Stone Cold Surrender (60 page)

Ten

A
t
any
other
time
Stone
would
have
enjoyed
attending
a
gala
thrown
in
his
honor,
but
at
this
moment
he
didn’t

appreciate
that
his
agent,
Weldon
Harris,
had
planned
the
surprise
event.
Even
the
media
had
been
invited
and
he
cringed
when
he
saw
that
the
one
reporter
he
detested,

Noreen
Baker,
was
among
the
crowd.

He
was
even
more
mad
that
what
was
supposed
to
have
been
a
weekend
affair
in
New
York
had
stretched
into
a
full
week
including
unscheduled
interviews
and
parties
that
his
agent
had
arranged
for
him
to
attend.
He
hated
that
his

uncle’s
phone
still
wasn’t
working.
He
had
no
way
to
let

Madison
know
why
he
hadn’t
returned
to
the
mountains.

He
saw
Noreen
Baker
glance
his
way
and
knew
an

encounter
with
her
was
the
last
thing
he
wanted.
He
turned
to
make
his
escape,
but
when
she
called
out
to
him,
he

decided
it
would
be
rude
not
to
acknowledge
her.
He

sighed
deeply
when
she
approached.

“Congratulations
on
your
achievements.
You
must
be
proud
of
yourself.”

“I
am,”
he
said
curtly,
deciding
not
to
engage
in
small
talk.

She
glanced
around.
“And
I
must
say
that
this
is
a
real
nice
party
for
the
prolific
Rock
Mason.”

“I’m
glad
you
like
it,
Noreen.
Now
if
you
will
ex—”

“Are
you
still
trying
to
be
a
recluse?”

He
had
turned
around
to
leave
but
her
question
ticked
him
off.
“I’ve
never
tried
to
be
a
recluse.
If
you
would
catch
me
when
I’m
doing
my
Teach
the
People
to
Read
functions
you
would
know
that.
Instead
you
prefer
attending
those
affairs
that
promote
dirt
instead
of
positive
functions.”

Noreen
looked
at
him
and
smiled.
“How
about
telling
me
something
that’s
positive?”

“Try
doing
an
article
on
the
Teach
the
People
to
Read
program.”

“No,
I
want
to
do
an
article
about
you.
After
the

announcement
a
few
days
ago,
you
are
definitely
big
news
and
being
young,
single
and
rich,
you
will
be
in
demand

with
the
ladies.
Any
love
interests?
What
about
marriage
plans?”

Stone
immediately
thought
about
Madison.
He
would
gladly
announce
to
the
world
that
she
was
the
woman
he
loved

and
the
one
woman
he
wanted
to
marry,
but
information
like
that
in
this
particular
barracuda’s
hand
might
be
hurtful
to

Madison.
Noreen
would
never
give
her
a
moment’s
rest
in
the
process
of
fishing
for
a
story.
She
would
camp
outside
Madison’s
home
if
it
meant
getting
a
scoop.

“How
can
I
consider
marriage
when
there’s
no
special
woman
in
my
life?”

Noreen’s
lips
quirked.
“What
about
a
special
man?”

Stone
narrowed
his
eyes.
“You’ve
kept
up
with
my
past
history
long
enough
to
know
better
than
to
ask
that.”

“Okay,
so
that
was
a
cheap
shot
and
I
admit
it.
So
are
you
telling
me
that
there’s
no
woman
that
Rock
Mason
is

interested
in
at
the
moment?
There
is
no
woman
you
would
consider
marrying?”

Stone
frowned.
“I
think
I’ve
made
myself
clear
on
several
occasions
that
Rock
Mason
enjoys
the
freedom
of
being
a
bachelor
too
much.”

“Is
that
why
you’ve
agreed
to
do
that
four-month
promotional
tour
in
Europe?”

Stone
frowned
again,
wondering
how
news
of
that
got

leaked
to
the
press.
He
hadn’t
made
a
decision
on
whether
or
not
he
would
go
on
that
damn
tour
and
he
had
told
his

agent
that.
A
lot
depended
on
Madison.
He
would
only
go
if
she
went
with
him.
He
had
no
intention
of
leaving
the

woman
he
loved
behind.

He
met
Noreen’s
curious
gaze
and
said,
“No
comment.

Now
if
you
will
excuse
me,
there’s
someone
over
there
that
I

need
to
see.”
Stone
then
walked
off.

Three
days
later
Stone
was
in
his
hotel
room,
finally

packing
to
return
to
Montana.
He
had
spoken
with
his
family
in
Atlanta
several
times
over
the
past
week.
They
had

heard
from
Quade
and
were
excited
that
there
were
now

three
additional
Westmorelands.
He
had
also
spoken
with
Durango
who
indicated
that
he
hadn’t
seen
or
spoken
to

Corey
since
he’d
left.

Stone
was
anxious
to
get
back
to
Madison.
He
missed
her
like
hell.
He
glanced
over
at
the
television
when
he
heard
his
name
and
stopped
what
he
was
doing
as
Noreen

Baker’s
face
appeared
on
the
screen
during
a
segment
of
Entertainment
Tonight.
He
crossed
the
room
to
turn
up
the
volume.

“As
we
reported
last
week,
national
bestselling
author
Rock
Mason
accepted
an
eight-figure
deal
from
Hammond

Publishers
and
with
it
came
movie
options,
as
well
as
a

four-month
book
tour
in
Europe.
I
spoke
with
Rock
a
few

nights
ago
at
a
New
York
bash
given
in
his
honor
and
he

squashed
any
rumors
that
he
is
romantically
involved
with
anyone,
and
went
on
to
assure
me
that
he
still
prefers

bedding
women
to
wedding
them.
He
also
plans
to
leave

for
Europe
in
a
few
weeks.
So
any
of
you
women
out
there
who’re
holding
out
for
the
attention
of
Mr.
Money
Maker