by Delilah Hunt
Cole nodded at woman staring at him expectantly. He had a feeling these women knew too much about his guilt in dealing with Noelle.
Notepad in hand, he wrote to her. I’m sure you know everything that happened. I’d like to apologize to your daughter and ask her forgiveness. Please tell me if she’s here or not.
Would they be cruel and keep him from her? Mrs. Williams seemed reasonable enough. The other one…he didn’t know. She had her arms folded and looked as if she wanted to stab him. He liked her already and would thank her if he could for being on Noelle’s side.
“Noelle moved out a long time ago,” the sister blurted, a look of triumph on her face. “I doubt she even remembers your name.”
Ouch. The spitfire was out for blood. He hoped she was a liar, too.
“Aleah’s right, Cole. Noelle no longer lives here. I’m sorry you came here expecting to see her.”
Sorry? Like hell he was going to walk away without finding out where his woman lived.
Nothing to be sorry about Ma’am. It’s been a pleasure talking to you, but I came here to see Noelle and I’d appreciate your help to at least let her hear me out and decide for herself.
Aleah stood on her tiptoes glancing over Mrs. Williams’ shoulder as the woman read his note. He could see the outrage forming on the girl’s face.
“No way. You come here expecting us to help you break my sister’s heart again. You must be out of your mind. Noelle would be better off dating a—”
Mrs. Williams spun on her daughter so fast Cole almost missed it. “Will you be quiet? You’re doing a bit too much talking for Noelle.” She looked at Cole and gave him a tiny smile. “Talking too much is another problem I have with my girls. Aleah is right though, I’m not sure it’s the best thing to give you an opening back into Noelle’s life. She was extremely hurt after her visit with you. I’m sorry, Cole.”
Fuck. Leaving Copper Mesa without seeing Noelle wasn’t an option. They had been separated far too long because of his stupidity.
Cole gazed at Mrs. Williams, placed his hand over his heart and tapped it. Dammit, the woman had to understand that he loved her daughter. I love Noelle. I just want to try and make her happy. He handed the piece of paper to the woman standing in front of him, ignoring the open stare of Noelle’s sister.
“I want to do right by my daughter, Cole. You have to understand the position I’m in. Right now, I don’t think it’s best to give you her address. I’m sorry. It was nice to finally meet you, however. I can see how my daughter would fall for you.” She drew the door to a close.
Cole stood there in shock. Why hadn’t he suspected she would have moved out? He turned toward the driveway when the door slowly pushed open. Mrs. Williams’ head popped out of the doorway. Cole clenched his fist. She was probably about to warn him from trying to find Noelle.
“Foxhead Trail might seem like the best place for someone in your position to sit and contemplate if a life with my daughter is what you truly want.”
Foxhead Trail? Cole nodded then waved at the woman before taking off in his truck. Mrs. Williams looked to be in her early fifties. He didn’t expect her to start going crazy so soon. There was only one trail around these parts and it wasn’t called Foxhead. She had to be hinting at something else and if it led him to Noelle, he was damn sure going to find out what the woman meant.
Chapter Nineteen
Noelle stepped out of her car and turned the corner of the icy entryway to her apartment. The spikes of ice jutting from the rooftop and pavement marked this season as one of the harshest winters she had experienced since moving to southern Colorado in her teens. She’d spoken with Mr. Somerset a few days ago during a visit with her parents. The rancher had declared the frigid cold hell on his cattle. When he’d said those words, her mind drifted to Cole and his family. She wondered how the winter was treating their herd of cattle. All thoughts of Cole she had, she kept it to herself, not wanting anyone to know the burly cowboy was still on her mind.
She hadn’t made it to the staircase leading to the entrance before she saw him. Like something out a dream, he stood there against the railing, hat in hand, thumbing the curved brim. He was wearing a thick fleece jacket. His brown hair seemed darker than ever, without the glint of the sunrays hitting it. His strong jawline was covered with a thin layer of dark hair. Noelle smiled to herself. He looked good. The facial hair fitted him, especially in wintertime. She almost let loose a full-blown smile that would have given away her emotions. Now he really looked the cuddly bear she’d secretly thought of him, but never would have voiced in a hundred years. Noelle sighed. Those thoughts reflected when they were on good terms, when she and Cole had a relationship and were not just two people drifting about the world in separate directions.
Noelle straightened her shoulders and stepped forward. This should be interesting to see what he has to say.
“Should I be flattered or terrified that you found me?” She stopped below the staircase, gazing up at him before climbing the distance to meet him.
He gave a crooked smile. Noelle pursed her lips and arched a brow. She needed answers, not smiles meant to placate her.
“What are you doing here?”
His eyes coursed over her entire frame, concealed in the wool coat. “Nothing’s changed, Cole. I still look the same and act the same. Same shitty past. Nothing’s changed. So I ask again, why are you standing in front of my apartment?”
“I’m sorry, beauty. I’m so sorry.” He stretched out a cold hand, touching her face. Noelle flinched and pulled away from him. His hand fell to his sides, then he lifted them and signed, “Do you hate me?”
“Yes and no. I hate how easily it was for you to get rid of me. I hate that you were bothered by my past when you should have been able to look past it within a split second if you cared about me. I hate that I don’t know what you feel for me. But do I hate you as a person? No. I don’t hate anyone,” she added, to make her words appear neutral.
He nodded slowly, a slight look of embarrassment cutting across his face. “Can I write to you?” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the notepad and a pen. “I have more to say. Things I need to have you understand.”
Her anger waned somewhat. She had forgotten how vulnerable he could be sometimes underneath all that masculinity. “Of course you can write to me.”
Like a lightning bolt, the pen flashed across the notepad as he jotted down each word. Finally he handed the paper to her. Noelle read each word, a hand on her throat, smoothing the clog from her heart that was bounding upward.
Noelle. He wrote her name again. Noelle. I wish I could say your name. I’d say it every chance I got to remind you how sorry I am for ruining what we had. I’d say it everyday when I get up to work, reminding myself of my reason for living. I know it’s not an excuse, but I was trying to save you from me. I love you so fucking much Noelle, my beauty. So much that I didn’t want you to be stuck with a no good cowboy, barely holding on to his livelihood and a family to support. You deserve better. I told you to go because I thought I was sparing you from all the struggles we’d have to go through.
It was never about your past…not in the long run. I was an idiot for my reaction and it makes me feel ashamed knowing how badly I hurt you.
If you read this far, without throwing the paper in the snow, I want you to know I still don’t have much to offer in terms of money, but I will work my ass off to keep you warm and comfortable. I’m not asking for you to say you love me in return; I only want you to know that whether or not you decide to open your heart to me again, I’ll always love you. I can’t stop. I wouldn’t know how to stop, beauty.
Noelle wiped away a tear before the next one fell, completely wetting the spot where he signed his name. She should hate him. Slap him across the face for rejecting her love, but how could she? Not once had she ever told him ‘I love you’. She had lain with him, scorned him, railed at him and shouted her hatred, but the three most important words she should have
said went unspoken. Noelle glanced at him. She saw the uncertainty and fear in his eyes. Her heart blossomed with love. He was no longer closed off from her. She could read into those gorgeous dark eyes and see into her man’s soul.
“You love me?” She wanted to see it in his eye when he answered.
He unzipped his jacket, held her gloved hands between his big palms and brought it to his chest, over his heart.
I. Love. You, he mouthed.
A tear rolled down her cheek at his silent declaration. She knew he must have practiced how to form each word in his mirror.
Wiping away the wetness, Noelle pressed her head to his solid chest and held it there, his large hands smoothing along her back. She loved him so much and by some miracle she had him again.
Noelle raised her head, stood on her tiptoes and brought her lips to his. How she missed his taste on her tongue. She wanted more of him, but in this moment, out in open, a kiss was the ultimate gift. When the kiss ended, Noelle took his hands and placed it above her heart, in the same fashion he had done.
“I love you.” She held up her right hand and signed the words as well.
His chest rose and his eyes closed then open, blazing with intensity. Suddenly the winter didn’t seem so frigid.
“I never thought I’d hear those words from you. Thank you, beauty.”
Noelle held his hands and brushed her lips across his knuckles. “Don’t ever thank me for loving you. My heart belongs to you and now I know you belong to me. I can’t do anything but love you, Cole. I had about as much choice in it, as needing air to breathe. When I thought I’d never see you again, I made up my mind to live as best as I could without you.” Noelle swallowed, so thankful she no longer had to be without him. “I didn’t like it, and I thought about you every single day. I always hoped you hadn’t forgotten me. That you hadn’t fallen for the sweet little farm girl I taunted you about. It feels like a dream with you here. That’s what we should be thankful for. Our second chance. I won’t ever turn my back on you, Cole, not for my family, not for anyone or anything in this world. Can you promise me the same?”
“I promise you that and more. I’ll always be on your side. You will be the only woman in my heart.” He lifted his hands to sign something else. Thought better of it and whipped out the notepad once more. His fingers lingered on the paper before handing it to her.
Noelle, I want to be with you for as long as you’ll have me.
Noelle grinned, folded the paper, and put it in her pocket. Amazing how she felt so much lighter as if she would flutter away with joy because of him. She never wanted her happiness to be dependent on anyone else, but it was and she knew it was the same for him. They were each half of a whole, needing the other with the same intensity and splendid passion.
Reaching for her keys, Noelle smiled while looking up at him. “No less than sixty years, cowboy. Anything below that and I’ll consider it a breaking of your promise.”
His arms came around her waist as soon as they entered the apartment, his large boot kicking the front door closed. Sighing in bliss, Noelle leaned into him cherishing the feel of his warm lips on her neck, the woodsy scent of him she had missed so much. This she could definitely get used to for the rest of their lives.
Epilogue
Noelle still hated to count the days, but today was different. It was exactly seven months to the day that they were married in the small church ceremony, nine months and five days since she had moved onto the Tumbling Y Ranch inside the guesthouse that was currently being remodeled and extended. While she was elated by the many blessings that came her way over the past two years, Noelle was overjoyed for Cole even more. Today marked the day the Tumbling Y, belonged solely and without a cent of debt to Cole.
After their reunion in January, they’d spent the next two days locked inside her apartment making love until her legs became numb and she lost count of the numerous orgasms. Cole hadn’t minded in the least of her dilemma, insisting the bed was the best place for her anyway. When they’d finally decide to rejoin the rest of humanity, Cole returned to his family’s ranch out of necessity and Noelle made a visit to her parents’ home informing them of her relationship with Cole and that this time it was forever, regardless of what they thought. It came as no surprise that her mother supported the union. The biggest shock had been her father’s quiet acceptance, simply stating that he wished her happiness and perhaps she just might find it with the ‘ranch hand’. She knew he hadn’t meant it in a derogatory way, but nevertheless it irked her to no end.
In the months leading up to their wedding, her father’s attitude toward their relationship shifted. Perhaps he saw and felt the love Cole had for her. She didn’t know, didn’t really care. It was nice to have him treat Cole with the respect he deserved.
A few weeks before the wedding, her mother showed up at the ranch unexpectedly, a stack of papers in hand. For a second Noelle wondered if things were falling into reverse and her mother wanted to use her as an assistant once more. Naturally Noelle had been stunned when her mom broke down and explained what the paper work was, the same ones she’d seen her working on that night a year ago. Money they had set aside for each daughter to be available after reaching the age of twenty-one. Her mother confessed that Aleah had received hers years ago, while they had been on the fence about handing over such a large sum of money to their eldest.
Noelle looked at the manila envelope in her hand. Her first instinct had been to refuse the money but she thought of all the good that would come out of it, swallowing her resentment for the sake of Cole and their future. At the time he’d been making preparations along with his parents to sell the ranch because of the loss of profit. The money was a substantial amount, but not enough to cancel all the McKinney debt. The money gave them the boost and desire needed to give it one more shot and with Cole’s unwavering hard work, the Tumbling Y would be home to all future generation of McKinney’s.
Well, she hoped so at least. Noelle looked down at her stomach. There wasn’t a child growing within her. With each passing day and her love for Cole ever mounting, she wanted to feel his child inside her. Noelle glanced out the window. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Her heart stirred. Above all else, she wanted Cole, her silent cowboy and the only man she would devote her love and life to.
His head dipped, lowering to meet her eyes from the kitchen window. Noelle blushed. Damn. He always knew when she was watching him, no matter the distance. His gaze lingered on her breasts then lifted. Her cunt watered with anticipation She knew that look in his eyes.
When the door opened, Noelle bit back a squeal. Her husband was magnificent. If she didn’t know how sweet and gentle he could be, she’d be running for cover at the thought of that letting such a giant of a man anywhere near her body, much less between her thighs.
“The Release of Lien came.” She held up the envelope, ignoring the slow heat spreading across her lower belly.
Cole nodded without the slightest interest in the paper. His gaze centered on her face.
“Put it down.”
She laid it on the countertop. “What do you want?” she asked softly.
His big hand lifted to capture a lock of hair she had recently braided. His other hand went to her breasts, fondling the tingling flesh beneath her t-shirt.
Noelle bit her lips. His erection was straining against his jeans. She looked over at the clock. His mother wouldn’t arrive for another thirty minutes to have their weekly lunch.
She caressed the front of his pants. “You left before I woke up this morning.”
He tilted his head back and pushed his cock into her hands. “I did.”
She opened the zipper and slid her fingers into the flap of his briefs, stroking her fingertip along the length. Her hand delved deeper, teasing his testicles. She traced her lips across his chest. “Show me what you want, sweetheart. I’ll do anything for you.”
Cole closed a hand over her shoulder and urged her down between his legs. Kneeling b
efore him, Noelle watched, her eyes moist and pussy throbbing as Cole reached into his underwear, not bothering to remove his clothes. His cock bobbed free, the broad bulbous tip shiny with pre-cum. His cock rose proudly in front of her face. Noelle let out a small moan when he adjusted the opening and lifted his sac, releasing them from their confine.
Noelle arched her back and straightened her neck to gain added height as Cole fisted his shaft and slid the slickened head across her lips.
Smiling down at her, he pulled back an inch and lightly slapped it across her cheek. Noelle felt her cunt tighten as he took hold of a handful of her braids and brought her head forward, pushing his prick between her lips. Noelle remained still, allowing him to control the movement. She didn’t mind. Her husband loved being inside her mouth and she knew how much he enjoyed simply fucking her mouth. He had been shy to admit the preference, fearing she’d take it to mean he no longer wished to feel her lips drawing and suckling on his penis.
Noelle gripped his rock hard thighs and moaned low in her throat as the tip hit the back of her throat before he withdrew, thrusting in and out, using her mouth.
She glanced up at him, noted the way his nostrils flared and is chest heaved with his each powerful jerk of his hips toward her face. He looked down at her, eyes flashing and wound the hair tighter about his fist, allowing her no movement except to take what he gave.
She was positively dripping. Noelle could feel the juices sliding down her inner thighs. Oh God, she was coming. Noelle mewled in the back of throat. Cole, triggered by the sound, tugged on her hair and pumped faster into her mouth, shoving his prick into the turn of her throat. And then she felt it. He held her face to his groin, the pubic hairs grazing the skin on her face, but she loved it. Loved the power he had over her during this act. He kept fucking, slowing his thrusts to match each spurt of cum that spewed from the head into her parched throat. When the last burst of semen trickled from the tip, he withdrew and held the shaft in his hands, staring at his twitching member.
