Love Unspoken Read Free

Cole silently repeated the words to
himself. When Beau grabbed his own saddle from against the wall and called out,
“Saddle up. We’re riding out to find them before boss gets wind of it.” Cole
was one step ahead wrangling his thoughts from straying toward the possibility
of seeing Noelle again.
    Once on horseback, Cole rode alongside the foreman until he
realized there was no way they were going to get a rein on where the yearlings
went unless they headed into the bushes.
    He turned to the Beau and signed, “I’ll take over the western
front.” He pointed his thumb in the direction of the sprawling terracotta
painted three-story country house belonging to the only African-American family
in Copper Mesa.
    Beau gave the official okay as Cole guided the stallion,
Firebrand, toward the wire fence separating the two properties. Although not
even half the size of the ranch, the bushes behind the house were a decent size
for the animals to wander into danger.
    Jumping from his mount, Cole led the horse under the shade of a
Ponderosa Pine, tying a jerk knot around the trunk. He’d never been on the
property before but he knew the landscape well. There were far too many low
lying branches that spelled hazard if he tried to scour the area on Firebrand.
After he’d climbed the fence and was minutes underway into his search for the
yearling bulls, Cole felt two distinct taps on his back.
    His brows furrowed. It reminded him of the way he had touched
Noelle hours before in the parking lot.
    Cole glanced to the side and swallowed hard. Why was he always so
happy to see her when judging by the fire in those deep brown eyes, she looked
none to pleased by his presence?
    “I don’t have to tell you that you’re trespassing, do I?”
    He blinked in response. Was she serious?
    She stared back at him with something akin to superiority in her
eyes. Cole shrugged and kept on walking. For some dumbass reason, he hadn’t
expected that from her.
    Behind him, footsteps quickened, followed by her insistent voice.
“Just because you have free reign over at the ranch doesn’t mean you can have
the same liberty here. I don’t know if it’s because I was decent enough to give
you a —”
    Talk about misjudging a book by the cover. Cole stopped in his
tracks, spun around and issued her a deadly look. He needed her to shut up so
he could detect if one of the animals was in the nearby bushes and go on about
his business.
    She opened her mouth to utter something else but he drew a finger
to his lips hoping she would take the hint.
      Come on beauty, I know you can shut up for one minute.
    Her perfectly arched brows narrowed as she mouthed the words.
“What is it?”
    Luckier than he thought. She was actually listening to him. Cole
relaxed his posture. He didn’t want to frighten Noelle by having her believe a
wild animal was on the cusp of attacking them. Or rather him, because as
dubious as he felt about her in this moment, one thing was certain– he wouldn’t
let anything hurt her.
    He crooked his finger, gesturing to her. Come with me.
    Arms folded, she shook her head fervently. “You go,” she mouthed,
jabbing a finger toward the bushes.
    At least there’d be no mistaking her lack of concern for his
wellbeing, Cole thought lifting the rope from his shoulder. He pushed away the
shrubs. Sure enough the little guy was lying on its side, the Somerset brand
visible on its hip. The cow appeared to be suffering, one of the hind legs red
and swollen.
    Shit. It had to be a snakebite. His next thought centered on
Noelle. Cole glanced backward, swinging his gaze to her long legs. Good. She
had replaced the stylish black pumps from earlier today with a pair of tan
suede boots that reached just above her calves.
    “What’s wrong with it?” She inched closer to him as if she was
unsure her legs were doing as she commanded.
    Cole pointed to the snakebite and she immediately clamped a hand
over her mouth and sprang backward.
    “What are you