In Confidence. Karen Young

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      “Ted tells me I’m prissy and uptight, and that I should get over the incident between Francine and our daughter. He actually said he's nuts about Francine because, even though my IQ is higher, she’s fun to be with, she has big boobs and a nice butt and—get this—when they have sex, he feels he's died and gone to heaven.” She threw up her hands, then dropped them to her sides in bafflement. “All vestiges of sanity have disappeared from my life.”

      “C’mere.” Before she realized his intent, Cam had his arms around her, enveloping her in sympathy and warm masculine strength. Instinct made her resist…but only for a heartbeat. She was still all worked up over the sheer unfairness of life at the moment, and the appeal of a friendly hug was simply too much to resist. Tears started in her eyes and she blinked furiously to hold them back. She sniffed.

      “Without a doubt you have the higher IQ,” he told her softly.

      She heard the smile in his voice and, turning her nose into his nice clean shirt, gave a shaky chuckle. “Ted said that, I didn't.”

      “Because you would never boast about your IQ.”

      “No, never.” Then, in a bewildered voice, she added, “But what good does having a high IQ do if you can’t keep a husband?”

      “You would keep a decent one without even trying.”

      Also by KAREN YOUNG

      PRIVATE LIVES

      FULL CIRCLE

      GOOD GIRLS

      In Confidence

      Karen Young

       www.mirabooks.co.uk

      Dear Reader,

      If you have read any of my previous books, you’ll know that I invariably come up with stories of women just like you and me, women who are dealing with the problems of contemporary life.

      My heroines face the ups and downs of courtship or marriage, the stresses of parenting and family crises, divorce…and just about anything else you can think of. And all the while, of course, they’re usually pursuing a career with its thorny challenges.

      I almost always throw in something more to complicate my heroine’s already complicated life. Rachel Forrester, the woman I write about in In Confidence, is certainly besieged by a host of unexpected—and painful—changes in her life. Her marriage of seventeen years ends when she discovers her husband’s infidelity. As a high school guidance counselor, she isn't supposed to fail at this most basic relationship, so it is a struggle to handle such a deep personal betrayal and at the same time maintain a loving and secure environment for her children.

      She is also conflicted by her attraction to a true-crime writer who lives next door, but he blames her for failing to anticipate his teenage son’s suicide five years earlier. But much worse is her growing suspicion that something evil exists in her world, something that threatens the very fabric of her life, something that has already taken one young victim.

      So settle back and prepare yourself for a story I’ve written about a shocking secret in a small Texas town…but it could happen anywhere.

      Karen Young

      I love to hear from readers. Please write me at P. O. Box 450947, Houston, Texas 77245. Or visit my Web site at authorkarenyoung.com.

      Contents

       Prologue

       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

       Epilogue

      Prologue

      Rose Hill, Texas

      April 1998

      Right on time, the door opened and the interview Rachel Forrester had dreaded all morning was at hand. She often faced trying situations, but this was surely the worst in her experience.

      “Mr. Ford?” Rachel Forrester stood behind her desk, extending her hand in formal greeting to the father of the boy. “I’m terribly sorry for your loss. I liked Jack so much, everyone who knew him did. He was a fine