Love Unspoken (15 page)

After making her way up the grassy path of the Wayland Ranch,
Noelle knocked on the front door of the two-story brick house. The door opened
right away, revealing the smiling, albeit weathered face, of Mr. Wayland. The
old man ushered her into the house, his wrinkled hands gesturing toward the
living room. He was saying something to her in that shaky voice of his but all
Noelle could see was drinks and cake centered on the coffee table. She groaned
inwardly. Hell no.

“Mr. Wayland,” she began. Surely he had to understand that her
visits weren’t social. It was her fucking job, one that she was enjoying less
and less each day. Noelle closed her mouth in mid-sentence and placed her
briefcase in front of the doorway and sighed. In a way, Mr. Wayland was just
like her. For more times than she could count over the years she had wanted
someone to sit down and talk with yet no one bothered. Even her own sister had
avoided her.

She plastered on a smile. “What’s going on, Mr. Wayland?” The
door closed behind her with a resonating thud. Noelle gave another quick
checked of her watch. It was going to be a long half an hour.

****

Cole wiped the smatterings of dust from his hands on his jeans.
He had just returned from retrieving some goods in town when he caught sight of
one of the tenderfoots, the same idiot Leewood, who had tried to pry into his
business during the cattle drive last week. The kid was trying to drag one of
the calves out of the pen. Of course he was doing a shit job of it. The only
thing being accomplished was Leewood getting his ass handed to him by a three
hundred pound Black Angus calf.

Amused at the scene playing out in front of the corral, Cole kept
his silence and watched the show. He had to give the boy some credit this time;
the idiot had worn his chaps to protect against the kicking. Seemed the only
way to teach some of the tenderfoots a lesson was to have them return to the
ranch, barely walking from the sting of the cuts and bruises.

Pushing down his annoyance at the kid, Cole ambled over,
intending only to help the save the animal from incompetence. A few skilled
holds and the calf was ready to be examined. Cole pinned Leewood with a stare.
Hopefully next time the tenderfoot would know what to do. Knowledge was one
thing he didn’t begrudge any of them no matter how annoying they could be. Good
help was a rare commodity around these parts. Many of the younger cowboys were
heading to the feedlots for work instead of the open range, which was probably
one of the reason his family’s ranch was failing miserably, a lack of money and
good hired help.

Damn. He hated to think about leaving Noelle behind. His mood darkened,
souring at the thought.

When the time came to return to Elk Basin, he wasn’t going to
have much time for himself or to see Noelle. Speaking over the telephone was
impossible, although it warmed his heart each and every time she left a message
on his cell phone for him to read or listen to. Luckily, he could rely on text
messages to let her know he was thinking of her each waking moment.

Flipping the hat on his head, Cole kept the brim low over his
face, offsetting the glare of the afternoon sunlight. The sun was riding low
over the prairie and he still had a dozen or so Herefords to brand before
sunset.

Might as well get started
.

A quick trip into the tack room to retrieve his chaps and he was
caught up in work, so much that when a pair of footsteps resonated behind him,
Cole didn’t look up. Was probably just Beau making sure everything was running
smoothly.

The person spoke, a deep baritone garnering his attention. Cole
carefully placed the branding iron on the dirt. He didn’t need to turn around
to know who it was. Of course Mr. Williams would seek him out sooner or later.
That had to explain why he was the one here dealing with Somerset instead of
Noelle.

“You remember me, son?”

Here we fucking go again. Did the man think he was that simple to
have forgotten who he was? Cole didn’t even bother to look at the man; instead
he dug into his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled.
I’m not
brain dead. If you came here to talk to me man to man, try again.

Mr. Williams stared at the paper for a minute longer, touched his
moustache then folded the paper and nodded. “That’s a fair demand. I apologize
for the offense.”

Cole blinked, surprised that Noelle’s father had conceded and
acknowledged his fault.

Mr. Williams took a sweeping look around the ranch before his
gaze landed on the cool branding iron.

“Nothing wrong with a bit of hard work is there?” He smiled at
Cole. “I know you don’t think highly of me. Probably think I look my nose down
at you because I have money.”

Cole shrugged. Yeah he did, but what Williams thought of him
wasn’t going to make or break him or his relationship with Noelle.

Mr. Williams leaned his head to the side, one hand shoved inside
the pocket of his slacks. “You care about Noelle don’t you?”

None of your business
.

“All right. You don’t have to answer that I suppose,” Mr. Williams
let out a small chuckle before sobering. “My daughter is a special case isn’t
she? Beautiful girl who just can’t seem to get her life together. Listen here. Regardless
of what you might think of me, I care about my daughter. I’ve always cared
about both of my children. Why else do you think we move out here subjecting
ourselves to being the only black family for miles around?”

Yes, why?
It was something he’d wondered about for awhile.
Williams could run his business from anywhere, live outside of Denver and have employees make the visits for him. They didn’t need to live neck deep in
isolation. And what the hell did he mean in reference to Noelle not having her
life together. Noelle was perfect. He didn’t know of any other woman who was as
organized and hard working as Noelle save for his own mother.

“Why are you telling me this?”
Cole signed furiously. The
man gave him a blank stare. Of course. Cole shook his head. Sometimes it was
too easy to forget not everyone would understand him.

“I don’t know what Noelle has been telling you about our family.
My guess is whatever she’s told you hasn’t been the truth.”

Cole saw red. Unbelievable. Now the man was going to try and spew
his bullshit about Noelle. He wasn’t going to listen to it. Cole turned,
determined to finish branding the rest of the cattle.

“Hear me out. This is for your own good if you decide to continue
this relationship with my daughter.” Mr. Williams moved in front of him.

Cole glared at the man. Why the hell wasn’t he able to take a
hint and shut the fuck up so he could get back to work and not have to hear
another disparaging word about Noelle?

“I have another daughter. However, I’m not sure if Noelle’s ever
mentioned her. Maybe not. Those two never meshed well.” Mr. Williams jammed his
hands even deeper into his pockets. “You know how it is, Noelle got the looks,
Aleah the brains. Noelle’s always had it in for us, I suppose. Never
appreciated anything we did for her. She even claimed to despise the money we
had, until it started serving her purposes.”

Cole lifted his eyebrows. He shouldn’t be indulging the man. Nevertheless,
there was that part of him who wanted to know everything about Noelle. Maybe
he’d be able to help her get past the moments of sadness he saw in her eyes
that she always tried to hide.

Mr. Williams’ eyes filled with sadness. “You know, Cole, one day
you’ll understand. Some things are just a parent’s worst nightmare. More so
when you think you’re doing all the right things and come to find out
everything has been occurring right under your nose. Own roof, in fact. I found
out a lot of things when it was too late. Noelle had quit going to school for a
couple of months before her mother and I got wind of it. By the time we found
out what was going on with her, just about the entire town did too. Our teenage
daughter was strung out on heroin most days, shooting up with her friends and latest
boyfriend. I wanted to die when I found out. I hold nothing against you, Cole.
I can see you’re a decent guy, but Noelle needs a change in her life. She needs
to socialize more with someone…” Mr. Williams paused as if it caused him
distress to speak. “My daughter needs to think about her future and stop
behaving like a teenager. You’re not the first guy Noelle’s attached herself to
so she could rebel against her mother and I. You won’t be the last.”

The muscles in his body went taut. His mind reeled against the
disgusting accusation. Williams had to be lying. Had to be. Noelle was
smart…decent. He couldn’t imagine her pushing a needle into her vein like some
careless addict.

“Now I’m not saying Noelle is doing those things anymore. I’ll
give her credit. She—”

Cole lifted his hand. He didn’t want to hear anything else about
Noelle, the men she had been with or her drug use. It sickened him to imagine
her jamming a needle into her body, defiling herself. Had any of them been
dirty, tainted? For a second his mind ran to all the times they’d made love
without protection. His body shuddered with guilt and shame at the turn of his
thoughts.

It all made sense why she hadn’t said anything to him. She had to
have anticipated his reaction. The normal reaction of any man finding out his
girlfriend was a drug addict. His lips curled. He hated even thinking the term.
It was embarrassing and shameful.

Cole rose to his feet intent on letting the man know he’d said
enough. Mr. Williams opened his mouth and Cole kept his hands clenched to his
sides.

 “I love her, son. If I didn’t, her mother and I wouldn’t have
worked so hard to get Noelle the help she needed. I just want the best for my
daughter, never mind the fact she still hasn’t earned back all the trust that
was lost because of her lying and stealing.”

Cole shook his head. The sad part was, he’d bet an entire month’s
pay Williams wasn’t trying to be an asshole. If anything the man would know
Noelle better than he did. Or thought he did. Never in a million years would he
have assumed what Mr. Williams just told him about Noelle. Cole clamped his eyelids
against an image of Noelle pushing a needle into those beautiful slender arms.

After Williams said his piece and left, Cole struggled to get
through with branding the rest of the cattle. He wanted to see Noelle, but he
knew if he saw her now it would be too soon.

Wrong as it had been for him to build her up in his head, he
couldn’t shake the disappointment. Disappointment and anger slithered through
him, tainting his opinion of her.
Drug addict.
And all because she
wanted to rebel and spite her family. He couldn’t imagine the sort of person
who would do that. Certainly not Noelle.

Had she worn the same look of despair, sunken cheeks and track
marks that he assumed they all wore?  What a mistake he’d made. He never should
have thought of Noelle as perfect, for one. Two, he never should have believed
anyone who was perfect would belong to him. Finally, his biggest mistake had
been trusting her to be honest with him. If Mr. Williams hadn’t felt the need
to enlighten him, how long would he have remained in the dark? Up until she
started using it again, because there was always that risk with addicts, right?

He shoved a hand through his hair. He wished he knew more about
the subject, knew more about what the fuck she had been thinking and why he’d
gotten involved with her in the first place when there was no clear future in
it for them.

Worse, her father’s word kept ringing in his ears. Noelle only
dated men she felt were beneath her. Cole snorted. He deserved it for actually
believing she had chosen to be with him out of all the men she could have.
Turns out she was with him exactly because he was so different. He wondered if
she had ever planned on saying anything to him. Chances were she did and thought
because of his disability he’d accept anything from her. He had acted like such
a damn fool fawning all over her like a lovesick boy, of course she would think
so. That had to explain why she had chosen him over someone like Beau, the
foreman who had more potential and who her father would have had an easier time
accepting. Her family. That was another issue. Sure the drug use left a
repugnant taste in his mouth, but that wasn’t the deal breaker. If her family
for all their wealth tried so hard to please her and failed, where the heck
would he stand? How soon would it be before Noelle got tired and turned to
something else, or someone else to give her what he couldn’t?

The worry rolled over and settled in his mind as he strode down
the path to the houses. Cole reached his room and for the first time since he’d
given a key to Noelle, he hoped to God she wouldn’t be waiting for him in his
bed.

Chapter
Fourteen

Something was wrong. Noelle could feel it in her bones. Not once
since the day started did she hear the gentle chiming of her phone that sent
her heart leaping with joy. Not a single text from Cole.

 Noelle pressed the button, closing the screen of her cell phone.
Throughout the day she had sent Cole a number of texts to which he normally
replied within minutes no matter how busy he was. After the fourth message,
she’d given up and decided to stop by the ranch in the evening.

Truth be told, she was terrified. Her father’s demeanor remained
static but there was just something about the way he avoided her eyes last night
when she’d returned from Wayland Ranch after he had called to let her know he’d
already visited the Somerset Ranch.

Noelle swallowed a painful lump in her throat. Cole knew the
truth about her. That had to be the reason for his lack of communication. She
wasn’t stupid enough to think her father had left without stirring the pot. Of
course he’d seize the opportunity to tell Cole. Noelle bit her lips. Cole had
to be feeling disappointed and betrayed by her because of the way she had
portrayed herself.