“Roland?”
He glanced around and smiled when he saw Quasar’s wife, Randi. She had been out of town in Montana, assisting law enforcement on a missing child case when he’d returned. Thanks to Randi’s psychic abilities, the child had been found, shaken but safe.
“Hello, Randi.”
“I’m glad you returned okay.”
“I have you to thank for that. We managed to get out of that cabin in time.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank Becca.”
His brow raised. “Becca?”
“Yes. Didn’t Quasar tell you?”
Roland frowned. “Tell me what?”
“The reason I knew you were in trouble was because Becca came to me in a dream. It was more of a vision than a dream, actually. But she was adamant that I warn you about what was going on.”
Roland drew in a deep breath. “But you never met Becca.”
The corners of Randi’s mouth lifted into a smile. “I’ve never met most of the dead people who come to me.”
Roland placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans to keep them from shaking. He used to dream about Becca all the time, but hadn’t had a single dream since the night she’d closed that door shut between them.
“What did she say?” he asked, feeling a deep lump settle in his throat.
“She said that you and the woman you loved were in danger. That the two of you needed to leave the cabin immediately and had only ten minutes to get away.”
“The woman I loved?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes. Those were her exact words.” Randi glanced around when she heard her son calling out for her. “I’m being summoned by you know who. I’ll talk to you later.”
Alone again, Roland thought about what Randi had told him. Specifically, the words Becca had used. Why on earth would his late wife think he was in love with Lennox?
Because you are.
He felt a quickening in the pit of his stomach when the realization hit and hit hard. He could deny it all he wanted, but it was the undeniable truth. He did love Lennox. Suddenly, everything made perfect sense. That was why he couldn’t get her off his mind. Why he drove by her place every night to check on her; and why the thought of Special Agent Warner pursuing her bothered the hell out of him.
Damn. He needed something to drink and he wasn’t talking about the punch Joy had made. He needed something stronger. Then when he pulled himself together, he would leave here and go to Lennox.
Roland was crossing the yard to where Striker had a cooler filled with beer and wine-coolers when he saw Frazier arrive with a very attractive woman by his side. He figured she was Rylee, the woman Margo had been dying to meet.
He opened the cooler, grabbed a beer and had pulled the tab to take a gulp when he heard Frazier approach. “Glad you’re back safe and sound, Roland.”
He glanced up and met Frazier’s eyes and saw the sincerity in his brother’s words. Neither he nor Frazier were big on displaying emotions, but drawing in a deep breath, Roland took the initiative to do something he rarely did--he reached out and gave his brother a huge bear hug. “I’m glad to be back safe and sound, too, Frazier.”
This was an emotional moment for them both. Glancing over Frazier’s shoulder, he saw Margo grinning.
“We still need to have that talk, Roland. But not now. There’s someone I want you to meet. Her name is Rylee.”
Roland smiled. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
• ••
It was close to nine that night when Lennox returned home from visiting with Aggie, Harry and little Oriel. She had enjoyed her visit with them and had had a lot to tell them, since she hadn’t spoken with them since the shooting at her condo. They fully understood her not wanting to move back there.
Entering her new temporary home, Lennox glanced around after closing and locking the door behind her. She enjoyed living here. It was a nice community and the neighbors she had met so far--though older in age--were nice and friendly.