Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [56]
Cole took up the story. “She said our father was Corey Westmoreland but he wasn’t dead like she’d told us over the years. She said she didn’t know where you were and would leave it up to us to find you. She told us to tell you, when we did find you, that she was sorry for not letting you know about us. If she had told you about her pregnancy she thought you would have done the honorable thing and married her, although she knew you didn’t love her and that your heart still belonged to another. We promised her just seconds before her eyes closed that we would do what we could to find you and deliver that message. I believe that she was able to die in peace after that.”
For a long moment no one at the table said anything and Madison felt the exact moment Stone took her hand in his and held it like the story had touched him deeply. She understood. It had touched her, as well.
Corey Westmoreland cleared his throat but everyone could see the tears that misted his eyes. “I thank her for wanting me to know the truth after all these years.” He then cleared his throat again. “You said there were triplets. Does that mean there’s a third one of you?”
A smile touched Clint’s lips. “Yes, I’m technically the oldest, Cole’s in the middle and Casey is the last.”
Corey Westmoreland swallowed deeply. “I have three sons?”
Clint chuckled as he shook his head. “No, you have two sons. Casey is a girl and, just so you know, the reason she’s not here is because she’s having a hard time dealing with all of this. She and Mom were close and for years she thought you were dead and now to discover you’re alive and that Mom kept it from us has her going through some changes right now.”
Once again there was silence at the table and then Stone spoke. “Damn, another Westmoreland girl and we thought Delaney was the only one.” He turned and smiled at the two men, his newfound cousins. “Delaney is my sister and we thought she was the only female in the Westmoreland family in this generation. Did the two of you catch hell being big brothers to Casey as much as my four brothers and six cousins caught hell looking out for Delaney?”
Clint and Cole exchanged huge grins. “Hell wasn’t all we caught being brothers to Casey. Wait until you meet her, then you’ll understand why.”
Madison cuddled closer into Stone’s embrace as they lay in bed together. “In a way, today’s event had a happy ending to a rather sad beginning. At least Clint and Cole got to meet Corey and Corey found out he had two sons and a daughter.”
“Umm,” Stone said, placing a kiss on Madison’s lips. “Uncle Corey is going to make history in the Westmoreland family. He’ll become a father and a groom within months of each other. He was so excited that he picked up the phone to call everyone but then remembered the phone was dead. I can’t wait until the family gets the news.” He chuckled. “And when Clint and Cole told Uncle Corey what they did for a living, he was as proud as could be.” Both Clint and Cole were Texas Rangers. According to the brothers, Casey owned a clothing store in Beaumont.
Less than an hour later, when Madison had fallen asleep, Stone slipped out of her bedroom and ran smack into Durango. Durango placed his arms across his chest and had a smirk on his face. “Making late night visits, I see.”
Stone frowned. “You see too much, Durango? Why aren’t you in bed like everyone else.”
“Because, Cuz, I was looking for you. When you weren’t in your room I assumed you had gone outside to take a dip in the hot spring. Evidently I was wrong.”
Stone glared at him. “Evidently. Now why were you looking for me?”
Durango reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “To give you this. I almost forgot because of the excitement. This telegram came for you a few days ago. I assume it might be important.”
Stone took the envelope from Durango, tore it open and scanned the contents. “Damn!”
Durango lifted a brow. “Bad news?”
Stone shook his head. “It’s from my agent. I sold another book and the offer is