Stone Cold Surrender (35 page)

“And
I
learned
early
in
life
that
he’s
also
a
man
with
eyes
in
the
back
of
his
head.
You
can’t
ever
pull
anything
over
on
him.”

The
affection
Madison
heard
in
Stone’s
voice
caused
her
to
think
just
how
different
Corey
Westmoreland
was
from
her
father.
Her
father
had
been
an
only
child.
He
did
have
a
cousin
who’d
also
lived
in
Boston,
but
the
two
had
never

had
a
close
relationship,
so
she
hadn’t
developed
a
close
relationship
with
that
cousin’s
children
who
were
all
around
her
age.

Her
father
had
been
born
in
the
city,
raised
in
the
city
and

lived
in
the
city.
They’d
never
owned
a
pet
while
she
was

growing
up
and
the
thought
of
leaving
the
city
to
go

camping
wasn’t
anything
he
would
have
been
interested
in
doing.
And
Larry
Winters
had
preferred
socializing
to

solitude,
especially
when
it
benefited
him.
He’d
been
a

financial
adviser.
He
would
often
host
lavish
parties
for
his
clients
with
her
mother
acting
as
hostess.
She
remembered
her
father
being
excited
each
and
every
time
they’d
given
a
party,
but
now
as
she
thought
about
it,
her
mother
hadn’t

particularly
cared
for
entertaining.
She
had
merely

accepted
it
as
part
of
her
role
as
the
wife
of
a
successful

businessman.
She
tried
to
think
of
one
single
thing
her

parents
had
in
common
and
couldn’t
think
of
anything.
Last
night
Stone
had
asked
her
why
two
people
who
possibly

didn’t
love
each
other
would
stay
together.
Now
her

question
was
why
had
they
gotten
married
in
the
first

place?

She
came
out
of
her
reverie
when
Stone
removed
his
hand
from
hers.
She
sat
quietly
and
watched
him
finish
off
the

rest
of
his
sandwich
and
down
the
last
of
his
soda.
He
then
glanced
over
at
her
and
studied
her
as
if
she
was
going
to
be
his
dessert.
Visibly
feeling
the
heat
of
his
gaze
and
not
able
to
sit
and
take
it
any
longer,
she
stood
and
glanced

around.

Stone
studied
Madison
for
a
long
moment
then
asked,
“How
are
you
holding
up
so
far?”

She
shrugged.
“I’m
fine.
Usually
I
have
an
overabundance
of
energy.
It
takes
a
lot
to
wear
me
out.”

Stone’s
gaze
drifted
down
the
length
of
her
body.
He
would
definitely
remember
that
later.
He
watched
as
she
picked
up
her
hat
and
placed
it
back
on
her
head.

“Don’t
you
think
we
should
move
on
if
we
plan
to
make
it
to
that
cabin
before
nightfall?”
she
asked.

He
stood
and
flashed
her
a
slow,
sexy
grin.
“Yeah,
Miss
Winters,
I
think
that
you’re
right.”

The
cabin
was
not
what
either
Stone
or
Madison
had

expected.
What
they
assumed
they
would
find
was
a
small

one-room
structure.
But
what
Martin
Quinn
and
McKinnon
had
built
in
the
clearing—nestled
between
large
pine
trees
with
a
breathtaking
view
of
the
mountains
and
valleys
for
a
backdrop,
as
well
as
a
beautiful
stream
running
at
the
back
of
it—was
a
cabin
large
enough
to
be
used
as
a
home

away
from
home.

Stone
and
Madison
took
a
quick
tour
of
the
place.
The

outside
of
the
cabin
featured
an
inviting
wraparound
porch.
Inside,
there
was
a
huge
living
room
with
a
fireplace,
two

bedrooms
connected
by
a
large
single
bathroom,
and
an

eat-in
kitchen
with
an
enormous
window
that
overlooked
the
stream
out
back.
It
didn’t
take
long
for
Stone
to
discover

that
they
would
have
electricity
once
he
fired
up
the

generator
and
the
linen
closets
had
fresh
sheets
and

coverings
for
the
bed.

Stone
sighed,
grateful
that
they
had
made
it
to
the
cabin
before
nightfall.
They
still
had
a
few
hours
of
daylight
left
and
he
would
use
the
time
to
feed
and
care
for
the
horses
and
start
the
generator.

He
glanced
over
at
Madison
who
was
silently
standing

beside
him.
Like
him
her
gaze
was
on
the
two
bedrooms
and
he
could
swear
he’d
heard
her
deep
sigh
of
relief.

“I’ve
got
a
few
things
to
do
outside,”
he
said,
breaking
the
silence
between
them.