Sharp Shootin' Cowboy (Hot Cowboy Nights, #3)(37)

“Maybe so.” Grams smiled. “But making up can be a heck of a lot of fun.”

“Grams!” Haley protested.

“It’s true! Make-up sex is the best kind. They’ve done surveys on Oprah.” She paused. “Do you really think you only want someone who agrees with you all the time?”

“Well, no…but we have to at least have some common ground.”

“Perhaps you and Reid truly aren’t suited. Then again, maybe you just aren’t ready for someone like him yet. Perhaps one day you will be.”

“I know Reid’s not the right one for me, Grams. Time won’t make any difference,” she insisted with forced conviction.

“Can I share one last pearl of grandmotherly wisdom?”

“Sure, Grams.”

“Your grandfather and I want you to achieve your goals, Haley, but not at the expense of your long-term happiness. It’s great that you have ambitions, but remember, that doctoral degree you covet won’t keep you warm at night. A good man is a whole lot more satisfying than a thermal blanket and a vibrator.”

“Grams! I can’t believe you just said that!”

Her grandmother replied with a wink. “I may be old, sweetheart, but I’m not dead yet.”





Chapter 13


Northern California

With damp palms and a dry throat, Dr. Haley Cooper stepped up to the podium. She always felt jittery prior to any public address, but tonight hundreds of people with very large bank accounts had turned out for the fund-raiser. She glanced nervously at Jeffrey sitting to her right, who nodded back at her with a reassuring smile. After five years of working together, he knew as well as she did that her passion would soon overcome her nervous qualms. She took a quick sip of water and then stepped up to the mic.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and esteemed colleagues,” she began with a tentative smile. “We have gathered together this evening as guardians of one of the most unfairly maligned of all living creatures.”

She signaled her assistant to begin the slide show.

“Once roaming North America from the Arctic tundra to Mexico, the gray wolf was ruthlessly and deliberately eradicated from the western United States. It has taken almost twenty years since their reintroduction to the Northern Rockies for wolves to recover. Their renewed presence has helped to restore ecological balance and even boosted the regional economies in several of these western states. But now, it seems our labor is about to be undone.”

She paused and let her gaze work the tables, seeking out and acknowledging every nod.

“Although a dozen conservation groups joined forces in the fight, our recent legal challenges to the delisting of wolves have been overruled. Our injunction to block hunting was also denied. Since the federal government removed the gray wolf as an endangered species, open season on wolves has already begun. Idaho has not only extended their wolf-hunting season, but it is now even considering aerial hunting as a means of predator control. We don’t need a crystal ball to know where all this will lead.”

She gave the nod and the film clip began.

Haley watched the horrified expressions as the screen behind her flashed vivid images of the brutal and bloody aerial wolf hunt they’d captured on film five years earlier. The clip ended with snow stained red with blood, the grisly aftermath of the kill. She consoled herself that the wolves’ deaths had not been in vain. The footage had gone viral on YouTube and the donations had flooded their offices.

“This inhumane practice must be stopped. Last year alone, dozens of collared wolves surrounding the national parks were senselessly slaughtered under the guise of wolf management, with no regard to the individuals wearing radio collars, animals crucial to our long-term studies of this fascinating species.”

She continued, her throat thick with emotion. “Hunters in the west claim that the wolves are depleting the native elk populations. Ranchers maintain their livestock is at risk, but these claims have no basis in fact. Nevertheless, both of these groups have powerful lobbyists in Washington, whereas the animals have no voice…but ours.

“We are gathered this evening in support of the proposed Protect America’s Wildlife Act, sponsored by our own Senator Feinstein. If passed, this legislation would effectively close the loopholes in the existing Airborne Hunting Act. It will protect America’s wolves from all such barbaric practices. Unless we act quickly and decisively, we will soon face a second eradication of wolves.”

Haley’s gaze skirted once more over the tables. Many of the donors were already reaching for their checkbooks. “While this is certain to be a long and costly battle, with your generous and ongoing support, we will ultimately prevail. Thank you.”

*

“You were fabulous tonight,” Jeffrey gushed, handing Haley a glass of champagne. “I knew even when you were a student that you’d become a great asset. No one can charm the purses and checkbooks like Dr. Haley Cooper.”

“Thank you,” she said, adding with a sigh, “But I’m glad it’s done. How much do you think we raised?”

He smiled over his drink. “By my estimate, at least five hundred grand.”

Haley beamed. “That’s twice what we’d hoped for. It’s more than enough to fund all the radio collars for my mating pairs study.”

Jeffrey’s smile faded. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but that project’s going to have to go on the back burner.”