Love Unspoken
Authors: Delilah Hunt
Evernight
Publishing
Copyright©
2011 Delilah Hunt
ISBN:
978-1-926950-84-6
Cover Artist: LF Designs
Editor: Caitlin Ray
ALL
RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are
fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or
persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To all the
authors who have inspired me from childhood and into adulthood, you have my
undying gratitude, and for everyone who has taken the time to read my words and
help bring life to these characters, I am ever thankful.
LOVE UNSPOKEN
Delilah
Hunt
Copyright
© 2011
Chapter
One
“Is this going to take much longer?” Noelle drummed her finger
against the counter, glancing down at her watch.
Hands shaking, the sales clerk plucked the receipt from the
register. “Not another minute, Miss Williams. Everything should be inside.” The
nervous woman held out a bag.
Noelle grabbed the paper bag from the clerk and hastened through the
exit door. She was behaving awful, a new low for her. It wasn’t the cashier’s
fault she was being used as an errand girl, picking up her mother’s purchases
because she was out at lunch with her sister.
She hadn’t received an invitation. No surprise there. Her sister,
Aleah didn’t have a blemish across her name. Noelle did, one borne out of sheer
selfishness and stupidity that she was still trying to make up for.
A beeping sound jolted inside her leather handbag. Noelle reached
into the bag and silenced the vibration of her cell phone. She frowned. Did her
parents know her phone went off for every fucking thing on her schedule, just
so she’d always be prompt and never have to hear a word of complaint?
Doubtful.
Cutting across the street to the parking lot, she pushed the
button and unlocked her sports car.
Feeds the image
, she thought, as she
bent low to enter the Corvette. Out of nowhere, a finger tapped lightly at her
back. Noelle stiffened. Alarm bells tolled in her ears. The hell if she was
going to take being approached from behind in broad daylight without a fight.
“Get your hands off me,” she whispered with dead calm, tilting
her head to the side. Her gaze scoured upward… and upward. The warning bells
rang a different tone, a melodious chiming. The kind that made her stomach
flutter and made her want to smack herself across the face.
It was Cole McKinney. Blood rushed into her face. Noelle took a
deep breath. If she’d known who it was, she would have tried for a better
reaction.
“Yes?” She raised her eyebrows, awaiting some form of response.
Whatever that might be for a person who couldn’t speak. More important, a ranch
hand whose name shouldn’t be in her vocabulary.
Despite her cold demeanor, his lips twitched into a semblance of
a smile as if he’d found something amusing about her. Long thick fingers dug
into the pocket of his jeans, which were hung low on his lean waist. The man
reminded her of a bear. Thick brown hair, streaked with strands of gold,
reflecting the sunlight. Eyes dark, like pools of ink. He wasn’t breathtakingly
handsome…a bit on the rough side…but still, looking at the dark giant made her
lower belly tingle.
It was stupid. Cole had to be the tallest and biggest man in
these parts, not someone any woman in her right mind would welcome into her bed
without the fear of being manhandled and broken. Her eyes went to his biceps.
His entire body was comprised of solid muscles more befitting a power lifter,
than a cowboy in Copper Mesa, aka middle of nowhere, Colorado.
He pulled out a plastic card she immediately recognized and
handed it to her. Noelle took it from him, making sure to avoid contact.
“How did you get it?” she asked, unable to keep the suspicion
from her voice. Before he had a chance to answer her face heated. It was her
mistake. In her haste, she’d forgotten to retrieve the credit card from the
sales clerk.
“I…um. I’m sorry.” She hated apologizing. A flaw that perhaps she
should have worked on—perfected seven years ago.
Cole lifted a brawny shoulder and waved his hand.
Guess that
means no big deal in Sign Language
, Noelle thought. Not that she had any
way of knowing for certainty. The only language she’d taken in the prestigious
private school she’d attended was French and she couldn’t recall a lick of it.
Noelle darted her gaze around. Although they weren’t alone in the
parking lot, she felt awkward standing there with him and it had nothing to do
with his unending silence. She was afraid to look into his eyes. There was just
something about those beautiful dark orbs that made her feel as if she could
read into his mind. Noelle sighed inwardly. It was a ridiculous thought and she
had no business noticing so much about him. Especially details she couldn’t
blame on the proximity of her home to the ranch belonging to her neighbor Randy
Somerset.
“Did you park near by?” She needed to say something, anything to
fracture the excruciating silence. If only she knew how one went about a
conversation with a—a? She didn’t even know what to call him or his condition
rather, because Cole had to be much more than his affliction.
He shook his head and pointed ahead of her. Confused, Noelle
nodded in pretense of understanding and mustered up a smile.
His thick brows furrowed as he stared at her for a second longer.
Reaching into his back pocket Cole pulled out a small notepad.
Noelle watched, unsure what to make of him and the quick motion
of his hand, scribbling on the paper. He tore off the sheet, handing it to her.
“My truck. It’s at the shop. I left it there for a tune-up.”
She mouthed the word
Oh
and looked around. It was June,
the sun at it’s highest point of the day and blazing down on the small town.
Today was one of those days when not even the cool crisp air of the Rocky Mountains could bring relief from the heat. Noelle itched to get inside her car under
the cool breeze of the air conditioning. How long was he planning on waiting
out here for his truck? Within an hour or two, the only driving the cowboy
would be doing was inside an ambulance for heatstroke instead of his precious
red pickup.
I can’t believe I’m asking this.
“How long is that going
to take?”
His eyes narrowed in confusion. Noelle pursed her lips and
clarified. “This tune-up, how long do you have to wait for your truck before
it’s ready?”
He held up three fingers then a shrug, making her feel as if her
concern was out of place. Whatever. She had enough to deal with on her
conscience and a dead cowboy was not a welcomed addition.
“You plan on staying out here the entire time?”
She’d failed to keep the shock from her voice. That had to be the
only explanation for his reaction when he tilted back his head and laughed, or
what she assumed was his version of a laugh. A small puff of air, barely
audible, yet there nonetheless along with a wicked grin that was doing a number
on her senses.
Yeah, this isn’t gonna do
.
“Don’t you have to get back to work, whatever it is you do with
those cows?”
Another nod. He stuck a finger in the direction of the ranch and
made a walking motion with two digits.
He couldn’t be serious. It had to be over a hundred degrees and
the ranch was at least two miles out of the way.
Noelle propped her arm on the hood. “I had no idea life was that
hard on the ranch for you to attempt suicide.”
His lips spread into a wide grin. Weird. Didn’t he talk to his
fellow workers? None of them had a smile for her. Not after the harsh
rejections she threw out left and right from the cowboys desperate for any
woman within a fifty-mile radius of the isolated cattle ranch.
Noelle made an exaggerated point of checking her watch. She
really did need to hurry back home and despite what Cole might think, she
couldn’t leave him out there without a ride back to the prairie.
If her father saw her with him or found out about her
‘generosity’ Noelle knew it would just be another tear, unraveling everything
she’d worked for years on. With the heat scorching at her skin, she glanced
backward at the man standing inches away from her small car. Nope. She wasn’t
going to leave him out there. Easing into the driver’s seat, she turned to him.
“Come on in. I’ll give you a ride back.”
Cole blinked in apparent shock before lowering his gaze to his
boots then back up. He shook his head, making no attempt to accept her offer.
Noelle glared at him. “What’s wrong with my car?”
He lifted an eyebrow, expression darkening as if he didn’t
appreciate her outburst. Gripping a pen, he began to write on the little
notepad.
He handed it to her.
I meant no offense, Ms. Williams. I don’t
want to dirty your car.
The steam fizzled out of her. He was only being considerate.
Noelle looked him up and down. He was wearing a deep red plaid button-down
shirt, dusty blue jeans. His boots were smeared with red dirt and dust, more
than a little worn.
She gripped the steering wheel. “It’s fine, Cole. It’s just a few
minutes ride. I doubt you’ll ruin the leather.”
He gave her a long stare before opening the door to her right.
Noelle cranked the engine into drive. Jesus Christ. Why had she invited him in?
In the space now cramped by his impressive frame, she had a clear shot of his
profile. Despite his rugged looks, she realized that he couldn’t be much older
than her own twenty-five years. If she had to guess, he was just entering his
thirties or almost there. She stole another glance through the corner of her
eyes. Did she make him nervous? She couldn’t imagine anything ruffling such a
large man, but he had referred to her as Miss. Somewhere inside him, there had
to be some form of respect for her. That was good; after all it was the main
thing she strived for.
Noelle kept her eyes on the road. A minute passed, then the
temptation proved too much. She shifted her head to the right. His eyes
captured hers in the exact moment. The hand on the steering wheel slipped for a
split second. She dragged her gaze away, focusing on the curved road ahead.