Stone Cold Surrender (7 page)

her
out
once
or
twice.

That’s
what
made
Abby
Winters’
actions
now
so
baffling
and
unacceptable.
What
was
it
about
the
man
that
had

captured
her
mother’s
interest
enough
to
do
something
as
outrageous
as
going
off
with
him
to
his
mountain?
As
she
had
told
Stone,
her
mother
was
the
most
rational
person
she
knew,
so
it
had
to
be
some
sort
of
midlife
crisis.
There
was
no
other
explanation
for
it.

And
what
would
she
say
to
her
mother
when
she
saw
her?
That
was
a
question
for
which
she
had
no
answer.
The
only
thing
she
knew
for
certain
was
that
she
was
determined
to
talk
some
sense
into
her.
Fifty-year-old
women
just
did
not
run
off
with
men
they
didn’t
know.

Madison
shook
her
head.
She
was
twenty-five
and
she

would
never
take
up
with
some
man
she
didn’t
know,
even
someone
as
good
looking
as
Stone.
She
quickly
glanced
over
at
him
and
had
to
admit
that
taking
off
with
him
was
definitely
a
tempting
thought.

A
very
tempting
thought.

She
pushed
the
thought
aside,
thinking
that
one
Winters
woman
acting
impulsive
and
irrational
was
enough.

What
if
the
man
Madison
Winters
had
described
was
really

Uncle
Corey?

With
his
eyes
closed,
that
question
continued
to
plague

Stone’s
mind.
At
the
moment
he
was
pretending
to
be

asleep,
not
wanting
Madison
to
see
his
inner
turmoil.
Since
the
plane
was
at
an
altitude
where
he
could
use
a
mobile

phone,
he
considered
calling
Durango
to
find
out
if
Corey
had
abducted
the
woman.
Durango,
who
was
also
a
park
ranger,
had
moved
to
Montana
to
attend
college
and
joined
the
profession
that
their
uncle
had
loved
so
much.

Durango
had
lived
with
Corey
until
he
had
saved
up
enough
to
purchase
his
own
land.
But
calling
Durango
was
not
an
option,
not
with
Madison
sitting
next
to
him.
Although
she

would
try
not
to
eavesdrop,
there
was
no
way
she
would
not
overhear
his
every
word.
He
had
no
choice
but
to
wait
until
the
plane
landed
to
question
Durango.
He
hoped
like
hell

that
he
was
wrong
and
there
was
another
retired
park

ranger
who
lived
high
in
the
mountains
and
whose
name

began
with
the
letter
C.

Stone
breathed
in
slowly.
Madison’s
scent
was
getting
to

him
again.
If
he
were
completely
honest
he
would
admit
that
his
blood
had
begun
stirring
the
moment
she
had
sat
next
to
him
on
the
flight.
He
had
tried
ignoring
her
by

concentrating
on
the
activities
outside
the
plane
window
as
the
airline
crew
prepared
for
takeoff,
and
had
pretty
much
dismissed
her
from
his
mind
until
she
had
touched
him.

Aroused
him
was
a
much
better
word.

He
sighed
deeply.
This
would
definitely
be
one
flight
he

would
not
forget
in
a
long
time.
He
couldn’t
help
but
open
his
eyes
and
glance
over
at
her.
Her
eyes
were
closed,
her
lips
were
parted
and
she
was
breathing
at
an
even
pace.
Unlike
before,
she
was
now
resting
peacefully
and
had

somehow
taken
her
mind
off
her
fear
of
flying,
and
a
part
of
him
felt
good
about
that.
He
didn’t
want
to
dwell
on
the

protective
instincts
he
was
developing
for
her.
Perhaps
he
felt
this
way
because
she
reminded
him
of
his
baby
sister,
Delaney.

A
lazy
smile
touched
his
lips.
As
the
only
girl
constantly

surrounded
by
five
older
brothers
and
six
older
male

cousins,
Delaney
had
been
overprotected
most
of
her
life.
But
after
graduating
from
medical
school
she
had
pulled
a
fast
one
on
everyone
and
had
sneaked
away
to
a
secluded
cabin
in
the
North
Carolina
mountains
for
rest
and

relaxation,
only
to
discover
the
mountain
retreat
was

already
occupied.
A
visiting
desert
sheikh,
who’d
had
the
same
idea
about
rest
and
relaxation,
had
been
ensconced
in
the
cabin
when
she’d
arrived.
During
the
course
of
their
“vacation,”
the
two
fell
in
love
and
now
his
baby
sister
was
a
princess
living
in
the
Middle
East.

Delaney
was
presently
in
the
States
with
her
family
to
finish
her
residency
at
a
hospital
in
Kentucky.
He
enjoyed
seeing
his
one-year-old
nephew
Ari
and
had
to
admit
that
his