How To Rope A Rich Cowboy (Silver Springs Ranch #2) - Anya Summers Page 0,36

travel mug of coffee to the equipment that had been recording overnight. The weatherproof tent was good for storing all her equipment, especially her computers, when she wanted them to record data nonstop that was being detected and observed through her telescopes.

Avery was bound and determined to be the one to discover if life existed off this planet. Or at least be the one to posit the theories that led to the discovery. Space was the final frontier for humans.

She was a member of the Center for UFO Studies, which had been founded by Professor J. Allen Hynek, who was the scientific consultant for Project Blue Book, run by the United States Air Force. She liked the organization because it stressed scientific analysis of UFOs. Being a member not only gave her access to their impressive archive library of UFO sightings and analyses, but a place to send her scientific reports of UFOs that she had caught on tape.

She’d had her telescopes recording data overnight and, as long as the weather held, she would continue to monitor the skies round the clock. The video feed and the infrared were two of the more important things to her mind. Catching an unidentified flying object on film, and then having the ability to study its composition and make up, were crucial. So much video footage of aerial phenomena were pictures that could easily be debunked, or grainy footage of the object which tended to fall into the fake category.

Before Avery entered the tent, she checked on her two portable solar powered generators, and set up the solar panels that were connected to each one to charge them throughout the day. She would work on her laptop’s battery power for the time being. That way, the generators would be at full strength by nightfall. She moved the computer she needed to the front porch of the cabin so she could sit outside while she got her work done, and if she needed to connect it up to power, she had the cabin with the outdoor electrical socket she could use.

Avery spent the course of her day logging and computing data. She double checked the new readings against those of the previous night. There were a few objects she had caught on film that left her bouncing in her seat. They could very well be satellites or planes. They could also be military planes or helicopters caught on film. But she was thrilled by the data she had collected thus far.

At close to dinner time, her phone rang. Hope spurted inside her before she glanced at the screen. She tried not to let disappointment cloud her voice when she answered.

“Brody, how’s it hanging?”

Brody Roth was a top engineer at NASA, and the lead for her comet analysis project Avery would be working with when the Morgan Comet neared Earth.

“Hey gorgeous. I just got some of the latest calculations you sent my way, and they are fantastic. The team is already getting all the models put together, and I think you are going to love what we’ve gotten prepared so far.”

“Good. I’m glad they’ll work out,” she replied.

“One of these days, I will convince you to run away with me.”

“I’m sure your wife would love that. What can I do for you?”

“Besides crush my dreams? I have no idea where you are in the world right now, but if you had time for a quick visit to Houston, we could run some tests on the programs we created specially for the Morgan Comet, and that would be awesome. I’d need you here a day, maybe two, at most. You think you could carve out some time?”

“You’re in luck, my good man. I’m in Colorado for another ten days, then I have an event in Vegas I cannot avoid or change. However, once I get past that weekend in Vegas, I could make a stop in your neck of the woods. I’ll have to rearrange my arrival date for Bermuda, but it would be better to get it done before I head there for two months.”

“Fantastic. Email me the dates if you would, and I’ll make sure your credentials are waiting for you at security.”

“Will do. Give your wife a kiss for me.”

“Later, gorgeous.”

“Ciao.” She hung up, brought up the dates on her calendar, and shot Brody an email. There was a great hotel near NASA in Houston which she booked for a few days, adding two extra just in case there were any issues with