Striker saw the surprised look on Roland’s face. He wasn’t sure what had Roland sliding back down in his chair—Connelly asking him to or his shock at Connelly’s words. Striker glanced over at Margo, and he could tell from her expression that she was probably wondering the same thing.
Deciding coffee was in order, Striker silently went over to the counter and poured two cups, which he then placed before the two men. He knew Roland took his black and shouldn’t have been surprised when Frazier did as well. Striker then sat back down. By rights, he knew he should leave since this was a family discussion. But since he knew the entire story anyway, he decided to stay put. Besides, Margo hadn’t asked him to leave. Whether she realized it or not, the fact that she hadn’t meant that she trusted him to a degree he found a bit overwhelming. He couldn’t recall the last time anyone, besides the men he worked with closely, had displayed that much confidence in him, and it meant a lot.
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” she asked in a soft voice.
“Yes,” Connelly finally said. “It’s about time you knew.”
Margo studied the two men. Had she really tapped into some family secret? What she’d told them earlier was the truth. They favored each other. Had no one ever pointed that fact out to them? Had they met before Uncle Frazier hired Roland’s firm?
“It seems,” her uncle Frazier started off by saying, “that my old man lived a double life...which I never suspected. He was so dedicated to Mom and all. It was only when he died that Murdock, Mom and I found out differently. His attorney advised us that someone by the name of Roland Summers had been notified to attend the reading of the will, but he wouldn’t tell us why.”
He paused a minute before continuing. “We found out the truth when Roland walked into the conference room. My father had been having an affair. An affair that had resulted in another son. It was hard to believe. Hard to stomach. Mom was furious and I was furious right along with her and we treated Roland awfully.”
Margo nodded. She could recall very little of her grandmother, who’d died of a heart attack a few years before Margo’s parents’ deaths. But she’d heard that Audrey Connelly had been quite a character. A pampered, spoiled and selfish debutante. On the other hand, she’d heard nothing but admirable qualities about her grandfather. She could imagine how his affair must have come as a shock. And to learn he’d had an illegitimate child had probably been too much for her grandmother. For any woman. But that was no excuse for the behavior she was hearing about now. It hadn’t been Roland’s fault. “How old was everyone?”
Roland took a sip of coffee and then spoke up. “I was eighteen and in my first year of college.”
Frazier tacked on, “I was twenty-five and had recently taken over running Connelly Enterprises after Dad’s early retirement. He’d always said he would step down and enjoy life when I could take over. Murdock was twenty-three and just finishing law school. He had married your mother the year before.”
Frazier paused a minute and then said, “Mom didn’t want to believe it and tried blocking what Dad bequeathed Roland, which was a sizable trust fund. I guess Dad anticipated she would make such a move and had hired some of the best attorneys to protect Roland’s interest so she couldn’t do a damn thing about it.”
Frazier took another sip of his coffee. “Mom became bitter, broken and vicious toward Roland and his mother.” He then turned to face Roland. “What I’m embarrassed about, Roland, is that I allowed her to do that. I also allowed her feelings to affect me. I saw accepting you as my brother as being disloyal to Mom.”
Margo nodded. “What about Dad? Did he feel the same way you did?”
Frazier shook his head and smiled slightly. “No. In fact, Murdock took the position that I should have taken as the oldest. He felt Roland was not to blame for our father’s indiscretions, and that Mom and I were treating him unfairly. No matter what Mom and I said, Murdock did not let us keep him from reaching out to Roland, establishing a place in his life as his brother.”
Good for him, Margo thought. She’d always known her father was a special man, one who wouldn’t let his mother rule him. She’d heard about her father standing up to his mother when she disapproved of his marriage to Margo’s mother.
“I’m surprised Dad didn’t tell me about you at some point,” she said to Roland.
Roland hadn’t said anything while Uncle Frazier spoke but had sat there listening, studying the contents in his coffee cup. Finally he glanced over at Margo and said, “He wanted to, but I advised him not to. Although Murdock wasn’t ashamed that I was his brother, I didn’t want to be the cause of any more trouble in the Connelly family. I figured he could tell you about me when you got older and could understand and accept things.”
But that time never came because of her parents’ deaths, Margo thought. She was suddenly filled with deep emotions. Roland Summers was her uncle. And just like her father had claimed him, she would as well.
“So, as my newest uncle, what’s your take on all of this? Regarding how shabbily you were treated by the Connellys?”
Roland stared at her, and she couldn’t help but smile.
“Yes, I am my father’s daughter. Even Uncle Frazier will attest to that.”
“Yes, I will,” Frazier said, grinning, reaching over and tugging on a lock of her hair.
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s all in the past,” Roland said.
Frazier turned again to Roland and, with a serious expression on his face, said, “I can’t undo how Mom and I treated you, but I can and will say I’m sorry about it. I was wrong to get angry with Murdock when he—” Uncle Frazier paused and quickly glanced at Margo “—when he helped you out that time. I don’t blame you for anything.” He stood from the table. “Will you accept my apology?”
Roland looked at Frazier’s outstretched hand and then he stood as well and took it. “Yes, apology accepted.”
Margo had a feeling there was more she didn’t know. When had her father helped Roland out and what didn’t her uncle Frazier blame him for? She’d discovered so much today that maybe it was best if she didn’t push. It was obviously an emotional topic for her uncles. She wanted to savor this good news on a day that had brought so much bad already. And she trusted they would tell her in their own time.
Striker hadn’t said anything. Considering his relationship with Roland, she wondered if he’d known. If he did that would certainly explain his intense desire to protect her and his reluctance to be intimately involved with her.
A part of her appreciated Striker for choosing that moment to speak up and get things back on track by asking, “So, what’s the plan regarding relocating Margo?”
Both men sat back down. “Our family owns a ski cabin in Jackson Hole, Wyoming,” her uncle Frazier said.
“That can easily be traced if it’s listed anywhere as part of your family’s assets. Until we know whether or not the assassin is working alone or with someone, I’d rather we didn’t take any chances,” Roland replied, rubbing his jaw in thought.
He looked over at Margo and Striker. “I’ll have a plan in place within ten hours and will need the two of you ready to move out when you’re contacted. In the meantime, stay on your guard.”
*
STRIKER CLOSED AND locked the door after the two men left. He turned and watched Margo remove all the trash from the kitchen table. She wasn’t saying anything, and he couldn’t help wondering what she was thinking. A lot of stuff had been dumped on her today. And something of vast importance had been revealed about her family. He had admired her attitude and easy acceptance of Roland.
“Need my help?” he asked her.
Without bothering to even look up at him, she said, “No, I’ve got this.”