Stone Cold Surrender (50 page)

Sighing
deeply,
she
and
Stone
followed
Corey
Westmoreland
out
of
the
kitchen.

“So
you
have
no
idea
who’s
trying
to
find
you,
Uncle

Corey?”
Stone
asked
later
as
he
stood
with
his
uncle
on
the
porch.
Dinner
had
been
wonderful.
For
someone
who

Madison
thought
couldn’t
cook,
her
mother
had
prepared
a
delicious
feast.
Madison
and
her
mother
were
inside
doing
dishes
and
no
doubt
Madison
was
grilling
her
mother
on

her
relationship
with
Corey.
As
yet,
his
uncle
had
not

explained
anything
to
him.
Corey
acted
like
it
was
an

everyday
occurrence
for
Stone
to
show
up
on
his
mountain
and
find
a
woman
cooking
and
serving
as
hostess
as
if
she
had
permanent
residence
there.

Corey
leaned
against
a
column
post.
“No,
I
don’t
know
a
living
soul
who
would
be
looking
for
me,”
he
said
shaking
his
head
in
confusion.
“You
said
Quade
is
checking
things
out?”

“Yes.
Durango
contacted
him.”

Corey
nodded.
“Then
there’s
nothing
for
me
to
do
but
wait
until
I
hear
from
him.”
He
then
looked
over
at
his
nephew.
“Madison
is
a
pretty
thing.
She
reminds
me
of
Abby
when
she
was
young.”

Stone
turned
and
gazed
at
his
uncle.
“You
knew
Abby
Winters
before?”

Corey
chuckled
as
if
amused.
“Of
course.
Do
you
think
we
just
met
yesterday?”

Stone
shook
his
head
as
if
to
clear
his
brain.
“Hell,
Uncle
Corey,
I
didn’t
know
what
to
think
and
Madison
is
even
more
confused.”

Corey
nodded
again.
“I’m
sure
Abby
will
explain
things
to
her.”

Stone
crossed
his
arms
over
his
chest.
“How
about
if
you
explain
things
to
me.”

A
few
moments
later,
Corey
sighed
deeply.
“All
right.
Let’s
take
a
walk.”

The
two
of
them
walked
down
a
path
that
Stone

remembered
well.
It
was
the
way
to
the
natural
spring
that
was
on
his
uncle’s
property.
He
remembered
how
he
and
his
brothers
and
cousins
had
spent
many
hours
in
it
having
lots
of
fun.
The
sun
had
gone
down
but
it
wasn’t
completely
dark
yet.
The
scent
of
pine
filled
the
air.

“Abby
and
I
met
when
I
was
in
my
last
year
at
Montana

State.
She
had
come
with
her
parents
to
visit
Yellowstone
as
a
graduation
gift
before
starting
college.
I
was
working
part-time
at
the
park
and
will
never
forget
the
day
I
saw
her.

She
was
barely
eighteen
and
I
thought
I
had
died
and
gone
to
heaven.
When
I
finally
got
the
chance
to
talk
to
her

without
her
parents
around,
I
knew
she
was
the
person
I
had
fallen
in
love
with
and
someone
I
would
never
forget.”
Corey
smiled.
“And
she
felt
the
same
way.
It
was
love
at
first
sight
and
the
attraction
between
us
was
spontaneous.”

The
smile
then
vanished
from
Corey’s
face.
“It
was
also

forbidden
love
because
she
was
about
to
become

engaged
to
another
man,
someone
attending
Harvard.
He
was
a
man
her
well-to-do
family
had
picked
out
for
her,
one
of
those
affairs
where
two
families
get
together
and
decide
their
kids
will
marry.
And
no
matter
how
we
felt
about
each
other
I
knew
Abby
wouldn’t
change
her
mind.
She
was

raised
not
to
defy
her
parents.
Besides,
I
was
not
in
a

position
to
ask
her
to
stay
with
me.
Her
fiancé’s
family
had
money
and
I
barely
had
a
job.
When
she
left
I
never
saw
her
again
and
she
took
my
heart
with
her.
I
knew
then
that
I

would
never
marry,
because
the
one
woman
I
wanted
was
lost
to
me
forever.”

Stone
nodded,
wondering
how
he
would
feel
if
the
one

woman
he
wanted
was
lost
to
him
forever.
“There
was

never
another
woman
over
the
years
that
you
grew
to
love?”

Corey
shook
his
head.
“No.
There
was
one
woman
I
took
up
with
a
year
or
two
later,
when
I
worked
for
a
while
as
a
ranger
in
the
Tennessee
Mountains.
I
tried
to
make
things
work
with
her,
but
couldn’t.
We
stayed
together
for
almost
a