Love Unspoken Read Free Page B

mind. Cole
disturbed her because not once since she’d turned her life around, had a man
captured her attention or made her cunt pulse anxiously with untold desires as
this silent ranch hand she knew nothing about.
    She had to stay away from him.
    “So stupid,” she mumbled, stepping away from the window and
shoving aside the memory. She had failed at staying away from him as she’d
promised herself and, to make it worse, she hadn’t even tried to present
herself in a positive light. Hadn’t tried to be anything other than what he
expected from her. Then again, did she even know how to be different? She’d
invested so many years in cultivating her image. Her looks, clothes, work
ethic. Everything had to be perfect on the outside, more than enough to make up
for the embarrassment she had caused herself and her family.
    Noelle blew out a shallow breath and drew open the wide closet
doors. She was doing well for herself. She was no longer the wild seventeen
year old bent on self-destruction and selfish to boot. Noelle Williams was an
adult, desperately seeking the approval and thumbs up from her parents. In
essence, she was a grown woman living at home and working for her parents as a
gofer.
    Cole and everyone else had the image of her life she wanted them
to have. The truth was, without the glimmer of her parent’s money and being
blessed with a pretty face, there was nothing special about her. That is,
nothing positive which made her stand out.
    “I don’t care what he thinks,” Noelle muttered. Cole McKinney was
a ranch hand and a mute at that. His opinion didn’t make an ounce of difference
in her life.
    She was in control. Complete control, she reminded
herself. Noelle dressed, slipping into one of her many business suits, a crisp
side pleated skirt that fell just above her knees. Today was like any other day
of visiting her father’s clients and explaining to them the merits of using his
supplemental feed for their herd. The fact that she was headed over to the
ranch where Cole worked made no difference at all.
    Grabbing up the necessary paperwork, Noelle carefully laid them
in her briefcase, arriving at the ranch minutes later. Please let that man
be inside. The last thing she wanted was to go on a wild goose chase all
over the ranch searching for Mr. Somerset because he had forgotten their
appointment.
    Worse, she didn’t want to run into Cole, who would look at her as
if all the misfortune in the world could be laid at her feet. Noelle pressed
the pad of her finger against the doorbell. Smoothing the hem of her skirt, she
ran a hand over her hair. The straightened strands were held together in a neat
bun at the back of her head. Excellent.
    She waited another minute before ringing the bell again. No
answer. Noelle turned and looked around. It was midday on the ranch. The
workers were sure to be on every corner of the grassy land and she doubted any
of them would be of much help to her. People didn’t usually appreciate being
talked down to, definitely not the hardworking cowboys around here and
unfortunately it was a crime she was guilty of.
    In her search for the owner, Noelle strode past the opened barn.
The invigorating aroma of hay, leather and horse floated through the air. To
some the scent might seem offensive to the senses, but she loved it, ever since
her visits to the riding stables as a child, despite her protests. Being here
represented all the ways she had put her old life in the city behind her.
    At the same moment, a tall, dark haired man sporting a five o’clock
shadow exited the room with a saddle slung over his shoulder. Foreman. Noelle
straightened her spine and held on tighter to her small briefcase.
    The cowboy stopped in front of her. “You looking for the boss,
Ms. Williams?”
    She nodded. Okay, maybe he would be of some help. “Is he
nearby? I really don’t want to walk all the way across the ranch searching for
him.”
    The man chuckled and scratched his chin while looking her