Stone Cold Surrender (34 page)

and
placed
it
back
in
her
gear.
Then
he
walked
over
to
his
saddlebag
to
pull
out
his
own
sandwich
and
drink.
She

sighed.
Maybe
if
she
got
him
talking
about
his
uncle
she

just
might
be
able
to
clear
her
mind
of
hot,
steamy
thoughts.
She
figured
it
was
worth
a
try.

“Do
you
have
any
idea
who
in
Texas
is
trying
to
locate
your
uncle,
Stone?”
she
asked,
after
she
had
finished
off
the
last
of
her
sandwich.

He
walked
back
over
to
her
and
sat
down
on
the
stump

beside
her.
“No,
I
have
no
idea.
I
mentioned
it
to
Durango
and
he
didn’t
have
a
clue,
either.
We
decided
to
turn
it
over
to
Quade
and
let
him
solve
the
mystery.”

Madison
lifted
a
brow.
“Who?”

Stone
smiled.
“Quade.
He’s
one
of
Durango’s
brothers—
the
one
I
mentioned
was
a
twin.
He
used
to
be
a
secret

service
agent.
Now
he
works
for
the
government
in
some

behind-the-scenes
capacity.
We
don’t
have
a
clue
exactly
what
he
does.
We
see
him
when
we
see
him
and
don’t
ask
questions
when
we
do.
But
we
know
how
to
contact
him
if
we
ever
need
him
and
usually
within
seventy-two
hours
we’ll
hear
back
from
him.”

Madison
nodded.
“And
you
think
he
can
find
out
what’s
going
on?”

“He’ll
find
out.”

Madison
sat
quietly
for
a
moment
thinking
that
Stone

seemed
pretty
sure
of
his
cousin’s
abilities.
Her
thoughts
then
shifted
back
to
the
man
her
mother
had
run
off
with.

“Tell
me
about
Corey
Westmoreland,”
she
said,
feeling
the
need
to
know
as
much
about
him
as
she
could
since
she
would
be
coming
face-to-face
with
him
soon.

Stone
glanced
over
at
her
after
taking
a
sip
of
his
soda.
“Exactly
what
do
you
want
to
know?”

She
shrugged.
“What
I’m
really
curious
about
is
why

everyone
thinks
it’s
strange
for
him
to
have
a
woman
on
his
mountain.”

Stone’s
lips
lifted
into
a
smile.
“Mainly
because
as
long
as
I
can
remember
Uncle
Corey
claimed
it
would
never
happen.
He’s
been
involved
with
women
before
but
none
of
them

have
ever
been
granted
access
to
this
mountain.
He’s

always
drawn
the
line
as
to
how
much
of
his
life
he’s
been
willing
to
share
with
them.”

Madison
mulled
this
over
for
a
second
then
said,
“Yet
he
brought
my
mother
here?”

“Yes,
and
that’s
what
has
me,
Durango
and
the
Quinns
baffled.”

Madison
let
out
a
deep
sigh.
“Now
I’m
beginning
to
wonder
if
perhaps
they
did
know
each
other
before.”

Stone
stared
at
her.
“There
is
that
possibility,
but
if
I
were
you
I
wouldn’t
try
to
figure
it
out.
Tomorrow
you’ll
see
them
for
yourself
and
can
ask
all
the
questions
you
want.”

He
reached
across
the
distance
and
caught
one
of
her

hands
in
his
and
squeezed
it
gently.
“But
don’t
feel
bad
if
she
doesn’t
want
to
give
you
any
answers.
Maybe
it’s
time
for
you
to
let
your
mother
enjoy
her
life,
Madison.
After
all,
it’s
her
life
to
live,
isn’t
it?”

Although
a
frown
appeared
on
Madison’s
face,
she
didn’t
say
anything.
Nor
did
she
withdraw
her
hand
from
Stone’s.
All
along
he
had
given
her
food
for
thought
and
all
along
her
mind
had
refused
to
accept
what
was
becoming
obvious.

“So
when
I
see
Corey
Westmoreland,
what
should
I
expect?”

When
he
didn’t
answer
right
away,
Madison
assumed
he

was
getting
his
thoughts
together.
“What
you
should
expect
is
a
fifty-four
year
old
man
who’s
been
like
a
second
father
to
his
niece
and
eleven
nephews.
He’s
a
man
who
believes
in
family,
honor,
respect
and
love
for
nature.
For
as
long
as
I’ve
known
him,
he
has
preferred
solitude
in
some
things

and
a
vast
amount
of
companionship
in
others.
He
won’t

hesitate
to
let
you
know
how
he
feels
on
any
subject
and

deeply
respects
the
opinion
of
others.”

A
smile
touched
the
corners
of
Stone’s
lips
when
he
added,