Stone Cold Surrender (10 page)

Stone
watched
her
walk
to
the
phone.
In
a
tailored
pantsuit
that
fit
her
body
to
perfection,
she
looked
totally
out
of
place
in
Bozeman,
Montana.
All
the
other
women
were
wearing

jeans
and
shirts,
and
she
was
dressed
like
she
was

attending
a
high
priority
business
meeting
somewhere.
He
appreciated
the
sway
of
her
hips
when
she
walked
and
how
her
hair
brushed
against
her
shoulders
with
every
step
she
took.

“You
can’t
be
left
alone
one
minute
before
you’re
checking
out
a
woman,
Stone.
Even
one
who
has
‘city
girl’
written
all
over
her.”

Stone
switched
his
attention
from
Madison
to
the
man
who
had
suddenly
appeared
by
his
side:
his
cousin
Durango.
“I
sat
by
her
on
the
plane
from
Atlanta.
She’s
nice.”

Durango
chuckled
as
a
wide
grin
covered
his
face.
“All
women
are
nice.”

Stone
shook
his
head.
Everyone
in
the
family
knew
that,

like
his
brother
Storm,
Durango
was
a
ladies’
man,
a
player
of
the
first
degree
and,
like
Stone
and
their
uncle
Corey,

Durango
had
no
intention
of
ever
settling
down.
And

speaking
of
Corey….

“When
was
the
last
time
you
saw
Uncle
Corey?”
Stone

decided
to
cut
to
the
chase
and
ask.
He
knew
that
Durango
kept
up
with
their
uncle’s
comings
and
goings.
If
there
was

some
woman
on
Corey’s
mountain,
Durango
would
know
about
it.

The
grin
suddenly
disappeared
from
Durango’s
face;
not
a
good
sign
as
far
as
Stone
was
concerned.
“Funny
you

should
ask,”
Durango
said
frowning.
“I
haven’t
seen
him
for
a
week
and
I
know
for
a
fact
he
has
a
woman
up
there
on
his
mountain.”

That
wasn’t
what
Stone
wanted
to
hear.
“Are
you
sure?”

“Yes,
I’m
sure.
I
saw
her
myself
when
they
were
passing

through.
She’s
a
nice-looking
woman,
probably
in
her
late
forties
and
talks
with
one
of
those
northern
accents.
They’ve
been
up
on
that
mountain
for
almost
a
week
now
and
Corey
won’t
answer
the
phone
or
return
my
calls.
It
makes
me

wonder
what’s
going
on
up
there
and
how
this
woman
got
such
special
privileges.
I
couldn’t
believe
he
broke
his
long-
standing
rule
about
a
woman
on
his
mountain.”

Stone
leaned
back
against
the
railing.
His
mind
was
reeling
and
he
needed
to
make
sure
he
had
heard
everything

Durango
was
telling
him
correctly.
“You’re
saying
that
Corey
actually
has
a
woman
on
his
mountain?”

“Yes,
and
she’s
not
a
long-lost
relative,
either,
because
I

asked.
Besides,
it
was
obvious
she
wasn’t
related
by
the

way
they
were
acting.
He
couldn’t
wait
to
leave
my
place
to
head
into
the
mountains
and
it
doesn’t
appear
he’s
bringing

her
down
anytime
soon.”

Stone
rubbed
a
hand
down
his
face.
“And
you’re
sure
you
don’t
know
who
she
is?”

Durango’s
frown
deepened.
“No,
I
don’t
know
who
she
is,
Stone,
other
than
the
fact
he
was
calling
her
Abby.
But
you
better
believe
that
this
Abby
woman
has
hooked
him
in

good,
and
I
mean
real
good.”

When
the
crowd
standing
directly
behind
Durango
shifted,
Stone
noticed
that
Madison
had
finished
her
call
and
had
walked
up.
From
the
expression
on
her
face
it
was
obvious
that
she
had
pretty
much
overheard
most
of
what
Durango
had
said.

Aw
hell!

Durango
noticed
that
Stone’s
gaze
was
fixed
on
something
behind
him
and
turned
around.
He
smiled
when
he
looked
into
the
face
of
the
woman
Stone
had
been
checking
out

earlier.
He
grinned.
No
wonder
his
cousin
was
taken
with
the
woman,
she
was
definitely
a
looker.
Too
bad
Stone
had
met
her
first,
because
she
was
definitely
someone
who

would
have
interested
him.

He
started
to
speak
and
introduce
himself,
since
it
seemed
Stone
had
suddenly
lost
his
voice.
But
something
made

him
pause.
Durango
had
dealt
with
enough
women
to
know
when
they
weren’t
happy
about
something
and
it
was

obvious
this
woman
was
angry,
royally
pissed
off.
And
her
words
stopped
him
dead
in
his
tracks.

“I
believe
the
woman
the
two
of
you
are
discussing
is
my
mother.”

It
wasn’t
hard
to
tell
the
two
men
were
related,
Madison

thought,
glancing
up
at
them.
Both
were
tall,
extremely

handsome
and
well
built.
Then
there
were
the
similarities
in
their
facial
features
that
also
proved
a
family
connection.

They
possessed
the
same
close-cropped
curly
black
hair,
chestnut
coloring,
dark
intense
eyes
and
generous,
well-

defined
mouths.

And
both
of
them
could
wear
a
pair
of
jeans
and
a
chambray
shirt
like
nobody’s
business.

Madison
inwardly
admitted
that,
had
she
met
the
other
man
before
Stone,
she
probably
would
have
felt
the
same

attraction
to
him,
the
same
pull.
However,
she
thought
there
was
a
gentleness
and
tenderness
in
Stone’s
eyes
that
she
didn’t
easily
see
in
the
other
man’s.

She
could
tell
her
statement
took
the
other
man
by
surprise
but
when
she
glanced
over
at
Stone,
it
was
obvious
that

what
she’d
said
hadn’t
surprised
him,
which
meant
he
had
known
or
at
least
suspected
the
identity
of
her
mother’s

abductor
all
along.