She’d known that taking on the responsibility of raising her after her parents’ deaths hadn’t been easy for him. Not that he had ever complained. He’d always been there for her, although at times, especially during her teen years, she’d thought he was a little too controlling.
“What are you thinking about, Uncle Frazier?” she asked, getting up and joining him at the window to look out as well. Light snow was expected in Charlottesville during the end of January, but the snow that had fallen earlier had been heavier than usual, just like the forecasters had predicted. In the distance she could see it covered the top of the mountains.
“Too much snow for you?” she asked. Margo knew how much he hated cold weather. The times he’d visited her in New York had been during the summer months.
He chuckled, something she liked hearing since he rarely did it. Sometimes she wondered about him, especially when he got into one of his pensive moods. It was as if he was trying to deal with some major regrets. What were they? Would he ever share them with her?
“I was just remembering a day similar to this one,” he finally said. “There was a lot of snow. And your father talked me into going outside and building a snowman with him.”
Frazier chuckled again. “Crazy me, I did it, instead of refusing and throwing my weight around as the oldest. Your dad had that ability to convince me to do something I really didn’t want to do.” He got quiet for a minute and then said, seeming thoughtful, “At least with most things.” He paused a moment. “Anyway, we had fun that day, although afterward I caught a bad cold and had to stay out of school for a week.”
Margo smiled. She loved whenever he shared fond memories with her. He and her father had been close at one time... At least that was the impression her uncle gave when he reminisced about their childhood. She knew something happened to the brothers as adults that had placed a wedged between them, and to this day she had no idea what it had been. She’d asked, but he refused to say. In fact, he dismissed her assumptions as untrue.
“I have to be honest—you had me worried there for a minute, Uncle Frazier.”
He looked down at her. “About what?”
“The reason for your preoccupied expression. I thought you were about to break the news that you’ve decided to get married or something.”
He snorted and said, “Not hardly.”
His words, especially the way he’d said them, made Margo wonder if there was trouble in paradise. He’d been with Liz for over a year now, longer than any other woman. After he moved Liz into his home, Margo rarely visited him at the estate, and he knew why. It was obvious whenever she and Liz were in the same room that they couldn’t get along. Heaven knew she’d tried, but it was as if the woman saw her as competition. Liz wanted Frazier for herself and didn’t intend to share him with any woman. Not even a niece. How crazy was that?
“I’m glad you’re going along with me about the bodyguard, Margo.”
She frowned as she glanced up at him. Had she really agreed? In a way she guessed she had. The last thing she wanted was for him to worry needlessly about her. “I’ll give one a try...but this bodyguard better be forewarned not to get underfoot. I have a lot of work to do. An order came in while I was sequestered and the woman will be dropping by tomorrow morning for measurements. Although it’s a September wedding, I want to get started right away.”
“Why the rush?”
“I’d like to take this summer off. Possibly visit Apollo and his family in London.”
“That would be nice.”
She wasn’t finished yet. “And another thing, Uncle Frazier,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I think you forget sometimes that I’m twenty-six and live on my own and am very independent. Just because I’m going along with you on this, I hope you don’t think you can start bulldozing your way with me.”
He glowered at her. “You’re stubborn like your father.”
She smiled. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Dropping her hands, she moved back toward the sofa and sat down, grabbing a magazine off the coffee table to flip through. “So, when do we hire this bodyguard?”
“He’s been hired. In fact, I expect him to arrive in a few minutes.”
Margo’s head jerked up. “What?! You hired him without consulting me?”
“I saw no need. He came highly recommended, Margo. I understand he’s good at what he does and that’s what I want.”
That wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to vet her own bodyguard. The last thing she needed was someone breathing down her neck, watching her every move and telling her what she could and could not do, which was exactly what the sort of man her uncle hired would do.
“And I hope you follow his orders, Margo. His job is to keep you alive.”
She scowled at him. “Since he came so highly recommended, I’m sure that he will.”
Margo drew in a deep breath. She hated being a smart mouth; however, the thought of another man crowding her space for any reason—even to keep her alive—didn’t sit well with her. She and Scott had lived in separate apartments and had tossed around the idea of moving in together. He was more for it than she was. During the weekends he had stayed over at her place, she’d been more than ready for him to leave on Monday morning. He never picked up after himself and depended on her to do practically everything. She’d begun to feel like his personal assistant rather than his lover.
She leaned back against the sofa. Her uncle moved from the window to take the chair across from her. “So what do you know about this person whose presence I have to put up with for no telling how long?” she asked. “Who recommended him, Uncle Frazier?”
There was a long pause. Hadn’t her uncle heard her question? Just in case, she repeated it.
“Someone I know.”
“So this person has used him before?”
“Not sure.”
She lifted a brow. “Yet you’ve taken his word for it?” She could tell her questions were agitating him. She was ready to dig deeper when the doorbell rang.
“I hope that’s him,” her uncle said, standing quickly.
She stood as well. A part of her hoped it wasn’t him. Why did she feel certain her life would be changing? Probably because it would. A madman was on the loose. A killer for hire. Did Murphy Erickson really think he would be set free from prison? If nothing else, these additional deaths were on his hands. Had the man forgotten that Virginia was a death-penalty state? Did he care?
Margo moved toward the door, her uncle right on her heels. She started to say something and decided not to waste her time. What was the point? Her uncle had arranged for her to have a bodyguard regardless of whether she wanted one or not.
Upon reaching the door, she turned to her uncle. “Like I said, I won’t have him underfoot, Uncle Frazier.”
“If it means keeping you alive, I don’t care if he’s underarm,” he responded tersely.
She rolled her eyes before
