Stone Cold Surrender (26 page)

“Four
brothers
and
one
sister.
Delaney,
who
we
call
Laney,
is
the
baby.”

Madison
frowned.
“Delaney
Westmoreland?
Now
where
have
I
heard
that
name
before?”

Stone
chuckled.
“Probably
read
about
her.
People

magazine
did
a
spread
on
her
almost
a
year
and
a
half
ago
when
she
married
a
prince
from
the
Middle
East
by
the

name
of
Jamal
Ari
Yasir.”

A
huge
smile
touched
Madison’s
face.
“That’s
right,
I

remember
reading
that
article.
Essence
magazine
did
an
article
on
her,
as
well.
Wow!
I
remember
reading
it

during…”

Stone
glanced
over
at
her
to
see
why
she
hadn’t
finished
what
she
was
about
to
say.
Her
smile
was
no
longer
there.
“During
what?”

She
met
his
gaze
briefly
before
he
returned
it
to
the
road.

“During
the
time
I
broke
up
with
my
fiancé.
It
was
good

reading
something
as
warm,
loving
and
special
as
the
story
about
your
sister
and
her
prince;
especially
after
finding
out
what
a
toad
my
own
fiancé
was.”

“What
did
he
do?”

Madison
glanced
down
at
her
hands
that
were
folded
in
her

lap
before
glancing
over
at
Stone.
His
eyes
were
on
the

road
but
she
knew
that
she
had
his
complete
attention
and
was
waiting
for
her
response.
“I
found
out
right
before
our
wedding
that
he’d
been
having
an
affair.
He
came
up
with
a
lot
of
reasons
why
he
did
it,
but
none
were
acceptable.”

“Hell,
I
should
hope
not,”
Stone
said
with
more
than
a
hint
of
anger
in
his
voice.
“The
man
was
a
fool.”

“And
she
was
a
model.”

Stone
lifted
a
brow.
“Who?”

“The
woman
he
was
sleeping
with.
He
said
that
that

justified
his
behavior.
He
believed
he
was
actually
using
her
so
as
not
to
wear
me
down.
He
wanted
to
preserve
me
for
later.”

A
dark
frown
covered
Stone’s
face.
“He
actually
said
that?”

“Yes.
Cedric
was
quite
a
character.”

Stone
didn’t
want
to
get
too
personal,
but
he
couldn’t
help
asking,
“So
the
two
of
you
never,
ahh,
never
slept

together?”

Instead
of
looking
over
at
him
he
watched
as
she
quickly
glanced
out
the
window.
“Yes,
we
did
but
just
twice
during
the
two
years
we
were
together.”

Stone
shook
his
head.
“Like
I
said
before,
he
was
a
fool.”

Madison
leaned
back
comfortably
in
her
seat.
She
was

glad
Stone
felt
that
way.
Cedric
had
tried
to
convince
her

that
just
because
he’d
been
involved
in
one
affair
was
no

reason
to
call
off
their
wedding.
A
model,
he’d
tried
to

explain,
was
every
man’s
fantasy
girl.
That
didn’t
mean
he
had
loved
her
less,
it
only
meant
he
was
fulfilling
one
of
his
fantasies.
She
guessed
fulfillment
of
fantasies
came
before
fidelity.

“Tell
me
some
more
about
you,
Stone,”
she
said,
not

wanting
to
think
anymore
about
Cedric
and
the
pain
he
had
caused
her.

She
listened
for
the
next
few
miles
while
Stone
continued
to
tell
her
about
his
family.
He
talked
about
his
brother
Dare

who
was
a
sheriff
and
Chase
who
owned
a
restaurant
in

downtown
Atlanta.
Once
again
she
was
surprised
to

discover
that
he
had
another
well-known
sibling—Thorn

Westmoreland,
the
motorcycle
builder
and
racer
who
had
won
the
big
bike
race
in
Daytona
earlier
that
year.

“I’ve
seen
your
brother’s
bikes
and
they’re
beautiful.
He’s
very
skillful.”

“Yes,
he
is,”
he
said.
“He
got
married
last
month
and
is
in
the
process
of
teaching
his
wife
how
to
handle
a
bike.”

By
the
time
they
had
reached
the
Quinns’
ranch,
Madison

felt
she
knew
a
good
bit
about
Stone.
He
had
openly

shared
things
about
himself
and
the
people
he
cared
about.
She
knew
he
never,
ever
wanted
to
marry
but
was
proud

that
his
parents’
marriage
had
lasted
for
such
a
long
time.
And
he
was
genuinely
happy
for
his
sister
and
brothers
and
their
marriages.

When
they
pulled
the
truck
up
in
front
of
the
sprawling
ranch
house,
Madison
caught
her
breath.
It
was
breathtaking
and
like
nothing
she
had
ever
seen
before.
“This
place
is

beautiful,”
she
said
when
Stone
opened
the
truck
door
for
her
to
get
out.

He
laughed.
“If
you
think
this
place
leaves
you
gasping
for
air,
just
wait
until
you
see
Uncle
Corey’s
place.
Now
that
place
is
a
work
of
art.”

Madison
couldn’t
wait
to
see
it.
Nor
could
she
wait
to
see
her
mother.
Stone
must
have
read
the
look
in
her
eyes

because
he
gently
squeezed
her
hand
in
his,
giving
her
assurance.
“She’s
fine
and
you’ll
see
her
soon
enough.”

She
nodded.
Thankful.
Before
she
could
say
anything
a

woman,
who
appeared
to
be
in
her
middle
fifties,
came
out
the
front
door
of
the
house
with
a
huge
smile
on
her
face.

She
was
beautiful
and
it
was
quite
obvious
she
was
Native
American.
Her
dark
eyes
were
huge
in
her
angular
face.

She
had
high
cheekbones
and
long,
straight
black
hair
that
flowed
down
her
back.
“Why,
if
it
isn’t
Stone
Westmoreland.