Unspoken Secrets Of Two Hearts (Preview)

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Chapter One

Dorothy smoothed out her skirt as she sat down on the porch of her parents’ ranch, looking out over the rolling hills leading to the footsteps of mountains in the distance, resisting the urge to tuck her legs underneath her. As the only child of Montana’s most successful ranchers, she was expected to maintain appearances, especially when in clear view of the staff and workers, but that always made little sense to Dorothy. Very little about her life was similar to the other upstanding ladies that her parents wanted her to be like. At nineteen, she preferred baking to needlework, and through no fault of her own, was essentially useless at hobnobbing with local officials at church socials.

Looking out over the sprawling fields of cattle with the occasional outbuildings dotting the landscape, Dorothy could spend hours watching the way the wind bent the branches back and forth, or noting how the latest batch of calves were developing. Deaf since birth, Dorothy was oblivious to the chaotic sound of braying horses, angry cattle and shouting ranch hands. As such, her perch on the ranch house porch was a peaceful one. 

She’d learned long ago that whatever she lacked in hearing she could make up for by developing her other senses. There were things that happened on the ranch that escaped the notice of everyone else, but Dorothy knew the ins and out of all the comings and goings at Longhorn. She’d been the first to notice that David, the aging ranch hand’s ankles were going quickly, and she’d suggested to her father that they find a new position for him, something that wouldn’t require him to be on his feet so much. Stubborn as he was, her father hadn’t listened straight away, but learned his lesson soon when David’s ankle snapped the very next day.

They’d been shorthanded since, but finally managed to find a suitable replacement. To someone else he might have just seemed like any other ranch hand, but Dorothy had spotted him a mile away, not only because he was a new face but also because he’d clearly been saddled with the jobs that no one else wanted to do. She giggled a little, watching as the young man dropped the post he was meant to be hammering into the ground, but was impressed to see that he picked it right back up, unphased. Fence-mending was no easy task, but he seemed to take to it well and without complaint.

It didn’t escape Dorothy’s notice that he was handsome. His skin was nicely tanned from all the time spent out of doors, but wasn’t as leathery as the other, older ranch hands. His hands looked large and strong as they swept his tawny brown hair out of his eyes, and there was something sweetly vulnerable about the slope of his shoulders. 

“I hope that Danny can pick up quickly. We need to be getting the herd out on the road in a matter of months, and no one knew this place like David did,” she remembered her father saying the previous week. Her parents had never bothered to learn sign language, so Dorothy had been forced to learn how to read lips. Given her curious nature, it had come easily to her, but she still harbored some resentment over the fact that neither of her parents had taken the time to study the hand gestures that had the power to open up Dorothy’s world. Yes, she could write notes to her mother and father with chalk on the slate she kept with her at all times, but it was no kind of replacement for the quick communication of sign language.

Danny. That was his name, she remembered. He looked about her age, maybe a year or two older. Word has it he was from out of town, having just arrived from the east coast. It was lucky for them that he’d arrived when he had, otherwise Dorothy herself might have needed to help out around the ranch. In fact, she would have loved to, but her father would never have let such a thing happen. Instead, she spent most of her time reading and hoping for a future where she could go to the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut. Her parents had tried to send her to the school in town for a while, but it was impossible to even take notes given how much concentration was required to read the lips of the school master. Reading offered her some insight into the ways of the world outside of the ranch, but she longed for a proper education. 

She felt safe studying Danny’s sturdy frame from where she sat, sure that he would not look over in her direction. Dorothy considered herself practically invisible to everyone else, despite the fact that she really was quite a pretty girl. Her light brown hair was tinged with highlights the color of spun gold, and her delicate features were the envy of most girls in town. As soon as anyone heard her awkward style of mumbled speech, however, she slunk into the background to avoid the teasing jeers and pitying smiles. It was better to not talk at all.

In fact, Danny did look over in her direction, more than once, in fact, and with a smile. Dorothy confidently waved back to him, enjoying the brief moment of normalcy. Everything would surely change as soon as he discovered she was deaf. The pitying look that crossed the face of any new acquaintance as soon as she revealed her lack of hearing was a very familiar one to her. Still, for a while she could pretend that she was just a normal girl, relishing the joy of a longing gaze from a handsome boy. 

In another world, maybe he would have strolled over to her, asked after her parents, presented her with a bouquet of wildflowers and wondered nervously if she’d like to come with him to a barn dance at the Hennesy’s the following week. Dorothy indulged in the fantasy for a moment, but it was impossible to enjoy it for too long before reality came crashing back down. It wasn’t just her deafness that made such a dream impossible, but also her station in life. Her parents most certainly expected to marry her off to some rail baron or local politician. 

Through the floorboards of the porch, Dorothy could feel the vibrations of footsteps coming towards her, and she turned around to see the smiling face of her one true friend in the world, Beth Fraser. Beth was the daughter of the family cook, Mrs. Eliza Fraser, and she and Dorothy had practically grown up as sisters. Dorothy’s parents certainly didn’t approve of her spending so much time in the kitchen, but she was able to sneak down several times a day without her mother or father taking much notice. 

“Now I see why you’ve been spending so much time up here on the porch today! Who’s the new ranch hand? He’s very handsome, isn’t he?” Beth signed excitedly, sitting down next to Dorothy after looking around to make sure that there wasn’t anyone besides other staff members nearby. Much to their credit, both Mrs. Fraser and Beth had taken the time years ago to learn sign language with Dorothy (thanks to the help of the local pastor, who’d sent away for the instruction manuals). As such, they were the only two people in the world that Dorothy felt she could truly be herself around.

“Watch out, he might see you talking about him!” Dorothy signed back with a blush. She immediately realized the ridiculousness of her statement; there was very little chance that Danny could make out their gestures from where he was, even if he could understand sign language.

“I highly doubt that man can string together two coherent sentences, let alone understand what we’re saying.” Beth rolled her eyes with a smile. “No one that handsome could possibly have been blessed with any significant amount of intelligence.”

“He’s not that handsome, is he?” Dorothy asked, surprised that she wasn’t alone in her assessment of the new ranch hand. 

“I certainly think he is, but I suppose you’d prefer someone in a proper jacket and top hat, wouldn’t you?” Beth teased. It was Dorothy’s turn to roll her eyes. Truthfully, she had no idea what kind of man would make an ideal husband for her, but it seemed very unlikely she would have any say in the matter anyway.

“His name is Danny, and he’s just arrived from the east coast. That’s all I know about him,” Dorothy revealed. 

“Danny. That’s a proper name. I wonder if he’ll be boarding at the ranch or in town. The girls at the tavern would eat him up in two minutes.” Beth giggled, and Dorothy could tell by the way her friend’s eyes lit up that she was really taken with the new ranch hand, even though she’d only just laid eyes on him. 

“Have you forgotten so quickly about Phil from town?” Dorothy asked, reminding Beth about the young man who had been hopelessly trying to court her for months. Beth detested the sight of him but Dorothy loved to tease her about his intentions. Phil was nothing more than the blacksmith’s son, yet he paraded about as if he owned the whole town, all too aware that his shoulders were wider than any other man’s, and his beard thicker. As soon as he’d tasted one slice of Beth’s famous bread, he’d fallen head over heels in love with her and followed her around like a puppy. 

“Don’t ever mention that man to me again. Did you hear he came by yesterday evening to give me some bracelet he’d rudely smashed together from two old, tarnished silver spoons? He presented them to me like it was a necklace of rubies and sapphires or the like. I just about collapsed from embarrassment.” 

Dorothy’s eyes went wide as she thought of the burly man doing something that sweet.

“He’s no jeweler, I’m sure, but you have to admit that it was thoughtful of him and very kind!” Dorothy protested.

“There’s nothing thoughtful or kind about the man. If he really cared about my happiness, then he’d leave me alone. You know the things he’s said about you in the past. How could I ever think fondly of him when I can’t forget the way he used to make fun of you when we were children?” Beth reminded her.

“To be fair, I’m not sure there’s anyone in town who didn’t make fun of me when we were younger,” Dorothy pointed out. It was true. Another one of the reasons why she’d been unable to continue with regular schooling had been because of the cruel teasing of the other children. 

“And you won’t see me marrying any of them either. I’ll venture to guess that this Danny character is a more thoughtful type, however. Doesn’t it look like there’s a softness to his eyes and brow?”

“Shouldn’t you be helping your mother with something?” Dorothy teased Beth, trying to ignore the odd sting of jealousy she was experiencing for the first time. It was rare that she wished she could hear, but it didn’t escape her notice that Beth would have a much easier time connecting with someone like Danny than she would. Beth could flash her bright green eyes in his direction and engage in playful banter over any number of things. Dorothy often thought to herself that she would have made a brilliant conversationalist had she the bravery to use her voice more often, but communication with most people was strained at best. As such, she kept to herself more often than not. 

“For your information, I’m just waiting for my dough to rise before kneading it again. Why don’t you come help me? Your mother would be furious to see you sitting out here in the sun. You know how she feels about preserving your complexion.”

Dorothy sighed. Her friend was right. Dorothy’s mother was always going on and on about keeping out of harsh conditions, lest her face dare show one ounce of the passage of time. At her young age, Dorothy was hardly concerned about faint lines or spots, especially since she rarely left the ranch anyway, but avoiding her mother’s wrath was of paramount concern. Finding her in the kitchens would hardly please Mrs. Maragon anymore than finding her daughter in the bright sun, but Dorothy’s mother hardly stepped foot in the servant’s area anyway. 

Before leaving for the kitchen, Dorothy looked back once more at the new ranch hand. He was now chopping wood, letting his axe fall cleanly through one thick branch after another quite deftly. She had to admit it was an impressive display of strength, and she could have kept watching for quite some time except that she noticed Beth was just as entertained as she was by the sight. 

“It’s rude to stare,” Dorothy signed in front of Beth’s face, pulling her playfully away from the porch, and back around to the side of the house where they’d be able to enter the kitchen unnoticed. She resisted the urge to look again before slipping inside, knowing she’d pushed her luck already, but that night her dreams were filled with the memory of Danny’s eyes meeting hers across the grasses.

Chapter Two

“Take some mercy on the man. Let Danny help himself first. He did more work today than the rest of us have the month over. Albeit work we all try to avoid, but all the more reason to reward the fellow,” Terrence announced as the hands crowded around the kitchen table in a vague line up before Mrs. Fraser’s ladle. 

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly,” Danny insisted, but the man handed him a bowl of stew before he could protest again. 

“What Mr. Terrence says, goes. You’ll learn that soon enough,” Mrs. Fraser said with a kind wink, gesturing to a place at the table for Danny to take. He waited politely before eating his meal, but started in as soon as he saw the man next to him (who went by the name of Austin) immediately dig in. It would be some time before he got used to the ins and outs of how to behave in his new home. 

“So, how are you settling in?” Austin asked with his mouth half full of food.

“Just fine so far. It’s only been two days since I rolled in, but everyone’s been plenty kind. I’d heard all kinds of stories about how rough the west can be, but you all seem like nice enough folks.” Danny tried to eat slowly, but his hunger was getting the better of him. It had been a long day of hard labor, and he was sure his bones would ache the next day. 

“Oh, the west is plenty rough, but we’re good-hearted people too. It’s the land that’s the roughest part. One of these days we’ll take you into town and show you around properly. What was it you were doing out east that made you want to come out here?”

 Danny swallowed, thinking with a twinge of sadness about how far away from home he was and from his sister who was the only family he had.

“I was doing bookkeeping for a textile manufacturing company. Couldn’t be different work than all this, but I suppose I just felt like something was missing. I could see exactly where my life was going, and it was nowhere. I was bound to stay a clerk for the rest of my life, and no one was ever going to see me any differently. Not unless I got myself some kind of higher education, but I don’t have the pocketbook for that kind of thing.” Danny wondered about how honest he ought to be with the man, but the story just kind of poured out of him. Something made him feel like he wasn’t the only one with that kind of a past.

Austin chuckled, and a bit of carrot clung to the hairs of his beard. He was a big man, standing about a head taller than Danny but he was far from intimidating. He was lighthearted, and had a laugh the size of Texas.

“I hear you. I came from Maine myself. Got sick of the shipping game and wanted to try my luck on land. It’s not an easy life out here of course, but the possibilities are endless. If a man wants to, he can start his own ranch and feed his own family from his own land. All you need is a couple hundred cattle, a hundred miles of fence, and ranch hands willing to work themselves to the bone for you!” Austin let out a peel of his trademark laugh, and a few of the other men joined in. 

“I’ll tell you what’s the hardest part of life out here,” another man chimed in. “It’s the lack of women. The ratio of ladies to men is pitiful. Some have even taken to sending away for wives and marrying women from far off places, but you won’t find me marrying no stranger.”

“I highly doubt you’d find a stranger willing to marry you, Tim, on account of the fact that it smells like you prefer sleeping in the stables to an actual bed.” Danny turned around to see who the sweet voice belonged to, and saw one of the young ladies who’d been watching him from the porch earlier that day.

“That’s Beth,” Austin whispered loudly in his ear. “Daughter of Mrs. Fraser. She’s got a tongue as sharp as a butcher’s knife. Smart girl. Eyes like an eagle, too. She knows all the comings and goings here at Longhorn.” 

“Right. I saw another lady in her company earlier this afternoon, but she seemed far more …” Danny trailed off, unsure of how to describe the woman in question. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since she’d waved in his direction. There was something about her that reminded him of a lake from back home; peaceful to the eye, but teeming with life under the surface. Also, to say that he’d found her pretty was an understatement. She was stunning, and looked almost like a glass figurine of a lady, only one that didn’t seem like it would break if you looked at it the wrong way.

“Is the word you’re looking for ‘rich?’” Austin asked with another chuckle. “Seems like Danny here has been here for less than a week and already he’s got a taste for the lady of the house.”

“Lady of the house? Oh, I didn’t know-”

“There’s a lot you don’t know, boy, but luckily you have us to tell you what’s what. Miss Dorothy Maragon is an uptight, aloof sort. You can tell she just thinks she’s better than all of us. You’re not the first to dream of her from a distance, but I think you’ll be disappointed on further acquaintance. Don’t let Beth hear you speaking ill of her, though. The two of them are thick as thieves with their secret language and all that. It’s like they don’t have time for the rest of us. Anyway, you won’t have much opportunity to run into her. We’re expected to stay far away from Miss Dorothy.” 

Danny was taken aback by the fierceness of Austin’s conviction on the subject, and couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by their secret language. It seemed to Danny like Miss Dorothy had been quite inviting and that her wave to him had been a welcoming one. He knew the kind of lady that they spoke of. There were plenty of wealthy, aloof, and stuck-up ladies in Hartford, though Danny had had little reason to interact with them. From all appearances, Miss Dorothy was nothing like them. Her blonde hair hung around her shoulders in loose waves, unlike the tight pin curls of the ladies in Connecticut. True, her dress had seemed expensive, like the kind his own sister would’ve died to wear, and he hardly considered her to be haughty. 

Still, he didn’t want to disagree with the men he was just getting to know, and besides, he couldn’t be sure they weren’t entirely correct about Miss Dorothy. After all, he hadn’t even spoken two words to her. 

“She’s a dull girl anyway. Pretty face can’t give you a personality,” Tim whispered loudly, joining in the conversation that he hadn’t been invited to.

“Tim! That’s your mistress you’re speaking of so rudely,” Austin chastised with faux-outrage before peering down the table to make sure Beth couldn’t hear them talking. “Judging by your interest in little miss priss, I take it you don’t have a sweetheart you hope to send train fare back to?”

Danny shook his head, happy to steer the conversation away from the topic of the lady of the house. Speaking ill of people he didn’t even know didn’t sit right with him. 

“No, I’m about as single as a man can be. I left my sister back in Connecticut, but other than that I have no family.”

“Pretty boy came all this way but left his sister at home? Awfully rude if you ask me,” Tim joked. 

“You’d have no luck with Amelia anyway. She’s married, I’m afraid.” Truth be told, the fact that his sister was married was the only reason he’d felt comfortable leaving her. Knowing that she would be taken care of brought him great peace of mind.

“What a shame. If her face is anything like yours, I’ll bet she’s a great beauty!” Austin and Tim dissolved into raucous laughter. Danny cracked an obliging smile, but couldn’t bring himself to join in the laughter. The man on his other side nudged his elbow.

“Don’t mind them. They are the clowns of the group, but we don’t all have such heinous …senses of humor. I’m Alex,” the man said, holding his hand out to shake Danny’s. 

“Danny. Very nice to meet you. How long have you been working at Longhorn?” Danny asked, glad to have made a friend who didn’t snort when he laughed. 

“I grew up here, actually. My father helped break in Mr. Maragon’s very first herd some twenty years ago. I’ve never lived anywhere except Great Falls, and I don’t know why anyone would want to. This place is God’s own country. One look at the mountains ought to convince anyone of that.” 

Danny smiled at the man’s earnestness, and he had the feeling he’d finally come across a kindred spirit. 

“You’re speaking my language, Alex. I felt that as soon as I got off the train in Helena. There’s something special about this place alright. Have you thought about opening your own ranch?” he asked. Though he’d only been there one full day, Danny was already enamored with the ranching way of life. The way that the ranchers and farmers were able to build a life for themselves with their own two hands was admirable as far as he was concerned, and he dreamed of a day when he could maybe run his own ranch.

“I hope to someday, but it’s easier said than done. The hard work has been tough on my father’s body, but he’s been encouraging me to get my own plot of land. If I am to ever be worthy of a wife, I can’t afford to waste too much time.”

For his part, Danny hadn’t given much thought to finding himself a wife. It seemed to him that he had far too much yet to accomplish to think about marriage, yet his own parents had been younger than him by the time they’d said their vows. His sister as well was five years his junior when she’d met her husband, and he’d barely had two pennies to rub together. 

“Do you live on the ranch, or in town?”

“Neither, really,” Alex said, shaking his head. “My father bought a small plot of land several years ago, and I helped him build a house just to the west. It’s not enough land to do much with, but it’s nice to not be sleeping in the bunkhouse anymore.”

The sun was low in the sky by the time Danny was walking back to his own assigned bunkhouse. Who he was meant to be sharing with, he had yet to discover, but he was too distracted by the incredible views before him. The Rocky Mountains in the distance were breathtaking, and told of a land full of promise. He took a deep breath in of the fresh air, impossibly cleaner than the coal-filled air he was accustomed to. In the sky, there was the hint of a moon, sitting across from the quickly lowering sun. 

Before walking into his cabin, Danny turned to look back at the ranch house at the top of the hill. Standing there again on the majestic veranda was Miss Dorothy, this time with her long hair tied back into a braid that ran down her back. Part of him wanted to wave once more, but now that he knew who she was, he knew that he needed to keep his distance. Besides, from the sounds of it she wasn’t the type of person he would get along with anyway. What he needed to do was keep his nose to the grind and ensure that he made a good impression on the powers that be. 

The bunkhouse was rowdy, loud, and had a distinctly unpleasant odor, but Danny didn’t care. After two weeks on a train, a day and a half by stagecoach and then a full day of working on the ranch, he was more exhausted than he ever had been before. He swore to himself that he would get up early the next morning to write to his sister, which he’d promised her he would as soon as he arrived. 

As he closed his eyes, Danny’s mind went immediately back outside to his beautiful new home. There, in his mind’s eye picture of the ranch house at the top of the hill was Miss Dorothy, looking down on him with a smile.

“Unspoken Secrets Of Two Hearts” is an Amazon Best-Selling novel, check it out here!

Dorothy Maragon has everything a girl in frontier Montana could ask for but as lucky as she may be, there’s something missing. Deaf since birth, Dorothy has always longed to attend a school specifically catered to her needs, but her wealthy parents have forbidden her. Unfortunately, they have other ideas for her future and would prefer to ignore the fact that she’s deaf altogether, never having even learned sign language for their own daughter’s sake.

If only she could find someone to be there when no one else is listening…

When a handsome new ranch hand, Danny Goodman comes to Longhorn who not only speaks sign language but also listens to her in a way that no one else has before, Dorothy falls fast and hard. Danny’s hardly immune to her stunning looks and charm, though he knows that her father will never approve of him as he’s nothing more than a plucky cowboy without two pennies to rub together. When Dorothy’s father learns about Dorothy’s clandestine meetings with him around the ranch, everything comes to a head.

Will her father once again stand in the way of her happiness?

Rattled but determined, Dorothy decides to take her into her own hands, but will Danny follow? Or will he be a pawn to her father’s wishes? Will Dorothy and Danny find a way to one another, or will circumstances and pride keep them apart for good?

“Unspoken Secrets Of Two Hearts” is a historical western romance novel of approximately 80,000 words. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Get your copy from Amazon!

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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!

Grab my new series, " Faith and Love on the Frontier", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!

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