth it. I already got two of Calhoun’s kids. I love ’em to death. But it don’t always keep him at home. So having another mouth to feed . . . I already know it won’t make him act right.”
“Thank you for admitting the truth.” Alita sat up straighter in her chair. She loved when she was dead-on right.
“Can’t really deny it,” Coco shrugged.
“Take it from me,” Alita replied in her piercing voice. “No-good men don’t make good husbands.”
“Nobody’s perfect.” Coco’s voice was light. “Not even me. We all got issues. So I decided to accept Calhoun as he is.”
Alita groaned. “Just because people have issues doesn’t mean you have to settle, girl.”
“Alit
a, why you think you know everything about my relationship?”
“Anyone with a pair of eyes and common sense can figure out you two.”
“Look, you’re not with us twenty-four seven!” Coco’s voice trembled. “I-I know he’s trying. He loves me the best he can.”
Alita frowned. “Does he treat you with kindness and respect twenty-four seven?”
Coco paused. “Yes.”
“See, now I know you’re lying.”
“All right then.” Coco sighed, growing weary of the conversation. “No, he’s not kind every single second.”
Alita continued. “Does Calhoun get on you whenever you do something he doesn’t like?”
“Yes, he puts me in check, just like I put his ass in check.”
“Does he ever tell you that he’d like to seriously marry you?”
Coco said nothing as she glanced down at her feet, which were dipped in the warm, bubbling water. Coco hated being scrutinized, even if the truth was being told. She despised her sister for always getting on her about things in her life that she wanted to remain undetected.
“I could go on, Coco, and you know it,” Alita continued.
“Okay! Calhoun has issues, and that’s that! But overall he’s good to me. My man is young, just in case you forgot. He’s got a lot more growing up to do, then he’ll be all right.” Calhoun was twenty-three and acted every bit of his age.
“And what shocks me is how you’re fine with that,” Alita remarked. “Yet you still have this obsession about weddings and honeymoons and marriage licenses? Big ole fool.”
Coco snapped back, “I took this man’s virginity when he was barely legal. We’ve been together seven years. I ain’t checking for no other man. It’s ’bout time I be Calhoun’s wife. What’s wrong with that?”
“Marriage does not work, Dark Skin. Oops, I meant to say Coco. Marriage can’t do nothing but fail.”
“Alita, your pathetic relationship didn’t work. And you’re so bitter about it that you’re trying to rob me of my happiness.”