Sharp Shootin' Cowboy

by Victoria Vane

  Her gaze darted back to the car. Krista, Garcia, and Yolanda occupied one side and Tonya sat alone on the other. She slid over to make room for Reid. Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Tonya?

  “I’m fine,” Haley replied tight-lipped, trying to choke down her terror. She sucked in another breath and entered the cage, taking the seat beside Tonya.

  Reid entered last. He reached for her hand. “I didn’t know you were afraid of heights.”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, but I’ll be fine,” she insisted with a forced smile. “I’m just not a big fan of amusement park rides.”

  “You could have told me. I’d have stayed behind with you.”

  “You really would have?” she asked in surprise.

  “Sure.” He gave her clammy hand a reassuring squeeze as the wheel slowly began its ascent. Her grip on Reid’s hand tightened as the gondola rose. Her stomach clenched and head reeled as it began to rock. Halfway up, she squeezed her eyes shut, but it only emphasized the sickening, swinging sensation. The wheel paused for another stomach-lurching second as they reached the top.

  “Ooh! Look at that incredible view!” Krista crooned.

  “This is so cool!” Tonya exclaimed. “I can’t believe how high up we are.”

  Haley stole a peek through her lashes just as the car slid forward to pitch way out over the lagoon. Suspended over a hundred feet above the ground, she broke into a cold sweat. An insuppressible wave of nausea followed. “Oh my God. I think I’m going to hurl!”

  * * *

  “It’s all right, chica,” Yolanda consoled as Haley rinsed her mouth for the fourth time. “Lots of people get sick on rides.”

  “Please, just take me home now,” Haley begged. The Mickey’s Fun Wheel ride would go down in the “annals of Haley” as the most humiliating ten minutes of her life. “I don’t think I can ever look any of them in the face again.” Especially Reid.

  “He’s waiting for you outside,” Yolanda said.

  “I don’t want to see him.”

  “Don’t be silly. You can’t hide in here forever.”

  “You want to bet on that?” Haley mumbled, running her fingers through her sweat-dampened hair. She pinched her pale cheeks hoping for color, but still looked like death warmed over. “Is there a back way out of here?”

  Yolanda sighed. “C’mon, chica, you’ve already kept the poor guy waiting for twenty minutes.”

  “Good. Maybe he gave up and left.”

  “I doubt that. He was truly worried about you, you know.”

  “What about the others?”

  “Rafi took Tonya and Krista on the roller coaster.”

  “Thank God for small favors,” Haley mumbled.

  “Just talk to him, Haley, and then if you still want to leave, I’ll take you home.”

  With a groan of defeat, she reluctantly trudged out behind Yolanda.

  Sure enough, Reid was waiting as she emerged from the restroom. He was propped against the wall with booted ankles crossed, looking as if he hadn’t a care in the world. She noticed with a new wave of embarrassment that he wore a Mickey Mouse T-shirt.

  His gaze met hers, and his expression instantly softened. “You okay?”

  Her face flamed. She wished she could just slither away unnoticed. “No.” She shook her head. “I’m absolutely not okay. I just want to forget this day ever happened.”

  “It’s really no big deal,” he said.

  “I puked all over you, Reid. How is that not a big deal?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”

  She let that one go. Some things were better unasked. “Please tell your sister that I’m sorry I ruined everything. I’m going to go home now.”

  He pushed off the wall. “I’ll take you.”

  She shook her head. “No. You came here to see Krista. Yolanda will drive me.”

  “Krista will understand.”

  “No, Reid. I’ve already done enough to spoil everyone’s day. I just need to be alone.”

  “Okay. If that’s what you want, I can respect that. When can I see you again?”

  She snorted. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No. Not kidding.”

  Yolanda’s gaze darted from one to the other. “I’m going to go get a lemonade. Either of you want anything?”

  “No thanks,” Haley and Reid replied almost in unison, neither taking their eyes off the other.

  “Be back in a few then.” Yolanda slipped off toward the drink kiosk.

  “You should go find your sister,” Haley said.

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said.

  “No.”

  “The day after?”

  She averted her eyes, making every effort just to breathe. “You need to spend time with your sister. Krista is only staying for a week, and I’m leaving soon.”

  “Then I’ll take some leave and drive up to Sacramento with you.”

  “No, Reid,” she answered softly. “There’s no point in continuing this. It would be a wasted effort for both of us to invest any more time in this…this…” She waved her hand. “Whatever it is.”

  He grasped her shoulders, but she avoided his eyes. “I get that you’re embarrassed about what happened, Haley. But that’s no reason to give me the brush-off.”

  “It’s more than embarrassment,” she insisted. “Don’t you see this is impossible? I’m a bookish, acrophobic, pacifistic vegetarian, and you’re a bow-hunting, roller-coaster-riding cowboy carnivore. I don’t fit into your world. I knew that the minute I saw you with Krista and Tonya. You all belong together. We don’t. We’ll just end up hating each other in the end. Can’t you see that?”

  “No, I don’t. I only see you.”

  “Why are you making this so difficult?” she asked in a strangled voice.

  “Because you’re making a mistake.”

  “No. I’m not,” she insisted. “Starting this was the mistake. What more do you need me to say?”

  His hands tightened almost painfully on her shoulders. “What more do I need? Tell me flat out that you don’t want me, Haley.”

  She stared into intense, infinitely blue eyes. “I don’t want you,” she blurted, almost choking on the words.

  He flinched. She had to look away. “You really mean that?” He drew her closer, his gaze searching her face. “Are you sayin’ you feel nothing for me after last night?”

  Please don’t kiss me. Please don’t kiss me. I’ll become a blubbering fool if you kiss me.

  “This has been way too much too soon for me. I’m not ready for what you want. I told you, I have plans for my life. I’m sorry, Reid.”

  “If that’s how you feel, I guess there’s nothing more to say.” He gave a fatalistic shrug and eased his grip. “I’ll walk you back to the hotel.”

  “No, please don’t.” She swallowed hard. Her throat felt like sandpaper. “Let’s just part ways here. It’ll be easier.”

  “If that’s really the way you want it.” He hesitated and then his hands dropped lifelessly to his sides. “Good-bye then, Haley Cooper.”

  “Good-bye, Reid,” she answered back almost inaudibly, her eyes blurring as she watched him turn and walk away.

  “Where’s Reid?” Yolanda returned, drink in hand.

  “Gone,” she whispered.

  “Gone where, chica?” she asked.

  “Gone, as in I sent him away.” Haley stifled the sob that rose up in her throat, but try as she might, she couldn’t suppress the moist heat that began trickling down her face.

  Yolanda’s eyes widened. “Why? When I left I thought for sure you were going to work it out.”

  “Never, Yo.” She sniffed. “It’s impossible.” She spun away, fiercely palmi
ng her eyes. “C’mon. Let’s go. I don’t have time for this emotional crap.”

  * * *

  Reid caught up with Garcia, Tonya, and Krista standing in line for a second ride on the roller coaster. They smiled and waved. He grimaced. Hanging out at an amusement park was no longer very amusing. He didn’t understand why things had gone south when only hours ago she’d lain beneath him so warm and soft and beautiful, her body welcoming and sweet. He knew she’d lied to him about her feelings. She couldn’t have given herself to him if she felt nothing. She wasn’t the type, but he’d overestimated his success. She’d given him her body but still withheld her trust and her heart.

  “So where’s your friend?” Krista asked.

  “Her name’s Haley,” Reid snapped.

  “Poor thing,” Krista remarked. “I never saw anyone puke on a Ferris wheel before.”

  “She doesn’t like amusement park rides,” Reid said.

  “Then why’d she come?” Krista asked.

  “Because I pressured her to.” With as long as it had taken to wear her down, he should have known better. Like a dumbass, he’d pushed her too hard. Now she didn’t want to see him again.

  “Why would you do that?” Krista countered.

  “Because I wanted you to meet her.”

  Krista’s gaze narrowed. “Then it’s serious?”

  “I thought it could be.” Now I’ll never know. Haley was such a fascinating contradiction. Smart and sexy, yet shy and insecure. But brave, too. She took risks, faced her fears. She’d proven that on the ride today. If only she’d take the same risk with him.

  Krista shook her head. “She doesn’t suit you at all, Reid. She’s too uptight. Takes herself way too seriously.”

  “Why would you say that? You don’t know anything about her.”

  “To start with,” Krista challenged, “she has no sense of humor.”

  “Only because she felt like we made her the butt of the jokes,” he defended.

  He never should have brought her to meet Tonya and Krista. He’d done it because he didn’t want to lose any time with her. It was a selfish, dickhead move. Now he’d lost her.

  “I know you, big brother. She’s not right at all.” Krista laid a hand on his arm. “Trust me on this. Women have intuition, especially about other women. Tonya knows she screwed up, Reid. You should give her another chance.” Although engaged in conversation with Garcia, Reid noticed that Tonya slanted them curious glances.

  “She’s the one who called it quits. Not me. And now I’ve moved on.”

  “But—”

  Reid raised a silencing hand. “While I appreciate your sisterly concern, my love life is off limits. I don’t want or need your meddling in it. I can fuck it up perfectly well all by myself.”

  * * *

  Haley began packing her things almost as soon as she got home.

  “You’re leaving already?” her grandmother asked. “I thought you were going to be home for at least another week.”

  “I was,” Haley said, sniffling, “but now I’m not. I really need to go back to school. I have a lot of work to catch up on.”

  “Did you and Yolanda have a nice time at the beach?”

  “Yes. It was real nice,” Haley replied woodenly.

  “He seems like a decent young man. Attractive too,” Grams remarked with a knowing look. “Want to tell me about it?”

  “How did you know?” Haley asked.

  “You don’t get to be my age without learning what heartbreak looks like. Besides, I’ve experienced it firsthand.”

  “You have?”

  “Yes. Your grandpa wasn’t my first love, sweetheart.”

  “He wasn’t?”

  “No.” She shook her head with a wistful smile. “There was one before him. His name was Brian. We were high school sweethearts.”

  “What happened?”

  “I waited for him to graduate college, expecting we’d marry, but he wasn’t ready to settle down. Brian was an idealist who wanted to join the Peace Corps. Kennedy was president. It was a very popular thing to do back then. He went to Africa without making me any promises. I suppose I could have gone with him, but I was a traditional girl. Like most young women in the early sixties, I’d expected to marry and make babies.”

  “Do you regret not going?”

  “No, sweetheart.” Grams shook her head. “I like my creature comforts too much and didn’t have any grand ideas about changing the world. He did. Our relationship had run its course. At the time I was heartsick, but in the end, I realized we didn’t suit. Later, I met your grandpa.”

  “Do you ever think about Brian?”

  “On occasion I do, but Bill and I have been happily married for forty-nine years. Although he wasn’t my first love, he’ll certainly be my last. I don’t think it’s the same with you and Reid as it was with me and Brian, Haley.”

  “How can you say that? It’s all wrong with Reid and me. He’s all wrong.” Haley dropped her bag on the floor and threw herself into her grandmother’s arms.

  “I disagree, sweetheart.” Grams stroked her hair. “Maybe you have different beliefs about things, but seems to me that you and he are more alike than you think. You are obviously both strong-minded idealists. I think maybe you even want the same things, but just have a different way of going about it.”

  “I believe what I believe, Grams. I want to be with someone who respects my opinions, not someone who wants to change me. I’m not about to let myself become anyone else’s shadow.”

  “A man like Reid is certainly the type who’s continually going to challenge your way of thinking. It would take a strong woman to hold her own with that kind of man.”

  “But I don’t want that type of relationship, Grams. We’d only end up fighting all the time.” Maybe Grams was right, but Reid wouldn’t just change her world, he’d become her world. If she let herself fall any further, she feared she’d lose it all. She’d lose herself in Reid Everett. Perhaps it was plain cowardice on her part, but she wasn’t willing to risk everything she’d worked so hard for. She couldn’t take that chance.

  “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.