Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [18]
She nodded and crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed while he sat across from her in a wingback chair. “All right, now tell me what’s wrong,” he said, his tone soothing.
Madison folded her hands in her lap. A part of her was grateful to Stone for coming instead of calling, although she hadn’t expected him to. She lifted her chin and met his gaze; again, like before, she felt that powerful current pass through them and wondered if he’d felt it, too.
She put the thought of the sexual chemistry that was sizzling between them to the back of her mind and started talking. “I called my apartment in Boston to retrieve my phone messages and discovered that my mother had called and left another one.”
Stone lifted a dark brow. “Really? And what did she say?”
Madison sighed. “She said she regretted that we keep missing each other but that she wanted to let me know she was doing fine and…”
Stone waited for her to finish and when she seemed hesitant to do so he prodded. “And?”
Madison inhaled deeply once again before saying, “And she plans to extend her trip by an additional two weeks.”
For a moment there was not a sound in the room, just this long pregnant silence. Then Stone slowly nodded as he continued to study her. He could tell the message had been upsetting to Madison. “Well, at least you know that she’s okay.”
Madison shook her head and Stone watch as her hair swirled around her shoulders with the movement. “No, I don’t know that, Stone. I’m more worried about her than ever. There’s something else I think you should know.”
Stone gazed across the few feet separating them. “What?”
Madison slowly stood then nervously paced the room a few times before coming back to stand in front of Stone. “I know that you and Durango tried to reassure me that your uncle is a decent man—honest, trustworthy and safe—but I had to be sure. I had to find out everything I could about him to help me understand why my mother is behaving the way she is. A friend of mine, another teacher at the school where I work, well, her husband owns an investigation firm. After you left here today, I contacted him and gave him your uncle’s name.”
Stone sat back in the chair, his gaze locked with hers as he rubbed his chin. “And?”
Madison swallowed nervously. “And, according to Frank, when he entered your uncle’s name into the database, he discovered another investigative firm, one that’s located somewhere in Texas, was checking out your uncle’s past, as well. For some reason it seems that I’m not the only one who wants information about him.”
Stone frowned and sat up straight in his chair. Anger suddenly lined his features. “Are you trying to accuse my uncle of—”
“No! I’m not accusing him of anything. Even Frank indicated that he’s clean and doesn’t have a criminal record or anything. I just thought it was strange and felt that you should know.”
Stone stared at Madison for a long moment then stood in front of her. “I don’t know what interest another investigative company has in my uncle but, whatever the reason, it has nothing to do with his character, Madison. Corey Westmoreland is one of the finest men I know. I admit he can be somewhat ornery at times and set in his ways, but I would and do trust him with my life.”
Madison heard the defensive anger in Stone’s voice although he tried to control it. She crossed her arms over her chest and gazed up at him. “I wasn’t insinuating that he wasn’t a—”
“Weren’t you? I also think that until you talk to your mother and see her for yourself to make sure she’s not up there with some crazy mountain man, you won’t have a moment of peace.”
Unable to help himself, Stone reached out and brushed a strand of hair back from her face. There were tension lines around her eyes and the mouth he had kissed earlier that day was strained, agitated and on edge. “And I intend to give you that peace. I will take you up Corey’s Mountain myself.”
His words had an immediate effect on Madison and she released her arms from across her chest. Her heart began beating a