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Frazier also knew Roland had married for love and was still grieving his wife’s death, even after all this time. Roland had made it pretty clear that he didn’t intend to ever marry again.
While being trapped in a loveless marriage would have been horrible, was falling in love any better? Look at the pain it had caused Roland, his brother.
His brother…
The road to accepting Roland as his brother had not been an easy one for him, just like he knew it hadn’t been an easy one for Roland. But he understood why. Although Connelly blood flowed through Roland’s veins, he hadn’t been accepted as a true Connelly. And for years, Roland hadn’t seemed to care one iota about his connection to the Connellys--Until Margo had been in danger. That had been a game changer—for the both of them.
Needing to dismiss all negative thoughts from his mind, Frazier placed his wine glass aside and pressed thepower button on his remote to shift his leather chair into a reclining position.
He then pressed another button on the remote that operated the sound system in the room. As a Christmas gift, Margo had given him something she thought he needed—the relaxing app,Unwind. Although she had streamed it to his cell phone as well as his home sound system, it had taken him a while to find the time to listen to it. Once he had, he wished he’d done so sooner.
He had immediately been absorbed into the sultry voice belonging to the woman who narrated the nightly meditations. He’d been so caught up in her soothing tones that he’d started listening to her “night-time” stories as a way to relax before going to bed. However, instead of falling asleep, he found himself staying awake and imagining what the woman with such a seductive voice looked like.
And it didn’t stop there. When he discovered that the woman—who called herself Electra—had also narrated several audio-books, he’d downloaded them too. Although he much preferred the feel of a real book in his hands, he discovered the sound of her voice enhanced the pleasure of whatever book he was reading, whether fiction or non-fiction.
He settled in his seat and closed his eyes as the soothing sound of Electra’s voice began to release all the tension and anxiety from his body. It wasn’t easy running a corporation that employed close to a thousand employees.
Frazier couldn’t think of a better way to relax and clear his mind than to sit in a quiet place and listen to Electra. If only he could hear her in person…
LENNOX CHECKED THE TIMERto see how much longer before the cookies would be ready to come out the oven. Whenever she baked, she thought about her grandmother who’d taught her to do so. After her mother had died when she was a teenager, her paternal grandmother had moved to South Dakota to help her father raise her. Now with both of them gone she had no family left. When she and DeWalt had met, he hadn’t had any family either. She believed that was one of the reasons they’d bonded so easily. Together they had become a family. When he died, she’d felt all alone again. There were days she still did. That’s when she enjoyed baking the most.
A short while later she took the last tray of cookies out of the oven to cool. The batch she’d baked earlier would be for her colleagues when she returned to work on Monday. But this batch was for her new neighbors. When she had arrived last night, after being gone all last week attending the Forensic Science Convention, she had seen several empty boxes in the hallway by their door.
Although being at the convention last week for the first time since she’d lost DeWalt had been hard, it had been good to see former colleagues from the medical examiner’s office where they’d both worked for a while. Right before their engagement had been announced, he had gotten a promotion to head up the ME office at the Veterans Administration hospital in Boston. She had remained at police headquarters. It was the first time they’d worked for separate employers.
Dr. Steve Owens had hired her and DeWalt right out of medical school and, over the years, he’d been like a father figure to them. It was good to talk to him again—he was still the kind and thoughtful man he’d always been. At one point, he’d become a little emotional when he’d admitted that even after almost five years, he was still shaken by DeWalt’s death.
Steve told her that he would be retiring next year and suggested that she might want to consider returning to Boston to take over his top position. Everyone knew and understood why she’d left Boston four years ago. She’d needed to get on with her life without DeWalt and there was no way she could have done that if she’d stayed. And nothing had really changed—the wound was almost as fresh as it had been four years ago. So she’d thanked Steve, but admitted she couldn’t see herself moving back anytime soon.
She glanced out her kitchen window, thinking she would take it easy for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, after church, she’d settle in at home and watch a few movies. That way, she could be in bed by eight, and be well-rested for Monday.
Lennox heard a ding from the elevator, followed by the opening and closing of the door across the hall. She hadn’t heard those sounds since Richard had moved out and was glad to know someone else would be occupying the fifth floor.
It had been rather lonely with the condo vacant, although there had been weeks when she wouldn’t see Richard even when he did live across the hall. Still, just knowing he was there had made her feel safe…especially on those nights when she worked late or would have to leave in the middle of the night to follow up on a homicide case.
A short while later, the cookies had cooled and she had placed them in a cute basket, which also contained a bottle of wine. She was ready to introduce herself to her new neighbors and present them with a welcome gift. The Perkins had done something similar for her when she’d moved in and she had appreciated the gesture.
Leaving her apartment, she headed toward the door that was located diagonally across from hers. One of the things she liked about this particular condo complex was the spaciousness. When you stepped off the elevator, you entered a massive lobby that served both condos.
She especially liked the lobby’s huge floor to ceiling window that overlooked historical downtown Charlottesville. There was also a sofa and a huge bookcase. She and Aggie had used it as their personal library, and the two of them would often sit in the lobby to chat while enjoying a glass of wine. Richard never used the lobby for anything and had once referred to it as wasted space. She hoped her new neighbors didn’t feel the same way.
Moments later, she was standing in front of the huge oak door which was identical to hers. She pressed the doorbell and when a minute…or two…had passed and no one answered—although she could hear music—she figured her new neighbors didn’t want to be disturbed.
Lennox was just turning to leave when the door opened and a deep, husky voice said, “May I help you?”
She turned back around and nearly dropped the basket. The man standing there appeared as shocked as she was. They said each other’s name at the same time.
“Roland?”
“Lennox?”
• • •
Roland blinked. Why was Lennox Roswell standing in front of his door with a basket in her hands? His gaze roamed over her, taking in her appearance. Instead of stilettos, she was wearing tennis shoes, which made her appear a lot shorter than he’d assumed she was. And she had all that hair, that usually flowed around her shoulders, confined beneath a baseball cap. But damn, she looked cute wearing it.
“You’re my new neighbor?” she asked, staring at him with wide eyes.
He blinked again.Her new neighbor? “I moved in here last week. Where do you live?”
