Stone Cold Surrender (14 page)

But
his
brothers
Dare
and
Thorn
had
been
dead
set

against
marrying
anytime
soon,
if
ever.
He
clearly

understood
why
Dare
had
wed
since
Shelly
had
been

Dare’s
true
love.
When
she
had
returned
to
town
after

having
been
gone
ten
years,
and
with
a
son
Dare
hadn’t
known
existed,
it
had
been
understandable
that
the
two
would
get
back
together
and
make
a
home
for
their
child.
But
a
sense
of
obligation
had
nothing
to
do
with
Dare’s
marriage
to
Shelly.
His
brother
loved
Shelly,
plain
and

simple.

Now
there
hadn’t
been
anything
plain
and
simple
about

Thorn’s
marriage
to
Tara.
Thorn
was
the
last
Westmoreland
anyone
expected
to
marry
and
he
was
a
prime
example
of
what
instant
attraction
could
do
to
you
if
you
weren’t
careful.

“Well,
I
can’t
imagine
anything
like
that
happening
with
my
mother,”
Madison
said
defiantly,
recapturing
Stone’s

attention.
“Does
your
uncle
have
a
phone
up
on
his

mountain?”

Stone
nodded
his
head.
“Yes.”

“Then
I
need
the
number.
I
want
to
call
my
mother
and
let
her
know
I’m
on
my
way
up
there.”

Durango,
who
had
been
quiet
all
this
time,
ended
his

silence
with
a
chuckle.
“You
might
have
a
problem
reaching
them,”
he
said,
not
taking
his
eyes
off
the
road.

“Why?”
Madison
asked
curiously.
“Are
the
phone
lines
down
or
something?”

“No,
but
I’ve
tried
calling
Uncle
Corey
for
the
past
several
days
to
remind
him
that
Stone
was
coming
for
a
visit
and
he’s
not
answering
his
phone.”

Madison
arched
a
dark
brow.
“He’s
not
answering
his

phone?
But—but
what
if
something
has
happened
to
them
and
they
can’t
get
to
the
phone.
What
if—”

“They
don’t
want
to
be
disturbed,
Madison?”
Stone

suggested.
He
saw
her
eyes
shift
from
the
back
of

Durango’s
head
over
to
him.
He
could
tell
from
her

expression
that
his
comment
had
conjured
up
numerous

possibilities
in
her
mind,
but
there
was
no
hope
for
it.
At

some
point
she
needed
to
accept
that
her
mother
had

decided
to
extend
her
vacation
by
two
weeks
because
she
had
wanted
to,
and
not
because
she
had
been
forced
to.
As
far
as
Stone
was
concerned,
the
same
held
true
with

Madison’s
mother
being
on
that
mountain.
It
didn’t
seem

that
his
uncle
had
forced
the
woman,
so
chances
were
she
was
just
where
she
wanted
to
be.
Sooner
or
later
Madison
would
have
to
realize
that.

She
didn’t
answer
his
question.
Instead
she
turned
back
to
the
car
window
and
looked
out
at
the
scenery
again.
Stone
inhaled
deeply
and
turned
back
around
in
his
seat.
At
least

he
had
her
thinking
and
for
the
moment
perhaps
that
was
the
best
thing.

Three

W
hat
if
Mom
doesn’t
want
to
be
disturbed
like
Stone
suggested?

That
thought
ran
through
Madison’s
mind
as
she
studied

the
mountains
and
the
ripened
green
pastures
they
passed.
She
couldn’t
help
but
think
of
all
the
things
she
knew
about
her
mother.

The
two
of
them
were
close
and
always
had
been,
but
there
were
some
things
a
mother
didn’t
share
with
a
daughter

and
Madison
was
smart
enough
to
know
that.
It
came
as
no
surprise
that
she
had
never
thought
of
her
mother
as
a

sensual
being.
To
her,
she
was
simply
Mom,
although
she
had
always
thought
her
mother
was
a
very
beautiful
woman.

Stone’s
comment
was
forcing
her
to
see
her
mother

through
different
eyes.
One
thing
she
knew
for
certain
was
that,
since
her
father’s
death,
her
mother
hadn’t
shown
any
interest
in
a
man,
and
Madison
had
never
given
any
thought
as
to
whether
that
was
a
good
thing
or
not.
Usually,
when

Abby
Winters
went
to
social
functions,
she
attended
with

Ron
Carmichael,
a
widower
who
had
been
her
father’s

business
partner,
or
she
would
attend
with
some
other

family
friend.

Although
both
Durango
and
Stone
had
been
too
polite
to