Free Loving Her Crazy by Kira Archer

that came out of his mouth.
    “I was just thinking that I couldn’t remember the last time I had such a good time.”
    Iris gaped in surprise. “Really? Making a snowman is that much fun?”
    He slapped another chunk of snow onto their growing ball. “All of it. Getting the clothes, the ice skating, dinner, all this,” he said, waving his hand around the park.
    “So freezing to death is your idea of entertainment. Good to know,” she said with a wry grin.
    He leaned across the partial snowman to give her a swift kiss. “Only if it’s with you.”
    She stared at him for half a second, a tiny smile on her lips before she ducked her head and gathered up more snow to start on the middle section.
    “So, what’s your story, Hazel?”
    “What do you mean?” It should probably bother him that she kept calling him Hazel. But he kind of liked it. Their own personal inside joke. It was nice to have something like that with her.
    She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. I’m kind of curious what kind of boring life you must lead since this thrilling evening in the freezing cold seems to be the highlight.”
    He inwardly flinched. That remark hit a little too close to home. “My life isn’t boring.”
    Iris’s face softened. He’d apparently not hidden his reaction as well as he’d hoped, because she had an apologetic-but-curious look on her face.
    “So tell me about it.” He released a sigh, and she laughed. “Yeah, I know. I can be a pain. I bet the horses and cows are looking pretty good right now, huh?”
    That got a smile out of him. “They always look good. I’m actually kind of homesick.”
    “Ah, I bet they miss you too,” she said with a wink.
    “Hey, don’t tease. They probably do miss me. I delivered most of them. I’m like their surrogate papa.”
    She laughed again. “Ah, no worries, Hazel. I’m sure they won’t forget you while you’re gone.”
    “They better not. Ungrateful beasts.”
    “So, spill it, cowboy. Other than the barnyard brigade, is there anyone waiting for you? You have a girlfriend back home?”
    She was blunt, he’d give her that. Most girls would come up with some subtle, roundabout way of asking if he were available. Iris went right for the jugular. It was refreshing. A little disconcerting, maybe. But refreshing.
    “No. No girlfriend.”
    He hadn’t dated anyone, seriously anyway, since Allison had stormed out, fed up with the long hours he worked, the endless list of chores, and not nearly as much money in his bank account to make it all worthwhile And she’d grown up on a farm. How would a woman like Iris fit in there?
    She probably wouldn’t.
    “Just no . That’s it?” she asked.
    He shrugged. “Nothing more to say, really.”
    “Ah, now that’s not the truth.”
    He frowned. “Meaning?”
    It was her turn to shrug. She lifted a huge chunk of snow and dropped it onto the snowman. “It just seems that when people give such short, definitive answers to a question like that, there is often a massive mess of a backstory involved.” She stopped, her jaw clenching as if she were gritting her teeth or something, and it took her a second to continue. “If you’d never had a serious girlfriend, your face wouldn’t have gone all stony, and you would have maybe joked about not finding the right woman or something. Instead, you froze up and ended the questioning as quickly as possible with a no. No girlfriend . So my guess would be that you did have one, one that was serious enough to leave a nice gaping wound that hasn’t quite healed yet. Maybe the one you mentioned before…who thought you loved your ranch more than her. Am I right?” she asked quietly.
    Nash watched her pat the snow into place, not sure if he should come clean and bare his soul or run screaming. Instead, he asked what he wanted to know, ignoring her question.
    “Do you have a boyfriend?”
    She stopped, her face turning as stony as his must have been, though she had to be expecting the