He
nodded
again.
“So
you
think
that
perhaps
there
has
been
some
sort
of
foul
play?”
She
shook
her
head,
denying
that
possibility.
“No,
I
think
it
has
something
to
do
with
her
going
through
some
sort
of
midlife
crisis.
She
turned
fifty
a
couple
of
months
ago,
and
until
that
time
she
was
completely
normal.”
Stone
took
a
sip
of
his
coffee.
He
remembered
what
happened
when
his
mother
turned
fifty.
She
decided
that
she
wanted
to
go
back
to
school
and
start
working
outside
of
the
home.
His
father
almost
had
a
fit
because
he
was
one
of
those
traditional
men
who
believed
a
woman’s
work
was
in
the
home
raising
kids.
But
his
mother
had
made
up
her
mind
about
what
she
wanted
to
do
and
nothing
was
going
to
stop
her.
Since
his
baby
sister,
Delaney,
had
gone
off
to
college
and
there
weren’t
any
kids
left
at
home
to
raise,
his
father
had
finally
given
in.
He
shifted
his
thoughts
to
Madison’s
mother.
Personally,
he
saw
nothing
abnormal
with
a
woman
disappearing
in
the
wilds
of
Montana
with
a
man,
if
that’s
what
she
wanted
to
do.
However,
from
the
worried
expression
on
Madison’s
face,
she
evidently
thought
otherwise.
“So
what
do
you
plan
on
doing
when
you
find
her?”
he
asked
curiously.
After
all,
she
was
still
the
daughter
and
her
mother
was
still
the
mother.
He
had
learned
from
experience
that
parents
felt
they
could
do
whatever
pleased
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