Stone Cold Surrender - Brenda Jackson [70]
Eight W ow! That was the one word that immediately came to Madison’s mind when they reached the top of the mountain where Corey Westmoreland lived. Coming to Montana had certainly opened her eyes to the beauty of an area she had never visited before. Seeing the spacious and sprawling ranch house in the distance, set among a stand of pine trees and beneath the beautiful Montana blue sky, forced a breathless sigh to escape from her lips. “Why would one man need a place so huge?” she turned and asked Stone. His mouth twitched into a grin. “Mainly because of his family, especially his nephews. When it became evident that the number of male Westmorelands was increasing and this place would be their summer home, Uncle Corey decided he needed lots of space and a huge food budget.” Madison blinked. “You mean, while growing up, all eleven of you would visit at the same time?” Stone chuckled. “Yeah, we would all be here at the same time. But you’d better believe that, although everyone thought U
Nine T he next two weeks flew by and Madison’s heart swelled each and every time she saw her mother and Corey Westmoreland interacting together. It was quite obvious the two were in love and were making up for lost time. She had never seen her mother smile so much and it seemed that Corey had brought out a totally different woman in Abby Winters. Her mother enjoyed cooking, baking and thought nothing of helping Corey do chores around the ranch. The days of the prim-and-proper Abby Winters were over—but not completely. She still set the table like she was expecting guests for dinner and occasionally Madison would hear classical music on the disc player. Madison liked the change in her mother and more and more she was accepting Corey’s role in her life. Madison then thought about her own love life or lack of it. Stone still came to her room every night and held her until she went off to sleep. In respect for her mother and his uncle, he refused to make love to her although she always tri
Ten A t any other time Stone would have enjoyed attending a gala thrown in his honor, but at this moment he didn’t appreciate that his agent, Weldon Harris, had planned the surprise event. Even the media had been invited and he cringed when he saw that the one reporter he detested, Noreen Baker, was among the crowd. He was even more mad that what was supposed to have been a weekend affair in New York had stretched into a full week including unscheduled interviews and parties that his agent had arranged for him to attend. He hated that his uncle’s phone still wasn’t working. He had no way to let Madison know why he hadn’t returned to the mountains. He saw Noreen Baker glance his way and knew an encounter with her was the last thing he wanted. He turned to make his escape, but when she called out to him, he decided it would be rude not to acknowledge her. He sighed deeply when she approached. “Congratulations on your achievements. You must be proud of yourself.” “I am,” he said curtly, d
Epilogue