Cowboy Masquerade by TORI SCOTT

Author:TORI SCOTT
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: holiday, cowboys, second chances, secret baby, novella new release, texas author, cowboys westerns contemporary romance bull riding, rodeo romance, lone star cowboys series, series contemporary romance
Publisher: Tori Scott

CHAPTER FIVE

"Tough luck, Doc."

"Yeah, no thanks to you, Cooper. Nice job getting those other guys to limp so we couldn't figure out which one you were." Doc clapped Cooper on the back. "Great idea you guys had for the party. I sure wish you'd given me a heads up about inviting Susan, though."

"And give you an excuse to back out? No way." Cooper snagged two beers from a passing server and handed one to Doc. "She did a pretty awesome job with her costume, didn't she? A pregnant Marilyn Monroe nun. I'd never have guessed it was her."

"Yeah, me either. Of course, you had the advantage of knowing she was here." Doc was still a little put out with both Cooper and Nancy. Coop could have at least warned him.

"Sorry. I was sworn to secrecy. I'd love to know what happened to you two, though."

Doc shrugged. "I already told you. Nothing happened. I stayed until I was no longer needed. Susan's still young. She needs a younger man who can keep up with her."

Cooper gave him a side-long glance. "Did she say she wanted a younger man?"

Doc shifted from one foot to the other and ducked his head. "Well, not exactly. But it takes a young man with a lot of energy--in and out of the bedroom--to keep a woman like that satisfied. Hell, Coop, I'm forty-five. In a few years I'll need a little blue pill just to get the job done, and she'll be at the height of her sexuality. That's a recipe for disaster. I've seen it happen."

"Doc, I always thought you were a smart man. Don't make me change my mind about that."

With that, Cooper limped away, shaking his head.

Doc sipped his beer and thought about slipping away from the party before Susan found him again.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard your conversation with Cooper."

Uh-oh. Too late. Doc turned to find Susan standing behind him. She still wore the nun's habit with the fake belly underneath. That thing made him nervous. He wished she'd take it off.

"Before I walk away and never speak to you again, I just have one thing to say," Susan said. Her hands balled into fists at her side. "Next time, why don't you ask me before you presume to know what I'm thinking or how I feel? You might be surprised to find you don't know me at all."

Susan turned away, and Doc could tell she was about to walk out of his life the way he'd walked out of hers. "Susan, wait…"

She looked back, her eyes filled with sadness. "I've done nothing but wait for the last six months. Wait for you to call. Wait for you to come back. Wait for you to remember those three kids who learned to love you over the past three years. I'm done with waiting."

"Don't go," he said. "We need to talk."

"Talking is overrated. Maybe it's time for you think, instead. Think about why you're still single at forty-five. Why you bail anytime a woman gets too close.

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