Stone Cold Surrender (12 page)

Madison.
Is
someone
coming
to
pick
you
up
from
the
Silver
Arrow
or
can
I
give
you
a
lift?”

“I
don’t
want
to
put
you
to
any
trouble,
Mr.
Westmoreland.”

Durango
grinned
again.
“Just
call
me
Durango
and
there’s
no
trouble.
The
Silver
Arrow
is
on
the
way
to
my
ranch
and
is
nicely
situated
between
Bozeman
and
Yellowstone,
and
only
a
stone’s
throw
away
from
the
Wyoming
line.”

Madison
nodded.
“Thanks,
I’ll
be
glad
to
take
you
up
on
your
offer.
The
man
who
answered
the
phone
at
the
Silver
Arrow
said
the
guy
who
usually
picks
up
his
guests
was
ill
and
he
was
trying
to
find
a
replacement.”

Durango
reached
out
to
take
the
luggage
out
of
her
hand.
“Then
consider
it
done.”

Madison
sat
in
the
vehicle’s
back
seat.
Although
she
hated
being
in
Montana,
she
couldn’t
overlook
the
beauty
of
this
beautiful
June
day,
as
well
as
the
vast
country
surrounding
her.
It
was
magnificent
and
left
her
utterly
speechless.
The
Rocky
Mountains
were
all
around
and
the
meadows
were
drenched
with
wildflowers:
Red
Indian
Paintbrush
and
an

assortment
of
other
flowering
plants.
She
had
always
heard
about
the
beauty
of
being
under
a
Montana
sky
and
now

she
was
experiencing
it
firsthand.

They
were
traveling
down
a
two-lane
stretch
of
highway;

she
knew
they
were
a
stone’s
throw
away
from
Yellowstone
National
Park
and
hoped
that
she
could
tour
the
park

before
returning
to
Boston.

At
the
airport,
after
Stone
and
Durango
had
helped
with
her
luggage,
they
had
walked
out
to
where
Durango’s
SUV
was
parked
in
a
“no
parking
zone”
with
its
caution
lights
flashing.
She
smiled
when
she
saw
he
was
driving
a
nice,
sleek,

shiny
black
Dodge
Durango.

Stone
leaned
over
and
whispered
in
her
ear
that
Durango
owned
a
Dodge
Durango
because
he
was
conceited

enough
to
think
Dodge
had
named
the
vehicle
after
him.
Durango,
she
knew,
had
heard
Stone’s
comment
and
had
merely
laughed
it
off,
and
she
could
immediately
feel
the
closeness
between
the
two
men.

“So
how
long
do
you
think
you’re
going
to
stay
in
Montana
after
meeting
with
your
mother,
Madison?”
Stone
asked,

glancing
at
her
over
his
shoulder.
It
was
easy
to
see
how

captivated
she
was
with
the
beauty
of
the
land
surrounding
them.
Earlier,
she
had
said
that
she
would
probably
only
be
in
Montana
long
enough
to
talk
to
her
mother,
but
he
knew
that
Montana
had
a
way
of
growing
on
you.
And
he
had
to
admit
that
there
was
something
about
Madison
that
was

growing
on
him.
It
was
obvious
that
she
had
some
real

concerns
about
her
mother
and
more
than
anything
he

wanted
to
help
her
resolve
them.

He
watched
as
she
switched
her
gaze
from
the
scenery
to
him.
“I
know
what
I
said
earlier,
but
now
I’m
not
sure.
I
had
planned
to
leave
as
soon
as
I
had
talked
to
my
mother
but
I
might
decide
to
hang
around
awhile.
This
place
is

beautiful,’’
she
said,
taking
a
quick
glance
out
of
the

window
again.

She
turned
back
to
him
to
add,
“Since
school
is
out
for
the
summer
I
can
enjoy
myself.
I
seldom
take
vacations
during
the
summer
months.
Usually
I
give
private
music
lessons,
so
this
is
a
really
nice
break,
although
I
wished
it
was
a

planned
trip
rather
than
an
unplanned
one.”

Stone
really
didn’t
care
about
the
reason
she
was
in

Montana,
he
was
just
glad
that
she
was.
He
hoped
things

worked
out
between
her
and
her
mother
but
it
seemed
that
Madison
had
never
heard
of
anyone
acting
out
of
character.
He
had
a
feeling
that,
in
the
world
she
was
used
to,
things
went
according
to
plan
and
as
expected.

He
smiled
inwardly.
In
that
case,
his
family
would
take

some
getting
used
to
if
she
ever
met
them.
His
father
had
two
brothers.
Of
the
three
siblings,
their
uncle
Corey
was

the
only
single
one.
Never
having
been
married
and
the

youngest
of
the
three,
he
had
been
a
surrogate
father
to
his
eleven
nephews
and
one
niece.

Corey
had
left
Atlanta
to
attend
Montana
State
University
and
fell
in
love
with
the
land.
Once
he
had
a
job
as
a
park