Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [47]
“Yes, she’s here. Go on up to the house and open the door and go right on in. When I walked out she was in the middle of preparing dinner.”
Madison blinked. “Dinner? My mother is actually cooking?”
“Yes.”
Madison frowned. She couldn’t remember the last time her mother had cooked. She turned to Stone. “Are you coming?”
He shook his head. “I’ll be in later. I need to talk to Uncle Corey about something.”
She nodded. Although she knew he probably did need to talk to his uncle, she also knew that he was hanging back to give her and her mother time alone. “All right.” And without saying anything else, she walked the short distance to the house alone, wondering what she would say to her mother when she saw her.
Madison opened the door and cautiously walked inside the impressive house. She heard the sound of a woman humming and immediately knew it was her mother’s voice. Quickly glancing around she scanned her surroundings. The inside of Corey’s ranch house was just as huge as the outside. The heavy furnishings were made of rich, supple leather and were durable and made to last forever. The place looked neat and well-lived-in and several vases of fresh flowers denoted a feminine touch.
“Dinner’s almost ready, Corey. I think a soak in the hot tub would be nice afterwards, what do you think?”
Madison swallowed as the sound of her mother’s voice reached her. Evidently she had heard the door open and assumed it was Corey Westmoreland returning. Sighing deeply, Madison crossed the living room to the kitchen and came to a stop in the doorway. Her mother, the prim-and-proper Abby Winters, was bending over checking something in the oven. She was wearing a pair of jeans, a short top, was barefoot and had her hair untied and flowing down her back. Her mother had always been weight conscious and had a nice figure; the outfit she was wearing clearly showed just how nice that figure was.
Madison blinked, not sure if this sexy looking creature in Corey Westmoreland’s kitchen was actually her mother. She looked more like a woman in her thirties than someone who had turned fifty earlier that year. And Madison found it hard to believe that the woman who normally wore conservative business suits, high-heeled pumps and her hair up in a bun was the same person standing less than ten feet away from her.
“Mom?”
Abby Winters snatched her head up and met Madison’s uncertain gaze. She blinked, as if making sure she was really seeing her daughter, and then a huge smile touched both corners of her lips and she quickly crossed the room. “Maddy, what are you doing here?” she asked, mere seconds before engulfing Madison in a colossal hug.
“I wanted to make sure you were all right,” Madison said when her mother finally released her.
Her mother lifted a worried brow. “Didn’t you get my messages saying I was extending my trip?”
“Yes, but I had to see for myself that you were okay.”
Abby pulled her daughter back to her. “Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry that you were worried about me, but I’m fine.”
Madison sighed. What she needed to hear was a little more than that, but before she could open her mouth to say anything, she heard the front door open and Stone and Corey Westmoreland walked in. She watched the expression on her mother’s face when she looked up and saw Stone’s uncle. If there was any doubt in Madison’s mind, it vanished with the look the two of them exchanged. It was a good thing they were already in the kitchen because she could certainly feel the heat simmering between them. It was quite obvious that her mother and Corey Westmoreland had a thing going on.
Madison cleared her throat. “Mom, this is Stone, Mr. Westmoreland’s nephew and my friend. Stone, this is my mother, Abby Winters.”
She saw Stone blink and knew the prim-and-proper picture she had painted of her mother was definitely not the one Stone was seeing. He took a step forward and took Abby’s hand in a warm handshake. “Nice meeting you, Ms. Winters.”
Abby Winters’ smiled warmly. “And it’s nice