Cocky Cowboy: A Second Chance Romance (Cocker Brothers of Atlanta Book 3) by Faleena Hopkins

lie to you.”
    “No, you just climbed into his bed the first second I wanted out.”
    I scream, “You wanted out!” Grabbing my stomach, I realize this baby doesn’t need a screaming match in its DNA. “Ryan, we’re done arguing. Go have your coffee and do what you love most. Work.”
    He glares at me then mutters, “Fucking slut,” and storms out of the room.
    I shut the door and start to sob.

Jaxson
    T he sound of a car driving up to my home in the quiet evening rouses me.
    I set my book on the coffee table, and rise to see who it could be. Alberto wasn’t scheduled to come by today at all and he never comes at night. Visitors are a rarity here.
    Opening the door that faces west I step into a stunning pink and gold sunset as a yellow cab kicks a fog of dust into it, parking eight feet from my porch.
    The back door opens and Rachel steps out, her beautiful blue eyes rising to meet mine.
    I make quick strides down the three steps onto the gravel. “Rachel,” I groan, so happy to see her.
    “Jaxson,” she whispers, shaking her head with questions in her eyes. I don’t know what she’s doing here but by the rate my blood sped up to I can’t wait to find out.
    Pulling my wallet from my back jeans pocket I pay the man, glancing to the suitcase waiting on the torn backseat.
    “Let me get that,” I say from a distant place.
    She steps back and shares a quiet look with me before I climb halfway in to grab it. Handing her the purse she’d left behind, I tell the driver, “Thank you. Have a good one.”
    “You too,” he waves before trailing more dust in his wake.
    Rachel walks slowly back with me to the house. “Is it okay if I stay with you a couple days?” she whispers like she’s embarrassed to ask.
    I rasp, “Of course,” and open the door for her to enter first. As she passes me I breathe her in, the scent I’ve missed so badly permeating my senses. Struck speechless, I set the suitcase under the iron coat hooks by my front door. The screen slams behind me and Rachel jumps.
    I quickly mutter, “I still have to fix that,” fixated on her.
    “It’s fine.” White knuckles hold her purse as she slowly walks to the center of my living room, setting the small bag down by the book I was reading.
    Pink and gold beams splash across her backside, turning her sandy-brown hair into ginger.
    She’s wearing a slender, silver anklet and I linger on it, thinking of how many times I wanted to call her and didn’t because I knew I had nothing to give her that could compare to her life.
    And here she is looking like heaven in a form fitting, expensive dress that sure as shit doesn’t belong on this ranch.
    This beautiful woman’s world isn’t mine and everything about her is a reminder of that so I keep my mouth shut and wait for her to explain her sudden appearance.
    Fuck I want to touch her.
    Hold her.
    And all I can do is shove my hands in my pockets and wait.
    My gaze travels to the novel as she says, “Tuesdays with Morrie. I loved that book.”
    “Might need some tissues before it’s done.”
    “As if Jaxson Cocker would ever cry over a novel,” she smiles.
    “True,” I smirk and it makes her smile fade.
    She holds my look, both of us with a hundred unspoken questions and wants.
    Tears start to gather in her bright blue eyes.
    In a voice harsher than I mean to use, I ask, “Another fight with your boyfriend?”
    She closes her eyes a moment, turning away from me. The answer is obviously yes.
    So I’m her man-on-the-side.
    I can’t be that.
    Not a day has gone by that something hasn’t happened to remind me of her smile, her laugh, her naked body welcoming me in.
    I had to switch soaps because it drove me nuts to smell the stuff.
    How does one night stick with a man like that?
    It ain’t right. And it sure as hell ain’t fun.
    I don’t want to go through withdrawals all over again, and yet here I am saying she can stay.
    I am going to regret this, aren’t I?
    Her eyelashes drift up and she