Something to Talk About

Dedication

This goes out with so much love

to
my readers, who are also my friends.

You’ve taken the Cochrans and Deverauxes into your hearts

And I appreciate that more than I can say.

Stay Blessed, and keep reading!

Books are a rare blessing to anyone with

An inquiring mind and a curious soul.

Acknowledgments

A special thank-you to

Ms Sharon Blount

For all her hard work in getting people

Excited about the magic of reading.

I’ve never known anyone to work

As tirelessly, selflessly, cheerfully and happily

To bring people together over the love of books.

Authors and readers everywhere owe you so much.

Stay Joyful and keep reading!

Prologue

The patriarch of the Cochran family held his newest grandchild lovingly and looked into her big, bright eyes. At nearly four months of age, Lillian Rose Bennett Cochran was a beauty, with her mother’s dimples and her father’s rich caramel coloring. Big Benny Cochran chuckled as the baby smiled up at him and squeezed his forefinger tigh
tl
y.

“I think you’re a keeper, littl
e girl. You remind me of your Aunt Benita when she was a baby,” he said fondly.

He was seated in the living room of his youngest son, Adonis Cochran. Don
nie and his wife, Angelique Dev
eraux Cochran, glanced at each other
before looking
back at the handsome white-haired man doting on their daughter. Donnie was about to bring up a very sensitive subject. He and Angelique had something of great importance to discuss with his father, which they’d been putting off during the Christmas holidays and the New Year celebration. They had agreed to wait until after they renewed their wedding vows on Valentine’s Day to talk about it, and now the time was here.
 
They were in the middle of unpacking their new home, and the usual array of packing boxes was visible in every room. On Christmas Eve, Big Benny had given the young couple the family home in Palmer Park, as he and his wife, Donnie’s stepmother Martha Davis Cochran, wanted to move into a condo. So now the young couple was in the throes of unpacking, Big Benny was in the midst of spoiling his fourteenth grandchild, and Donnie was about to bring up his father’s best-kept secret.

“Pop, Angelique told me about the conversation you had with her before Lily Rose was born. I think you know which conversation I mean,” he said gen
tl
y.

Big Benny barely glanced away from Lily Rose, who was making the humming sound she made every time she was completely content. “Of course I remember the conversation, Adonis. Do you think I’ve suddenly turned senile? I told
Babydoll
about an episode of my life, one that I’m not particularly proud of.” He paused to shift Lily Rose more comfortably in his arms. “I’m not ashamed anymore, but I can’t take it to the grave with me. It’s time the story was told to everyone concerned.”

Angelique’s eyes met her husband’s and they communicated wordlessly for a moment before she spoke. “Well, Daddy, if you’re determined to do this, how do you want to do it? And when do you want to do it? And how are you going to . . .” Her voice trailed off as Big Benny waved aside her questions.

“
Babydoll
, don’t worry your head about it. There’re a few details to be worked out, but we can handle them. I agree it’s going to be a surprise to a lot of people, but I’ve always liked surprises. Lily Rose likes them too, don’t you, sweetheart?”

Donnie made a skeptical face as his father blew noisy kisses on Lily Rose’s cheek, making her giggle with joy. “Uhh, Pop, I think
surprise
is an optimistic understatement
This
is more along the lines of a guided missile set to detonate any second. It’s going to take a lot of getting used to for a lot of people, not to mention all the attention it’s going to attract. A story like this one is going to make a lot of headlines. Are you sure you want to have to deal with all of that?”

His father looked him full in the face and all traces of the doting grandfather vanished. He looked every bit what he was, a man in control of his own fate, a man who would bend to no one and followed only his own rules. “At this point, Adonis, I don’t give a damn
who
gets upset. This is the right thing to do and I’m going to do it I’ve taken the easy way out for too long. I’m not about to leave this world without putting this right. And as far as headlines are concerned, who cares? People always have something to say, so we’ll just give them something to talk about.” He went back to playing with the baby as though they’d been discussing nothing more important than the weather.

Donnie walked across the sunny living room to embrace Angelique, who had stopped unpacking to listen to what was being said. Putting his long arms around her, he kissed her hair, then her face, and murmured, “Well, Angel, at least being a Cochran isn’t dull.”

She leaned against the comforting warmth of her husband’s body and nodded in agreement. Being a part of his family was many things, but none of them were boring. And things were about to get a lot livelier.

Chapter One

“Ladies, we
’
re running out of bachelors. Here it is April and the auction is set for May and there just aren’t as many candidates as there were last year,” Michaela said sadly. She and her
sorors
were gathered to discuss the lineup for the annual Bachelor Auction that was a major fundraiser for their group. Her announcement drew noises of protest from her tablemates.

“What do you mean we’re running out?” asked Erica, her pretty face creased in alarm. “Didn’t you call the ones we used last year?”

Michaela sighed deeply. “Of course I did and the supply is short, I’m telling you. Church bells have been going off like nobody’s business around here. Dr. Warren Alexander is now happily married, Vincent Hankins is also married, and Pierre Rollins has moved to Cleveland.”

Nicole’s expression brightened. “Well, heck, Cleveland isn’t that far, I’m sure he’d come back for the weekend. It’s a good cause, after all,” she said confidently.

Michaela was shaking her head as she put her stemmed goblet of water down. “Pierre moved to Cleveland with his
new bride,”
she reported glumly. “And of course we all know that Donnie Cochran got married.
Twice!”

“Yes, he did,” agreed one of the women. “He eloped last Valentine’s Day and then he and his wife renewed their vows
with a beautiful wedding
on their anniversary this year. I can’t get hooked up one time and they did it
two times.
I’m so jealous.”

A collective sigh went around the table, broken by the snap of someone’s fingers. “Well, what about
Adam
Cochran? He’s always glad to do it and he’s not married yet.” This comment came from the happily engaged
Sarita
. Her pretty, round face took on a look of extreme surprise at
th
e reaction brought on by her words.

“No, no, no!
No
t Adam Cochran, anybody but him!
”
All eyes turned to the speaker, Katina Warren. Katina immediately held up her hand in the easily recognized “don’t even go there” signal. Her sorority sisters didn’t have long to wait to find out the reason for her vehemence.

“Adam Cochran is too
weird.
He may be the best-looking man in Detroit, but he’s crazy. And there’s no point to asking him, because he’ll do
th
e same thing he always does. He says sure, no problem, he’ll be glad to. Everybody gets all excited about winning a date with him, but he
brings that so-called business partner of his and hands her his checkbook. Then, as soon as there’s a really high bid, she doubles it, writes out a check, and he disappears into the night. What fun is that? He’s disappointed too many women over the years. It’s just not fair,” she said, pouting.

The women tried to cover their amusement with varying degrees of success.
Sarita
immediately defended Adam.

“Don’t say that, he’s not crazy. He’s different, that’s for sure, but he isn’t crazy by a long shot I dated him, remember, and he’s a wonderful guy, very romantic and sexy, and he treated me like a queen. And if it wasn’t for Adam I might not have met my Derrick,” she said, waving her three-carat ring as a reminder. “He’s the one who introduced us and look how that turned out
.
”

Michaela smiled in memory. “You must admit that Adam is eccentric. He asked me to go to a concert once and I got all excited, thinking we were going to see Prince, and he took me to see
Placido
Domingo. Me, who’d never been to an opera in my life,” she said fondly.

Katina pointed her finger at Michaela and made a face of triumph. “See what I mean? I told you he was weird. Who wants to hear some stupid aria when Prince is in town?”

“Hey, I didn’t say I hated it, did I? I developed quite a taste for opera after that night. And he cooked me a delicious late supper afterward, too. It was a wonderful evening, as a matter of fact.” Michaela smiled dreamily and winked at
Sarita
. “And I ended up meeting my husband at the symphony one night, so he actually did me a big favor."

Katina was on a roll, however. “He’s got that horrible long hair, he never commits to anything, and he never does what he’s supposed to do. I say forget about him and let’s find some real men for the auction.”

The other five women at the table stared at Katina and someone said what was on all their minds. “You seem to be taking this all quite personally,
soror
. What exactly did Adam
do
to you?”

Katina struggled with her response,
then
it all came out in a heated rush of words. “He asked me to go up north with him one weekend and I’m thinking we’re going to the Grand Traverse Lodge or someplace luxurious like that, someplace with a big casino and a fireplace in the room and a four-star restaurant. He took me up north, all right
Camping
;” she said venomously. “Can you believe it? He actually expected me to sleep in a tent and cook out over a fire!”

The other women burst into simultaneous laughter. “It’s not funny,” Katina said crossly, her cute little face taking on an unbecoming red hue. “I got my hair done, a manicure and a pedicure, and bought a
n expensive
Tracy Reese
frock
to dazzle him and this joker takes me into the woods where the critters are! It was the shortest camping trip in history because we had to come back to Detroit that very night. I wasn’t staying in the wilds with that maniac,” she huffed.

Sarita
and Michaela winked at each other and spoke in unison. “That’s why you’re so ticked off; you don’t know what you missed out on, girl.” They were giving each other a discreet high five when a voice that sounded as rich as one-hundred-year-old cognac cut into the conversation.

“Good evening, ladies. How is everyone this evening?”

Adam Cochran loomed over their table wearing a perfectly fitted c
ashmere sport coat and a perfectl
y charming smile. Everyone returned the smile but Katina, who was frozen in a posture of utter horror.
How the devil did he sneak up like that? Dear Lord, he didn't hear me, did he? And why does he have to look so darned good?