READER'S ROCK LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE VOL 2 ISSUE 4 NOVEMBER 2014 VOL 2 ISSUE 6 - JAN-FEB 2015 | Page 65

KATHLEEN BALL
Snow, glistening snow, blinding snow, blizzard, or
flurries; Winter didn’t care. It was still cold and in
abundance. It’d been a long week since Christmas
and Stone hadn’t given her one kind word. He
acted as though he was mad at the world and
every time she tried to talk to him, he’d invent a
reason why it wasn’t a good time to talk. Perhaps
it was payback for her refusal to talk things out
with him before Christmas. It hurt that he didn’t
completely trust her with Rachael anymore, for
whatever reason.

It was time to move into the foreman’s house, her
house. It was for the best. All the tension between
her and Stone wasn’t good for Rachael and maybe
it would improve his disposition.
Reluctantly she turned away from the window
when she heard Stone clear his throat. Why did he
still have to be so damn sexy? “I was just about to
pack.”
“Where is Rachael?” Stone stared at her intently,
making her uncomfortable.
“Building a snowman with Crabby. You do know
he’s anything but crabby don’t you?”
Stone gave her a boyish grin. “That’s the fun of it.
Besides he likes his name.”
“I’ll go out and help them. I wasn’t sure if she
was allowed to be alone with Crabby, but he
insisted that it was fine. I should have asked you
but—”
“It’s fine, Winter.” He walked toward her slowly,
leaving her nowhere to run.
“All the same, I think—”
“That’s the problem. You think too much. I want
you to smile, and I want to see your beautiful eyes
light up when you see me. You don’t do that
anymore.”
“What? You hardly have time to say hello to me.
Why should I smile at you? I don’t understand
why you would say it’s fine. Nothing is fine
around here. You don’t trust me with Rachael—”
“I’m sorry about that whole conversation. I was in

a mood and I didn’t mean it.”
“Well, thank you for that.”
He reached for her hand. “That’s it? The coldness
in your voice surprises me. You know I love you.”
Pulling her hand away, she shook her head. “My
coldness surprises you? You haven’t talked to me
in a week and I don’t know what to think.”
“You’re just running away from me, from us.
How can you not know that I love you?”
Her jaw dropped and she instantly closed it.
“Love isn’t just words, it’s actions, too. If you’ll
excuse me I want to make sure Rachael is warm
enough.”
Stone frowned as she scooted around him.
She didn’t know what to say. Thinking too much?