Stone Cold Surrender (4 page)

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Authors: Brenda Jackson

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #General, #Contemporary, #Arts&Photography

BOOK: Stone Cold Surrender
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Rock
Mason?”

He
smiled,
glad
that
she
had
at
least
heard
of
Rock
Mason.
“Yes.”

“Oh,
my
gosh!
My
mother
has
read
every
single
book
you’ve
written.
She
is
an
avid
fan
of
yours.”

His
smile
widened.
“What
about
you?
Have
you
read
any
of
my
books?”

She
gazed
at
him
with
regret.
“No,
I
usually
don’t
have
time
to
read
for
pleasure,
but
from
what
I
understand
you’re
a

gifted
author.”

“Thanks.”

“A
few
of
my
girlfriends
are
in
book
clubs
and
they
select

your
books
to
read
and
discuss
whenever
they
hit
the

bookstores.
You
have
quite
a
following
in
Boston.
Have
you
ever
visited
there?”

“Yes,
I
did
a
book
signing
in
Boston
a
couple
of
years
ago
and
thought
it
was
a
beautiful
city.”

Madison
beamed.
“It
is.
I
love
Boston
and
can’t
imagine
myself
living
anywhere
else.
I
even
attended
Boston

University
because
I
didn’t
want
to
leave
home.”

At
that
moment
they
were
interrupted
as
the
flight
attendant

stopped
to
serve
them
drinks
and
a
snack.

“So
are
you
headed
for
Montana
on
business?”
Stone

asked.
He
remembered
her
saying
something
earlier
about
needing
to
get
there
rather
quickly.
He
watched
as
she
took
a
bite
of
her
muffin
and
immediately
felt
his
libido
register
the
single
crumb
that
clung
to
the
side
of
her
mouth.
If
that
wasn’t
bad
enough,
she
took
a
long
sip
of
coffee
and

closed
her
eyes.
Seconds
later,
as
if
the
coffee
was
the

best
she’d
ever
tasted,
she
reopened
her
eyes.
He
saw
the
play
of
emotions
across
her
face
as
she
thought
about
his
question.

“No,
my
visit
to
Montana
is
strictly
personal.”
Then
she
studied
him
for
a
moment
as
if
making
a
decision
about
something
and
said,
“I’m
going
to
Montana
to
find
my

mother.”

Stone
lifted
a
brow.
“Oh?
Is
she
missing?”

Madison
leaned
back
against
her
seat,
seemingly

frustrated.
“Yes.
She
and
a
couple
of
other
women
from

Boston
flew
to
Montana
two
weeks
ago
to
tour
Yellowstone
National
Park.”
She
looked
down
and
studied
her
coffee

before
adding
in
a
low
voice,
“All
the
other
women
returned
except
my
mother.”

He
heard
the
deep
concern
in
her
voice.
“Have
you
heard
from
her?”

She
nodded
her
head.
“Yes.
She
left
a
message
on
my

answering
machine
letting
me
know
that
she
had
decided
to
extend
her
vacation
another
two
weeks.”

A
part
of
Madison
wondered
why
she
was
disclosing
such
information
to
Stone,
a
virtual
stranger.
The
only
reason
she
could
come
up
with
was
that
she
needed
to
talk
to

someone
and
Stone
Westmoreland
seemed
like
a
nice

enough
guy
to
listen.
Besides,
she
needed
an
unbiased

ear.

“She
left
a
message
that
she’s
extending
her
vacation
yet
you’re
going
to
Montana
to
look
for
her
anyway?”

Stone’s
question,
and
the
way
he
had
asked
it,
let
her
know
he
didn’t
understand.
“Yes,
because
there’s
a
man

involved.”

He
nodded
slowly.
“Oh,
I
see.”

Frankly,
he
really
didn’t
see
at
all
and
evidently
his

expression
revealed
as
much
because
she
then
said,
“You
might
not
think
there’s
reason
for
concern,
Mr.

Westmoreland,
but—”

“Stone.
Please
call
me
Stone.”

She
smiled.
“All
right.”
Then
she
started
explaining
herself
again.
“There
is
good
reason
for
my
concern,
Stone.
My
mother
hasn’t
done
anything
like
this
before.”

He
nodded
again.
“So
you
think
that
perhaps
there
has
been
some
sort
of
foul
play?”

She
shook
her
head,
denying
that
possibility.
“No,
I
think
it
has
something
to
do
with
her
going
through
some
sort
of
midlife
crisis.
She
turned
fifty
a
couple
of
months
ago,
and
until
that
time
she
was
completely
normal.”

Stone
took
a
sip
of
his
coffee.
He
remembered
what

happened
when
his
mother
turned
fifty.
She
decided
that

she
wanted
to
go
back
to
school
and
start
working
outside
of
the
home.
His
father
almost
had
a
fit
because
he
was

one
of
those
traditional
men
who
believed
a
woman’s
work
was
in
the
home
raising
kids.
But
his
mother
had
made
up
her
mind
about
what
she
wanted
to
do
and
nothing
was

going
to
stop
her.
Since
his
baby
sister,
Delaney,
had
gone
off
to
college
and
there
weren’t
any
kids
left
at
home
to

raise,
his
father
had
finally
given
in.

He
shifted
his
thoughts
to
Madison’s
mother.
Personally,
he
saw
nothing
abnormal
with
a
woman
disappearing
in
the

wilds
of
Montana
with
a
man,
if
that’s
what
she
wanted
to

do.
However,
from
the
worried
expression
on
Madison’s

face,
she
evidently
thought
otherwise.

“So
what
do
you
plan
on
doing
when
you
find
her?”
he

asked
curiously.
After
all,
she
was
still
the
daughter
and
her
mother
was
still
the
mother.
He
had
learned
from

experience
that
parents
felt
they
could
do
whatever
pleased

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